Meet our Research and Development (R&D) team!

 At PlantaCorp, we manufacture liquid liposomal food supplements. This is possible only because we work with the science.  

Our in-house team of scientists and nutrition experts focus on the development and optimization of our products. From the selection of the raw ingredients to the production process, they ensure that your products meet the most rigorous scientific standards.  

How does our R&D team work? 

The R&D team are our “go to” if you have any questions about the ingredients you would like to bring into the market. They conduct a thorough literature survey into every ingredient that goes into PlantaCorp’s liposomal formulations.  

Only once they are convinced of the utility of producing it as a liposomal supplement are the highest-quality ingredients sourced and test liposomal formulation batches created. The test batch has to pass all the subsequent controls, including for various physical parameters, stability and shelf-life, before the R&D team releases it for production.  

Our products are further analyzed through functional collaborations with external laboratories and universities with cutting-edge analytical techniques. 

So who are our R&D experts, you’re wondering? 

Dr. Sabina Scarabino: Head of R&D 

Dr. Sabina Scarabino is a trained chemist with a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. She has worked and published on oil-in-water micelles, which have many features in common with the liposomes. Who better to trust our liposomal technology with, right? 

Sabina’s personal interest in science and the possibility to grow professionally is the reason why she chose to head the PlantaCorp R&D team. 

We asked Sabina what she likes most about her job and she said, “The most exciting part of my job is to work in our brand-new R&D Lab. There, we characterize the physicochemical and the organoleptic features of our products and ingredients. Our latest addition is a state-of-the-art light scattering device to measure liposomes features such as their dimensions and their stability over time.”  

Dr. éamonn Walsh: The plant whisperer 

Dr. éamonn Walsh is another qualified scientist who has a background in biochemistry and plant science/botany. This led him to join PlantaCorp because of the interesting use of plant extracts in our products. 

Since he believes in the benefit of plant-derived ingredients on peoples’ health, éamonn primarily supports the R&D team in the development of new products with a focus on the use of plant extracts. 

He also works on increasing the shelf-life and stability of our liquid liposomal supplements.  

Amelia Duden: Linking nutritional science to consumer needs 

Amelia Duden, a 24-year-old working student at PlantaCorp, is currently completing her masters in Nutritional and Consumer Economics. Therefore, she stays up-to-date with the latest nutritional research, but also works closely with our Sales and Marketing departments on understanding consumer needs. She leverages her unique perspective to create original and personalized flavours that match our clients’ requests. 

Amelia likes working with us because, “I think PlantaCorp and its products are very innovative and diverse. For me, working at PlantaCorp means being able to bring new ideas and impulses into the work, which creates a positive and creative atmosphere.” 

Sophie Haenel: Last but certainly not the least 

The youngest in the R&D team, Sophie Haenel, studied biotechnology at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. Although the youngest in the team, she is the deputy Head of our R&D department.  

Sophie is currently working on her Bachelors’ thesis at PlantaCorp, where she is developing a technique to measure liposome size, in-house, using laser diffraction.  

We support her thesis because it strongly improves the characterization of our products. The technique will give us information on the stability of different liposomal formulations over time and at different storage conditions. Additionally, Sophie actively contributes to several research lines, including the optimisation of new formulations and the production of test batches. 

PlantaCorp thus, provides university students the opportunity to combine actual scientific learning with experience in a real, multicultural, dynamic corporate environment. In Sophie’s own words, “Working at PlantaCorp is very interesting and you always learn something new. In addition, I think the company philosophy is just great. It is a young and dynamic company that gives you the feeling of being part of a big family.” 

Interested in working with us? Visit our Careers page for the latest opportunities (including for working students). 

What is the motto of PlantaCorp’s R&D team? 

The motto of our R&D team is "Never get bored!", not because they don't want to, but because they cannot! As Sabina says, “With so many new ingredients to explore, formulations to test and characterize, and the constant expansion of the R&D Lab, with new in-house technologies, we are always busy learning new useful knowledge to further optimize our products, and to provide the client with robust and trustworthy information.” 

Visit our website or contact us to find out more about PlantaCorp, our liposomal supplements and working with us.