Defence of Thesis 2 October 2026: Mina Gravdahl – Faculty of Natural Sciences

Doctoral Candidate Mina Gravdahl at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science will hold a trial lecture and defend her doctoral thesis for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD). The degree is administered by the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Thesis title From Brown Algae to Antifungal Drugs: Chemical and Enzymatic Modification of Alginate Oligosaccharides Trial lecture Assigned topic: Polysaccharide-based nanoparticles for drug delivery Assessment Committee The Faculty of Natural Sciences has appointed the following members to the assessment committee for the evaluation of the thesis: First opponent : Professor Már Másson, University of Iceland, Iceland Second opponent : Professor Kari Tvete Inngjerdingen, University of Oslo, Norway Chair of the committee : Professor Eivind Almaas, Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU The committee has concluded that the thesis is worthy of public defence for the PhD degree. Supervisors Main supervisor : Professor Finn Lillelund Aachmann, Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU Co-supervisor : Professor Emeritus Bjørn Erik Christensen, Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU Co-supervisor : Dr. Peter Molesworth, SINTEF Time and venue The PhD trial lecture and defence of the thesis are open to the public: Trial lecture: 02 October 2026 at 10:15 – E3-128, the Science Building, Gløshaugen, NTNU Defence of the thesis: 02 October 2026 at 13:15 – E3-128, the Science Building, Gløshaugen, NTNU You may also follow the entire event, including the trial lecture and defence, online via Microsoft Teams: Meeting-ID: 324 016 129 769 280 Password: CK697o4g Thesis summary Alginates are a family of polysaccharides found in brown algae and some species of bacteria. Alginates are linear co-polymers consisting of β - d -mannuronate (M) and α - l -guluronate (G) linked by 1,4 linkages. Industrially, alginates polysaccharides are applied in the production of food products and pharmaceuticals because of their gelling and viscosifying abilities and their ability to bind water. Oligoguluronates (oligoG) have been found to have antifungal activity and the ability to potentiate antifungal activity. Alginates are biocompatible, highly water-soluble, biodegradable, low in cost, and readily available. Norway is one of the top wild brown algae harvesters in the world, mainly for the production of alginates. The demand for alginate is currently increasing; therefore, a focus on both wild harvest and cultivation is necessary. A bottleneck in the production of alginate from cultivated brown algae is the short harvest season. A solution to this would be preservation of cultivated brown algae resulting in year-round access to high-quality alginates. In this work, two different types of preservation methods of cultivated brown algae Saccharina latissima and Alaria esculenta have been explored, namely acid preservation (Paper I) and lactic acid fermentation (Paper II), and their effect on alginate quality. The chemical and physical properties of alginates are determined by the distribution and proportion of M and G residues, as well as their molecular weight. In this work, a chemo-enzymatic method for the preparation of saturated alginate oligosaccharides has been developed (Paper III), and the different degradation pathways and reaction products resulting from alkaline degradation of alginate have been explored (Paper IV). Invasive fungal infections are a rapidly growing health concern, with Candida albicans being one of the most common pathogens causing invasive fungal infections. Amphotericin B (AmpB) is a broad antifungal but is limited by nephrotoxicity and other infusion-related reactions, which may delay therapy or result in discontinuation of drug administration. In this work, several types of Alginate-Amphotericin B conjugates have been prepared, characterized, and subsequently evaluated for their solubility, toxicity and antifungal efficacy (Paper V). The conjugates show improved solubility and reduced toxicity towards liver (HepG2) and kidney (LLC-PK1) cells compared to AmpB alone, while maintaining antifungal activity towards Candida albicans .

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