Ana Paula Candiota, Scientific Coordinator of NANBIOSIS U25. NMR: Biomedical Applications I, is now part of the Panel of experts from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. This panel aims to offer their knowledge and experience to the media in case they have questions on specific issues.
The CIBER-BBN organizes in Barcelona a WORKSHOP related to the European project H2020 “IPMT-Integrated Precision Medicine Technologies Center of Excellence”, framed within the program “Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation”, in which the scientific direction and scientific committee of the CIBER -BBN, together with the Fraunhofer Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBMT), participate as reference advisory centers of the University of Cyprus (UCY) and clinical institutions of the country, coordinators of the proposal.
Date
March 22th-23th, 2018
Location
Day 1: IMB-CNM, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Meeting Room, Jose Millán.
Day 2: Hotel Silken Sant Gervasi, Barcelona, Room Garden.
Simó Shwartz, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U20 In vivo Experimental Platform, has recently published an interesting article “Efficient EFGR mediated siRNA delivery to breast cancer cells by Cetuximab functionalized Pluronic® F127/Gelatin” issued by Chemical Engineering Journal. The research group of Dr Schwartz has managed to create a micelle formed by a combination of polymers and gelatin that allows to transport effectively large quantities of both nucleic acids and drugs inside. The system also leads to the periphery a series of carboxylic groups that allow anchoring in a very easy way any type of directing molecule such as for example a peptide or antibody.
Scientists of NANBIOSIS U12. Nanostructured liquid characterization unit have recently published an article in Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
Next Tuesday, March 13, at 7:00 pm, in the facilities of the Social Work of Ibercaja of Patio de la Infanta, the third and last conference of the cycle “Mathematics in our life” will take place, organized by the Royal Academy of Sciences of Zaragoza (RACZ).
With the title Mathematics and heart, a tandem with a great future, the last conference will be taught by Esther Pueyo Paules, professor at the University of Zaragoza, researcher at the BSICoS group of CIBER-BBN and I3A of the University of Zaragoza,which coordinates Unit 27 of NANBIOSIS High Performance Computer.
Esther Pueyo is winner of a “Starting Grant” from the European Union for the MODELAGE project to advance in the characterization of aging of the heart and the prevention of cardiac arrhythmias.
During the days 26-28 of February took place in Copenhagen, Denmark the Big Science Business Forum 2018 in which NANBIOSIS was present.
Big Science is the term that is used to designate research efforts of great magnitude, due to its high cost, complexity and scientific importance. Scientific progress is increasingly based on large-scale projects, with increasingly global scientific projects and increasingly collaborative research.
The Big Science Business Forum 2018 brought together more than 650 delegates from 25 countries, and representatives of more than 250 companies, being an important event to know business opportunities in the coming years as well as to establish Networks, with more than 1000 central players and 800 individual 1-1 business meetings.
In the photo, together with representatives from CDTI, Jesús Izco, Coordinator of NANBIOSIS a Large Scale Facility (ICTS), and Manuel Lozano, Director of CNM-CSIC, which houses another ICTS: the “Integrated Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room”,
The Integrated Clean Room for Micro and Nano fabrication (SBCNM) is a Large Scale Facility (ICTS) dedicated to the development and application of innovative technologies in the field of Microelectronics together with other emerging Micro/Nanotechnologies. It is embedded administratively in the Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica – Instituto de Microelectrónica de Barcelona – (IMB-CNM), a research centre belonging to the Spanish Council of Scientific Research (CSIC). It is an open access facility that aims at helping national and international research groups to carry out R&D activities thanks to the availability of a set of complete micro and nanotechnologies and processes housed in a highly specialised Clean Room environment devoted to R&D&i of excellence, and driven by an expert team. Such support ranges from technology awareness to the development of basic demonstrators, or small series of prototypes.
NANBIOSIS is a distributed ICTS for the design and production of biomaterials, nanomaterials and devices to their preclinical validation, integrated by the Center for Biomedical Research of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) and the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery Jesus Usón (CCMIJU ). NANBIOSIS consists of 27 units coordinated under a single window model. Together, these units offer a complementary service that includes the design, production of biomaterials and nanomaterials and the characterization of these bio and nanomaterials, tissues, devices and medical systems from a point of view, physical-chemical, functional, toxicological and biological (including preclinical validation), focused on biomedical applications, which allows for the development of a therapeutic agent until it reaches preclinical validation under the coordination of some of the best Spanish research groups in bioengineering, biomaterials and nanomedicine.
Researchers of the NANBIOSIS U13 apply numerical models to the cornea to better understand how it behaves and help in surgical planning. Data and algorithms developed through the computer, together with the 3D image, make it easier for ophthalmologists to perform eye surgery more precise and personalized treatments for each patient
The work carried out by Miguel Ángel Ariza Gracia at the Aragón Engineering Research Institute (I3A) has been recognized by the University of Zaragoza with the Extraordinary Award for the Best Doctoral Thesis of the Biomedical Engineering Program in 2017
In this line of research, framed in the European project PopCorn has been working Miguel Angel Ariza since September 2013 under the supervision of Begoña Calvo and José Félix Rodríguez Matas, the research group in Applied Mechanics and Bioengineering (AMB) of the I3A – CIBER -BBN, which coordinates the unit 13 of NANBIOSIS and the Laboratory of Biological Structure Mechanics (LabS) of the Politecnico di Milano, respectively. The Mechanical Characterization of Biological Tissues that the project needs is carried out in NANBIOSIS U13 Tissue & Scaffold Characterization Unit. Unit 27 High Performance Computing of NANBIOSIS is also used in this project for the Computational Simulation of Biological Tissues.
The advances in corneal biomechanics open new ways and possibilities to create technical equipment that allow to know the mechanical properties and characteristics of the eye
Here are joined three technologies, the topography (allows to measure the geometry of the cornea), the tonometry of no contact or breath of air (deforms the cornea to obtain dynamic variables that are believed associated with the properties of the cornea) and the models in silico or numerical. The three, together with the phenoptic image technology, “can make it possible to obtain the geometry of a patient’s eye, with its personalized properties to give better advice to doctors in refractive surgeries or in the planning of another surgical intervention,” explains Miguel Angel Ariza
Begoña Calvo, who also works on the numerical modeling of other structures such as skeletal muscle, points out that this “generic” process of reconstruction, transfer of clinical data to the model and generation of a finite element model can be used to simulate other treatments or reproduce different surgical techniques. “The work of Miguel Ángel has allowed us to delve into what is now known as artificial intelligence, having the necessary algorithms to generate databases that can be used in the clinic,” he says.
Fibers of collagen in the cornea
The quality of the cornea tissue depends on the collagen fibers that we have embedded in the corneal stroma, its orientation is what gives that transparency and its links (crosslinks) structural integrity. “Our proposal is to go a step further, to work to better understand collagen fiber,” explains Ariza.
Nowadays, “there is no technical team that provides all the properties and allows to know what quality the corneal tissue has to be able to adequately respond to surgery and subsequent treatments,” recalls Dr. Calvo.
Nanobiocel, the CIBER-BNN – UPV-EHU group, led by José Luis Pedraz, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS-ICTS U10 “Drug Formulation Unit” participates in the Position II European project, coordinated by Philips Electronics Nederland.
The project, funded through the Horizon 2020 call with a global budget of more than 50 million euros, will be developed during three years with the participation of 48 partners. Its general objective is to innovate in the production processes in the field of health to obtain state-of-the-art catheters. It will also include innovative treatments, such as cell therapy, which guide small capsules with cells with a regenerative effect to stimulate the recovery of damaged cardiac areas during the infarction.
The Nanobiocel group will be responsible for carrying out the formulation of the cells in hydrogels, for administration through the catheter at the cardiac level, for the regeneration of heart tissue.
In the development of the project, NANBIOSIS U10 “Drug Formulation Unit ” will participate. This Unit, located in the Faculty of Pharmacy of the UPV / EHU, has the capacity to design and evaluate classic dosage forms and new forms of biotechnological drugs, DNA, RNA and vaccines, using different methodologies based on micro and nanomedicine. This last methodology, based on the microencapsulation of cells, peptides, proteins and, in general, of biotechnological products, as well as the development and design of non-viral vectors for gene therapy, is one of the greatest singularities of this unit. It has the most advanced equipment for micro and nanoencapsulation.
The Eurpean project under Grant Agreement Ecsel-783132- POSOTION II 2017-IA, seeks to reverse the nowadays obsolete production of catheters (in the last decade there have been no innovations in this field). This justifies, from a business point, the investment in new R & D lines. In addition, it will introduce open technology platforms to increase miniaturization, the integration of electronics, wireless communications and their encapsulation. These technology platforms will renew catheter-based interventions, improving performance and reducing current production costs. It also seeks to break the current monopoly of US companies in the development and production of smart catheters.
The European project “Smart-4-Fabry”, is coordinated by CIBER-BBN, specifically by NANOMOL group at ICMAB-CSIC (Dr. Nora Ventosa) and the Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit (U6) of ICTS “NANBIOSIS”, and it also counts with the participation of NANBIOSIS Units U1 Protein Production Platform (PPP), U3 Synthesis of Peptides Unit, and U20 In vivo Experimental Platform.
Fabry disease is an inherited genetic disorder of the lysosomal storage group, which affects many organs and parts of the body, as it is caused by the accumulation of a lipid in the lysosomes of the cells, altering their functions and leading to cell death. This accumulation is due to the lack of an enzyme, α-Galactosidase A (GLA). The symptoms are many: limb pains, stains on the skin, problems with sweating, blurred frontal vision, gastrointestinal problems, loss of hearing, etc. In the long term it can cause renal failure, and heart and central nervous system problems.
Patients can lead a normal life with the current treatment called “enzyme replacement therapy”, where GLA is administered intravenously to patients. However, this treatment exhibits several drawbacks, related to a high instability, high immunogenicity or low efficacy of this molecule crossing cell walls. The development of a new treatment for this disease, as well as for other rare diseases, has become a priority challenge within the European program H2020.
Smart-4-Fabry, acronym for “Smart functional GLA-nanoformulation for Fabry disease”, was born with the idea of obtaining a new nanoformulation of GLA that will improve the efficacy and tolerance of the existing treatments. The project will advance from experimental proof of concept, to the preclinical regulatory phase. The ultimate goal is to reduce the treatment cost and to improve the quality of life of patients with Fabry disease.
Smart-4-Fabry, involves the participation of fourteen partners from five different countries from academia and industry. The consortium is formed by: Network of Biomedical Research Centers: Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) with the NANOMOL group at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), the Drug Delivery and Targeting Group at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (GDLF-VHIR), the Peptide Synthesis Unit at the Barcelona Science Park (UQC-PCB), and the Biotechnology and Biomedicine Institute of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (IBB-UAB) (Spain); Aarhus University (Denmark); Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Israel); Joanneum Research (Austria); Biopraxis Research AIE (Spain); the spin off Nanomol Technologies SL (Spain); BioNanoNet (Austria), Drug Development and Regulation SL (Spain), the Covance Laboratories LTD (UK) group; and Leanbio SL (Spain).
For further information: http://smart4fabry.eu/
On February 22nd, the National School of Health of the Carlos III Health Institute hosted the forum on Smart Biomaterials and biomedical devices for applications in drug delivery and regenerative medicine, organized by the ICTS Nanbiosis, an infrastructure shared by the CIBER-BBN and the Center of Minimally Invasive Surgery Jesus Usón (CCMIJU). This is the first groups/companies meeting organized by Nanbiosis, in which about 70 B2B meetings were held.
The meeting brought together about 40 participants from 14 research groups (from the CIBER-BBN and the CCMIJU) and 10 companies, which discussed the latest advances in the research lines developed by the groups and platforms of Nanbiosis and on the needs and demands of the industry in smart biomaterials and devices for targeted drug delivery and regenerative medicine.
Jesus Izco, Coordinator of Nanbiosis, presented the new “Cutting-Edge Biomedical Solutions“, soon available on the ICTS website. These are integrated solutions to advanced challenges in nanomedicine, biomaterials, medical device, and diagnostic that can be developed by several units under a one-stop shop model, optimized with the experience and scientific and technical knowledge of the research groups of excellence that manage the involved units. Some of the Cutting-edge biomedical solutions presented in the meeting were preclinical validation of biomaterials, mechanical and surface characterization, biocompatibility and studies of biofilm formation and infections.
The CIBER-BBN prsentations were: “Instructive materials for regenerative medicine” by Miguel Ángel Mateos (NANBIOSIS U5 IP: Elisabeth Engel); “Molecular biomaterials for drug delivery and biomedical applications” byNathaly Veronica Segovia (NANBIOSIS U6 / IP Jaume Veciana and Nora Ventosa); “Advances with micro-nano technologies for in vitro devices and point of care” by Rosa Villa (NANBIOSIS U8 ); “Development of new dosage forms for advanced therapies based on new biomaterials” by José Luis Pedraz (NANBIOSIS U10); “Contact lenses functionalized for the prevention of corneal infections” by Jordi Esquena (NANBIOSIS U12 / IP Carlos Rodríguez); “Combined in-silico and in-vitro models of the cell microenvironment and drug delivery effects in cancer and tissue engineering applications” by Fany Peña (NANBIOSIS U13 / IP Miguel Á. Martínez); “Surface of the biomaterial: the first contact with our body” by Marisa González (NANBIOSIS U16 ); “Use of biomaterials for the repair of soft tissue defects” by Bárbara Pérez Khöler (NANBIOSIS U17 / IP J M. Bellón and Gemma Pascual); “Controlled release systems based on mesoporous materials with molecular doors for applications in therapy and diagnosis” by Ramón Martínez Máñez (NANBIOSIS U26); “New intelligent devices and biomaterials for the treatment of pathologies of the retina and the nervous system” (Eduardo Fernández); and “Near-infrared responsive scaffolds for biomedical applications” (Nuria Vilaboa).
On the part of the CCMJU, the presentations were the following: “Application of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in preclinical models for surgical and cardiovascular research” by Javier García Casado (NANBIOSIS U14); “Regenerative medicine in animal models of cutaneous healing and diabetic models” by Beatriz Moreno (NANBIOSIS U19); “Preclinical studies of biomaterials” by Idoia Díaz-Güemes (NANBIOSIS U21 /IP: FM Sánchez Margallo); “Porcine model of myocardial infarction as a translational research platform in regenerative medicine” by Verónica Crisóstomo (NANBIOSIS U24).
In the turn of the companies, they presented some collaboration opportunities AJL, i-Vascular, Praxis Pharmaceutical, Technical Proteins Nanobiotechnology and REGEMAT 3D; and they also participated in the Rovi, Viscofan, Biomag and Biogelx Laboratories forum.
These meetings, where links are established between research groups and companies, address issues of business and scientific interest, allowing direct contacts between researchers and business managers.
