Auresine Project 

Head
Izabela Sabała, PhD

Senior Scientist
Elżbieta Jagielska, PhD

Postdoc
Piotr Małecki, PhD

PhD Students
Paweł Mitkowski, MSc
Alicja Wysocka, MSc

Technician
Weronika Augustyniak, MSc

MSc students
Karolina Trochimiak
Piotr Bartosz

Our research is focused on bacteriolytic enzymes that in a very selective and effective way eliminate staphylococcal cells from various environments.  We are working on development of commercial applications for such enzymes, especially for a patented one - Auresine®. These enzymes can be used in diagnostic tests, as a food bioprotectant, to decontaminate various surfaces in industry and hospitals, and as a component of hygiene products for animals and humans. Thanks to results of our basic research we are able to address very practical issues, like development of resistance, tolerance to environmental conditions, protein stability. Structural and biochemical characterization of enzymes broaden our knowledge about their activity regulation and determination of enzyme specificity, and also provide a scientific basis for structure-designed enzyme engineering.

Main achievements in 2018:

1.  In December 2017 we have launched TeamTech project (Foundation for Polish Science program), which is focused on developing new-generation wound dressings that are functionalized with bacteriolytic enzymes. We have completed building up the project team and also the network of external experts, who support our efforts in the area of nanomaterials.

2.  We were awarded a grant in International Academic Partnerships program funded by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA). The MolSpec project “Molecular basis of enzyme specificity and applications”, will be carried out in collaboration with the Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), the Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit of the Department of Life Sciences FCT-NOVA (Portugal) and with the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research (Germany).

3.  Our team completed three Quest for Commercialization grants (founded by IIMCB) to leverage commercialization of Auresine. They allowed us, among others:
      •    to establish very simple and effective technology for one step, large scale purification of our recombinant enzyme
      •    to get  international trademark protection of the name and the graphic logo of Auresine®
      •    to prepare new, professional webpage dedicated to Auresine project (www.auresine.com) illustrated by our technician Weronika Augustyniak

4.    We continue collaboration with our business partners to test the implementation of Auresine in industry and also with global supplier of R&D chemicals on worldwide distribution of Auresine®.
5.    We have established collaboration with the global supplier of veterinary products interested in implementation of our enzymes in their innovative products.
6.    Our research has been presented at prestigious international meetings:
        •    EMBO Workshop on Bacterial Persistence and Antimicrobial Therapy, Ascona, Switzerland
        •    EMBO Workshop Viruses of Microbes, Wrocław, Poland
        •    18th International Symposium on Staphylococci and Staphylococcal Infection, Copenhagen, Denmark
        •    The Lysin Meeting: 2nd International Symposium on Antimicrobial Hydrolytic Enzymes, Rockefeller University, New York, USA,
        •    Bessy User Meeting, 2018, Berlin, Germany.


Ongoing Projects:

TEAM TECH (FNP) “INFECTLESS: New generation of antibacterial wound dressing” click here for more information.

MolSpec (Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, NAWA) “Molecular basis of enzyme specificity and applications”.