2025.10.22

A team consisting of employees of the Institutes of Microbiology and Zoology won the “Basic Grant Competition–2025” announced by the Science Foundation of Azerbaijan

A team consisting of employees of the Institutes of Microbiology and Zoology of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan (MSE RA) has won the “Basic Grant Competition–2025” announced by the Science Foundation of Azerbaijan.

The project titled “Development of practical foundations for the scientific and industrial technology of synthesizing pharmacologically active compounds from microorganisms isolated from various sources”, submitted to the “Basic Grant Competition–2025” announced by the Science Development Foundation under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, was declared a winner. The project was prepared by a creative team consisting of employees from the Institutes of Microbiology and Zoology under the leadership of the Director General of the Institute of Zoology, Doctor of Agrarian Sciences, Associate Professor Aladdin Eyvazov.

The project, designed for a two-year period, aims to isolate microorganisms primarily fungi from various sources, including those living in extreme environments; to select active producers of biologically, especially pharmacologically, active substances; and to develop the scientific foundations for the synthesis and production technology of the target product based on these active producers.

The submission of such a project to the competition is related to the fact that one of the pressing issues of modern times is the deterioration of the ecological situation due to increasing anthropogenic impact on the environment, leading to the globalization of ecological problems. As a result, there has been an increase in human and child mortality, the emergence of new diseases, and the spread of existing diseases in more dangerous forms. Preventing these negative trends has become one of the key directions of modern research.

In carrying out such research, special attention is given to obtaining functionally active preparations that exhibit antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and antitumor effects, strengthen the human immune system, and retain their activity even under extreme conditions. Studies show that obtaining such preparations through biological synthesis, rather than chemical synthesis, is more promising with microorganisms playing a particularly important role. The production of pharmacologically active compounds from microorganisms is ecologically safe, economically efficient, and technologically simpler.

Nevertheless, the microorganisms currently used in practice to obtain various compounds represent an extremely small portion of those existing in nature (not even reaching 1%). Moreover, the environmental factors of the habitats where microorganisms spread affect their biosynthetic properties, and ecological compatibility plays an important role in the use of preparations derived from them. Since there is currently no production of such products in Azerbaijan, solving the tasks outlined in this project is expected to have significant scientific and practical importance and to contribute to the development of the country’s non-oil sector.