Key figures
Team composition
Director : Susana Fernandes
- 4 Permanent employees
- 4 PhD
- 2 Post doctorate
Key dates
Chair kick-off: Décembre 2018
Duration: 5 years
Financial contribution / year
Development of sustainable bio-inspired materials
Aligned with values of sustainable development, the MANTA Chair develops materials inspired from Nature, and particularly from marine organisms.
Indeed, based on biomimetic principles, the approach followed by MANTA allows to develop multifunctional materials that respect the fragile equilibrium of the marine environment. This approach also allows to understand the ecosystemic role of some marine biomolecules of interest and contributes to the research for novel bioactive natural products (e.g. antioxidant and antibacterial).
In addition, MANTA develops chemoenzymatic methodologies for polysaccharides and glycoconjugates to create bio-inspired materials with different forms: porous structures, hydrogels, films and particles.
This research work holds both socio-economical and enviromental aspects: the materials thus elaborated are biodegradable, eco-responsible and can be employed for various applications (e.g. use of hydrogels in cellular regeneration, (nano)composites and films as alternatives to plastic packaging, etc).
Partners
Scientific collaboration
Team members conributing to this project
Physico-chemist – Biopolymer Materials
Head of MANTA Chair
She is also Guest Researcher and a FORMAS Project PI at the Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University in Sweden.
She has expertise in research areas pertaining to functional and bio inspired biomaterials
Martin Thomas
PhD student – Physico-Chemistry
Photostability of biomolecules and biomaterials
Martin is a PhD student in the context of Make My Planet Great Again (MOPGA), Campus France. He studies the impact of UV-absorbing biomaterials/bio-inspired materials in the marine environment. This topic has broad applications in cosmetics and the biomedical sector.
Prior to join the MANTA team, he graduated from a Master of Technology in Polymer Science and Engineering from Cochin University of Science and Technology, India.
Contact: martin.thomas @ univ-pau.fr
François Samalens
François is a Master student, currently learning about material physics and chemistry at the University of Pau and the Pays de l’Adour. Particularly interested in the decomposition of chemical pollutants, he performs an internship to study the environmental aspects of MANTA’s chemistry. The purpose of his project is to imagine new bio-sourced and biodegradable materials by studying the biodegradation of marine biopolymers.
Contact: fr.samalens @ etud.univ-pau.fr
Sabine Bossuet-Planté
Chemistry technician (research and training) at Anglet’s UPPA campus
Graduated with a Higher Diploma of Technical Studies in Organic Chemistry, plus an additional year validated for a project of level "Engineer in Organic Chemistry", Sabine’s missions currently relates to educational support to the training of the Department of Physics/Chemistry, management of chemicals and waste around the campus, and administrative activities.
She also participates in MANTA’s research projects by providing support to undergraduate, doctoral and post-doctoral students, and also to private sector partners. This allows her to establish contacts with the industrial sector and to develop a response to a given problematic.
Contact : sabine.bossuet-plante @ univ-pau.fr (sabine.bossuet-plante @ univ-pau.fr)
