“Targeted drug delivery systems like this represent one of the most promising directions in modern oncology. Nearly 20 million new cancer cases are diagnosed worldwide every year, and chemotherapy remains the primary treatment for a large proportion of patients. Our goal is to develop technologies that make this treatment safer,” said Elena Nikolskaya, PhD in Chemistry and Associate Professor at the College of Biomedical Engineering at NUST MISIS.

Dactinomycin is an anticancer antibiotic used to treat several types of cancer, including melanoma. However, its clinical use is limited by severe side effects, including systemic toxicity, suppression of blood cell production, and damage to the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, physicians often have to reduce the dosage or replace it with less toxic — though sometimes less effective — alternatives. To address this challenge, the researchers proposed delivering the drug using nanoparticles that reduce the exposure of healthy tissues to the highly toxic active compound while enabling its selective accumulation and sustained release within tumors.

“We coated the nanoparticles with membranes derived from melanoma cells. This approach offers two major advantages. First, the immune system is less likely to recognize and eliminate these particles before they reach the tumor. Second, cancer cells preferentially absorb particles with surface characteristics similar to their own, allowing the drug to accumulate precisely where it is needed. The more selectively a nanoparticle targets the tumor, the less toxic drug circulates throughout the body and reaches healthy organs. This reduces both the risk of side effects and the likelihood of treatment resistance,” explained Maxim Vershinin, co-author of the study and a graduate of the Engineering Biotechnology track at NUST MISIS.

The researchers optimized the synthesis conditions to maximize the drug loading capacity of the nanoparticles while ensuring gradual drug release followed by safe biodegradation. In vitro experiments showed that the developed nanoparticles entered tumor cells more efficiently than the conventional formulation and were more than twice as effective at killing melanoma cells.

The project received the award for Best Presentation at BIOTECH FORUM 2025 in Almetyevsk and was also awarded second-degree diplomas at both the Lomonosov 2025 International Conference and the Biochemical Physics 2025 conference.

The research was carried out as part of the Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials strategic project at NUST MISIS under Russia’s Priority 2030 academic leadership program.

Nerve cells are sensitive not only to chemical and electrical signals but also to mechanical forces arising from injuries and various diseases. However, the mechanisms by which cells detect and process such signals remain poorly understood.

“For several years, a research team at NUST MISIS led by Alexander Erofeev has been developing innovative technologies for medicine. The scientists have created a new approach for studying brain cells based on scanning ion conductance microscopy. Using an ultrafine glass nanopipette, researchers can apply mechanical stimulation to specific regions of a cell with extremely high precision, down to tens of nanometers. The technique does not damage the cell and simultaneously measures changes in its properties in real time. This technology opens up new opportunities for investigating the mechanisms of nervous system function and, in the future, could be used to study the consequences of traumatic brain injuries, neurodegenerative diseases, and the regeneration of nervous tissue after damage,” said Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of NUST MISIS.

The researchers conducted experiments on hippocampal neurons, which is a region of the brain responsible for learning and memory, as well as on astrocytes, the cells that support and protect neurons. They applied localized mechanical stimulation to different parts of the cells and monitored their responses.

“We found that different types of nervous system cells respond to mechanical stimulation in distinct ways. When the cell body of a neuron was stimulated, it became stiffer. This response was associated with the reorganization of the cell’s internal scaffold, or cytoskeleton. In contrast, stimulating neuronal processes produced no such effect. Astrocytes displayed even more complex behavior. Stimulating the central part of the cell caused temporary softening, whereas stimulation of their processes increased stiffness. This suggests that different nervous system cells are able to ‘filter’ physical signals: the metabolic center of neurons is well protected from incidental mechanical disturbances, while the thin processes of astrocytes are highly sensitive to localized mechanical cues, which is critical for sensing external stimuli,” said Alexander Erofeev, Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics, Head of the Research Laboratory of Biophysics at NUST MISIS.

To determine the cause of these changes, the researchers temporarily blocked the activity of the actin cytoskeleton, one of the key structural components of the cell. After this intervention, the mechanical responses almost completely disappeared. The findings confirmed that cytoskeletal reorganization plays a central role in the cellular response to mechanical stimulation. The results have been published in the journal ChemBioChem (Q1).

“The proposed method not only enables the application of precisely controlled mechanical forces to individual regions of a living cell but also allows researchers to monitor changes in its properties in real time,” said Vasily Kolmogorov, Engineer at the Research Laboratory of Biophysics at NUST MISIS.

The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 25-14-00295).

Neutral atoms are among the most promising platforms for implementing qubits, and interest in this technology continues to grow. Recently, Google Quantum AI also launched research in this area. To enable interactions between qubits, atoms are temporarily excited into highly excited Rydberg states, which dramatically enhance the interaction strength. But only over short distances. Two distant qubits cannot interact directly, so operations between them must be performed through a chain of intermediate atoms. Since each additional operation introduces a certain probability of error, and the chain length increases proportionally with processor size, the overall computational accuracy decreases. As a result, the probability of successfully executing a logical operation drops exponentially as the number of qubits grows.

“Existing neutral-atom quantum processors resemble a city where you can only talk to your nearest neighbor. To send a message across town, it has to be passed from person to person, with the meaning becoming slightly distorted each time. We have proposed a scheme in which the number of operations is fixed and does not depend on the size of the system. In other words, the information bypasses unnecessary intermediaries and reaches its destination without degradation,” said Ivan Dudinets, Research Fellow at the Russian Quantum Center.

The researchers divide qubits into two categories. Computational qubits remain fixed in a static array of optical tweezers throughout the computation. Messenger qubits, which are special mobile atoms, transport quantum information between any two computational qubits. A messenger atom approaches the first qubit, acquires its quantum state, moves to the second qubit, and performs the required quantum operation. The messenger can then either be discarded or reused.

The proposed concept includes five different architectures, distinguished by the way messenger atoms are transported. These include conveyor-belt schemes using moving optical traps, a free-flight approach in which atoms travel ballistically before being recaptured, and hybrid architectures combining routing strategies with quantum teleportation. The full results have been published in the leading international journal Physical Review A.

“All five architectures solve the same fundamental problem. The difference lies in how the messenger qubit is transported. In conveyor architectures, the atom travels inside a moving optical trap. In free-flight schemes, it is launched like a projectile and interacts with qubits while in motion. Hybrid architectures employing quantum teleportation reduce the number of operations by measuring the qubit directly during computation. At present, the bidirectional conveyor architecture appears to be the most experimentally feasible, since all of its essential components have already been demonstrated. However, it also requires the largest number of operations and is therefore the most sensitive to the fidelity of physical gates. We see strong potential for its experimental implementation,” said Alexey Fedorov, PhD, Head of the College of Physics and Quantum Engineering at NUST MISIS.

The research was supported by Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation under the Quantum Computing Roadmap (Agreement No. 868-1.3-15/15-2021, dated October 5, 2021). The work carried out at NUST MISIS was conducted within the framework of the strategic technological project “Quantum Internet” under the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s Priority 2030 program.

Early detection of plant diseases is one of the key challenges in agriculture. In practice, leaf photographs are often taken directly in the field, where image quality is affected by lighting, weather conditions, and the surrounding environment. As a result, even state-of-the-art computer vision systems can produce inaccurate results. Researchers at NUST MISIS have proposed a new approach to improve the reliability of these systems. Their solution is based on the HiP²-Net neural network architecture, which enables the algorithm to account for the specific characteristics of individual crop species.

“At NUST MISIS, we embrace the global trend toward the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence across diverse sectors of the economy. Under the leadership of Evgeny Korzhov, PhD in Engineering and Head of the Department of Computer-Aided Design, our researchers have developed a new neural network—based algorithm that analyzes leaf images while simultaneously identifying the plant species, detecting disease symptoms, and determining the type of disease. Looking ahead, this technology could serve as the foundation for mobile applications and digital services for the agricultural sector, enabling faster detection of crop diseases and helping reduce yield losses,” said rector of NUST MISIS Alevtina Chernikova.

To train the system, the researchers employed data augmentation, applying additional image transformations, including the simulation of small disease lesions on leaves. This approach enables the algorithm to recognize subtle and early-stage disease symptoms that are often difficult to detect in the initial phases of infection.

“The algorithm also incorporates information about the image’s ’greenness,’ allowing it to better distinguish leaf tissue while minimizing the effects of shadows, glare, and distracting background elements. This is particularly important for adapting such systems to real-world imaging conditions,” Ali Salem Muthana, postgraduate researcher at the Department of Computer-Aided Design at NUST MISIS.

The newly developed model achieved higher accuracy than the baseline neural network model: the proportion of correctly identified cases increased from 87.5% to more than 93% on the experimental dataset. The system was better at detecting mild disease symptoms, proved less sensitive to variations in background and lighting, and interpretation maps showed that the model focused on biologically meaningful features such as leaf veins, spots, and damaged tissue. The full results have been published in the scientific journal Discrete and Continuous Models and Applied Computational Science.

“When making predictions, the model focuses on the characteristic features of plant diseases—such as leaf veins, spots, and damaged areas—rather than on incidental elements in the image. In the future, this technology could be integrated into mobile applications for farmers, cloud-based crop monitoring platforms, and digital agriculture systems,” Elena Lyapuntsova, EngD, professor in the Department of Computer-Aided Design at NUST MISIS.

The research team plans to expand the database of crop species and diseases and further adapt the technology to work with photographs captured directly in field conditions, including natural lighting, complex backgrounds, and varying image quality.

“NUST MISIS has been cooperating with Kenya since 2014. During this time, students from Kenyatta University, Multimedia University of Kenya, and the Technical University of Mombasa have completed master’s degree programs in Russia. This new agreement expands the university’s partnership network across Africa. The meeting also supports the objectives of NUST MISIS under the Priority 2030 program, which promotes international academic mobility for students and academic staff to enhance professional development, facilitate the exchange of expertise, and implement best practices in education and research,” said Masamba Kah.

During the meeting, the parties discussed mechanisms for academic mobility, the adaptation of educational programs, and support for students from African countries. They also agreed to launch a multilateral workforce development program for Kenya’s industrial enterprises. The program will cover several key areas:

• Mining Engineering
• Metallurgy
• Materials Science
• Solar Energy
• Information Technology
• Industrial Economics

“Partnership with NUST MISIS is of strategic importance to us. The Russian university’s strong integration with industry aligns with the priorities facing Kenya and the African region as a whole: transitioning from a resource-based economy to a manufacturing economy and increasing domestic value creation,” said Professor Kiplagat Kotut.

The parties will continue discussions on the implementation of joint projects at the Russia—Africa Summit, which is scheduled to take place in October 2026.

The NCUT delegation included President Zhang Lifeng, Dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Han Fei, Dean of the School of Civil Engineering Ji Yingbo, and Director of the Office of International Cooperation and Exchanges Xu Mei.

The guests were welcomed by Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation Mikhail Filonov: “The continuous expansion of cooperation with China’s leading universities is aligned with the objectives of MISIS under the Priority 2030 program, which focuses on developing international academic mobility for students, researchers, and faculty members in order to enhance qualifications, exchange experience, and implement best educational and research practices. I am confident that this agreement will open up new opportunities for both sides.”

Vladimir Pirozhkov, Director of the Engineering Center of High-Complexity Prototyping “Kinetica” at MISIS, presented the center’s key projects and spoke about its capabilities in industrial design, digital engineering, and the development of high-tech products.

At the Laboratory of Hybrid Nanostructured Materials, the Chinese colleagues were introduced to the university’s promising developments in advanced materials and additive manufacturing.

Alexander Komissarov, Director of the College of Materials Science, Additive and Scalable Technologies, presented modern educational programs and approaches to training engineering professionals for high-tech industries.

The discussion on future cooperation was attended by Dmitry Vasilyev, Director for International Affairs; Andrey Travyanov, Director of the College of Technologies; Konstantin Grigorovich, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Professor of the Department of Steel Metallurgy, New Production Technologies and Metal Protection; Evgeny Levashov, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Department of Powder Metallurgy and Functional Coatings, and Director of the MISIS—ISMAN Scientific and Educational Center for Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis (SHS); Natalia Korotchenko, Director of the Information and Marketing Center; and Yury Rishko, Head of the Academic Affairs Office.

The parties discussed the development of joint research projects in areas of mutual interest and explored opportunities for representatives of both universities to participate in joint seminars, scientific conferences, and other academic events.

The signed memorandum supports the objectives of the Russia—China Cross Years of Education initiative, aimed at promoting academic mobility, developing joint educational projects, and strengthening cooperation between the two countries.

Rector Alevtina Chernikova commented: “NUST MISIS is Russia’s leading research and educational center in the development, implementation, and application of advanced technologies and materials. Its history encompasses key milestones of industrialization, the development of nuclear and space programs, and the establishment of world-class scientific schools. MISIS was among the first Russian universities selected, in accordance with a decree of the President of the Russian Federation, to participate in the pilot project aimed at improving the higher education system. We view participation in this pilot project as the next stage in the development of the university’s educational model, which is based on the integration of education and research, personalized learning, a practice-oriented approach, and the strengthening of employers’ role in education.”

Employer-sponsored education remains one of the most in-demand training formats. After enrollment, students may sign an agreement with a sponsoring company and receive guaranteed opportunities for internships and subsequent employment. The mandatory employment period under such agreements ranges from three to five years.

Applicants can also gain additional admission advantages through individual achievements. NUST MISIS regularly expands the list of achievements eligible for bonus points, such as winning or placing in academic competitions, contests, research and practical conferences, case championships, and other events.

Additional opportunities are provided through named scholarships and grant programs supported by the MISIS Endowment Fund. These programs are open to both state-funded and tuition-paying students. Each year, the university holds its “Student of the Year” competition, with winners receiving cash awards ranging from 50,000 to 150,000 rubles.

The university continues to develop its multi-track educational model, enabling students to build individualized learning pathways aligned with their professional interests and labor market demands. A comfortable learning environment remains one of the key advantages of NUST MISIS. Students have access to modern laboratories, multimedia classrooms, libraries, coworking spaces, and collaborative work areas.

All student residences are located close to the university’s main campus. The dormitories provide conditions conducive to both study and recreation, featuring computer labs, high-speed internet access, cafés, shops, and laundry facilities. The Metallurg residence hall also includes its own sports complex with a swimming pool.

Detailed information on admissions regulations, academic programs, and application deadlines is available on the university website.

UESTC is a participant in China’s national Double First Class initiative aimed at developing the country’s leading universities.

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will receive a Master’s degree from NUST MISIS. Students will also have the opportunity to obtain a degree from the Chinese partner university.

The project has received support from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. The program is the result of extensive collaboration between the two universities and marks an important step in strengthening educational cooperation between the two countries. The new Master’s program will expand opportunities for training highly qualified specialists in materials science and create additional conditions for international academic exchange.

The launch of the program aligns with the objectives of the Russia—China Years of Education, which aim to promote academic mobility, develop joint educational initiatives, and strengthen cooperation between the two nations.

Nickel—titanium alloy is notoriously difficult to machine, and manufacturing components from it typically requires numerous additional processing steps. As a result, increasing attention is being paid to additive manufacturing technologies, particularly laser-based 3D printing using metal powders.

Researchers from NUST MISIS and the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences investigated how laser-printing parameters affect the properties of nickel—titanium alloy. To do this, they produced thin-walled specimens using the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process, in which a laser selectively melts metal powder layer by layer. The team varied laser power and scanning speed to determine how these parameters influence the material’s structure and functional behavior.

“For several decades, NUST MISIS has been advancing research in shape memory alloys. The materials and technologies developed by our scientists are now widely used across various sectors of Russian industry and have been successfully implemented in production. In this study, NUST MISIS researchers examined how 3D-printing parameters affect the properties of a nickel—titanium-based alloy. Owing to its unique combination of strength, flexibility, and ability to return to its original shape, this material is widely used in medicine, aerospace engineering, robotics, and microelectronics. It is the alloy used, for example, in vascular stents, orthodontic archwires, and certain types of implants. The results of this research pave the way for the development of improved medical devices, miniature actuators, and components for 4D printing,” said Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of NUST MISIS.

The study also showed that under less intensive printing conditions the alloy retains high superelasticity, which is the ability to undergo deformation and fully recover without damage. Under more intense laser exposure, the material exhibits a stronger shape memory effect.

This approach is particularly important for 4D printing, an emerging field in which printed objects can change their shape or properties over time in response to temperature, mechanical load, or other external stimuli. The ability to predetermine material behavior opens the door to a new generation of smart structures.

“The key outcome of this work is the confirmation that the alloy’s properties can be tuned directly during the printing process, without additional heat treatment. We found that changing the printing parameters can shift the phase transformation temperature by nearly 45°C. In other words, we gained the ability to control the point at which the material begins to recover its shape or display superelasticity,” said PhD Stanislav Chernyshikhin, Head of the Laboratory of Additive Manufacturing at NUST MISIS.

The findings may prove valuable for the production of personalized medical implants, miniature mechanisms, flexible joints, and robotic devices. In addition, the study could serve as a foundation for developing industrial printing protocols for nickel—titanium alloys with predefined characteristics tailored to specific applications and operating conditions.

The research findings were published in the scientific journal Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing (Q1). The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 25-29-00954).

“CASE-IN is a format where students face not academic exercises, but real industry challenges. For companies, it is an opportunity to see young professionals in action, while for participants it is a chance to test themselves in conditions as close as possible to a real professional environment. As a participant in the pilot project for improving the higher education system, NUST MISIS designs its academic programs in close cooperation with business partners, based on one of its key principles — practice-oriented education,” Elena Shaforostova, Director of the Career and Practical Training Center at NUST MISIS.

Results:

Metallurgy. RUSAL Case Study: Environmental Modernization of the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant (KrAZ): Transition to the Innovative RA-550 Technology — Reducing Fluoride Emissions by 70%, Completely Eliminating Benzopyrene, and Achieving Target Energy Efficiency Indicators by 2030.

Second place and the special award for “Most Creative Video Presentation” got the students from College of Materials Science, Additive and Scalable Technologies and College of New Materials: Yulia Sadykova, Ruslan Gizatulin, Egor Ivanov, and Anna Kamerilova.

Mining Engineering. ALROSA Case Study: Eliminating Ore and Rock Hang-Ups in the Mined-Out Areas of the Udachny Mine — Innovative Solutions for Improving Safety and Reducing Production Losses

Third place was awarded to the “Underground” team from College of Mining, consisting of Kirill Pigolkin, Natalia Zhukova, Irina Koreshkova, and Nikolai Fyodorov.

Electric Power Engineering. FSK Rosseti Case Study: Comprehensive Protection of Power Grid Infrastructure Against Cyber and Information Threats — Technological and Organizational Measures for a 330 kV Substation Serving Category I Reliability Consumers

Third place was won by students from College of Mining, team “Council Without a Market”: Mikhail Lobanov, Vladimir Karabaktsiev, Polina Ovcharenko, and Fyodor Ovcharenko.

The winners and prize winners received preferential admission terms for master’s and doctoral programs at 36 partner universities, as well as opportunities to undertake paid internships with energy-sector companies, with prospects for future employment.

The International Engineering Championship CASE-IN is one of the largest intellectual competitions for students and young professionals in the energy and mining sectors. Since 2013, the championship has been held with the support of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the country’s leading industrial companies. Its mission is to revive and develop the Russian engineering school as a foundation for the country’s technological sovereignty. The championship is organized by the Reliable Shift Foundation, the Youth Forum of Mining Industry Leaders, Astralogika, and the presidential platform “Russia — Land of Opportunity.” The competition is held as part of the “Science to Win” initiative and the Russian Decade of Science and Technology program.

The Russian delegation at the meeting was headed by Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin. He noted that the priority areas of cooperation remain energy, transport, logistics, industry, agriculture, and digitalization.

“In accordance with the decision of the CIS Council of Heads of Government dated November 21, 2014, our university serves as the core organization for training and retraining specialists for the mining and metallurgical industry and advanced materials science. At the extended session, we presented a report on our activities and the concept for the digital transformation of the mining and metallurgical industries of the CIS member states. Together with our academic and industrial partners, NUST MISIS is focused on addressing such tasks as supporting early career guidance for school students, training and professional development of specialists, and educating highly qualified personnel,” Alevtina Chernikova.

The mining and metallurgical sector is closely interconnected through cross-border production chains and shared technological standards. Today, the industry is actively implementing digital solutions, many of which have been developed by major international companies operating in CIS markets and are used for automating, managing, and securing industrial processes.

The diversity of technologies, as well as concerns regarding their reliability, security, and economic efficiency, require unified approaches and standards. To address this, a concept has been developed that establishes requirements and evaluation criteria for digital systems, along with an implementation roadmap featuring practical industry solutions. Their adoption will enable a coordinated digital transformation of the mining and metallurgical complex, strengthen cooperation among CIS countries, and support the development of a shared digital infrastructure. The initiative also implies active exchange of expertise in digital technologies and cybersecurity, which will contribute to the development of domestic solutions within CIS member states and enhance the technological resilience of the industry.

Following the meeting, several agreements were signed, including:

• on implementing a cooperation program in geodesy, cartography, and spatial data through 2026;
• on the CIS strategy for congress and exhibition activities aimed at supporting the socio-economic and innovative development of national economies;
• on the concept for integrating the main transport corridors passing through CIS member states;
• on the Interstate Radionavigation Program for 2027–2030.

Organic dyes are among the most widespread classes of water pollutants. They enter wastewater from textile, pharmaceutical, and chemical manufacturing and are difficult to remove using conventional treatment methods. Existing magnetic nano-adsorbents typically require chemical surface treatment of the nanoparticles to effectively bind pollutants. Such coatings limit the range of substances that can be captured, complicate the operation of purification systems, and make regeneration of the sorbent more difficult.

Scientists from NUST MISIS and Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University demonstrated that surface modification of nanoparticles is not necessary. Instead, the key is in designing their internal structure correctly, since it determines which dye will be absorbed and by what mechanism.

The researchers synthesized rod-shaped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles — tiny magnetic rods permeated with two types of pores: small pores (up to 10 nm) and large pores (up to 50 nm). The ratio of pore sizes was controlled by adjusting the heating rate during calcination of the matrix from which the nanoparticles were later formed: the slower the heating, the greater the number of small pores. After water purification, the nanoparticles can be instantly removed from the water using an ordinary magnet.

To understand how the pores affect absorption, the researchers added the nanoparticles to solutions containing three dyes: methylene blue, methyl orange, and eriochrome blue.

“These three dyes were chosen deliberately — all of them are widely used in industry and regularly end up in wastewater. Methylene blue is used in medicine as well as for dyeing cotton, wool, and silk. As a byproduct of aniline production, it can heavily contaminate water resources in regions with chemical industries. Methyl orange is used in the chemical and textile industries. It is a toxic substance that is hazardous if inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin. Eriochrome blue is used in the textile industry for fabric dyeing. What all of them have in common is that they decompose extremely slowly in the natural environment and are poorly removed by standard purification methods. That is why, once they enter water systems, they remain there for a very long time. However, our development successfully dealt with each of them,” Alexey Nikitin, Candidate of Chemical Sciences and Associate Professor at the Department of Physical Materials Science at NUST MISIS.

Eriochrome blue produced an unexpected result: upon contact with the nanoparticles, it clumped together into large aggregates measuring several hundred nanometers. At low concentrations, the dye was absorbed effectively, but at high concentrations the aggregates returned to the solution. Such behavior has never before been documented for this class of dyes. The detailed findings were published in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science (Q1).

“This development changes the conventional view that surface chemistry is the most important feature of a sorbent. Pore architecture plays an equally important role. In the future, industries will be able to use sorbents tailored to specific pollutants, making them simpler, cheaper, and more reliable under real production conditions. In addition, dyes have different molecular structures and acquire different charges when dissolved in water, making them a convenient platform for studying adsorption processes,” Maxim Abakumov, Doctor of Chemical Sciences and Head of the “Biomedical Nanomaterials” Laboratory at NUST MISIS.

The study was carried out as part of the strategic technological project “Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials” at NUST MISIS under the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s “Priority 2030” program.

Retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, are often diagnosed at late stages, when vision can no longer be restored. One reason is the limitations of existing diagnostic methods: they detect structural changes but miss early functional disturbances in cells.

“Researchers at NUST MISIS have been engaged for several years in developing innovative technologies that in the future will simplify diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. The diagnostic method for retinal pathologies developed at the university based on the ‘glow’ of cells will become an important tool for detecting diseases and assessing the effectiveness of ongoing therapy,” said Rector of NUST MISIS Alevtina Chernikova.

Scientists from MISIS University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and the Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry studied lipofuscin, which is a pigment that accumulates with age in retinal pigment epithelial cells. It can luminesce under light exposure, and its properties can be used to assess the condition of the eye. A key feature of lipofuscin is its phototoxicity: when irradiated with visible light, it can generate reactive oxygen species and toxic oxidation products that cause pronounced oxidative stress. Studying these processes is important for understanding mechanisms of retinal damage and diagnosing age-related degenerative changes. A major role here is played by lipofuscin’s autofluorescence. Measuring its “glow” parameters is an important tool for early diagnosis of eye diseases.

Until now, there has been insufficient data on how exactly the composition of lipofuscin changes under photodamage and how this is reflected in its “glow” signal. For the first time, Russian researchers used fluorescence lifetime imaging to track at the cellular level how lipofuscin changes during photooxidation inside pigment epithelial cells.

Experiments showed that as photooxidation progresses, not only does the composition of lipofuscin change, but also the nature of its “glow”: in particular, the fluorescence lifetime increases. This is presumably due to the fact that the original molecular components of lipofuscin are oxidized and partially broken down, while the products of their transformation have different fluorescent properties.

“What is important is that we were able to record these changes without introducing additional labels or interfering with the cell. Such measurements became possible thanks to fluorescence lifetime imaging. This is a modern microscopy method based on measuring the lifetime of excited molecular states, which allows us to obtain additional diagnostic information about tissue condition,” said Alexey Semenov, Candidate of Biological Sciences, researcher at the Laboratory of Photonic Gas Sensors at MISIS.

The scientists also studied the role of antioxidants in suppressing the phototoxic effects of lipofuscin. In the experiment, they investigated the carotenoid protein AstaP, isolated from the microalgae Coelastrella astaxanthina, which can deliver zeaxanthin, which is a natural substance that protects cells from oxidative stress. It was found that the AstaP—zeaxanthin complex slows down lipofuscin degradation: the formation of oxidized products is reduced, and complete pigment damage does not occur. Details of the study are published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B (Q1).

“To increase the sensitivity and speed of measurements, in the next stage we plan to use quantum sensors we have developed — superconducting single-photon detectors,” said Grigory Goltsman, leading researcher at the Laboratory of Quantum Information Technologies at MISIS.

The work was carried out under the program for attracting talented young scientists under the age of 39 (postdocs) within the framework of Priority 2030 (grant No. K4-2024-3).

“NUST MISIS has a long and productive history of cooperation with Chinese educational institutions. Back in the 1950s, our scientists actively contributed to the establishment of University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB). For decades, our university has trained engineers and researchers, many of whom have made significant contributions to the development of China. Today, we cooperate with the country’s leading scientific and educational centers, creating new opportunities for students from both nations. The international summer school became the first educational project implemented under the cooperation agreement signed in 2025 between NUST MISIS and Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology,” said Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of NUST MISIS.

The school program combined academic and cultural tracks. Throughout the week, participants explored the infrastructure of NUST MISIS, visited research laboratories, and attended a series of lectures and practical classes on advanced technological topics. The academic program included lectures such as “Mathematics in Data Science” and “Applied Data Science in Digital Projects,” an interactive session titled “Natural & Artificial Intelligence,” as well as laboratory workshops, Russian language classes, and meetings with international students of the university. A separate part of the program was dedicated to project presentations, held in the format of presentation sessions with discussions and expert feedback.

Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology is one of the leading technical universities in the region, with strong expertise in metallurgy, materials science, mechanical engineering, and mining, while also actively developing international scientific and educational cooperation.

In addition to the academic program, participants enjoyed an extensive cultural agenda. Students explored the campus and history of NUST MISIS, visited Red Square, VDNKh, and the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve, took part in guided tours around central Moscow and the Moscow Metro, and joined field sessions dedicated to urban culture and intercultural communication.

International summer and winter schools at NUST MISIS are organized jointly with partner universities abroad. To participate, universities are required to form a student group and submit an application via email: international@misis.ru. One of the mandatory requirements is an English proficiency level of at least B1, as the program is conducted in English.

More information about international schools and international cooperation programs is available here.

One of the key topics of the meeting was academic mobility. The Chinese delegation, headed by AIIT President Wu Min, expressed interest in sending AIIT graduates to pursue master’s and doctoral studies at NUST MISIS. In the future, the parties plan to join efforts to implement joint scientific initiatives, including projects involving the Chinese university’s industrial partners.

“NUST MISIS is building multifaceted cooperation with Chinese universities. Anhui Institute of Information Technology is a vivid example of a young and ambitious university deeply integrated into an industry driven by advanced artificial intelligence technologies. The partnership between MISIS and AIIT brings together our strong фундаментальной engineering school and China’s advanced experience in implementing artificial intelligence,” said Andrey Voronin, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at MISIS.

AIIT is a private university established with the participation of iFlytek, one of China’s leaders in the field of artificial intelligence. The university collaborates with the country’s leading technology companies, which provide the institution with modern equipment for research, testing, and workforce training. AIIT also participates in projects focused on industrial digitalization and the integration of AI into education.