News

Researchers of two NANBIOSIS units success in the Third Millennium Awards

Researchers of two NANBIOSIS units success in the Third Millennium Awards: the Young Research Talent award to Julia Ramirez (NANBIOSIS U27) and the Research and Future Award to the NFP group (NANBIOSIS U9)

Last November 8, four initiatives received the highest award in the eighth edition of the HERALDO contest Third Millennium Awards which represent the recognition of the Aragonese community from the youngest to the most consolidated trajectories in knowledge transfer, innovation, and scientific dissemination.

The Paraninfo of the University of Zaragoza hosted this event in which researchers CIBER-BBN – NANBIOSIS were recognised this year:

The Films and Nanostructured Particles (NFP) group of INMA and CIBER-BBN, directed by Jesús Santamaría and coordinating NANBIOSIS U9 “Synthesis of Nanoparticles Unit“, was recognised with the Research and Future Award: Manufacturing drugs inside tumors.

Julia Ramírez, from the BSiCoS group of the I3A and CIBER-BBN, coordinator of unit 27 “High Performance Computing Unit” of NANBIOSIS, received the “Young Research Talent” award for her work in the biomedical signal processing.

The Third Millennium Awards’ objective is to recognize the work of people, research centers and groups, institutions and companies in Aragon in three main axes:

Innovation: Technological Innovation Award

Divulgation: Best Science and Technology Dissemination Initiative

Research:

– Young Research Talent Awards

– Transfer of Science and University to Business Award

– Research and future award

Julia Ramirez

During her doctorate at Unizar (2017), she developed a methodology to quantify morphological variations in the electrocardiogram (ECG). This quantification led to the T-wave morphology restoration (TMR) index, which was shown to be a stronger predictor of sudden cardiac death than standard clinical indices.

After her doctorate, she moved to work at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) in London. This was a key point in her research career because she broadened her knowledge in engineering, gaining experience in genetics and bioinformatics. During those years, she obtained two highly competitive European Postdoctoral Fellowships: a WHRI-Academy Cofund (2017) and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie (2018). In recognition of her work, in April 2020, QMUL promoted her to Lecturer in Genetics and Cardiovascular Data Science.

Since January of this year, Julia Ramírez has been back in Zaragoza thanks to a María Zambrano International Talent Attraction Scholarship, giving up the highly competitive Category 2 Talent Attraction of the Community of Madrid, which she had also been awarded. In total, the researcher from Zaragoza has contributed to her field of research with 32 peer-reviewed publications in different disciplines, including bioengineering, cardiology and genetics (13 of her as first author).

In her speech recognized “being in a happy moment”, for being back in Zaragoza, “being away is not always easy” and also for collecting an award for her work that always motivates her to continue forward in a career as the researcher, long and complicated.

The Films and Nanostructured Particles (NFP) group:

«This initiative is the work of many people. It has been a fantastic trip”, said Jesús Santamaría, Principal researcher of the NFP Group

The NFP of the Group was created in 2007 by researchers from different backgrounds, with the aim of concentrating efforts in the development and application of nanostructured materials with an emphasis on nanoparticles, nanoporous interfaces and hybrid systems. Its members have made pioneering developments in the synthesis of nanomaterials and their application in fields ranging from medicine to energy and the environment.

The award recognised the group’s work in the cancer research throughout the project CADENCE (Catalytic Dual-Function Devices Against Cancer), that aims to find a new way to fight this disease, avoiding the problems associated with conventional chemotherapy and its devastating side effects. Three fundamental problems had to be solved. First, developing suitable catalysts (catalytic nanoparticles) capable of operating inside a tumour and manufacturing toxic molecules there. Alternatively, nanoparticles can operate in other ways (by heating remotely) and also produce tumour death. It is also necessary to selectively deliver these catalysts to the tumour, avoiding their accumulation in other organs. Finally, these catalysts must be selectively activated inside the tumour. The answers obtained to each of these problems have opened new paths in the fight against cancer: Catalysts capable of manufacturing toxic substances from within the tumour are used, minimising their diffusion through the body.

This research was funded for five years through an ERC Advanced Grant project endowed with 2.5 million euros. The ERC Advanced Grants are the most prestigious European projects, awarded by the European Research Council in a highly competitive international competition.

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Applications of data-driven dynamics to oncology and neuromodulation

On the 17th of November, CIBER-BBN group TME lab – NANBIOSIS U13 Tissue & Scaffold Characterization Unit. organises the Conference “Applications of data-driven dynamics to oncology and neuromodulation” by Dr. Michael Ortiz.

Michael Ortiz a Frank and Ora Lee Marble Professor Emeritus of Aronautics and Mechanical Engineering at California Institute of Technology. Prior to his arrival at Caltech in 1995, he was Professor of Engineering at Brown University.

Since 2020 he also holds positions as Research Chair in the Institute of Applied Mathematics, University of Bonn and as Adjunct Professor and Timoshenko Distinguished Fellow in the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics and Astronautics of Stanford University.

As main awards, he has received the

Rodney Hill Prize, International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM) 2008.
Timoshenko Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2015.
Doctor Honoris Causa, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain, 2019.
John von Neumann Medal, US Association for Computational Mechanics (USACM), 2019
Elected Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE). 2013
Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAAS). 2007
Corresponding Member, Spanish Academy of Engineering. 1999
Doctor “Honoris Causa” from the Polytechnique University of Madrid 2019

The event will take place at 12:00 in the Meeting Room of the Betancourt Building in the Campus Rio Ebro, Zaragoza

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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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Soft Materials Service – NANBIOSIS ICTS U6

Contents of the course

Theory:

Practice: