Project description
Creating new anticancer drugs from agricultural waste
Agricultural waste contains terpenes, organic molecules suitable as chemical feedstocks for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Reducing, reusing, and recycling contribute to a circular economy. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the Waste2Drug project aims to convert agricultural waste (agri-waste) into valuable pharmaceutical products. Specifically, it focuses on transforming terpene-derived p-cymene into a potent anticancer drug. The project aims to identify p-cymene’s biological target and enhance its anticancer properties, alongside developing a more efficient procedure for extracting p-cymene from terpene-rich biomass. This initiative aligns with the EU bio-economy strategy by creating new anticancer drugs and using agricultural waste to produce valuable pharmaceutical molecules.
Objective
Sustainability is a major concern worldwide, resulting in the launch of Bioeconomy as a global strategy with trillions of euros invested in waste valorisation policies. Agricultural waste is rich in terpenes, a class of organic molecules that can be used as chemical feedstocks for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, contributing to a circular bioeconomy scheme through reduce, reuse and recycle. Waste2Drug will contribute to the agriwaste valorisation in two ways; first, it will focus on the valorisation of the terpene-derived p-isopropyltoluene (commonly known as p-cymene), through its pharmaceutical development as a potent anticancer agent, by identifying its biological target and optimizing its anticancer activity. In parallel, Waste2Drug will contribute to the optimization of the p-cymene access from terpene-rich biomass, through theoretical investigation of the terpene deoxydehydration reaction that will aid the development of a more efficient catalytic procedure. The theoretical insights provided by the researcher will be used by synthetic chemists first on model molecules and then on actual agriwaste. The fellowship will be carried out at NovaMechanics Ltd (NvM), under the supervision of Dr Andreas Afantitis (AA), while a secondment will take place in the University of Burgos (UBU), under the supervision of Prof. Roberto Sanz Diez (RSD). The researcher, Dr Sofia Kiriakidi, will lead the computational line of the project, while gaining valuable experience in terms of leadership and project management, by collaborating with experimental scientists and coordinating this multidisciplinary approach. Waste2Drug connects theory to experiment, academia to industry and promotes the EU Bioeconomy strategy by both developing anticancer agents based on p-cymene and by facilitating its access from biomass terpenes, converting agricultural waste to novel drug molecules.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences economics and business economics bioeconomy
- agricultural sciences agricultural biotechnology biomass
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1070 NICOSIA
Cyprus
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.