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Members of the group, dr. sc. Lucija Božičević, mag. pharm., Nikolina Peranić, mag. Chem. and dr. sc. Nikolina Kalčec, mag. appl. Chem. participated in a workshop entitled “Health risk assessment of chemicals – principles and applications”, which was held at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Sweden from 18 to 22 November 2024. The workshop was organized as part of the PARC project.

During the workshop, participants gained basic knowledge about risk assessment, learned how to use different types of data in risk assessment and how to assess their significance and credibility. They also gained knowledge about understanding risk assessment in regulatory decision-making. After the workshop, the participants solved the exam and obtained a certificate of successful completion of the course.

Members of the group, dr. sc. Lucija Božičević, mag. Pharm. and Nikolina Peranić, mag. Chem. from 08/09/2024 to 11/09/2024 participated in the EUROTOX Congress held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dr. sc. Lucija Božičević participated with a poster presentation “Interactions of plastic nanoparticles with fluoxetine and carbamazepine in estrogen receptor activation in vitro”.

The topic of Nikolina Peranić’s poster presentation was “Androgenic and anti-androgenic effects of nanoplastics”.

The theme of the congress “Toxicology – The Search for Safe Drugs and Chemicals” brought together numerous experts in the field of toxicology whose lectures dealt with topics such as human exposure to environmental chemicals, personalized therapeutics and new drug delivery systems. The emphasis of the congress was on the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation between toxicologists and medical companies that presented new technologies

Dr. sc. Lucija Božičević, mag. pharm. successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled “Endocrine disruptive effects of mixtures of plastic nanoparticles and selected drugs in vitro”, under the mentorship of dr. sc. Ivana Vinković Vrček. The defense was held on July 18, 2024 in the multimedia lecture hall of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb.

Dr. sc. Božičević defended her dissertation entitled “Endocrine disruptive effect of mixtures of plastic nanoparticles and selected drugs in vitro”, before a committee composed of: prof. dr. sc. Dubravka Vitali Čepo from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry; Prof. Dr. Sc. Jozsef Petrik from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and prof. dr. sc. Dajana Kučić Grgić from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology.

With this, she successfully completed the postgraduate university study of Pharmacy by obtaining the title of Doctor of Science.

Dr Nikolina Kalčec participated in the 23rd International Symposium on Field- and Flow-based Separations, which was held in Cité des Congrès, Nantes, France, from June 3 to 6, 2024.

This symposium brought together international speakers who presented the latest technical and scientific advances with a focus on flow- and field-based separation techniques and related techniques, which find applications in: human health, environment, polymer science…

The symposium also allowed the presentation of new solutions by the device manufacturers that dominate the field.

As part of the symposium, Nikolina Kalčec held a poster presentation on the topic “Development of an asymmetrical-flow field-flow fractionation methodology for the chracterization of α-Galactosidase a loaded-nanoliposomes” (PHOENIX, NABIHEAL)

Nanobiofaces group leader Prof. Ivana Vinković Vrček as well as group members Lucija Božičević and Nikolina Peranić participated in the The 2nd Vienna Summit on Microplastics and Health on 1st December 2023, at the Hotel Regina in Vienna, Austria.

The summit brought together expert speakers, engaging discussions, and networking opportunities related on the impact of microplastics on human health. In addition to the summit, this event also served as the annual consortium meeting for partners and board members of the CBmed microONE project. This meeting provided a unique opportunity to review the progress made over the past year and plan future initiatives aimed at achieving the project’s goals.

Prof. Ivana Vinković Vrček, as part of the summit, held an oral presentation on the topic “Endocrine disrupting activity of complex mixtures: case study of pharmaceuticals and nanoplastics”.

Nanobiofaces group leader Prof. Ivana Vinković Vrček participated in the International Conference EcoBalt 2023 “Chemicals & Environment” from October 9th to 11th, 2023, which was held at at the conference center of Nordic Hotel Forum in the center of Tallinn, Estonia.

The congress brought together international speakers focusing on six topics related to the environment: Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Toxicology, Ecology, Analytical Chemistry, Green and Sustainable Chemistry and Implications and applications of nanomaterials.

Prof. Ivana Vinković Vrček, as part of the congress, held an oral presentation on the topic “Endocrine Disrupting Activity of Mixtures Composed of Pharmaceuticals and Nanoplastic” as invited speaker. She was also a chair of session “Novel Approaches for Pollution Management” where she presented speakers.

Anamaria Gojanović dr. med. vet. participated in the 10th International Congress ”Veterinary Science & Profession” from October 5th to 7th, 2023, which was held at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb.

The congress brought together international speakers focusing on six key areas, including veterinary public health, domestic animal care, horses, exotic and wild animals, small animals and free communications.

Anamaria Gojanović dr. med. vet. as part of the congress held a poster presentation on the topic “In vivo Efficacy of Gold Nanoparticles for Parkinson’s disease” (SENDER).

In the period from September 18-20, 2023, the symposium “7th RIJEKA FORUM ON NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES” was held, organized by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts – The Department of Biomedical Sciences in Rijeka, The Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Croatian Neurological Society and Croatian Medical Association – Rijeka Branch.

The symposium was attended by Dr. Ivana Vinković Vrček, Dr. Nikolina Kalčec and Anamaria Gojanović dr. med. vet., as part of which Dr. Nikolina Kalčec and Anamaria Gojanović dr. med. vet. held their poster presentation entitled “Selenium Nanoparticles as Efficient Drug Delivery System for Parkinson’s disease” (SENDER).

The goal of the symposium was to present the latest achievements and dilemmas in the field of neurodegenerative diseases with this year’s special theme: “Mechanistic therapies – hype or hope” and other news about neurodegenerative diseases, in order to improve our daily practical and scientific work.

The symposium was supported by the Croatian Science Foundation grant no. 7276, “The Epidemiology of Parkinson’s Disease in Croatia and the Influence of Genetic Factors and Microbiota on the Progression and Treatment Outcomes of the Disease”.

On September 14, 2023, at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry of the University of Zagreb, the public presentation of the doctoral thesis was held by PhD student Lucija Božičević. The proposed thesis title was “Endocrine disruptive effect of mixtures of plastic nanoparticles and selected drugs in vitro“. Under the mentorship of assoc. prof. dr. sc. Ivana Vinković Vrček and the co-mentorship of prof. dr. sc. Valerije Vrček. The thesis defence was held in front of the commission composed of: prof. dr. sc. Dubravka Vitali Čepo, prof. dr. sc. József Petrik and assoc. prof. dr. sc. Dajana Kučić Grgić.

We are pleased to announce a forthcoming book entitled “Characterisation of Drug Nanocarriers”, edited by Ivana Vinković Vrček, Jesus M. de la Fuente and Evgeny K. Apartsin. The book will be published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Nanotechnology has the potential to solve many unmet, urgent healthcare requirements. However, bridging the translational gap between lab and clinic for nanodrugs is still challenging, and there is limited guidance on regulatory-relevant information and approaches.

The main aim of this book is to provide guidance on characterization of drug carrier properties and efficacy required for regulatory acceptance of nanomaterials for their use in medicine.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of drug loading and delivery nanocarriers, including their charactersitics, methodologies and techniques to evaluate the association and interaction of the drug with the different nanocarriers.