partners of the laktika project

Arhel, projektiranje in inženiring d.o.o.

Company Arhel d. o. o., is engaged in the development, engineering and production of high-tech products. In recent years, we have directed our development into the design of technological solutions for reducing water pollution and soil remediation. The results of current development activities are two completed project of the LIFE program, LIFE Stop CyanoBloom and LIFE PhamDegrade. The development work within the frameowrk of the LIFE program continues with the demonstration project LIFE for Acid Whey, in which we focus on the demonstration of the extraction of lactoferrin from the residues of acid whey.

university ljubljana

biotechnical faculty

institute of dairy science and probiotics

Institute of Dairy Science and Probiotics (IML-PRO) is the central Slovenian research-educational institution in the field of dairy science and probiotics. IML-PRO operates in the frame of University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Animal Science. From the very beginning in 1961, the institute activities included research, education (Chair of Dairy Science) and development in the field of production, processing and quality control of milk and dairy products, and in the 1990s, dairy science was joined by the field of probiotics. In research, attention is primarily devoted to the study of lactic acid bacteria from various environments, with a stress on antimicrobial activity, mechanisms of probiotic activity and safety aspects, as well as to the role of diet, human milk and probiotics on intestinal microbiota in human beings and animals and health. Other relevant fields are the development of functional foods and dietary supplements, development of modern analytical methods, technological processes of fermented dairy products, and control of chemical, microbiological and sensory quality of milk and dairy products. The Laboratory of IML-PRO is a neutral laboratory that performs accredited (LP-062) and non-accredited tests for any clients by the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and the applicable legislation. Laboratory collaborates with similar institutions in Slovenia and abroad. They cooperate with pharmaceutical and dairy industry, in the field of quality control of dairy and probiotic products and the development of new products.

university ljubljana biotechnical faculty

department of food science

the chair of biochemistry and food chemistry

Research fields of the Chair of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry are:

Research on phenolic compounds and other secondary metabolites from natural sources

Design and use of databases on secondary metabolites and other parameters of the quality of foodstuffs and products
Interactions of flavonoids with model cell membranes, proteins and DNA
Stability of antioxidants (ascorbic acid, coenzyme Q10) included in liposomes
Luninescent method for the determination of antioxidant activity in plant extracts
Thermophilic archaea: thermally persistent biologically active compounds (antioxidants, proteins, lipids (archeosomes))
Pathogenic changes in protein conformation (sinuklein, prion protein)
Determination of neurotoxicity and potential protection of neurons against oxidative stress with selected polyphenolic compounds
Determination of the transfer of polyphenolic compounds through the blood-brain barrier
Physicochemical characterization of food additives, phenolic acids and certain metabolites
Methodology of antioxidative tests
The influence of micro-components on the physico-chemical properties of lipids

university ljubljana

faculty of pharmacy

the chair of pharmaceutical technology

The objective of the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology is to transform a drug into a therapeutically effective and safe drug product. The main interest areas are education and research work in the fields of technological procedures and development of different drug delivery systems. Its educational activities involve giving the lectures on graduate level. The students are trained about preformulation studies, pharmaceutical technology procedures, conventional and advanced drug delivery systems, cosmetic products and pharmaceutical analysis. They are introduced to drug manufacturing at industrial and hospital levels as well, which also involves the appropriate quality assurance measures essential for such products. The Department extends these educational areas to postgraduate studies, providing lectures for students pursuing master of science or PhD degrees. Furthermore, the Department has an important role, together with the Chamber of Pharmacy of Slovenia and other professional institutions, in theoretical and practical realization of specializations in the field of drug formulation.

The research of the Department is focused on preformulation studies concerning active substances, as well as on excipients; solid dosage forms (granules, pellets, tablets), liquid and semisolid dispersion systems (macro- and micro-emulsions, gels), and advanced drug delivery systems for targeted delivery (liposomes, nanoparticles, nanocapsules).

Traditionally, the Department´s main research areas are the use of thermal, rheological, EPR, NQR, AFM and other techniques, for establishing of relevant properties and parameters that play an important role in drug design or/and in the characterization and control of included substances. A number of specific technologies are used in the Department´s labs: lyophilization, fluid bed systems, compression, homogenization, etc. Part of the Department´s research is focused on modern multifunctional and biocompatible polymers for the design of drug delivery systems which ensure suitable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of drugs.

The strategy of the Department is to strengthen the relations, in terms of research and development with institutes, faculties and pharmaceutical industry at home and abroad. The level of the research work of the Department is internationally recognized and confirmed by publication in scientific journals, patents and research reports.

university ljubljana

faculty of pharmacy

The chair of biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics

The overall objective of our research is to improve the development of safe and effective pharmaceuticals. We aim to increase the knowledge about the uptake, kinetics, metabolism, effects and side-effects of pharmaceutical drugs. Specifically, we study release of active substances from their dosage forms, their systemic absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (LADME system). We evaluate mechanisms and kinetics of these processes and identify the effects of various factors (food, concomitant use of other drugs, various physiological and pathological states, genetic factors) on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

For pharmacokinetic evaluations we develop various chromatographic methods with UV / Vis, EC, fluorescence and MS-MS detection. With preformulation studies we characterize physicochemical properties such as solubility, dissolution rate, stability, ionization, permeability and metabolic conversion. Based on these parameters and in vitro release profiles we aim to predict bioavailability.

We develop pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic models that allow prediction of the clinical effects of drugs and evaluation of their variability. We use these models in individual drug dosage regimen design according to genotypic and phenotypic characteristics.

university maribor

faculty of chemistry and chemical technology

laboratory for water biophysics and membrane processes

Research activity:

Water structure and dynamics:
Investigation of the relation between the structure and dynamics of hydration water and that of hydrated biomolecules, surfaces materials and interfaces using advanced methodologies, working on a large range of time-scales and length-scales. Experimental work includes spectroscopy, zeta-potential determination and scaling characterization..

Membrane-based water treatment processes:

Theoretical tools include computational fluid dynamics analytical model formulation for membrane and membrane module design; experimental tools include membrane testing setups. Particular focus is on membrane bioreactor (MBR) applications for wastewater treatment and membrane processes in general (MF, UF, NF, RO, FO, PRO).

Biomimetic water treatment and resource recovery:

Investigations of the scientific, technical, environmental, and economic feasibility of aqueous resource recovery using designed degrading/ scavenging enzymes. Specifically our scientific objective is to develop, produce, and evaluate de novo designed enzymatic peptides for applications within pesticide degradation, tastant/odorant removal, biofouling prevention by selectively and continuously scavenging phosphate, and recycling of phosphorus.

Waste water treatment on pilot devices:

We focus on coagulation/flocculation process in water treatment for determining optimal coagulant/flocculant doses. We also evaluate new coagulants/flocculants such as polyelectrolytes and investigate electro-coagulation treatment in various wastewater streams. Our methods include using jar-tests as well as measuring adsorption–desorption isotherms on granulated activated carbon (GAC) and powdered activated carbons (PAC). In cooperation with other laboratories also efficiency of nanoparticles in water treatment are investigated.