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PICCOLO PROJECT FACE-TO-FACE MEETING

The 5th project face to face meeting has taken place in Cáceres (Spain). The first version of the PICCOLO prototype was set up at CCMIJU, facilities at the end of 2018, and it has been a great chance to show it to the PICCOLO consortium members. During these two days of the meeting, the technical partners presented both the individual components of the prototype (MPT and OCT) and the integration of the same in the probe of the multi-photonic system. The attendants have been able to check in-situ the performance of the prototype in the operating rooms of CCMIJU. Based on this, and in close collaboration with clinical partners, next steps regarding the pre-clinical tests on animal models to be performed were discussed.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation Programmeunder Grant Agreement No. 732111

Image of the meeting participants at the face to face meeting in the JUMISC, partner of NANBIOSIS.

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STRYKER & NANBIOSIS start a promising line of biomedical research collaboration

On January 23-24th a two-day meeting between NANBIOSIS and Stryker Trauma GmbH, took place at the Carlos III Health Institute, in Madrid, to explore synergies and potential joint initiatives.  

Nils Reimers and Robin Buescher from Stryker, presented some of their research and upcoming projects in the field of trauma medical devices, and representatives from NANBIOSIS’ units -Marisa González from U16 Surface Characterization and Calorimetry Unit, Teresa Galán from U7, Nanotechnology Unit, Gemma Pascual from U17 Confocal Microscopy Service, from CIBER-BBN, Marisa García from U28 (Bionand) and José Francisco Guillén and Francisco Sanchez Margallo from the units of the Jesús Usón Minimum Invasive Surgery Center (CCMIJU) , together with Jesús, Izco Executive Director of NANBIOSIS and Ramon Martínez, Scientific Director of CIBER-BBN- explained their technologies.

The second day, the meeting location was moved to the CCMIJU in Cáceres, to visit the Center facilities and continue conversations.

All attendees expressed their satisfaction with the development of the meeting and agreed to continue with the explorations in forthcoming meetings.

Photo caption: From left to right: José Francisco Guillén (Quality Guarantee Manager of CCMIJU),  Jesús Izco (NANBIOSIS Executive Director), Francisco Sanchez Margallo (Scientific Director of CCMIJU), Nils Reimers (Senior Manager R&D – Stryker Trauma GmbH), Robin Buescher (Director R&D Stryker Trauma GmbH), Margarita Casado (Management Staff of NANBIOSIS)”

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Laura Lechuga, Scientific Director of Unit 4 of NANBIOSIS Coordinates a EuroNanoMed project

ABISENS Monitoing of Acquired Brain Injury and recovery biomarkers by the combined label-free nanosensing of multiple circulating molecules is one of the project awarded in the EuroNanoMed III joint call, will be coordinated by Laura Lechuga through the CIBER-BBN

Abisens will employ the Unit 4 of Nanbiosis, Biodeposition and Biodetection Unit or the multiplexed biofunctionalization of the biosensor chips and their methodology optimisation

The evaluation of patients after brain injuries, which produces severe impairments, remains a major unmet clinical need. Nowadays the diagnosis, prognosis and the efficacy of rehabilitation treatments are mainly assessed by clinical examinations, neuroimaging and electrophysiological tests during a long hospitalization stay. The aim the project is to offer as an alternative a new nanobiosensor platform able to identify and quantify multiple brain biomarkers in blood with high sensitivity and in a short time. The new biosensor platform will employ nanophotonic waveguide circuits in combination with oligonucleotide chemistry.

The project will be characterized by a strong interdisciplinary and translational nature resulting from the meeting between real clinical needs and high-level technological integration of biosensing and bimolecular aspects.

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NANBIOSIS Against Cancer

The World Health Organization, the International Cancer Research Center (IARC) and the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) celebrate February 4 of each year as World Cancer Day

Every year, 14 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed worldwide and the disease causes 8.2 million deaths.

Thanks to scientific research, great advances have been made in the fight against cancer. Through surgery, chemotherapy or radio therapy and, in the last 20 years, through immunotherapy, hormonal treatment or cell therapies, tools have been obtained to improve early diagnosis and treatments, increasing cancer survival by 20%.

The only way to understand cancer and, someday, eradicate it or eliminate the suffering and death due to this disease, is RESEARCH

NANBIOSIS as an ICTS (Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructures) for biomedical research plays a very important role in the fight against cancer. Some examples are bellow:

Thanks to a coordinated action between units U1 of Protein Production Platform (PPP), U18 of Nanotoxicology and U29 of Nucleic Acid Synthesis, NANBIOSIS is developing nanopharmaceuticals with a high degree of efficacy for the treatment of metastases in colon cancer, by using of proteins with high specificity of binding to metastatic cells and a high degree of permanence in the blood flow, loaded with anti-cancer drugs that are selectively released inside the tumor cells that are going to form the metastases. Through the public financing of a NEOTEC project and a RETOS-COLABORACION and the company NANOLIGENT SL, the first antimetastatic drug on the market will be developed.

The Protein Production Platform-PPP collaborates with research projects whose objective is the development of new cancer therapies based on recombinant modular proteins with the ability to self-assemble. These multimeric complexes have shown, in animal models, a high stability in serum and an improved biodistribution compared to that observed with drugs for clinical use. These principles have been valued in different types of cancer, including colorectal cancer and breast cancer. The modular design of these constructions allows the incorporation or substitution of direct peptides and therefore they are presented as a transversal tool for more effective treatments against cancer. In addition, the PPP has served the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) of Barcelona, the Josep Vilanueva group (CIBERONC) in the field of biomarker study and new targets associated with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit is working on a project in collaboration with VHIR, financed by the Spanish Goverment and CIBER-BBN, for the development of a new nanomedicine for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma, one of the most frequent childhood cancers.

Unit 6 is also working on the project Artificial Lymph Nodes for Cancer ImmunoTherapy (ALYCIA) A project born of a initiative of CIBER-BBN/ CIBERONC to enhance scientific interdisciplinary collaborations between research groups working on oncology and nanomedicine. Researchers of unit 6 will develop Artificial Lymph Nodes (ALN) based on dynamic 3D scaffolds able to promote efficient ex vivo lymphatic cell expansion of relevant phenotypes. Such ALN represent a new approach to lymphocyte expansion, which not only includes artificial Antigen Presenting Cells in suspension like the state-of-the-art expansion techniques, but also mimics the function of the LN ex vivo.

One of the singular capabilities of the U25 of NANBIOSIS NMR: Biomedical Applications I is the acquisition of high quality, high resolution preclinical magnetic resonance imaging/spectroscopy/spectroscopic imaging data. This allows performing leading-edge studies in preclinical cancer models such as noninvasive therapy response follow-up in murine brain tumours, revealing new response biomarkers with translational potential for brain cancer patients.

NANBIOSIS U4 Biodeposition and Biodetection Unit  is currently developing the national project PREDICT Point-of-care Nanoplasmonic Platforms for Novel High-Value Diagnostics and Therapy Follow-Up , which works in the early detection of lung cancer. PREDICT project will use the Unit 4 of Nanbiosis for the multiplexed biofunctionalization of the biosensor chips and their methodology optimisation.

Finally, Unit 20 of NANBIOSIS In Vivo Experimental Platform at VHIR, is the most implicated of the CIBER units on projects in the field of cancer, just to name some of them: H2020-NoCanTher: magnetic nanoparticles against pancreatic cancer through the use of hyperthermia combined with conventional treatment. H2020-Target-4-Cancer: nanotherapy based on polymeric micelles directed against specific receptors of tumor stem cells in colorectal cancer. H2020-DiamStar: nanodiamonds directed against leukemia for the potentiation of chemotherapy. FET-OPEN EvoNano: in silico and tumor-tumor models for the prediction of PK / PD and tumor efficacy of antitumor nanomedicines against tumor stem cells. FIS-ISCIII: polymeric micelles for siRNA and combined therapy against breast cancer tumor stem cells. CarboXigel: hydrogels for the sustained release of chemotherapeutic drugs against the metastatic spread of ovarian cancer. MelanoMir: nanomedicine applied to skin cancer, melanoma, beside other projects promoted by CIBER-BBN.

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Rosa Villa explains how New graphene implants can help to better understand the brain


A graphene implant that detects brain activity at extremely low frequencies could improve the technology of the electrodes to analyze the state of our brain, has been developed by researchers from several research institutes of the CSIC in Catalonia and the CIBER-BBN.

Last First of February , Rosa Villa, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U8 Micro – Nano Technology Unit was interviewed in Ágora, a program of Scientific Dissemination of Radio Aragón. Dr. Villa, researcher of the Biomedical Applications Group of the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona and CIBER in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine, explains the relevance of the research carried out, together with several institutes of the CSIC in Catalonia, on the application of new materials to the study of brain activity.

The brain is composed of many neurons that communicate with each other. This communication occurs through electric currents that are detected with electrodes placed on the surface of the head or above the brain. Brain waves are very different if we are awake or asleep or when we have certain pathologies. The electrodes with which these electrical signals
were analyzed used to be large; thanks to the microelectronics began to make increasingly smaller electrodes that could identify communications much better but that small size also makes their limited reach, since they do not always take all the degrees of frequency.

Graphene has opened the degree of frequencies to detect the electrical signals of the brain. So far the electrodes were placed on top of the hair (for example the encephalograms) but now, although it has only been done in animals for the moment, the microelectrodes are already being placed as implants on the brain itself, which are left on the surface or they dig in to access more depth. When this is done, the brain feels invaded and isolates that electrode generating a scar, which is why more compatible materials are sought that are not rejected by the brain, such as graphene. Overcoming this technical limitation makes accessible the large amount of information that is below 0.1 Hz, while it facilitates the design of new brain-computer interfaces can register a wide range of frequency of what is occurring in a site of the brain.

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Cancer metabolism in a snapshot: MRS(I)

Margarida Julià‐Sapé, Ana Paula Candiota and Carles Arús, Scientific Director and Scientific Coordinators of Nanbiosis U25 NMR: Biomedical Applications I, are the authors of a new article in the journal NMR in Biomedicine: “Cancer metabolism in a snapshot: MRS(I)”

The article contains a revision of the contribution of MRS(I) to the in vivo evaluation of cancer‐metabolism‐derived metrics, mostly since 2016. Strategies include the following: (1) quantification of single oncometabolite content such as 2HG; (2) selected metabolite ratios such as total Cho to NAA in gliomas, ratios related to Cho, Cr, citrate and polyamines in prostate cancer or Lac/Pyr in hyperpolarized 13C MRSI; and (3) the whole 1H MRSI(I) pattern, through pattern recognition analysis, allowing detection of response to therapy in preclinical brain tumours before detectable volume changes.

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Quatsomes. A new family of nanocarriers for drug delivery

The XXXVII edition of the Biennial Meeting of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) will be held from the 26th to the 30th of May in Donostia-San Sebastian. 

Prof. Jaume Veciana, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS and unit 06  of NANBIOSIS -ICTS  Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit, will present on May 28th 2019 a lecture entitled “Quatsomes. A new family of nanocarriers for drug delivery” at the Simposium “From Chemistry to Nanomedicine” (http://bienal2019.com/simposios.php). In this lecture the advantages and disavatages of such a kind of nanocarriers will be presentaed as well as some of their applications as nanomedicines.”

Deadline for sending abstracts: January 30 (http://bienal2019.com/en/communications.php) 

Early registration until March 2. 

There are scholarships available for students members of the RSEQ and for any of the groups indicated in http://bienal2019.com/becas.ph

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New device could monitor treatments with anticoagulant to achive personalized therapies

  • Researchers from NANBIOSIS units 2 and 4 have designed a biosensor device based on gold nanostructures that precisely detects the presence of the anticoagulant drug from a small blood sample.
  • Treatments with anticoagulants such as Sintrom® (acenocoumarol) face the difficulty of adjusting the drug doses. This device will allow patients to self-regulate the dose.

 

Researchers of NANBIOSIS unit 4  Biodeposition and Biodetection Unit of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) and CIBER Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) have developed a biosensor device which allows the monitoring of anticoagulants such as Sintrom® (acenocoumarol) to deliver a personalized therapy in which the patient or doctor can adjust the drug dose to achieve the optimal effect.

The ICN2 Nanobiosensors and Bioanalytical Applications (NanoB2A) Group, led by CSIC researcher Prof. Laura Lechuga, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U4 (Biodeposition and Biodetection Unit), designed this plasmonic device containing gold nanostructures to which specific bioreceptors can be attached, in order to detect biomarkers in a reproducible and accurate way using a small sample of the patient’s blood and without the need for any prior treatment.

Previously, the Nanobiotechnology for Diagnostics (Nb4D) Group of the CSIC’s Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), led by Prof. M. Pilar Marco, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U2 (Custom Antibody Service (CAbS),  produced haptenized proteins (similar to Sintrom®) and polyclonal antibodies specific for this anticoagulant in the U2 of NANBIOSIS. The large experience of U2 unit in the preparation of labeled proteins and production of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies has resulted in the generation of specific antibodies capable of recognizing Sintrom®. Their usefulness has been demonstrated in a clinical study using an immunoanalytical technique with high sample throughput.

Building on their previous results, the two groups collaborated to develop an automated biosensor device allowing a personalized dose adjustment of this oral anticoagulant. Their results were recently published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

As stated by CSIC researcher Prof. Laura Lechuga, “we have studied the optimal conditions to develop this biosensor device and have obtained excellent sensitivity to detect the anticoagulant, which indicates that it is possible to measure very low concentrations of this drug”.

Since it is a quantitative and highly sensitive technology, this device is very suitable for its use in clinical environments, where it could provide a real time follow-up of the medication, or even for patients to manage the medication themselves, a significant breakthrough for people receiving anticoagulants.

Patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases or thromboembolic disorders are usually treated with anticoagulants such as Sintrom® to prevent blood clots formation. The problem is that this treatment entails risks, explain the researchers. “For example, in case the dose is too low, it would not achieve the expected effect and blood clotting may occur; On the other hand, in case the dose is too high, it could cause side effects such as internal bleeding. The right dose depends on many factors such as weight, age, diet and interaction with other medications. ”

 

Reference articles:

Nanoplasmonic biosensor device for the monitoring of acenocoumarol therapeutic drug in plasma Cristina Peláez, M Carmen Estévez, Alejandro Portela, Pablo Salvador, Pilar Marco, Laura M. Lechuga. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 119, 2018, 149-155 – DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2018.08.011

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for therapeutic drug monitoring coumarin oral anticoagulants in plasma J.Pablo Salvador, Dolors Tassies, Joan-Carles Reverter, M.-PilarMarco. Analytica Chimica Acta. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2018.04.042

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Bionand, recently incorporated to NANBIOSIS ICTS, among the three national biotechnology reference centers.

The Diario Sur of  Andalucía, publishes today  an article dedicated to BIONAND and its recent accreditation as ICTS by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, that resolved on November 6 the incorporation of the Nanoimaging Unit of BIONAND to the ICTS NANBIOSIS.

In the article, the Director of BIONAND, Jose Becerra Ratia, Professor of Cell Biology of the University of Malaga, explains the opportunities and commitments that imply for the Andalusian Center for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology (BIONAND) its incorporation to NANBIOSIS.

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Antimicrobial peptides are a promising kind of molecules to fight multi-drug resistant bacteria

The project titled “Breaking the boundaries of resistance to antimicrobials; searching for new antimicrobials against multiresistant bacteria: work on polycytonic peptides and lipid nanoparticles (BARNAPA)” in which participates Fernando Albericio, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS unit 3 Synthesis of Peptides Unit, has been selected by La Marató TV3 and finnaced with 383.276,25 €.

According to Fernando Albericio, the project arises from the need of effective and safer antibiotics to fight resistant and multi-drug resistant bacteria. In this sens, the proyect developed in collaboration with Miquel Vinyas of the UB and with the Stefania Stefani group of the Universita de Catania  looks at antimicrobial peptides as a promising kind of molecules to achieve this goal.

Fernando explains the experimental session of the project: “The synthesis of molecules in the chemical laboratory may yield new cationic peptides analogs optimizing selectivity (increasing activity, reducing toxicity) to develop them as candidates for preclinical development. Natural molecules, such as teixobactin and colistin, may serve as scaffold for unlimited new antimicrobial peptides. Mechanisms of action and spectrum of activity should be elucidated first by means of biophysical studies (electron microscopy, flow cytometry, model membranes, electrophysiology). In addition, preparation of lipid nanoparticles will be carried out to explore new pharmaceutical formulations maintaining antimicrobial activity and reducing unwanted side effects. Testing studied molecules in front of clinical multidrug resistant isolates and biofilms produced by these bacteria will be also accomplished. The eventual synergism between the peptides and conventional antimicrobials has to be explored since previous results are promising. We hopefully expect this project to yield a few candidates and propose new delivery
formulations to start exploratory in vitro and in vivo tests (which should include acute toxicity determination, pharmacokinetics, and development of a model of respiratory infection in mice) to finally transfer it to a pharmaceutical company for further clinical assay and use”.

 

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