📋 Tender Overview
The president of IPEN, Dr. Mario Mallaupoma, and specialists from the institution, visited the facilities of the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (IMARPE) with the main objective of strengthening the development of research projects between both institutions based on the application of nuclear techniques through the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This is done with the purpose of protecting the biodiversity of coastal marine environments.
In this regard, with a view to articulating joint actions and establishing new lines of work, two projects that make up the 2024-2025 Technical Cooperation Program, in which IMARPE and IPEN are articulated, were evaluated. The first, INT2022002 – "Contribution to the global monitoring of marine plastic pollution within the framework of the IAEA initiative on Nuclear Technology for Plastic Pollution Control (NUTEC Plastics)" and the second, the project, referring to the PER7006 – "Strengthening national capacities for the assessment of natural and anthropogenic marine-coastal stressors in Peru".
In addition, they managed to visit the Germplasm Bank of Aquatic Organisms-BGOA of IMARPE, a laboratory where, among other strains, cyanobacteria are kept. It is worth mentioning that this laboratory is currently an ex situ conservation center, where a set of strains of aquatic microorganisms, microalgae, macroalgae, zooplankton, bacteria and phages are kept.
Cyanobacteria are microscopic, Gram-negative bacteria that contain chlorophyll, which is why they are often identified as blue-green algae. They are present in freshwater, saltwater, brackish water and estuarine mixing areas. Many of these species produce toxins, constituting a significant problem for human and environmental health, for this reason in recent years several countries, with the support of the IAEA, have been working on the issue, making use of nuclear and radioactive techniques.
It should be noted that the visit was attended by the Biologists of the Peruvian Institute of Nuclear Energy, Mr. Angel Montes, Mr. Juan Agapito and Mr. Marco Espinoza; This is the first time that the institution promotes this type of rapprochement between two public research institutions, such as IMARPE and IPEN, being able to share experiences in this field of scientific research.
