MICROBIOLOGICAL SYNTHESIS: obtaining active microbial producers of biologically active compounds (L-, D-amino acids, enzymes, bioinhibitors of pathogens, biostimulators, bacterial insecticides, biofertilizers) for the needs of medicine, pharmaceutical and food industry, agriculture using gene-selective and gene-engineering methods.
BIOTRANSFORMATION AND BIOCATALYSIS: development of biocatalytic methods for producing amino acids, peptides, enzymatic preparations, polysaccaharides and other biologically active compounds.
BIOMIMETIC ASYMMETRIC SYNTHESIS: development of effective biomimetic catalysts and methods for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure non-protein amino acids, peptides, other preparations used in pharmaceutical industry, medical diagnostics and other fields of science and engineering.
GEOBIOTECHNOLOGY: development of biotechnological approaches to metal bioleaching and metal extraction processes optimization.
ECOBIOSAFETY: processing of agricultural and food wastes, development of effective technologies.
BIOPREPARATIONS AND BIOADDITIVES: development of technologies for obtaining biologically active compounds for food, medical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.
STUDY OF MICROBIAL BIODIVERSITY OF ARMENIA: systematics, morphology, physiology, biochemistry, cytology and genetics of microorganisms.
Three Projects of SPC "Armbiotechnology" NAS RA have been funded by ANSEF Grant. Congrats to our scientists: Kristina Karapetyan, Anna Mkrtchyan, Arevik Vardanyan. By the way, two other projects (Haykanush Koloyan, Armen Sargsyan) submitted by our Center did not receive funding due to lack of funding.
On 13 March, 2020 at 15:00 during the session of 018 Specialized Council on Biotechnology of Higher Attestation Committee of RA acting in the SPC "Armbiotechnology" NAS RA, the defense of Lusine Matevosyan's thesis entitled "Antimicrobial activity of various lactic acid bacteria associations" will take place. She is seeking a PhD degree in Biology on Գ.00.07 "Microbiology: Biotechnology".
SPC “Armbiotechnology” NAS RA received funding from 2020 State Budget of RA to organize Scientific Conference “Biotechnology: Science and Practice, Innovation and Business” and School for Young Researchers “Biofuel: Current State and Trends of Development”. The School for Young Researchers will also be supported by the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) and the Conference will be financed by the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC).
Interview with Anna Mkrtchyan, Candidate of Chemical Sciences. "I want to stay in my homeland and have a contribution to science".
From Science to Commercialization
Young scientists from Europe, Asia, Africa and Armenia participated in the Conference.
A preparative small-scale production of non-protein amino acids was established in 2007 with the financial support of the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC). As a result of scientific research, a universal technology has been developed that enables to obtain important and expensive enantiomerically pure non-protein α-amino acids (market price of 1g is 150-400 USD) of different structure from low cost natural amino acids glycine and D,L-alanine (price of 1kg is about 10 USD). More than 200 undescribed in the literature new amino acids containing aliphatic, aromatic and heterocyclic substituents in the side chain have been synthesized by the developed technology.
Based on the achievements of microbiology and biotechnology as well as on availability of the appropriate natural resources in the country scientists of “Armbiotechnology” Scientific and Production Center have elaborated technologies for production of ecologically safe fertilizers of a wide spectrum of action that are produced in our country.
The proposed “Ecobiofeed+” biopreparation is based on a technology, which has no domestic or foreign analogs, fundamentally differs from the known ones for production of ecologically safe biofertilizer of multiprofile and prolonged action containing a complex of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms and zeolites.
The preparation based on natural raw material also provides plants with macro and microelements, vitamins and protein amino acids. The preparation remediates soils and ensures ecologically safe products.
The production of natural plant oils for food, medical-preventive and cosmetic purposes was established in 2018 on the basis of the Laboratory of Galenic and New Galenic Preparations.
Sea buckthorn oil is produced by cold pressing from raw materials selected in ecologically clean regions of Armenia. Product is available in glass bottles of 30 and 50 ml with 50, 100, 140 and 180 mg% content of carotenoids; rich in high content of vitamins A, D, E, F and K. Stimulates reparative processes in the skin and mucous membranes, accelerates healing of damaged tissues. It has tonic, antioxidant and cytoprotective effects. Reduces the intensity of free radical processes and protects cell and subcellular membranes from damage, due to the presence of fat-soluble bioantioxidants.
The fermented milk product “NARINE” is a therapeutic-preventive and dietary nutrition for children and adults based on a monoculture of lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus MDC 9602 (MDC – Microbial Depository Center). The “NARINE” lactobacilli were isolated in 1964, thoroughly studied and characterized in the Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR by a group of scientists under the guidance of Dr. Prof. L.A. Erzinkyan and deposited with the former Republican Center of Microbial Depository NAS of Armenia (1993).
The serial production of “NARINE” (pasty, lyophilized) preparation was launched in “Armbiotechnology” SPC NAS RA in 2014 according to the Armenian Standard AST 173-2015. The fermented milk product “NARINE” is produced from natural pasteurized cow skim milk by fermentation with Lactobacillus acidophilus MDC 9602.
