A large delegation from the PATh project, hosted at CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, participated in the 8th Meeting on Medicinal Biotechnology, held at the Escola Superior de Saúde of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto. Bringing together researchers from diverse scientific backgrounds, the event provided an important forum for the dissemination of cutting edge research, scientific networking, and the strengthening of collaborations across the biotechnology and health innovation sectors.

The strong presence of PATh researchers reflected the group's active engagement with the medicinal biotechnology community and its commitment to addressing contemporary healthcare challenges through sustainable and innovative scientific approaches. Through a series of poster presentations, researchers showcased advances spanning biopharmaceutical production, green chemistry, biomolecule purification, drug formulation, and biomedical technologies.

Among the research topics presented were novel strategies for the purification and production of mRNA based therapeutics, including scalable approaches for the selective removal of double stranded RNA contaminants from in vitro transcribed mRNA and the integration of mRNA production and clarification processes using thermoreversible aqueous biphasic systems and ionic liquids. These contributions address critical bottlenecks in the development and manufacturing of next generation nucleic acid therapeutics.

Several presentations highlighted the growing role of sustainable solvents and ionic liquid based technologies in biomedical applications. Research showcased innovative methodologies for the recovery and stabilization of recombinant nucleic acid biopharmaceuticals, the production and purification of therapeutic antigen binding fragments, and the extraction of bioactive proteins from alternative biomass sources. Together, these studies demonstrate the potential of green processing technologies to improve efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and enhance product performance across biomanufacturing platforms.

The meeting also featured advances in biomaterials and health related applications. One contribution explored enzyme assisted polydopamine coatings as a more sustainable alternative for surface functionalization, while another presented supported ionic liquid platforms designed to improve serum pretreatment workflows and enhance the detection of cancer biomarkers. Additional research addressed pharmaceutical formulation challenges through the use of deep eutectic solvents to improve the solubility and stability of first line drugs for pediatric tuberculosis treatment.

Sustainability and resource valorization also emerged as key themes. Researchers presented strategies for the extraction of bioactive actinidin from kiwi processing waste using ionic liquid based systems, demonstrating the potential of circular economy approaches to generate high value biotechnological products from underutilized biomass streams.

The breadth and quality of the research presented underscore PATh’s multidisciplinary approach to advancing medicinal biotechnology through sustainable technologies, innovative bioprocesses, and translational solutions with potential societal impact. Participation in the meeting further strengthened the visibility of the group's research activities while fostering scientific dialogue and collaboration within the national biotechnology community.

Researchers presented scientific posters, showcasing work at the frontier of biopharmaceuticals, green chemistry, and health innovation. Here are some of the themes:

Filipa Domingues, Maria I. Sousa, Augusto Q. Pedro & Mara G. Freire Removal of dsRNA from In Vitro Transcribed mRNA Using Multi-stage Aqueous Biphasic Systems A scalable and biocompatible strategy for mRNA purification, targeting the selective removal of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) contaminants — a critical challenge in mRNA vaccine manufacturing.

Inês S.B. Vieira, João C.F. Nunes, Mara G. Freire, Márcia C. Neves & Ana P.M. Tavares Toward Greener Materials with Enzyme-Assisted Polydopamine Coatings Exploring laccase-assisted polymerization as a more sustainable and efficient alternative to conventional polydopamine coating processes, with potential biomedical applications.

Inês Cruz, Francisca A. e Silva & Mara G. Freire Supported Ionic Liquids for Human Serum Pretreatment: Enhancing Cancer Biomarker Detection A robust platform using supported ionic liquids (SILs) to improve the reliability of serum pretreatment workflows, with demonstrated results for prostate and breast cancer biomarker analysis.

João Fernandes, Miguel F. Dalrinho, Ana C.S. Marques, Joana L. Costa, Ana P.M. Tavares, Augusto Q. Pedro & Mara G. Freire Recovery and Stabilization of Recombinant Nucleic-Acid Biopharmaceuticals with Ionic Liquids An effective ionic liquid-based method for yeast cell lysis and mRNA extraction, confirming enhanced mRNA stability at room temperature without refrigeration.

Daniela B. Silva, Pedro Moleiro, Nair Cunha, Emanuel V. Capela, Ana P.M. Tavares & Mara G. Freire Extraction of Bioactive Proteins from Insects Using Sustainable Strategies Investigating ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents as green alternatives for the extraction of bioactive proteins from insects — a promising source for biomedical and nutritional applications.

Ana Miguel Loureiro, João A.P. Coutinho, Emanuel V. Capela & Mara G. Freire Therapeutic Antigen-Binding Fragments Production by Antibodies Enzymatic Digestion and Purification Using Ionic Liquid-Based Strategies A study on optimising the enzymatic digestion of IgG antibodies and the purification of Fab fragments using ionic liquid-based platforms, with potential to reduce biomanufacturing costs.

Maria Inês Caçoilo, Vanessa Vieira, Emanuel V. Capela & Mara G. Freire Enhancing Solubility and Stability of Pediatric Tuberculosis First-Line Drugs Using Green Solvents Addressing the critical lack of paediatric tuberculosis formulations through the application of Deep Eutectic Solvents to improve isoniazid solubility and stability.

Maria I. Sousa, Mara G. Freire, Francisca A. e Silva & Augusto Q. Pedro Integrating mRNA Production and Clarification Using Thermoreversible Aqueous Biphasic Systems and Ionic Liquids A novel integrated platform combining mRNA production and downstream clarification in a single step, leveraging thermoreversible IL-based systems to simplify and reduce costs in mRNA nanomedicine production.

Carolina M. Saúde, Ana Paula M. Tavares, Augusto Q. Pedro, Mara G. Freire & Filipe S. Buarque Sustainable Extraction of Bioactive Actinidin from Kiwi Waste for Biotechnological Applications Valorising kiwi fruit peel as a sustainable biomass source for actinidin extraction using ionic liquids, achieving significantly higher proteolytic activity than conventional methods.