Projects

The rapid emergence of new illegal drugs (HHC, nitazenes, synthetic cathinones, etc.) creates a need for fast, on-site drug testing tools that can detect multiple substances in biofluids. These tools are crucial for clinicians, anti-doping experts, and law enforcement. Multiplexed portable analytical tools have a great potential to be implemented for this purposes. Moreover, such kind of instruments could be utilized in personal healthcare monitoring by enabling early-stage diagnostics of health problems. This project aims to develop electrophoresis-based analytical tools for reliable, fast and cost-effective metabolism studies in vitro, revealing the characteristics and metabolic pathways of new psychoactive substances. Additionally, new on-site biofluid testing tools (focused on oral fluid) will be developed for detecting new drugs. The results of this project will enhance drug monitoring, support public health, and improve safety.

The research infrastructure on experimental studies and applications of cellular processes aims at gathering national know-how in the field of cell and molecular biology, and aims at setting up an instrumental capability to develop competence and services in the fields of microbial and mammalian cell processes and their applications. The infrastructure will be built up jointly by the University of Tartu, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn University, Estonian University of Life Sciences and the Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics. The vision is to become a know-how and service centre to partner health, biotechnology and environment-focused public sector organisations, medical institutions, biotechnology and pharmacological companies. The focus will be on acquiring and setting up relevant instrumental complexes, development and offering of services, popularisation and dissemination of the field in order to ensure sustainability of researchers and future activities.

The goal of the project is to develop and integrate a personal student assistant based on large language models (e.g. GPT) into the learning environment of Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). The assistant will be connected to the university's Moodle learning environment and will be able to provide fast and personalized feedback, helping students with course completion and solving assignments.

The ENACT (https://enact-eu.net/) strengthens crime prevention and counter-terrorism efforts by supporting cutting-edge technologies like the Drug Hunter Analyzer. Developed by TalTech and the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, Drug Hunter enables fast and reliable on-site drug detection in oral fluid within minutes. ENACT funding aims to enhance the visibility of Drug Hunter by supporting pilot studies, validation, and dissemination efforts, ensuring its successful adoption in law enforcement and forensic applications.

This study aims to explore the chemical composition and variability of Estonian bee pollen across different seasons and potentially different regions. The focus is on analyzing the content of various bioactive compounds, such as antioxidants, amino acids, and volatile compounds, to evaluate the nutritional value and potential of pollen as a functional food.

The aim of the study is to determine the chemical composition of 30 propolis samples collected from different counties of Estonia and to study their antioxidant and antibacterial effects.

The aim of this study is to determine the physico-chemical parameters and the content of selected bioactive substances of bee bread samples collected from different counties of Estonia.