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National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences

OC

Oana Craciunescu

Research Scientist I - Cellular and Molecular Biology

Biography

I am a biochemist with a PhD in Exact Sciences and postdoctoral studies in Biotechnologies for Medical Applications. I have experience in the field of research, experimental development and innovation, having held the positions of director, manager or member in more than 44 research projects in national and international partnerships, as well as in service contracts with SMEs in the field of Medical Biotechnologies and Bioeconomics. I have mentored students, master and PhD students of the University of Bucharest and USAMV Bucharest, as well as research assistants of INCDSB. I am also a member of the Scientific Council of INCDSB and I am a member of the Body of Experts for the certification of R&D activity in the field of Advanced Functional Materials.

My expertise focuses on the isolation and characterisation of natural polymers in the extracellular matrix, such as collagen, elastin, glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans. I have developed and tested novel biomaterials and composite formulations using natural polymers in combination with natural bioactive compounds of plant and marine origin, as well as lipid and metal nanostructures. We have performed physicochemical and biochemical analyses such as electrophoresis and zymography. We evaluated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and photoprotective activity in vitro. We also tested biological activity and cytotoxicity using standardised methods according to ISO 10993-5 and quantified specific markers in different cell cultures using specific methods such as UV-VIS and ELISA. All this has been aimed at developing new products with biomedical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.

Publications

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