The title of “Student-inventor” goes to a UPWr doctoral student

- I received the award for a series of 46 inventions concerning obtaining new derivatives of flavonoids, i.e. organic compounds existing naturally I plants. I followed two paths of research. On the one hand I focused on naringenin – a flavonoid existing in citrus fruit e.g. in grapefruit or oranges. I performed chemical modifications of naringenin adding to it other chemical particles in order to increase its antioxidation, anticancer and antimicrobial characteristics. This compound really has a lot of health properties – it’s a treasure from citrus fruit which we additionally improve – says Joanna Kozłowska, a doctoral student at the Institute of Chemistry, the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science.

Another path of my research is the biotransformation of chalcone containing different chemical moieties. Here, I used oxygen bacteria for research. A known chalcone, which is being researched at the Chemistry Institute, is xanthohumol – present in hop. I focus on the analogs of this compound which is well-known for its health properties. Together with the Medical University in Wrocław we check the activity of the compounds I created on cancer cell lines. We are concentrating on colorectal cancer and in the future we plan to examine other lines, e.g. breast cancer. The first results are promising – adds Kozłowska who, for her research conducted together with her supervisor, Professor Mirosław Anioł, has just received the title of “Student-inventor” in the competition organized since 2010 by the Kielce University of Technology. Her prize will be to represent Poland at the 46th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva – the largest and the most prestigious invention exhibition in Europe.

In this year’s competition there were 78 submissions which included 123 solutions from 24 universities and scientific institutes from the whole Poland. These particular derivatives of flavonoids had not been researched before. In 2017 the UPWr doctoral student received also a Preludium 12 grant from the National Science Centre for research on health and curing properties of flavonoids.

mj