2017 Yearbook - Universidad ORT Uruguay

62 2017 Yearbook PROJECTS INITIATED OR APPROVED IN 2017 Development of new formulations of agricultural bioinoculants using encapsulation technologies This project, in which Biotechnology Engineering students Jeniffer Baioni and Valentina Piña are participating, aims to develop different methodologies for encapsulating microorganisms to obtain more efficient agricultural bioinoculant formulations, both from a production standpoint (reducing costs, extending shelf life, or achieving storage stability) and from a technological standpoint (controlled release in soil and reduced loss of activity in soil). Principal Investigators: Rodrigo Achigar and Lorena Betancor Funding: National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) and Calister, within the framework of the Center for Innovation in Engineering (CII) Duration: 12 months Development and validation of a diagnostic kit for Trichomonas foetus and Campylobacter fetus This project, in which Biotechnology Engineering students María del Pilar Irigoyen and María Doménica Tarallo are participating, proposes the development and validation of a commercial multiplex qPCR kit for the detection of the veterinary pathogens Trichomonas foetus and Campylobacter fetus from a single sample. Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Achigar Funding: National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) and Zurgen, within the framework of the Center for Innovation in Engineering (CII) Duration: 12 months Improvements in the upstream processing of clostridial vaccines This project, in which Biotechnology Engineering students Belén Álamo and María Pía Fernández are participating, aims to improve the efficiency of the production of two of the antigens that make up Virbac’s best-selling vaccines, through the characterization and systematization of upstream processing parameters. Principal Investigators: Rodrigo Achigar and Lorena Betancor Funding: National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) and Virbac, within the framework of the Center for Innovation in Engineering (CII) Duration: 12 months Recombinant production of botulinum toxin This project, in which Biotechnology Engineering student Santiago Risi is participating, aims to develop the recombinant production of clostridial antigens for the formulation of veterinary vaccines. Principal Investigators: Rodrigo Achigar and Carlos Sanguinetti Funding: National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) and LTA Biotech, within the framework of the Center for Innovation in Engineering (CII) Duration: 12 months