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Third edition of the course on “Characterization techniques for Particulate Materials” with Amable Bernabé

The Soft Matrials Lab at ICMAB-CSIC, run by Amable Bernabé (NANBIOSIS U6 Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit, hosted from Monday, 5 October, to Wednesday, 7 October a course on “Characterization techniques for particulate materials”.

The course was an introduction to different techniques to characterize nanoparticles and other particulate matter, including the basic fundamentals, sample preparation, practical examples and results interpretation. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the participants of the course were less than in previous years, and during the practical sessions the group was divided, so less people was at the same time inside the lab, and the safety measures could be kept. 

Theory:

  • Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) with Zetasizer Nano ZS (Malvern Instruments)
    • Size distribution
    • Z Potential 
  • Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) with Nanosight NS300 (Malvern Instruments)
    • Size distribution
    • Particle concentration
    • Fluorescence
  • Light Scattering (LS) with Mastersizer 2000 (Malvern Instruments)
    • Size distribution

Practice:

  • Sample analysis and practical cases of Dynamic Light Scattering with the Zetasizer Nano ZS (Malvern Instruments) equipment.
  • Samples analysis and practical cases of the Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) technique with the Nanosight NS300 (Malvern Instruments) equipment.
  • Sample analysis and practical cases of the Light Scattering (LS) technique with the Mastersizer 2000 (Malvern Instruments) instrument.

Source of information ICMAB-CSIC

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Laura Saenz del Burgo, NANBIOSIS U10, award for the best emerging researcher at the XXI Bioaraba Research and Innovation Conference

The CIBER-BBN researcher at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), Laura Saenz del Burgo, received, within the framework of the XXI Bioaraba Research and Innovation Conference, the award for the “Best Emerging Researcher 2020”.

The researcher of the NanoBioCel group of the UPV / EHU, who belongs to the CIBER BBN and the U10 Drug Formulation of the ICTS of Nanbiosis, is an active part within the research group led by Jose Luis Pedraz and focuses her work in the areas of Regenerative Medicine , Tissue Engineering and 3D-Bioprinting.

The conference was held at the Palacio de Congresos de Europa, in Vitoria (Álava) last Thursday, November 5. It is a meeting forum between research staff, both from the health system and the university, the company, technology centers, institutions and citizens.

The Bioaraba Research and Innovation Awards want to recognize and encourage people and institutions whose dedication directly affects the improvement of the health and quality of life of the population, through not only purely scientific or healthcare work, but also from a contribution adequate social.

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Regenerating ankle joints with collagen- and gelatine-based implants

 TRIANKLE is an EU Project to develop regenerative therapies for ankel injuries in which participate NanoBioCell Group and NANBIOSIS U10 Drug Formulation unit (from CIBER-BBN and UPV/EHU), led by José Luis Pedraz.
 The main objective is to reduce the time of recovery down to 50% and
increase the functionality ratios up to 10-15%.
 Research consortium is composed of 12 partners from 5 European countries and counts with a EU funding of €5.9M.
 It is expected that the results of the project will be very well received by potential patients, such as elite athletes and patients with osteoarthritis, through the outreach work of the FCB Barça Innovation Hub and the OAFI, both members of the consortium.

On November 6th, the grant agreement No: 952981 funded by the European
Commission (Horizon 2020 Program) by which the TRIANKLE project comes into operation was signed. The TRIANKLE consortium – made up of 12 European organisations, will develop 3D bioprinted personalised scaffolds for tissue regeneration of ankle joints. This ambitious research project in regenerative medicine comes with an overall budget of €5.9M and
will be developed over 4 years, starting January 2021. The consortium aims to create innovative personalised collagen- and gelatine-based implants manufactured with 3D technology for patients with tendinopathies such as Achilles tendon partial ruptures and cartilage injuries.

Tendinopathies and osteoarthritis (OA) are extremely common and expensive, especially among the elderly, women and professional athletes. In addition to quality of life, both conditions substantially impact healthcare systems of economies worldwide (OA costs €76.5 billion in EU every year, while tendinopathies have an estimated worldwide expenditure above €140,000 million).

Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to the private investment that this money will attract. It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market.

For more info: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/what-horizon-2020

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CIBER-BBN and NANBIOSIS at CIBEREDH Scientific Annual Meeting

José Becerra Ratia, Subdirector of CIBER-BBN and researcher of NANBIOSIS, has presented NANBIOSIS-ICTS at the online annual conference of CIBEREH research, which takes place from 9 to 11 of November 2020.

José Becerra has explained an initiative of CIBER-BBN, already successfully launched with other CIBER thematic areas such as “seed projects” between research groups from two areas, in this case -BBN (Bioingniering, Biomaterials an Nanomedicine) and – EHD (Hepatic and Digestive Diseases) Professor Becerra has also presented CIBER-BBN as well as the opportunities offered by the ICTS NANBIOSIS as a Platform for Research and Biomedical Innovation.

CIBEREHD counts with:

50 groups of 30 centers spread over 9 Autonomous Communities that work together in 4 corporate programs:

P1. Mechanisms of liver damage / evolution to advanced cirrhosis and transplantation.

P2. Gastrointestinal pathophysiology: inflammatory disease and motility disorders.

P3. Epidemiology, prevention and treatment of hepatitis virus infection.

P4. Hepatic and Digestive Oncology.

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III Course on Introduction to research and laboratory techniques in Biosciences

CCMIJU has organised the III Course on Introduction to research and laboratory techniques in Biosciences, which wil take place at JUMISC on December, 18th, 2020 under the Direction of Esther López Nieto and Javier García Casado, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U14 Cell Therapy. Other researchers of NANBIOSIS Units offer their expertise as Beatriz Moreno Lobato, Scientific Diector NANBIOSIS U19 and Luis Dávila Gómez, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U22

The course contents are distributed in the following blocks:

Block I. Knowledge pills for research – Theory
Research career and aid for hiring (Dr JG Casado). 30 min
Communication of research results (Dra. E López). 30 min
Introduction to bibliographic resources. (Dra. R Blázquez). 30 min
Research Projects: preparation and evaluation (Dr JG Casado). 30 min
Protection of research results. Intellectual and industrial property. (JL Añover). 30 min

Block II. Knowledge pills for research – exercises / case studies
Practical case 1: Bibliographic search and Commentary and assessment of different scientific communications: 1.5h
Block III. RNA and DNA: gene expression and genetic studies in reproduction
Introduction to the analysis of gene expression using qPCR (F Marinaro and E López). 1h 30min
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis in assisted reproduction clinics (E Delgado). 1 hour

Block IV. Proteins and proteome: protein expression studies and massive proteomics analysis / identification
Protein expression study I: Introduction to immunoprecipitation and western blotting techniques (E López). 1 hour
Introduction to the study of proteins II: Generalities and principles of proteomics in cardiovascular research (I Jorge). 1h 30min

Block V. Cell cultures: stem cell cultures and production for clinical uses
Cell cultures I: Isolation of adult stem cells and characterization (R Blázquez). 1 hour
Cell cultures II: Production, commercialization and clinical uses of cell therapy (O delaRosa). 1h 30min

Block VI. Miscelanea: Histology, clinical analysis, 3D bioprinting and animal experimentation
Basic fixation, inclusion and staining techniques for histology (A Usón). 1 hour
Basic techniques for determining blood parameters: Biochemistry and hematology (B Moreno). 1 hour
Technology and materials in the 3D bioprinting laboratory (JC Gómez). 1 hour
Minimally invasive experimental procedures in laboratory animals (L Dávila). 1 hour

Block VII: Laboratory techniques in biosciences – exercises / practical cases
Practical case-example 2: Analysis of qPCR results. 1,5h

Further information: Programm and inscriptions

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Jesús Santamaría, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS Unit 9, candidate to the Rectorate of the University of Zaragoza

Jesús Santamaría, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U9, Synthesis of Nanoparticles Unit, runs for the elections to the Rectorate of the University of Zaragoza.

Jesús Santamaría Ramiro, professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technologies, at the Faculty of Sciences, has presented his candidacy to the Rectorate of the University of Zaragoza this week.

The opinion group Proyecto Unizar, the germ of this candidacy, has also been presented. Proyecto Unizar, which motto is “Another University is possible” includes more than 60 members of the university community and more than a hundred supporters, among them, several members of CIBER-BBN NANBIOSIS Units in Zaragoza University,-U27 High Performance Computing and U13 Tissue & Scaffold Characterization Unit. besides NANBIOSIS Unit 9.

As of November 9, the program of Proyecto Unizar will be public through its website, made up of more than 400 actions aimed at substantially improving the University of Zaragoza.

Elections will be held on November 24 by electronic vote. If a second round is necessary, it will take place on December 10.

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How to take advantage of the body’s natural processes to create innovative therapies?

During the month of October took place the Spanish Society of atherosclerosis (SEA 2020) Virtual meetings, promoted by Novartis. Prof. Ramon Eritja, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U29 Oligonucleotide Synthesis Platform (OSP) (from CIBERBBN at IQAC_CSIC), was the guess speaker in the session “Innovation and future therapeutic strategies in dyslipidemia” giving the conference entitled “How to take advantage of the body’s natural processes to create innovative therapies“, in the telematic congress of the Spanish society of atherosclerosis (SEA 2020) in the session “Innovation and future therapeutic strategies in dyslipidemia”.

Dr. Ramon Eritja, explained the mechanism of action of some new drugs based on small DNA or RNA fragments and especially the mechanism of action of Inclisiran (Leqvio®). This new medicine developed by Novartis received a positive report from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of familial hypercholesteria. It is the first time that this type of medicine has received a positive report for the treatment of a very prevalent disease that is one of the causes of cardiovascular diseases.

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CIBER-BBN´s XIV Annual Conference

CIBER-BBN´s Annual Conference will take place from Monday, November 16, 2020 to Tuesday, November 17, 2020.

This year´s edition includes presentations of internal collaborative projects, three plenary talks given by acknowledged experts in the fields of Biosignal Analysis, Hybrid Nanomaterials and Drug Delivery, a session dedicated to COVID-19 and the most recent advances in the fight against it as for detection, prevention and therapy and a session about the ICTS NANBIOSIS.

Due to this year´s exceptional circumstances, XIV CIBER-BBN Conference will be held on-line. Access to broadcasted talks and subsequent debate is free following registration to the event https://jornadasanuales.ciber-bbn.es.

Registration deadline: 8 November 2020

Program and registration

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Prof. Pilar Marco, in the program “Meridiano Turing” of RTVE explains the COVID-19 tests.

The last edition of the program “Meridiano Turing” of RTVE interviews Maria Pilar Marco Head of CIBER-BBN and IQAC-CSIC group Nb4D and NANBIOSIS-ICTS Unit 2 Custom Antibody Service (CAbS), Cesar Fernández (Head of the Chemical Transducers Group at IMB-CNM, CSIC) and María Cruz Minguillón (EGAR group at IDAEA)

Pilar Marco y César Fernández, the authors of the block of the CSIC’s report entitled “Containment and diagnosis“, explain wich is the best way to diagnose COVID and how reliable are the tests in this moment.

What is needed is to detect an infection -says Pilar Marco- is viral material and we have two types of tests to detect viral material:
– Those that detect the viral RMA, which is the genetic material of the virus. These test known as “PCR”, were the first to be used and are quite reliable PCR is a technology that expands the genetic material, making many copies what makes it possible to detect the viral material with very low viral load
– And during the month of September have became famous what are known as the “antigen tests” (they also came out at the beginning, but they were of low quality). These tests do not detect the genetic material but the structural proteins of the virus.

Serological tests should not be used to diagnose an infection because they do not detect the virus, what they detect is the reaction that the host has in the presence of an infection, that is, the antibodies that our body produces to defend itself against the infection and this occurs from the first moment but is not detectable until practically seven days after being infected. Therefore serological tests have limited utility to diagnose the infection, they serve to monitor the evolution and immunological status of the patient, if he is producing antibodies against the virus and how it evolves The virus remains elevated for months, but it does not mean that if you have had the disease and the rsults fo serological tests are negative, you are not prepared to face the virus, since we have memory cells that will surely produce antibodies again.

Cesar Fernández explains that the sample is the same in PCR and antigen tests, but the time it takes to obtain an answer is different. Both type of tests are recommended depending on the situation and the environment in which they are used, PCR tests have been used more massively and are more reliable in the sense that they let out much fewer positives, the number of false negatives they provide is very low, but they are also more expensive tests and need more time from the moment the sample is taken until the result is obtained (minimum 24 hours) since they are carried out in clinical analysis laboratories. The antigen tests can be carried out in 15-30 minutes in the place where the sample is taken and their cost is very low compared to that of the PCR, which is why they are very useful for screening studies of the levels infection that may exist in a community. Currently, work is being done on carrying out the antigen tests in saliva, this would facilitate the taking of samples and would not generate practically social rejection. Studies are also being done on the use of nasal smears in which the sample is taken at the beginning of the nasal cavity, resulting in much less annoying. Antigen tests due to their low cost and ease use open the possibility of performing in a very repetitive way.

Regarding the measurement of viral load, it is given by the PCR, while in the antigen tests the detection is visual, a colored line appears, similar to the pregnancy tests, with greater or lesser intensity, with which the information they give on viral load is semi-quantitative, that is, the interpretation is quite subjective.
The viral load of the disease appears a few days before sinthoms are shown (the peak is two days before) and can be spread to other people. This also occurs with asymptomatic infected people, with the only difference that, after this peak, the viral load falls very quickly and the disease does not appear.

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