About Our Lab
Our lab is working on the edge of fields, Material Science and Biopolymers with Biology and Biochemistry. ​Our agenda is introducing advanced approaches from materials chemistry and polymer science in plant research, biomedicine, and agriculture. Our main expertise is carbohydrates, polysaccharides and saccharide-bearing materials (glycosides). The research in our lab is built on a deep understanding of the fundamentals of glycochemistry and glycobiology that allows mechanistic insights and the design of advanced materials toward far-reaching scientific and applicative prospects.

The major research directions in our lab are as follows:
(1) Fundamental research on glycochemistry and glycobiology aiming to understand and influence processes that occur in natural systems   
(2) Rational design of new polysaccharides and oligosaccharides to regulate important cellular processes such as growth, development, and defense. 
(3) Development of self-adjusting systems to deliver active payload across biological barriers, such as plant epidermis, human skin, and cell membranes. Such capacities offer numerous applications, among them transdermal drug delivery, foliar plant treatment, "in-cell" editing without integration into a host genome, tissue engineering, and development of new medicines.
(4) Modifying natural biopolymers to prepare bioactive gels,  films, and coatings for use in medicine, food, and agriculture. 
(5) Waste to worth: using agri-byproducts to form new materials that can serve as greener alternatives to pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and plastic.

Our methods are developed with safety in mind and adhere to eco-friendly biocompatible materials and green chemistry protocols. We strive to implement our discoveries and maintain tight contact with farmers and industry to be updated about actual problems in the field. We have several initiatives with commercial companies on plant development,  plant nutrition, plant protection, promotion of phytonutrient production in crops, postharvest treatment,  valorization of agrifood waste, tissue engineering, and drug delivery.

The PI, Elena Poverenov 
Elena has published over 80 articles in leading international journals among them the top journals in her research fields and multidisciplinary journals such as Nature, JACS, ACS Nano, Green Chemistry, Chemistry of Materials, Carbohydrate Polymers, Food hydrocolloids, etc. Since 2011 she has mentored 16 MSc students (12 have already graduated), 9 PhD students (6 have graduated), and 16 postdoctoral fellows. She obtained 41 international and national grants (25 as a PI) with a total budget of ~11M$ from EU, BARD, BARD-NIFA, GFI, Israel-China, ICA, and Ministries of Health, Science, Innovation and Agriculture. For introducing new research directions, Elena received numerous awards among them "Awardee for Research in Food and Agriculture" from International Agropolis and Olam Foundation (2017), the prestigious Yigal Alon Prize for contribution to the Israeli Society in the Field of Food and Agricultural Research (2020) and Researcher of the Year Prize (2022). Elena was recently selected as a national nominee for International Frontiers Planet Prize (2024).
 
Selected publications
1 Poverenov E, Leitus G, Milstein D. (2006). Synthesis and reactivity of the methylene arenium form of a benzyl cation, stabilized by complexation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. IF 16.4; Chemistry Multidisciplinary 16/179, Q1
2Poverenov E, Ben-David Y, Shimon LJW, Leitus G, Martin JML, Konstantinovsky L, Milstein D. (2008). Evidence for a terminal Pt (iv)-oxo complex exhibiting diverse reactivity. Nature. IF 69.5; Multidisciplinary; Rank 1/175, Q1
3. Poverenov E, Zamochshik N, Patra A, Bendikov M. (2014).Unusual doping of donor-​acceptor-​type conjugated polymers using lewis acids. In memory of Prof. M. Bendikov J. Am. Chem. Soc. IF 16.4; Chemistry Multidisciplinary 16/179, Q1.
4. Khaskin E, GuliniA, Poverenov E (2015). A contact active bactericidial stainless steel via a sustainable process utilizing electrodeposition and covalent attachment in water. Green Chem. IF 11.0; Chemistry, Multidisciplinary; 21/171, Q1
5. Rutenberg R, Cohen G, Král P, Poverenov E. (2018) Omniphilic Polysaccharide-Based Nanocarriers for a Modular Molecular Delivery in a Broad Range of Bio-Systems. ACS Appl. Mat. Interfaces. IF 10.4; NanoScience; 18/103, Q1
6. Cohen Y, Yasour H, Tworowski D, Poverenov E. (2021) Stimuli-free transcuticular delivery of Zn microelement using biopolymeric nanovehicles: experimental, theoretical in planta studies. ACS Nano. IF 18.0; Material Science 19/637, Q1
7. Shebis Y, Fallik E, Rodov V, Poverenov E. (2022). Facile method for preparation of oligo-carboxymethyl cellulose and other oligosaccharides: physicochemical properties and bioactivity. Food hydrocolloids. IF 11.5 Food Science 5/391, Q1  8. Sela A, Cohen E, Avram L, Rodov V, Poverenov E. (2023) Solvent-free synthesis of polysaccharide derivatives via heterogeneous Schiff base chemistry. Green Chemistry, 25, 922 IF 11.0; Chemistry, Multidisciplinary 21/171, Q1.                    9. Ischakov R, Tworowski D, Sayas T, Fallik E, Kleiman M, Poverenov E. (2023) Nucleoside-Based Cross-linkers for Biocompatible Hydrogels with Tunable Properties. ACS Appl. Mat. Interfaces 7359. IF 10.4; NanoScience 18/103, Q1          10. Ischakov R, Eretz-Kdosha N, Silberstein E, Fallik E, Cohen G, Poverenov E. (2023) Oligochitosan and oxidized nucleoside-based bioderived hydrogels for wound healing. Carbohydr. Polym. 314. IF 11.2; Polymer Science; 3/90, Q1
11. Sela A, Shkuri N, Tish N, Rodov V, Poverenov, E. (2023) Carboxymethyl chitosan-quercetin conjugate: a sustainable one-step synthesis and use for food preservation. Carbohydr. Polym. 316, 121084. IF 11.2 Polymer Science; 3/90, Q1
12. Itzhakov R, Belausov E, Fallik E, Spiegelman Z, Sionov E, Poverenov E. (2023) Nanogel Particles-Based on Modified Nucleosides and Oligosaccharides as Advanced Delivery System. ACS Nano. IF 18.0; Material Science 19/637, Q1