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The applications of HYBER professors Robin Ras and Mauri Kostiainen were funded in the Academy of Finland's September 2016 Project funding call.

Robin's project, ULTRAPHOTOSTABLE, is focused on developing ultraphotostable fluorescent markers. Poor photostability of fluorescent materials hinders the progress of the related technological and biological applications. The proposed project aims to open up possibilities to e.g. follow intracellular interactions with greatly enhanced spatial resolution and track single particle movements. The project is a consortium project with Prof. Juha Toivonen from Tampere University of Technology.

Mauri’s project, SYNVIRO, aims to develop new safe, synthetic, biohybrid materials to bind, encapsulate and remove heparin efficiently. Heparin is a polyelectrolyte widely used as a blood anti-coagulant. However, the effect of heparin needs to be rapidly neutralized after surgical operations or before blood sample analyses. In the SYNVIRO project, new virus-mimicking materials with encapsulating features are synthesized, thus allowing better understanding and control of polyelectrolyte encapsulation.