Projects

In traditional food systems, additives derived from petrochemicals and animal products are widely used. While these compounds may possess desired techno-functional properties, they come with environmental, ethical, health, and sustainability issues. The goal of this project is to develop alternative protein-based food additives, such as colorants and sweeteners, that meet the needs of the food industry while addressing the concerns. Rational design, structural biology, and AI methods are utilized for protein development. In collaboration with TFTAK, a precision fermentation platform is developed to produce proteins in microorganisms. Protein samples are tested in model foods. Successful prototypes are commercialized through partnerships with the local food industry and startup accelerators. The gathered experimental data is used to model relationships between protein structure and techno-functional properties, facilitating the design of novel food proteins in the future.

Wood or lignocellulosic biomass more generally, is a readily available renewable resource, offering sustainable solutions for our growing human population. The core wood polymers - cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin - serve as fundamental components, extending beyond paper production to produce valuable wood sugars, textile fibers, thermoplastics, and fine chemicals. In our project, we are developing enzyme technologies utilizing extremophilic microbe-derived enzymes to break down and modify lignin, remove toxic phenolic compounds, convert cellulose into wood sugars, and advance enzyme-catalyzed cellulose technologies. Additionally, the project focuses on advancing technologies for converting kraft, hydrolysis (and organosolv) and synthetic lignins into porous materials, thermoplastics, and cutting-edge catalysts.

According to OECD, Estonia is one of the EU countries where obesity and diabetes are most prevalent. According to WHO, every fifth child in Estonia is overweight. Therefore, our task is to help people reduce their consumption of sugar, salt, and fat, which are associated with obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. The Estonian food industry is already committed to food reformulation, transforming former sinners in to saints. For example, muffin, which has been a delightful dessert in the past, has now become a food with reduced sugar, extra fiber and with a Nutriscore value B. However, its health impact is noticeable only when the taste is equally enjoyable and consumers accept it. This reformulation project explores sweet-tasting and healthy peptides and oligosaccharides to replace added sugars, the synergy of flavor compounds and salt, and the effect of fats on flavour. We aim to have a positive impact on public health without compromising quality, safety and taste.

Sensing, capturing and separating enantiomers is important for environmental safety, agricultural chemistry, and drug design. The use of hemicucurbiturils is an effective strategy because of the combination of various monomers in a single-step templated mechanochemical synthesis. Due to the absence of bulk solvent the self-organizing efficiency is amplified and there is less waste - the process is green and sustainable. The current work will study the fundamentals of self-organization of hemicucurbiturils, the binding (capturing) of chiral molecules, and detecting chirality using supramolecular complexes. In the long term, the empirical observations will be combined with results from computational chemistry and cheminformatics to build models for predicting necessary monomers and reaction conditions to form macrocycles with desired properties. The outcomes of the project are expected to be highly useful for organizations and industries that monitor, use, or manufacture chiral compounds

NdFeB are the strongest and highest energy density permanent magnets used in both green energy production in wind generators and electric cars. NdFeB production technology is comparable to that of lithium battery: both are of key importance, require limited mineral resources to be mined, recycling is difficult. The recycling of NdFeB would reduce the EU's dependence on China being more economical and cheaper compared to mining. The project focuses on the development of recycling of sintered NdFeB. We focus on hydrogen decrepitation and HDDR technologies for NdFeB magnets, while also consider alternatives. The input of the technological process is NdFeB collected from circulation and the output is a NdFeB semi-product that can be used in a sintered, bonded, ALD covered or 3D printed NdFeB industrially scalable production pot. The largest NdFeB plant in the EU is under construction in Narva. The methods developed in the project would help improve existing processes for circular economy.

Reproduction is regulated by the endocrine system and its disturbances by endocrine disruptive chemicals (EDCs) may lead to infertility. As humans are constantly exposed to EDCs through the use of common household items and personal care products, it is important to test chemicals for their potential activity as endocrine disruptors affecting reproductive function. Project MERLON aims to study the effects of EDCs on sexual development and function in order to deliver new approach methodologies (NAMs) for EDC identification. While MERLON targets the vulnerable stages of development from fetal to puberty, MERLON2, with additional partner TalTech, will add one more sensitive window of susceptibility in female reproduction to the project: the adult preovulatory ovarian follicle, where the oocyte maturation takes place. In collaboration with TalTech, it was recently demonstrated that follicular somatic cells (FSCs) lose sensitivity to follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in the presence of a mixture of 13 EDCs. FSH is crucial for both, the oocyte maturation and for the synthesis of steroid hormones by the FSCs. We have also demonstrated the intricate heterogeneity of somatic cells in the ovarian follicle. The roles that FSC subpopulations play in the adverse effects of EDCs is unknown and unaddressed by the initial MERLON project. MERLON2 will complement the aims of the consortium by developing NAMs based on single cell transcriptomics, automated image analysis and machine learning to understand the effect of EDCs on FSC subpopulations and their sensitivity to FSH. This will increase the research output for MERLON in the number of proposed NAMs and quantitative adverse outcome pathways. As a result of MERLON2 the range of stakeholders will enlarge, increasing the public awareness related to the harmful health effects of EDCs, and proposing new approaches to resolve the complicates issue of testing substances in everyday products for their adverse effects on human fertility.

The nervous system consists of multiple cell types with distinct physiological specializations and gene expression patterns. In tissue, these cells form a complex, intertwined network that is subject to constant interaction between different cell types. This complexity poses a challenge for researchers in both separating cell types for analysis as well as studying interactions and information transfer between cells. In this application, we propose a molecular neuroscience study addressing both aspects. First, we are developing proteomics methods to allow analysis of newly synthesized proteins on a cell type-specific basis. Second, we shall use novel genetic tools for cell type-specific stimulation and gene expression analysis in primary co-cultures of neurons and astroglial cells. We shall use this system to probe gene expression signatures in neuron-astrocyte communication and determine the transmitters that form the basis of this communication.

Projekt OptimaMind keskendub ajapiiranguga söömisele, et parandada aju tervist ja võidelda vananemisega kaasnevate väljakutsetega. Ajalooliselt oli inimeste juurdepääs toidule sageli juhuslik, muutes vahelduva paastumise (teise nimega aeg-restrikteeritud söömise (TRE)) elu loomulikuks osaks. See ajalooline kontekst loob aluse TRE võimalike eeliste mõistmiseks tänapäeval, eriti kognitiivse tervise kontekstis. On näidatud, et TRE kutsub esile adaptiivseid molekulaarseid muutusi, mis kaitsevad rakuressursse, parandades samal ajal füüsilist ja kognitiivset jõudlust. Sellised muutused hõlmavad süsteemse põletiku vähenemist ja raku antioksüdantide potentsiaali suurenemist. Üks TRE mõju näidetest on beeta-hüdroksübutüraadi (BHB), ketoonkeha, mis parandab kognitiivseid funktsioone, tootmine. Maksas toodetud BHB on oluline energiasubstraat, millel on võrreldes teiste energiaallikatega kasulikumaid omadusi. Ja vastupidi, sagedane toidutarbimine ja vähene füüsiline aktiivsus võivad pärssida BHB tootmist, vähendades seega selle positiivset mõju. Projekti OptimaMind eesmärk on uurida erinevate meetodite abil TRE mõju kognitiivsete funktsioonide biomarkeritele, eriti vananevas elanikkonnas. Kavandatavas projektis kasutatakse Euroopas olemasolevaid biopankade proove ja erinevaid paastuprotokolli kohordi andmeid, et uurida neuroprotektiivseid biomarkereid erinevates populatsioonides. Oodatavad tulemused hõlmavad uusi teadmisi TRE-st kui mittefarmakoloogilisest strateegiast kognitiivse pikaealisuse suurendamiseks ja dementsuse ennetamiseks. Projekti eesmärk on ka teavitada tervishoiuteenuse osutajaid ja avalikkust praktilistest tõenduspõhistest strateegiatest aju tervise säilitamiseks. OptimaMind mõjutab rahvatervise soovitusi, kliinilisi tavasid ja heaolutööstust, mille eesmärk on lõpuks parandada kognitiivset tervist ja elukvaliteeti vananevas elanikkonnas.

The importance of antimicrobial membranes has significantly grown during the recent COVID pandemic era. Nanofibrous antimicrobial membranes have seen novel applications in biomedicine, such as face masks against viral threats or wound dressings used in chronic patient care. Composite electrospun nanofiber meshes are convenient to use as antimicrobial membranes. At present, the lack of automated, inline quality control limits both the pilot and large scale production of multi-material multilayer composite membranes. The alternative, manual re-calibration greatly limits production throughput and thus commercial viability. The goal of this R&D activity is to create technology for scalable inline quality control of electrospun nanofiber meshes. Using cognitive electronics, the system will be capable of continuous multiparameter monitoring and electrospinning process control to maintain optimal product quality and distribution.

Customization requirements in modern manufacturing demand a closer collaboration between operators and automated technologies, leading to a novel Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) and interaction (HRI) paradigm aimed at augmenting human capabilities in the workplace. Digital Twin (DT) and Immersive technologies (XR) support the inclusion of the human operator in simulation-based interfaces intended for safe, efficient, multimodal, and adaptive HRI. The design and implementation of these interfaces are not yet adequately addressed. This project aims to define what is the current approach to the requirement definition for DT and XR by analyzing the potentials and challenges of the adoption of DT interfaces and other types of input methods in the HRC context, their allocation in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and the state of current experimental research in this field as bringing the human back to the loop bring us the Industry 5.0 concept within industrial and healthcare domains.

For the development of the field of human-robot cooperation, a development and test laboratory for collaborative robotics and process-adaptive devices will be created based on the Virumaa Innovation Centre of Digitalisation and Green Technologies, Virumaa College, and Taltech's headquarters. In the created laboratory, it will be possible to study the psychological aspects of human-machine co-creation, workplace design, etc. In addition, adaptability of equipment/physical systems to production processes. All this in both real and digital (augmented reality) environments, based on the Industry X.0 concept.

Cellulose is the most common biopolymer in the world, which can replace fossil-based plastics and fibers. However, cellulose-based plastics only account for 0.2% and man-made fibers for 1% of the world's production of plastics and non-natural textile fibers. Cellulose needs chemical modification to make these products. Until now, industry has been limited by environmental impact and cost of the process. Cellulose is also the most important biomaterial for Estonia, but industrial cellulose chemistry is limited here. At the same time, this industry gives the highest added value to cellulose. As the biorefineries, output of which is cellulose, are vigorously developing in Estonia, this project develops technology of reactive extrusion, with which cellulose can be valorized in a sustainable manner using residues from production of vegetable oils. The project strengthens cooperation between companies and academy, increases competence in the field, and contributes to academic succession.

The project aims to revolutionise biosensors and point-of-care testing devices by developing sensor arrays using Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) as biomimetic receptors for multiplex and/or simultaneous detection of targets that are of significant interest to clinical and environmental health. MIPs offer several advantages over traditional biological recognition elements in being more stable, cost-effective, and reproducible, making them ideal for low-cost and fast recognition of clinically relevant biomarkers and environmental pollutants in complex matrices. We will develop novel synthesis approaches for MIP-based sensor arrays that are affordable and scalable, allowing for the production of large quantities of sensors at low cost. Our innovative approach has the potential to establish a new generation of analytical tools that will significantly improve public health and safety, particularly in critical industries such as healthcare and environmental monitoring.