The International Scientific Conference MetMat2022, dedicated to methods and materials for clean technologies, took place from 7 to 10 September in the city of Sandanski. The scientific forum is organized by the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry at BAS which is one of the leading scientific organisations in Bulgaria in the field of materials chemistry. The MetMat2022 training workshop was implemented within the framework of the European Twinning on Materials Chemistry Enabling Clean Technologies (TwinTeam) project, coordinated by the IGIC-BAS. The forum was held in a hybrid format - in-person and online and brought together about 85 scientists who presented and discussed current trends in the development of next generation materials in three main areas - A: Materials and thin films for environmental protection, [...]

The International School on Condensed Matter Physics, which has been organised since 1980 by the Institute of Solid State Physics, took place from 29 August to 2 September 2022 at the International House of Scientists "Frederic Joliot-Curie" near Varna. The scientific forum on "State of the Art in Functional Materials & Technologies" was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the organizing scientific institution. The high level of the speakers and the poster presentations contributed to the creative atmosphere of the event which was attended by over 90 scientists from 16 countries and led to the birth of new ideas, fruitful discussions and possibly successful future collaborations between scientists in the thematic areas: - Novel Materials and Technologies; - Nanomaterials and Composites; - Materials processing; - [...]

Scientists from BAS are developing in vitro systems to direct the accumulation of targeted secondary metabolites in Bulgarian medicinal plants. In vitro cultures of the medicinal plant British yellowhead (Inula britannica L.) were used in the research. The plant is popular in Chinese Traditional Medicine, where it is used in asthma and as a cough expectorant in pulmonary diseases. In Japanese Kampo traditional practice, a decoction of the flowers is used by nausea and as an expectorant. Pharmacological studies on extracts of various parts of the plant have shown their potential as a hepatoprotective, anticancer and anti-inflammatory agent. Scientific studies on the plant substantiate these activities by the presence of sesquiterpene lactones, diterpenes and flavonoids. The experiment conducted was with in vitro cultures obtained from [...]

Photo of Konstans Ruseva with the first prize for the best poster in the 20th National Symposium POLYMERS 2022 From 5 to 8 July 2022, XX National Symposium "Polymers 2022" with international participation was held in the city of Velingrad. Started in the distant 1967, the forum has established itself as the most significant event in the field of polymer science in Bulgaria for dissemination of scientific results, exchange of ideas and development of collaborations between Bulgarian and foreign scientists. Photo of Erik Dimitrov with the first prize for the best poster in the 20th National Symposium POLYMERS 2022 The “Polymers 2022” Symposium is organised by the Institute of Polymers at BAS, with the cooperation of SU “St. Kliment Ohridski”, the [...]

How gamma irradiation affects the antioxidant activity of bee products is investigated by Sen. Asst. Prof. Dr. Ralitsa Mladenova from the Institute of Catalysis of BAS. The research, funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund, uses the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) method. With this unique technology, paramagnetic particles (free radicals) can be selectively detected. In this way, food products and medicines that have undergone radiation treatment during sterilisation can be examined. Radiation treatment is used for the preservation and microbial decontamination of various food products, thus improving their safety and shelf life. Gamma irradiation with doses of up to 10 kGy has been shown to cause no changes in the nutritional quality of the product and no harm to the health of the consumers. EPR [...]

The award ceremony of the National Prize "13 of Centuries Bulgaria" for young talents in contemporary art and science took place on 1 July 2022 in the Ballroom of the Palace - National Gallery. The Prize is awarded every two years by the National Endowment Fund "13 Centuries of Bulgaria" for innovative achievements and postgraduate studies in European higher education institutions. The distinction in the second edition of the competition was awarded to Dr. Ivalina Trendafilova. She obtained her PhD at the Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Namur, Belgium. The prize was awarded for her work in the field of novel porous nanomaterials with applications in medicine, [...]