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A fantastic reunion of the CIBER-BBN and the NANBIOSIS research community.

The CIBER-BBN and the NANBIOSIS research community has met again, after two virtual editions, to celebrate the Sixteenth Annual Conference of CIBER-BBN. It has been a fantastic a face-to-face reunion during the days 7th-8th November 2022, in A Coruña, Spain.

This edition has included sicientific sessions in mental health and in diabetes and metabolic diseases, presentations of internal collaborative projects, two plenary talks given by acknowledged experts in the fields of CAR-T therapies and gene therapies and an invitation to CIBERSAM and CIBERDEM scientific areas, as well as the new “Technological Development Platform of CIBER” to improve translational programs

As usually in the program of this Conference, a session was dedicated to NANBIOSIS ICTS, in this ocasion including a especial talk of presentation of the new Unit of Proteomics, U30 of NANBIOSIS at INIBIC, in A Coruña, led by Prof. Cristina Ruiz.

It was also presented the new “Cutting-Edge Biomedical Solution“:  “Quallity Control and Regulatory Affair Advisory” Service, recently created to complement the NANBIOSIS offer of Cutting -Edge integrated solucions to advanced challenges in the biomedical research.

The Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS, Jaume Veciana, also explained some novelties regarding the accesess to the ICTS in open and competitive way. From 2022, two calls will be open (in january and june) in order to select and prioritize the applications for access to NANBIOSIS ICTS services in base of excelence and uniqueness.

It also took place the annual meetting of the NANBIOSIS Scientific Advisory Committee to deliberate the key actions of the ICTS.

The Conference was cellebrated at the Congress and Exhibition Centre of A Coruña, PALEXCO, Both, the event and the venue, facilitated an informal atmosphere with vivid scientific ideas discussions and conversations.

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II Scientific Communication course

On October 18 and 19, was held the second course on Social Communication of Science, orgnized by NANBIOSIS U10 Drug Formulation Unit -(NanoBioCell Group of CIBER-BBN and UPV-EHU, this year entitled “Tools for the social communication of science“. The course aimed to provide doctoral students with communication with tools to be employed in their work as scientists when communicating their results or activity to the general public, patients, etc.

They first day was mainly dedicated to the use of metaphors in science communication, starting with an interesesting talk by Susana Martinez, director of the Incite Foundation; ateendees had the opportuniy to work case studies. On the second day, there were two different sessions: the first one about how to communicate science on the radio, led by the journalist Eva Caballero from the EiTB regional program “The mechanics of the snail”. and during the second session, a practical workshop was led by the group of theather “Porpol”, about on how to combat the stage fright.

This course was offered at the Doctoral School of the University of the Basque Country.

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Ramón Martínez Máñez, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U26 obtains an ERC Advanced Grant

Ramón Martínez Máñez, researcher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and scientific director of the Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine area of ​​the CIBER (CIBER-BBN) and NANBIOSIS U26, has obtained an ERC Advanced Grant –the most prestigious grant from the European Research Council– endowed with 2.5 million euros for the development of the EDISON project (Engineered Particles for Chemical Communication).

This project focuses on the field of chemical or molecular communication. Its objective is the study, development and application of nanoparticles that are capable of communicating with each other and whose application would represent a revolution in the field of chemical research.

“Our goal is to advance the understanding of how abiotic micro/nanoparticles can communicate with the others and with living systems. In this context, one way to establish communication at the nanometric level is to mimic how nature communicates, that is, through the use of chemical messengers. If we are able to lay the foundations for communication between micro/nanoparticles and between them and cells, the future potential applications in the biomedical field, and in other fields such as the environment and industrial technology, are almost limitless”, highlights Ramón Martínez Máñez, who is currently deputy director of the Interuniversity Research Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM) of the Universitat Politècnica València and the Universitat de València.

Unveiling the keys to the prevention and treatment of cancer
In the medical field, for example, these nanoparticles could help reveal the keys to the prevention and treatment of cancer, since they could act as nanotranslators that help connect cancer cells with cells of the immune system, regulating the interactions between them and , in general, to connect cells to each other that would not otherwise communicate. They could also be key in the development of new strategies to eliminate biofilms and resistant microorganisms, being able to detect the presence of chemical species used by bacteria to create the biofilm and inhibiting these signals.

The research proposed by EDISON will be carried out in the IDM, the CIBER-BBN and in the Mixed Units in which Ramón Martínez Máñez participates with the Príncipe Felipe Research Center and with the La Fe Hospital in Valencia.

5 years of work
The project, which began on October 1, will run for 5 years until September 30, 2027. In a first phase, the team from the IDM Institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València will create the basic components to study chemical communication; in the second, EDISON will focus on the development of systems capable of establishing communication between nanoparticles and living systems. Finally, the UPV researchers will work on the development of nanosystems that integrate stimulus-sensitive nanoparticles and electronics to create new hybrid communication structures.

“Every year hundreds of nano/microparticles are described but in practically all cases they are used as independent entities with no connection between them. The connection/communication between particles is the basis for developing more complex cooperative systems with new functionalities”, says Professor Martínez-Máñez, who will dedicate most of his time to the development of the EDISON project with the aim of laying the foundations for this new idea.

Obtaining this prestigious aid will allow the research group to focus on promoting a new form of communication at the nanoscale based on the use of chemical messengers that will facilitate the development of new applications at the nanometric scale beyond what is possible using information and communication technologies on the macroscale that we know today.

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NANBIOSIS U7 at the 15th IBEC Symposium October 2022

The MicrofabSpace and Microscopy Characterization Facility of IBEC, U7 unit of Nanbiosis, presented a stand and posters in the 15 edition of the annual IBEC’s Symposium which took place last October 19th in Barcelona. Researechers of this facility showed new microfabrication processes and microscopy tools, to worldwide researchers in the field of bioengineering.

The MicroFabSpace and Microscopy Characterization Facility is one of the most experienced services in the IBEC’s Core Facilities. With a cleanroom research space, specialized in the microfabrication and characterization of micro-structured devices focussed on bioengineering and a microscopy space specialized in the characterization of biological samples, it currently offers extensive services to internal and external users, going from design and consultancy to development and analysis of fabricated devices and biological samples.

Further nformation n NANBIOSIS youtube channel

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Microchannel capillarity pumping design by Prof. Guillermo Artana

On the 28th of October, we will be receiving the international visit at the  Unversity of Zaragoza from Dr. Guillermo Artana from Laboratorio de Fluidodinámica-Facultad de Ingeniería-Universidad de Buenos Aires. The title of the talk will be “Microchannel capillarity pumping design“.

The invited lecture is programed within the framework of the European project “Heart On chip based on induced pluripotent Stem cell Technology for personalized Medicine (CISTEM)” and counts with European funding: Horizon 2020 – Research and Innovation Framework Programme / H2020-MSCA-RISE-2017, grant agreement No.778354 in wich the University of Zaragoza participates through CIBER-BBN group TME lab – NANBIOSIS U13 Tissue & Scaffold Characterization Unit.

The event will take place at 12:00 in the Conference Hall bloque 1, planta 1,edif.I+D+I; Campus Rio Ebro, Zaragoza

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New edition of the course on characterization and preparation of particulate materials.

ICMAB-CSIC October 19th 2022

Amable Bernabé, from Nanbiosis U6 Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit hosted from Monday, 3 October, to Wednesday, 5 October a course on “Characterization techniques for particulate materials”. The course counted with 10 participants from different CSIC centers.

The course was an introduction to different techniques to characterize nanoparticles and other particulate matter, including the basic fundamentals of these techniques, sample preparation, practical examples and results interpretation.    It is the fifth edition of the course, which started in 2018. Amable Bernabé, technician from the Soft Materials Service, prepares and offers this course to all the CSIC community, so everyone who needs it can learn new methods to characterize nanoparticles, the theory behind the techniques, and how to manage the lab equipment devoted to these techniques.   The course is offered every year through the CSIC training courses offered every year for all its staff. This year, the 10 participants were from CSIC centers of the Barcelona area: IMB-CNM, IDAEA, ICM and ICMAB, mainly.

Soft Materials Service – NANBIOSIS ICTS U6

The Soft Materials Service constitute the unit 6 of NANBIOSIS, the integrated infrastructure for the production and characterization of nanomaterials, biomaterials and systems in biomedicine, which has been recognized by Spanish Government as Unique Scientific-Technological Infrastructure (ICTS).

The Unit of NANBIOSIS provides equipment and technical assistance for the preparation and characterization of micro-and nanostructured soft molecular materials (molecular surfaces, micro- and nanoparticulate molecular materials, plastic films, dispersed systems, SAMs, etc..) with interest in different areas of application (biomedicine, electronics, energy storage and other chemical and material application areas).

The Soft Materials Service, with Amable Bernabé and David Piña as technicians, participate in many European projects and give service to the whole ICMAB community, apart from the Nanomol Research Unit, and also to other CSIC centers and research institutions and companies. In 2021, for example, 30 % of the users were external. Of these users, 14.3 % were from private companies, 58.9 % came from other research centers or universities, and 26.8 % from other ICMAB research units. 

This last April 2022, the Service Materials Service, which is part of Unit6 of the ICTS Nanbiosis and CIBER-BBN, obtained the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Certification, which ensures the quality of the service provided and helps to continue with its improvement and extension to future services.

Contents of the course

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.
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The first TECNIO Conference and NANBIOSIS’ researchers participation

More than 200 people attended the first edition of the TECNIO Conference that took place on October 19th, 2022 in Girona. Outstanding experts from research groups, companies and the Catalan administration discussed the model of technological sovereignty that Catalonia needs to generate high-impact innovation.

As far as Nora Ventosa, President of the TECNIO Association and Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U6 Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit (from CIBER-BBN and IQAC): “Political management is the key to ensure that the path of transference follows a high speed train”

Researchers of NANBIOSIS U2 Custom Antibody Service (CAbS) – Nb4D Group from CIBER-BBN and IQAC-CSIC presented their technological offer in the 1st TECNIO Congress

During the congress there were different presentations, round tables and an exhibition space to interact with the TECNIO agents.

For further informatio: https://www.eventbrite.es/e/tecnio-congress-2022-tickets-415838312587

Related News

Nora Ventosa, president of the TECNIO Association.
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The sprint of the European Project Moore4medical

The NanoBioCel group of the CIBER BBN, which also runs NANBIOSIS U10 Drug Formulation unit , organized the Workshop #6 of the Moore4medical European project at the Alava Technology Park on October 4, 5 and 6

The Central Building of the Álava Technology Park hosted the ‘Workshop #6’ of the European project which. 80 people belonging to 68 organizations, including private companies and research groups from universities and research centers from 13 countries of the European Union, participated in a meeting that has the leadership of the Dutch multinational Philips in its divisions of electronics and medical systems and service innovation

Moore4Medical Project
The three-year Moore4Medical project is funded by the public-private association ECSEL (Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership), which manages a research and innovation program to strengthen the electronic components and systems sector in order to maintain the European Union at the forefront of technological development. The goal of the project is to accelerate innovation in electronic and microfabricated devices for various emerging medical specialties. The total financing of the project amounts to 68 million euros, of which more than half a million have been granted to the work of NanoBiocel.

NanoBiocel research group

The NanoBiocel research group from UPV/EHU, which is part of the CIBER BBN and the ICTS Nanbiosis through the U10 Drug Formulation, is led by Professor Jose Luis Pedraz, from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Álava Campus. He participates in the European project Moore4medical on the optimization of the lyophilization process of biopharmaceutical products in microfluidic devices

Microfluidic Device
The University of the Basque Country is working, together with the Mondragón microLIQUID company, on the development of technology for the integration of lyophilized drugs and their rehydration in a microfluidic device for their correct administration. The lyophilized drug will be integrated into the microfluidic device using specific techniques to ensure good interaction between the fluid and the drug for delivery by the pump. The ultimate goal is to design a parenteral drug administration system that is much more comfortable for patients and improves therapeutic compliance with treatments.

The microLIQUID company is a benchmark biotechnological company in the microfluidic technology sector and is responsible for the design and development of microfluidic modules.

In this work called ‘Drug Adherence’, integrated within the total project, the NanoBioCel group has teamed up with the Irish national institute Tyndall, the pharmaceutical multinational AbbVie, the Fraunhofer Institute of Germany, the services innovation section of Philips, the German company Gaudlitz GmbH, specialist in polymers, the Technological Institute Karlsruhe in Germany and the company HI Iberia of Madrid.

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Biomedicine Project Manager job vacancy

CIBER-BBN is looking for a scientific-technical manager within the framework of the European project H2020 SAFENMT

SafeNMT aims to create an innovative open access platform for companies and laboratories to develop medical solutions based on nanotechnology. The manager will be coordinating the participation of the CIBER ICTS NANBIOSIS units in it, in collaboration with the CIBER-BBN management team, under the leadership of the scientific director of CIBER-BBN and IP of the project.

The position requires good command of English and strong skills in coordinating researchers.

Applications must be filed at CIBER’s weportal untill October 14.

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Nanoligent raised €2.8 M and completed Seed round financing with support of i&i Biotech Fund

September 27th 2022 – Nanoligent SL, a Spanish biotech company specialized in the development of cancer treatments based on unique protein conjugates, today announces the completion of a Seed financing round of total € 2.8 M. The final closing of the Seed round consists of € 1 M investment by i&i Biotech Fund I (i&i Bio), an early-stage Life Science fund with teams in Luxemburg and Prague which is backed by the European Investment Fund. i&i Bio joined previous Nanoligent investors, Italian Angels for Growth, the largest network of business angels in Italy, and AVANTECA Partners, a Swiss privately held asset management firm.
Jaromir Zahrádka, Managing partner of i&i Bio, said: “Nanoligent is the fifth investment of our fund and it belongs to a group of targeted oncology therapies in our portfolio. We are excited by deep scientific background and uniqueness of the technology. The platform is developed by highly motivated, experienced, and fully engaged team of scientists and managers. Based on obtained scientific data, the project has a great potential to become an effective treatment for multiple metastatic-cancer types.”
Nanoligent is focused on the development of new drugs for the treatment of more than 20 different metastatic cancer types. The lead molecule is based on the targeted elimination of cancer cells overexpressing the CXCR4 receptor, a recognized biomarker for poor prognosis and therapy resistance. Nanoligent is developing a new proprietary nano-technological platform, with the potential to overcome current limitations of Antibody-Drug-Conjugates.
“Less than a third of newly diagnosed metastatic patients respond to current therapies, making metastasis one of the most pressing unsolved challenges in cancer. With the support of i&i Bio together with our existing investors, we secure our current milestone to provide the first drug candidate of our portfolio of metastasis-targeted therapies” said Montserrat Cano, CEO of Nanoligent.
 The seed round financing will allow Nanoligent to foster the development of multiple drug candidates and advance the pre-clinical development of its lead candidate in a variety of tumor types.
 “We are happy to welcome the i&i Biotech Fund I in Nanoligent. As in previous cases, we have been impressed by the depth of their scientific due diligence and the professionality of their management. They are going to be an important partner for Nanoligent and we are delighted to continue to co-invest with i&i Bio,” said Michele Marzola who, together with Alessandro Toniolo, are co-champions from IAG in this investment.
Two of the investors already joined the Nanoligent’s Board which includes: Michele Marzola (IAG), Michael Milos (Avanteca Partners), Manuel Rodríguez (Chairman) and Montserrat Cano (CEO).
“The i&i Biotech Fund I is the right partner for the further development of Nanoligent. They have shown in depth scientific knowledge as well as being well connected within the pharmaceutical network. We all together are looking forward to bringing Nanoligent’s development plan effectively to the next stages,” said Michael Milos from AVANTECA Partners.

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About Nanoligent
Nanoligent was founded in 2017 by co-founder and Chairman Manuel Rodriguez Mariscal, as a spin-off coming from more than 10 years of fruitful collaboration between the Nanobiotechnology group – NANBIOSIS U1 PPP at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, co-lead by full professor Antonio Villaverde and Principal Investigator Esther Vázquez, and the Oncogenesis and Antitumor Drug Group – NANBIOSIS U18 Nanotoxicology Unit at the Biomedical Research Institut Sant Pau of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, headed by full professor Ramon Mangues, the three of them also co-founders of the company. Montserrat Cano joined the company in 2020, with more than 15 years of experience in pharma and biotech companies. The aim of the company is to develop a pioneering technological platform based on protein-drug nanoconjugates to target metastasis across several tumor types. www.nanoligent.com

About Italian Angels for Growth
IAG, founded in 2007, is a leader in the Italian seed venture capital: more than 270 protagonists of the entrepreneurial, financial and industrial world that invest time, skills and capital for the growth of innovative startups. Italian Angels for Growth, in more than ten years of activity, has analyzed more than 6,500 startups and its members have made over 100 investments, for a total of over 300 million euros invested by IAG members and co-investors. IAG business angels support innovative projects financially by investing their own capital, but at the same time, thanks to the mix of skills of the members, support the founders of the startups in the definition of the business model in all its aspects. www.italianangels.net

About AVANTECA Partners
AVANTECA Partners is a Swiss-based, privately held asset management company that invests in early-stage life science companies. www.avanteca.com

About i&i Bio
i&i Bio is a Luxembourg-based venture capital firm that invests in innovative European Life Sciences companies focused on drug discoveries, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health. The Fund was created thanks to the cooperation of the biotech incubator i&i Prague and the European Investment Fund (see below). With over €45M under management, i&i Bio plans to invest in about 20 early-stage companies. i&i Bio is led by an experienced team of professionals with backgrounds in private equity, healthcare and venture capital supporting entrepreneurs on their journey to global success. Thanks to the close cooperation with the fund’s sponsor, the biotech academic incubator i&i Prague, i&i Bio is supporting and advancing transformative Central European technology companies. www.inibio.eu

About European Investment Fund 
i&i Bio is supported by an investment from the EIF, with the support of:

lnnovFin Equity, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implementing productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing; and
the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), implemented by the EIF with the financial support of the Participating Member States. The objective of EGF is to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that companies in the Participating Member States have sufficient short-term liquidity available to weather the crisis and are able to continue their growth and development in the medium to long-term.Nanoligent SL – B66970088

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