Norwegian Society for
Photobiology and Photomedicine
Norsk forening for
fotobiologi og fotomedisin (NOFFOF)
The primary aims of NOFFOF are to coordinate and promote the science of photobiology and photomedicine in Norway. Central activities include
the NOFFOF annual meeting, granting travel awards to students, selecting the winner of the Claude Rimington’s Commemorative Prize and coordinating contact with international photobiology societies.
Doctoral candidate Krister Gjestvang Grønlien at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, is defending the thesis "Sustainable use of rest raw materials: Properties of collagen from turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) and potential pharmaceutical and biomedical applications" for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor.
Trial lecture: Available two days before disputation.
Title: Sustainable use of organic waste and byproducts in healthcare: what has been done and where are we heading?
More info: Click here
Main research findings
The global demand and increase in consumption of meat products have led to the accumulation of large amounts of rest raw materials after the edible part is used. Rest raw materials such as skin, bones and tendons are often rich in fibrous proteins. Collagen is the major fibrous protein in both human and animal connective tissue, constituting about 20-30% of the total protein weight. In the present work, collagen was isolated from turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) rest raw materials and was characterized and utilized in development of products for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Previous research has revealed that collagen has properties that favor certain applications, including wound healing, tissue engineering and drug delivery. However, the physicochemical characteristics of collagen like slow gelation, and poor mechanical properties of the resulting products are challenging. The current work has applied natural solvents and nontoxic crosslinkers to achieve optimized products based on turkey collagen. Sponges, gels and sheets were prepared and characterized. The native antimicrobial properties of some of the preparations were increased in combination with light. The prototypes developed are promising and can contribute to a sustainable use of rest raw material from turkey.
Candidate contact information
Adjudication committee
Professor My Hedhammar, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Professor Gøril Eide Flaten, Department of Pharmacy, UiT
Professor Léon Reubsaet, Department of Pharmasy UiO
Supervisors
Hanne Hjorth Tønnesen, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo
Mona Elisabeth Pedersen, Nofima AS
Ellen Merete Bruzell, Nordic Institute of Dental Materials AS (NIOM)
Håkon Valen, Nordic Institute of Dental Materials AS (NIOM)
Chair of defence
Head of department Kathrin Bjerknes, Department of Pharmacy, UiO