Acronimo: CIRCULAr

Titolo: Chain for Innovative Recycling: Sea Urchin Food by-products for zero waste-based muLtiple Applications

Bando: Economia Circloare - Fondazione CARIPLO

Durata:  36 mesi

Coordinatore: DOTT.SSA MICHELA SUGNI

Budget BCA: 75.000,00 €

Responsabile scientifico: prof. Marco Vincenzo Patruno

Research Team: Iacopetti Ilaria, Maccatrozzo Lisa, Melotti Luca, Patruno Marco Vincenzo

Riassunto: "Waste recycling and valorization are main societal challenges and two of the pillars of the Circular Economy approach. According to this, waste materials are used as a source of “secondary resources” for the development of new products and economic pulses, while reducing their socio-economic and environmental impacts. In line with this, the aim of CIRCULAr project is to COMPLETELY recycle a food by-product, namely sea urchin wastes originating from food industry (restaurants and seafood enterprises) and transform them into innovative and diversified products, addressed to specific application fields: - ground-breaking collagen-made biomaterial (skin substitutes, SS) for skin regeneration applications. Skin injuries (e.g. burns, ulcers and chronic wounds) are common, painful and economically relevant medical problems. The need for improved wound healing and limitations in skin graft donor availability/painful procedures, originated a growing demand for SS. At present, there is a lack of an ideal skin substitute that completely mimics its morphology and function and the already available SS on the market lack important features, such as mechanical resistance, antibacterial action, glycosaminoglycan presence. - novel calcium and antioxidant feed supplement for animal farming, particularly layer hens; the latter require a remarkable amount of calcium to produce high quality eggs. Normally the major source of Ca in animal feeding is limestone which, however has the considerable disadvantage of variability of Ca content; furthermore, as inorganic material, it cannot provide other bioactive molecules which can be useful to further support hen welfare and egg quality. By exploiting the peculiar features of sea urchin tissues, the CIRCULAr project aims to use a) part of the sea urchin wastes to extract highly valuable native collagen and design tailored medical devices (skin substitute) for wound healing; b) the remaining part to produce a bioactive calcium-rich powder (containing antioxidants) which can be used as supplement to layer hen feed. To achieve this challenging goal specific objectives have to be pursued: 1) to obtain an efficient by-product recycling, extraction and characterization of high quality raw materials (collagen and Calcium/antioxidant-rich powder); 2) to design and develop bilayered skin substitutes with tailored features and evaluate their regeneration efficiency (compared to current gold standards) in animal models that mimic human conditions; 3) to produce sea urchin-derived feed supplement and test its effects on layer hens, particularly on their ability to produce high quality eggs; 4) to set up two new pilot supply chains and assess their economic sustainability, environmental impacts and juridical aspects. The CIRCULAr project will set up a new and complete pipeline connecting sea urchin processing SME to the final end users (biopharmaceutical enterprises and plastic surgeons as well as feed mill companies, hen farmers and egg consumers), allowing a true by-product valorisation and transformation in diversified added-value products. Local and national economy, namely sea food economy, sea urchin fishery/aquaculture and human health care, will certainly benefit from the CIRCULAr outcomes. The dissemination of the CIRCULAr aims and outcomes will be ensured by different actions targeted to the initial (sea urchin company/aquaculture and consumers), middle (scientific audience), final (biopharmaceutical companies and plastic surgeons as well feed mill companies, hen farmers and egg consumers) stakeholders and to the large public. All the CIRCULAr staff will be involved in the communication task. The CIRCULAr project perfectly meets the RRI principles, ensuring innovative biotech and agricultural product developed by re-conversion of by-products, a great impact on human health and economy and a strong relationship with the civil society and the scientific community. Moreover, the valorisation of a marine by-product will be highly enhanced, ensuring an additional value to a “blue” resource "