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A person in a white lab coat stands in a laboratory next to a large stainless steel industrial tank, holding a container with dark red liquid, with daylight coming through a window behind them.

Project Technology Highlight: UAntwerp’s expertise

Within the European project Purple4Life, our team at the University of Antwerp is exploring how purple phototrophic bacteria can contribute to more sustainable and circular bioprocesses.

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Mar 20, 2026|0

Project information

Sealed plastic bag filled with red liquid stored horizontally on a laboratory shelf

Project Technology Highlight: Université de Mons (UMONS)’s expertise

UMONS is developing a scalable bag culture system to grow purple bacteria, converting agri-food by-products into protein, CoQ10, and carotenoid-rich biomass. This bridges lab-scale to pilot-scale production, supplying partners for aquaculture feed trials and human dietary supplementation studies.

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Mar 10, 2026|0

News

Press release cover image with purple bacteria illustration and the title “Purple4Life Selected to Advance Sustainable Food and Feed Innovation.”

Purple4Life selected to advance sustainable food and feed innovation

Purple4Life - Innovative, sustainable, and circular production of purple phototrophic bacteria as a health-promoting ingredient for food and feed applications.

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Mar 4, 2026|0

Project information

doctor hand taking a blood sample tube from a rack with machines of analysis in the lab background Technician holding blood tube test in the research laboratory

Project Technology Highlight: URJC’s expertise

Within Purple4Life, the team at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) develops bioelectrochemical technologies to convert CO₂ contained in biogas into high-value microbial biomass. Our approach integrates bioelectrochemical system (BES) with purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) to simultaneously upgrade biomethane and generate antioxidant-rich biomass containing carotenoids and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Mar 3, 2026|0

Project information

Close-up of a 96-well laboratory plate with several wells containing purple liquid samples.

Project Technology Highlight: CNR’s expertise

Within the framework of the Purple4Life project, CNR is developing a safety assessment workflow for PPB, focusing on their suitability as innovative food and feed ingredients

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Feb 13, 2026|0

Project information

Gloved hands using a color fan scale to assess the flesh color of a salmon fillet on a white surface.

Project Technology Highlight: Nofima’s expertise

Within the Purple4Life project, Nofima contributes its expertise in fish feed formulation and production, fish nutrition and the evaluation of how functional ingredients such as purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) influence fish performance, health, welfare and product quality. This research step is crucial for enabling safe implementation of PPB as a sustainable alternative to conventional antioxidants in aquaculture diets

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Feb 2, 2026|0

Project information

The extracts of PPB after reconstruction with ethanol, 23. 10. 2025 – UNIBA, Bratislava

Project Technology Highlight: Comenius University expertise

Within the Purple4Life project, Comenius University, Faculty of Medicine (UNIBA), based in Bratislava, Slovakia, is an active participant in this European initiative. Our team contributes expertise in mitochondrial medicine, antioxidants, and oxidative stress.

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Jan 28, 2026|0

Project information

Test tube with green liquid and microbe-like particles placed inside a glass beaker in a laboratory setting, with blurred green biotechnological equipment in the background, representing microbial cultivation and sustainable biotechnology research.

Project Technology Highlight: Imperial College London expertise

Within Purple4Life, our team at Imperial College London is working to understand how new PPB-based food and feed value chains perform when they move from lab-scale to real-world production. To support this transition, we are developing environmental, circularity, and social assessments that quantify the true impacts and benefits of PPB across its entire lifecycle.

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Jan 23, 2026|0

Project information

Laboratory researcher using a pipette to prepare samples for human nutrition analysis, with blood collection tubes in the background, illustrating clinical and bioavailability research.

Project Technology Highlight: UCLouvain expertise

Within the Purple4Life project, the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) contributes its expertise in human nutrition, formulation science, and clinical research to support the translation of purple bacteria–based ingredients into nutritionally effective and well-accepted solutions.

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Jan 20, 2026|0

Project information

Researcher wearing blue gloves examines an aquaculture fish with a magnifying glass on a laboratory tray, surrounded by scientific tools and sample flasks in a quality control and analysis setting.

Project Technology Highlight: Fraunhofer IMTE expertise

Within Purple4Life, Fraunhofer IMTE contributes its long-standing expertise in applied aquaculture nutrition, feed evaluation, and functional ingredient validation. The institute plays a key role in translating purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) from a promising bio-based innovation into a validated, safe, and effective functional feed ingredient for salmonid aquaculture, supporting the project’s objective to establish PPB as a sustainable alternative to conventional feed additives.

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Jan 14, 2026|0

News

Banco de laboratorio moderno con tubos Eppendorf y gradilla azul en primer plano, frascos y material científico desenfocados al fondo, iluminado con luz natural.

Anna Gvozdjakova Presents PURPLE4LIFE at Comenius University

The PURPLE4LIFE project was presented at Comenius University in Bratislava on 20 October 2025, where the LFUK team highlighted the project’s objectives and upcoming clinical studies on the health impacts of phototrophic purple bacteria–based ingredients.

Albert Rodríguez Rodríguez|Dec 18, 2025|0

Project information

A researcher wearing a white lab coat smiles while observing an illuminated bioreactor filled with orange-colored purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) culture in a laboratory setting, surrounded by tubes, sensors, and scientific equipment.

Project Technology Highlight: UAntwerp expertise

Within the European project Purple4Life, our team at the University of Antwerp studies how purple phototrophic bacteria can support sustainable, circular bioprocesses. These microbes are metabolically versatile, but their real value will depend on knowing exactly which conditions trigger the formation of high-value antioxidants.

admin|Dec 15, 2025|0

Results

Split-screen image showing laboratory work. On the left, Dr. Zuzana Sumbalová is preparing PPB samples for CoQ10 extraction using a pipette at a lab bench. On the right, several test tubes with PPB samples of different colors are placed in a rack, illustrating how different strains produce different pigments.

PURPLE4LIFE Moves Forward in Exploring Purple Bacteria for Human Health

The Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) brings together two complementary teams working on Purple4Life: the High-Performance Research Group in Chemical and Environmental Engineering led by Dr. Daniel Puyol, specializing in purple phototrophic bacteria cultivation and bioprocess optimization, and the Ciberimaginario group led by Prof. Manuel Gertrudix, experts in scientific communication and audiovisual content production.

admin|Dec 10, 2025|0

Partner Information

Meet our partner: Université de Mons (UMONS). Presentation of their role and expertise in Purple4Life

Université de Mons (UMONS), located in Mons, Belgium, coordinates the Purple4Life project focused on valorizing agri‑food by‑products through purple photosynthetic bacteria (PPB). Led by Baptiste Leroy at ProtMic, its “PurpleTeam” develops sustainable PPB bioprocesses for food, and feed.

admin|Dec 3, 2025|0

Partner Information

Meet our partner: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC). Presentation of their role and expertise in Purple4Life

admin|Dec 1, 2025|0

Events & Meetings

Promotional banner for the EU Food Safety Forum 2025. The design features diverse professionals, including a scientist, a farmer, an engineer and two young adults, surrounded by colorful abstract shapes and food items such as vegetables and grains. On the right, the text reads “EU Food Safety Forum – Supporting the Food Safety Systems of the future.” The event dates “2–3.12.2025” and location “Rome” are highlighted. Logos of the EU Food Safety Platform and the European Union appear, along with the website www.foodsafetyplatform.eu and social media icons.

CNR Hosts the EU Food Safety Forum 2025 on 2–3 December in Rome

CNR-ISPA is leading the way in Purple4Life, turning purple bacteria into safe, sustainable ingredients for the foods of tomorrow. As coordinator of the EU Food Safety Platform, CNR-ISPA guarantees strict safety checks, helping new bio-based foods earn regulatory approval and win consumer trust

admin|Nov 26, 2025|0

Partner Information

Meet our partner: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR). Presentation of their role and expertise in Purple4Life

admin|Nov 24, 2025|0

Partner Information

Meet our partner: SPI. Presentation of their role and expertise in Purple4Life

Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI), is an innovation consultancy leading Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation in PURPLE4LIFE. SPI advances dissemination, exploitatation and communication strategies, and stakeholder engagement.

admin|Nov 16, 2025|0