Nanoligent, S.L., the company stablished on March 2017 by professors Dr. A. Villaverde and Dra. E. Vázquez from NANBIOSIS Unit 1, professor Dr. M. Mangués from NANBIOSIS Unit 18, and entrepreneur Dr. M. Rodríguez is highlighted in la Vanguardia.
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Beatriz Macías García, researcher at NANBIOSIS U23. Assisted Reproduction, is co-author of the article “Seminal plasma influences the fertilizing potential of cryopreserved stallion sperm”, publish by the Journal Theriogenology.
Seminal plasma (SP) contains proteins that may influence cryosurvival and prevent capacitation-like changes due to freezing and thawing. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of adding pooled SP from “good” (GF) or “bad” (BF) freezer stallions on sperm cells’ fertilizing ability. “Good freezers” refers to stallions that usually produce ejaculates which can withstand cryopreservation, whilst “bad freezer” stallions produce ejaculates which cannot tolerate the freezing process. A heterologous zona binding assay with in vitro matured bovine oocytes was used to assess the binding ability of equine sperm cells as a possible alternative to artificial insemination trials. The effect of adding SP i) prior to cryopreservation; ii) after thawing of sperm cells selected by single layer centrifugation (SLC); iii) to capacitation medium, was evaluated. Adding SP from GF stallions prior to cryopreservation reduced the mean number of sperm cells bound to the zona pellucida (ZP) compared to control (P = 0.0003), SP-free sperm cells and group received SP from BF stallions (P ≤ 0.0001 for both). After thawing SLC-selected sperm cells treated with 5% SP showed a decrease in binding ability compared with SP-free sperm cells (P ≤ 0.0001). The binding affinity of sperm cells was higher in the group treated with SP from GF than with SP from BF stallions (P ≤ 0.05). Prolonged exposure to SP impaired the ability of stallion sperm cells to undergo capacitation and bind to ZP, regardless of the source of SP (P ≤ 0.0001). The response of equine sperm cells to SP is influenced by the ability of the sperm cells to withstand cryopreservation and is affected by the timing of exposure and the origin of SP. Customization of the protocol for individual stallions is recommended to optimize the effect.
The research has been carried out with the participation of the NANBIOSIS Assisted Reproduction Lab which ofer the services of
Scientists of NANBIOSIS in the University of Zaragoza participated in the assembly held las week that put on the table the risks of applying rules in an incoherent way and without taking into account the reality of the work that researchers develop. The Spanish public contrat law prevents the University to spend more than 15,000 euros per provider per year, which complicates the purchases of material. The scientists ask that this legislation not be applied
More than three hundred researchers have signed a manifesto in which they denounce that some provisions of the new Spanish law on public contracts prevent them from acquiring normally the material they need for their work. A law that originally aimed to fight corruption is criticizes by scientists becxause of it is causing a serious situation of inoperativeness and inefficiency. The main problem at this time is that the new regulation applies the limit of expenditure per provider of 15,000 euros per year without the need to process a public tender to the University as a whole (as to any public entity), prevoiusly this limit appliied to each research group but the amount is obviously insignificant for all the research groups of a University.
The professor of the Faculty of Medicine, Iñaki Ochoa,Researcher at NANBIOSIS Unit 13 advocates changing the rule that limits public contracts by not considering it “something reasonable”. As part of the Applied Mechanics and Bioengineering group of the Aragón Engineering Research Institute (I3A), he defended the need to protest to change things: “If I need a reagent to take samples in a patient that is going to be operated in a few weeks, I can wait two months until your purchase is authorized », alert. In your specific case, when working in the analysis of brain tumors, the opportunities to access surgeries are limited.
Ochoa assumes that research has always been “complicated,” both because of lack of funding and lack of resources. But in this case he believes that the new obstacles are completely excessive
Laura Lechuga, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U4. Biodeposition and Biodetection Unit is coathor of the article “Gold/Silver/Gold Trilayer Films On Nanostructured Polycarbonate Substrates For Direct And Label‐Free Nanoplasmonic Biosensing” published by
Ultrasmooth gold/silver/gold trilayer nanostructured plasmonic sensors were obtained using commercial Blu-ray optical discs as nanoslits-based flexible polymer substrates. A thin gold film was used as an adhesion and nucleation layer to improve the chemical stability and reduce the surface roughness of the overlying silver film, without increasing ohmic plasmon losses. The structures were physically and optically characterized and compared with nanostructures of single gold layer. Ultrasmooth and chemically stable trilayer nanostructures with a surface roughness <0.5 nm were obtained following a simple and reproducible fabrication process. They showed a Figure of Merit (FOM) value up to 69.2 RIU-1 which is significantly higher (more than 95%) than the gold monolayer ounterpart.
Their potential for biosensing was demonstrated by employing the trilayer sensor for the direct and refractometric (label-free) detection of CRP protein biomarker in undiluted urine achieving a LOD in the pM order.
Article: DOI: 10.1002/jbio.201800043
Francisco M. Sánchez-Margallo, Assistant Director of NANBIOSIS and Scientific Coordinator o NANBIOSIS U23. Assisted Reproduction, is co-author of the article “Mimicking physiological O2 tension in the female reproductive tract improves assisted reproduction outcomes in pig”, publish by the Journal Molecular human reproduction
The research has been carried out with the participation of the NANBIOSIS Assisted Reproduction Lab that has a 120 m2 laboratory, small animal surgery, clinical analysis support, etc. and it is featured with two intracitoplasmatic micromanipulation equipment of the latest generation with IMSI, Laser and Oosight system, embryo biopsy systems, vision systems of the mitotic spindle, with flow cabinets with stereo-microscopes and heated plates, incubators with different gasses systems, equipment and cryopreservation freeze gamete and embryo, among others
Is O2 tension in the pig oviduct and uterus affected by the estrous cycle stage and the animal’s age, and can the outcome of in vitro embryo development be improved by mimicking these physiological values?
O2 tension within the pig reproductive organs is affected by the animal’s age, and values close to those measured in vivo have a positive impact on embryo development and quality when used during IVF and embryo culture (EC).
Article of reference: doi: 10.1093/molehr/gay008
The Spanish Society of Numerical Methods in Engineering (SEMNI) has awarded the SEMNI O. C. Zienkiewicz prize to Professor Dr. Manuel Doblaré.
The SEMNI O. C. Zienkiewicz Award is the highest award given by this company and recognizes, in this case, both the undisputed scientific curriculum of prof. Doblaré as his permanent contribution to the good functioning of this society, of which he has been a founding member and member of its executive committee until 2007, having also organized the Congress of Numerical Methods in Zaragoza in 1996.
The prize will be given during the Congress of Numerical Methods to be held in Guimarães from July 1 to 3, 2019. The Congress on Numerical Methods in Engineering takes place biennially and is jointly organized by the Spanish Society on Numerical Methods in Engineering (SEMNI, Spain) and the “Portuguese Association of Theoretical, Applied and Computational Mechanics” (APMTAC, Portugal)
During two days meeting, the PICCOLO consortium 4th face to face meeting has taken place. Project partners reviewed the current state of the development, results, deliverables and future actions.
Inspired in the experimental setting up of the JUMISC, one of the most interesting topics in this meeting was the pre-clinical discussion about the validation plan of the PICCOLO prototypes. The PICCOLO consortium analysed both laboratory and pre-clinical trials that will start at the end of this year. Some detailed protocols and preliminary results of the experimental models for these trials were presented as results of a close collaboration between clinical and technological partners.
It has been a great chance to share know-how between clinicians, technological partners and pre-clinical researchers.
Image of the meeting participants at the face to face meeting in the JUMISC, partner of NANBIOSIS.
Jesús Santamaría, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS Unit 9, Synthesis of Nanoparticles Unit, denounces the bureaucratic obstacles of the Law of Contracts, which are paralyzing the investigations whenever it is necessary to buy material or hire personnel. His research against cancer, which received one of the most powerful European funding of more than two million euros, is stranded because of this rule, which requires to take out any purchase over 15,000 euros. “You can not do research like that,” Santamaría said. “In other countries there are no obstacles and we have to compete with them”
With the entry into force on March 9 of Law 9/2017 of November 8, scientists encounter importan important problems to use not only their basic budgets but also to use funds obtained in open and competitive calls, so they have money available to investigate that can not be spent.
This situation of Spanish research has been reviewed internationally, for example in an article published by the prestigious journal Science: Accounting rules hobble Spanish institutes
Until now, spending limits were applied per researcher, project and year. (that is, public tenders or having to submit several budgets). Now the limit is computed at the institutional level. This makes it impossible, in practice, to execute budgets, given that once the border of 15,000 euros per institution is exceeded, the direct contract it is not possible but it is needed to undertake the procedures of a contest which can take months.
But all of this does not happen outside Spain, not even in Europe, even though this law is an adaptation of a European Directive. In the rest of the European Union, Science has been prevented from going through this “funnel”. Santamaria calls for a stronger reaction from the scientific community towards the administration.
These obstacles and their results in the R+D were explained in an article published in El Diario.es on April 4, titled “Why does the government make it difficult to carry out scientific research spending?”: “This measure, which may make some sense for laboratories Hospitals that carry out routine analyzes in a standardized manner are meaningless when we talk about independent research groups that work in very diverse areas within the same center, and that lack the administrative personnel necessary to manage this new form of bidding. make impossible, for example, the execution of expenses in other countries, something as common as the payment to a laboratory in North America for the performance of a chemical or genetic analysis: according to this law the foreign laboratory would have to be submitted to the contest. of billing of this type of services are tiny enough so that a laboratory i International, which is extremely busy with the processing of their samples and the calibration and maintenance of their equipment, bother to start the long and complex path of opting for a public tender so that a Spanish researcher can pay for the analysis of their samples. “
Scientists of the CIBER-BBN and IBEC reserch group Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies, led by Miguel Angel Mateos-Timoneda and Elisabeth Engel who run NANBIOSIS U5. Rapid Prototyping Unit, have published a review of the state-of-the-art in biomaterials for skin healing that proposes a move towards more personalized, in situ therapies.
Skin wound healing repairs and restore tissue through a complex process that involves different cells and signalling molecules that regulate cellular response and the remodelling of the extracellular matrix. Publishing in Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, the article begins by summarizing recent advances in therapies for healing that combine biomolecule signals such as growth factors and cytokines with cells.
“So far, the application of these therapies is hampered by high costs, a lack of standardization, no scalable processes, and storage and regulatory issues – as well as a lack of real evidence that they work,” explains Oscar Castaño, senior researcher in the group. “To address this, we suggest concentrating on biomaterials that can act as platforms to generate stimuli that can promote the type of cell activity that encourages skin regeneration.” This strategy of tissue regeneration in situ uses the body’s own capacity for regeneration by mobilizing host endogenous stem cells or tissue-specific progenitor cells to the wound site to promote repair and regeneration. “The aim would be to create instructive microenvironments that combine biomaterial supports with the many different signal cues that happen in wound healing,” says Oscar. “They’d regulate the spatio-temporal delivery of the proper signalling based on the biological mechanisms of the various events that occur.”
Article of reference:
Oscar Castaño, Soledad Pérez-Amodio, Claudia Navarro-Requena, Miguel Angel Mateos-Timoneda, Elisabeth Engel Instructive microenvironments in skin wound healing: Biomaterials as signal releasing platforms. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 129, 95-117, 2018. doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2018.03.012
Dr. Javier García Casado, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS Unit 14, of Cell Therapy, has been awarded by the General Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation, belonging to the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, the accreditation of research excellence of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura in the field of Life Sciences, which includes the research areas of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Medical Sciences, Pharmacology and Physiology, Food Science and Technology and other related fields.
The accreditation, which is valid for 4 years, is the recognition of Javier García Casado’s research career, highlighted by his contributions to scientific-technological knowledge, due to the impact and international relevance of his scientific results.
