News

Titania-coated gold nanorods with expanded photocatalytic response

New communication in the Journal Nanoscale, from the Royal Society of Chemistry by NFP Group, coordinator of Unit 9 of NANBIOSIS.

Jesús Santamaría, Scientific Director of Unit 9 of NANBIOSIS together with other authors of the Nanostructured Films and Particles (NFP) Group, coordinator of Unit 9 of NANBIOSIS, has published on February 7, 2017, a Communication in the Journal Nanoscale, from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The syntheses of materials during the research have been performed by the Platform of Production of Biomaterials and Nanoparticles of the NANBIOSIS ICTS, more specifically by the Nanoparticle Synthesis Unit, as stated in the publication.

Gold nanorods coated with a uniform titanium dioxide nanoshell have been prepared and used as glucose-oxidase surrogates. Remarkably, this core–shell photocatalytic nanostructure has been able to induce complete oxidation of glucose at near room temperature (32–34 °C) in a wide range of pH values with the aid of a near-infrared (NIR) irradiation source. In contrast, the uncoated gold nanorods exhibit negligible photo-oxidation response under identical experimental conditions thereby proving the photoactivity of the titania shell towards glucose oxidation. The process takes place via in situ photo-generation of singlet oxygen or hydroxyl radicals as reactive oxidative species (ROS). This underlines the role played by the core nanorods as plasmonic light harvesters in the NIR range and constitutes the first example of a NIR-activated enzyme-like catalyst.

Article of reference:

Ortega-Liebana MC, Hueso JL, Arenalcd R, Santamaria J. Titania-coated gold nanorods with expanded photocatalytic response. Enzyme-like glucose oxidation under near-infrared illumination. Nanoscale, 2017, 9,5, 1787-1792

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Jesús Izco, Coordinator of NANBIOSIS, leading the Health Innovation Group at the MATERPLAT Steering Committee Meeting

MATERPLAT, the Spanish Technological Platform of Advanced Materials and Nanomaterials, emerged in 2008 as framework for meetings and collaborations between the different agents of the National Enterprise, Science and Technology System interested in promoting the research, development and application of advanced materials and nanomaterials.

On February 3, 2017 the leaders of the MATERPLAT Innovation Groups met to define the lines of action of the working groups during the year 2017. These groups are transportation, health, energy, raw materials, and cities Intelligent.

They were present, following the order of the photograph: Back row, from left to right: Luis Guaita (KERABEN), José Manuel Puente (ARCELORMITTAL), Marta Serrano (CIEMAT), Eduardo Troche (IMDEA MATERIALS), José Manuel Baena (REGEMAT3D), Rafael Domínguez (AIRBUS). Front row, from left to right: Emilio Nieto (CEINNMAT), Nerea Anacabe (TECNALIA), Jesus Izco (NANBIOSIS-CIBERBBN), Miguel Angel Rodiel (IMDEA MATERIALS), Jose Sánchez (AIRBUS), Carlos Mendoza (AIRBUS) and Alfonso Grande (REPSOL) (AIRBUS, REPSOL, AIMPLAS, KERABEN, CEINNMAT, ITC, CIEMAT, ARCELORMITTAL, CIBER-BBN, REGEMAT3D, TECNALIA and IMDEA MATERIALS). The meeting took place in Getafe (Madrid) in the seat of AIRBUS, entity that holds the presidency of MATERPLAT.

In the meeting the participants agreed as the main action of the Innovation Groups, the preparation of a document entitled “Technological Strategy of Advanced Materials and Nanomaterials – MATERPLAT”, which serves as a reference in the coming years to identify priorities and opportunities for R & D + i in the field of advanced materials and nanomaterials.

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3DBio-impression systems and bio-ink for the regeneration of cartilage and bone

The Nanobiocel Group, coordinator of Unit 10 of NANBIOSIS participate in a public-private collaborative project to reach clinical application in the regeneration of osteochondral lesions, which mainly affect the knee and ankle joints.

The new project is funded by the Challenges-Collaboration program of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. It has a budget of 691,000 euros for 3 years and the participation of two Spanish companies (Bioibérica and REGEMAT3D), the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the University of Granada, the Center for Biomedical Research in Network Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER -BBN) and its ICTS NANBIOSIS.

The companies and research groups participating in this project will work in the manufacture of three-dimensional mesh pieces or scaffolding designed with 3D bio-printing systems. These pieces will be fed with cells that make it possible to generate tissues in vitro to regenerate lesions. The ultimate goal is the development of new bio-inks (in which meshes and cells are combined) that are implanted in bone and cartilage.

In addition, the high prevalence of joint injuries makes them very interesting as the first application of bio-printing, with a view to its use in clinical practice”, Explains Patricia Gálvez, director of the Advanced Therapies Unit of Bioibérica, the coordinating company of this project.

A worldwide pioneering project

The company REGEMAT3D has developed a system of devices for bio-pioneering worldwide. This system, intended for research groups in its initial version, allows bio-printing three-dimensional meshes loaded with various cell types (chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells) for the regeneration of cartilage. This type of fabric has a number of advantages compared to others because of its relative simplicity, and above all because it is not necessary that a previous cultivation has been carried out.

From the scientific point of view, there are several improvements to be made in the area of 3D bio-printing to make this technology so promising can be used in the clinic with guarantees of success. It is necessary to develop new biomaterials for meshes that mimic biological materials with similar mechanical and chemical properties. These biomaterials have to be printable and their parameters have to be controllable. It is also necessary to access a well characterized and reproducible source of cells to feed these pieces that can be obtained in large quantities to be able to repair wide areas of tissue.

For this task, they have joined forces REGEMAT3D, Bioibérica, the Nanobiocel Group of CIBER-BBN, coordinator of Unit 10 of NANBIOSIS, the research group CTS-205 of the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and the research group CTS-963 of Advanced Therapies: Differentiation, Regeneration and Cancer, both belonging to the University of Granada and the Biomaterials Group of the Polymer Science and Technology Institute of CSIC, also belonging to CIBER-BBN.

All these companies and research groups contribute with their know how in bio-printing to the development of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of joint injuries, cellular therapies and biomaterials, in a way that constitutes a multidisciplinary consortium with wide guarantees of success.

“Promover el desarrollo tecnológico, la innovación y la investigación de calidad”

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Equations that can save thousands of lives

Esther Pueyo, from the research group BSICoS, coordinator of Unit 27 of NANBIOSIS, explains for the program “En route with science” of Aragon Television, her research on arrhythmias: irregularities in the functioning of the heart. Arrhythmias are the cause of 25,000 deaths per year and half of hospital admissions in Spain.

First of all they study experimentally (extracting tissues from the heart of animals and humans) how the electrical activity of the said tissues is. Then, the information collected is introduced in mathematical models to understand the heart and to make predictions of what can happen in the future and why some behaviours in the heartbeat of a patient can be dangerous. For that process, stochastic equations are used that do not have a single solution and adapt to the variability of biology. These equations allow researchers to better interpret what the electrocardiogram signals say and to make predictions of risk with greater reliability. This is a multidisciplinary research in which mathematicians, engineers, physicists, biologists, electrophysiologists collaborate to make the most of the data obtained from patients.

To carry out this research, Esther Pueyo heads the European project “MODELAGE” for which she obtained a “Starting Gran” with funding of 1.5 million euros. They model patient data collected for the project to obtain different models, not only for each individual, but also for the different tissues or cells of the same patient.

In this project they study the aging of the heart, but in the BSICoS group, they also study other types of arrhythmias, such as heart attack, ischemia, or heart behaviour of astronauts participating in a special mission, who are at increased risk for arrhythmias or babies with congenital diseases that provide them with an increased risk of having arrhythmias.

Computational modelling necessary to reproduce the experimental and clinical observations and the signal analysis are be developed using the computing platform, Unit 27 of NANBIOSIS.

For further information:

http://alacarta.aragontelevision.es/programas/en-ruta-con-la-ciencia/ Cap 44

Equations that can save thousands of lives

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A multiplexing nanophotonic biosensor for cancer diagnosis

The group Biosensors and bio-analytic applications, led by Laura Lechuga, coordinator of Unit 4 of NANBIOSIS, has developed a methodology through a nano-photonic sensor (known as bimodal waveguide interferometer) capable of quantifying, directly and mark-free, the different messenger RNA isoforms generated by alternative splicing.

The expertise in biodeposition and biodetection systems of Lechuga’s group has permitted a thorough analytical study and optimization of the methodology, achieving not only total selectivity, but also excellent levels of sensitivity and reproducibility, and obtaining the lowest levels of detection in direct detection of messenger RNA isoforms generated by this mechanism without the need for PCR amplification (polymerase chain reaction).

The results of the study have recently been published in Scientific Reports (of the Nature group) and show a new methodology for the analysis of alternative splicing processes in a fast, simple and direct way, overcoming the main problems of conventional techniques. In addition, it opens the possibility of developing more efficient tools for the diagnosis and monitoring of therapy, providing a more informative, specific and precise analysis.

Article of reference:

Analysis of alternative splicing events for cancer diagnosis using a multiplexing nanophotonic biosensor. Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 41368 (2017) doi:10.1038/srep41368.

A multiplexing nanophotonic biosensor for cancer diagnosis

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STAFF III database published at Physionet

The STAFF III database have gone public at Physionet! https://physionet.org/physiobank/database/staffiii/

The STAFF III database was acquired during 1995–96 at Charleston Area Medical Center (WV, USA) where single prolonged balloon inflation had been introduced to achieve optimal results of percutaneous transluminal coronary angiography (PTCA) procedures, replacing the typical series of brief inflations. The lead investigator Dr. Stafford Warren designed the study protocol together with Dr. Galen Wagner at Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC, USA); Dr. Michael Ringborn (Blekinge Hospital, Karlskrona, Sweden) was responsible for data acquisition. The database consists of ECG recordings from 104 patients, accounting for substantial inter-patient variability in reaction to prolonged balloon inflation as well as variability of heart rhythm and waveform morphology. Only patients receiving elective PTCA in one of the major coronary arteries were included. Patients suffering from ventricular tachycardia, undergoing an emergency procedure, or demonstrating signal loss during acquisition, were excluded.

Since its acquisition, the STAFF III Database has been distributed by Prof. Leif Sörnmo (Lund University, Sweden), responsible for the acquisition equipment and software. The use of the STAFF III database has broadened considerably over the years, with importance for several other research problems than high-frequency ECG analysis. Although the original study protocol of the database was designed to address a set of clinical issues, the database has turned out to be highly valuable also for developing, improving, and evaluating a wide range of signal processing techniques. This database has prompted methodological development in many areas related to ischemia, see the review by Laguna and Sörnmo (2014), were the use of high performance computing platforms as NANBIOSYS are used for the analysis.

The database was prepared for PhysioNet by:

Pablo Laguna, Prof., Zaragoza University, Spain (laguna@unizar.es)
Leif Sörnmo, Prof., Lund University, Sweden (leif.sornmo@bme.lth.se)
Juan Pablo Martínez, Assoc. Prof., Zaragoza University, Spain (jpmart@unizar.es)

STAFF III database published at Physionet

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MRSI-based generation of nosological images for noninvasive therapy response assessment in preclinical GBM

Nuria Arias Ramos from GABRMN-UAB, research group coordinator of Unit 25 of NANBIOSIS, presented on January 30^th, an oral communication at the youngSMIN | young Spanish Molecular Imaging Network Meeting.

The title of the communication is “Multi slice MRSI-based generation of nosological images for noninvasive therapy response assessment in preclinical GBM”, written by Nuria Arias-Ramos, SilviaLope-Piedrafita, Victor Mocioiu, Margarida Julià-Sapé, Carles Arús and Ana Paula Candiota.

The work is basically centered in extending the preliminary GABRMN study based on MRSI acquired in a preclinical glioblastoma (GB), both under treatment and control, with pattern recognition and source extraction for noninvasive therapy response assessment. The preliminary study was performed in a single tumoral slice, but the GB is a well-known heterogeneous tumor and also presents heterogenous response to treatment, so the multislice acquisition was an important step in order to characterize therapy response assessment as a whole, not centered in a single slice. Tumors were stratified in no response, partial response and high response after calculating the percentage of the ‘responding’ part of the tumor, and histopathological studies for correlation are in progress.

The MRSI acquisition and processing steps were performed in NANBIOSIS facility U25.

MRSI-based generation of nosological images for noninvasive therapy response assessment in preclinical GBM

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Computing in Cardiology President’s Newsletter – 2017

Pablo Laguna, Scientific Director of Unit 27 of NANBIOSIS and President of CinC (2015-2018), presents the details of CinC 2017 in the Computing in Cardiology, which shall be held in Rennes, France, September 24-27

Dear CinC Attendee,

One more year has passed and the time to plan the annual conference has arrived. To help you with this, I would like to bring you an update on relevant aspects related to CinC-2017, including dates, deadlines and events. I would also like to update you on initiatives, some just consolidating recent developments, such as the Clinical Needs Translational Award (CTA), the Special Sessions Proposals, and the Mortara Travel Fellowships, together with other well established activities such as the CinC Challenge and the Young Investigator Award (YIA) (see below)

First, the Board of Directors and I wish to express our sincere gratitude to The Local Organising Committee and their team in Vancouver, headed by Dr. Andrew Blaber and Dr. Kouhyar Tavakolian. They put on a very successful conference in September 2016 with a record number of attendees in the American Continent. Our sincere thanks!

I would now like to bring your attention to the following information:

Conference Proceedings
The 2016 Proceedings are now available on line with direct access from the CinC web site http://www.cinc.org/archives/2016/. This year we have arranged to have our personalized doi (digital object identifier) for the proceedings. This identification will be of the form DOI:10.22489/CinC.2016.001-107, where the number 10.22489 is the prefix given to our organization, and the suffix CinC.2016.001-107 refers to our name (CinC), year (2016), and internal reference of each paper at the conference (eg 001-107). The doi will point directly to our CinC web Proceedings repository. The whole process has been finished later than in other years, due to the doi definition process itself, the required tool adaptation and the agenda fitting of the people involved in the elaboration, for which we apologize. Also, the papers will soon be available at the IEEE Xplore Digital Library. We are indebted to our Editor Alan Murray, and the CinC IT team, particularly Sheri Prucka, for all of the effort and hard work they have put into the production of the Proceedings.

CinC 2017: 24-27 September, Rennes, France
As you probably already know, the 2017 meeting will be held in Rennes, France. Rennes is the capital of Brittany, North West France, very well known for its university and cultural dynamism. The conference will be held at the École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Rennes (ESIR), campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, https://esir.univ-rennes1.fr. Further details can be found at http://www.cinc2017.org. In particular the Sunday symposium will be devoted to the fields of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) and vagus nerve stimulation.

Joint WG e-Cardiology ESC – CinC: Clinical Needs Translational Award (CTA)
This year, following its successful introduction last year, the CTA will be offered for a second time. Remember that its aim is the promotion and further stimulation of the translational component of CinC attendees’ research, a joint initiative between the Working Group on e-Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and CinC. The paper which best addresses current clinical needs will receive the award, consisting of $500 dollars + €500 (funded by CinC and ESC WG e-Cardiology) which will be granted to the research team. To participate, a full 4-page paper must be submitted no later than April 15, 2017. A panel composed of researchers with a clinically oriented profile will assess the submitted papers. The announcement to the winning team will be made at the time of abstract acceptance. One member of the winning team will have to present the paper at the plenary session on the last day of the conference. There is no conflict between the YIA and CTA as the first author can participate in the YIA competition if he or she is eligible as a young researcher and, at the same time be part of a research team entering the CTA. The prize and a diploma to each member of the team will be given at the awards ceremony.

Special Sessions
The Special Sessions initiative will be organized this year for the second time. It is an effort to stimulate the dynamic nature of research, offering conference attendees a window for promoting an emerging research topic. You are therefore invited to propose a special session by submitting the following information:

Names, email addresses, affiliations, and short biographies of the organisers who are expected to have a PhD or MD degree and a relevant publication track record in the proposed area.
Title of the session.
Aim and rationale for the special session.
A list of proposed speakers, together forming an oral session with 4 presentations. It should be emphasised that abstracts submitted for a special session will be subject to review just like any other submission.

Proposals should be emailed to the secretary of the CinC Board, Leif Sörnmo, leif.sornmo@bme.lth.se, no later than March 1, 2017. All proposals received will be evaluated by the Board based on the timeliness of the topic, its uniqueness, and the ability to bring together key researchers. The Secretary will notify the proposers about the outcome no later than March 15th.

Rosanna Degani Young Investigator Award (YIA)
Since 1992, this award has been designed to encourage young investigators to present their work at CinC and have it discussed with experts. As an incentive every entrant in the YIA competition receives a 50% reduction in the CinC conference fee. The finalists can present their results in a plenary session and receive valuable cheques. You just need to have excellent results, be eligible for YIA, apply with a 4 page paper before April 15th, and attend CinC conference with a senior co-author.

Mortara FellowshipsIn
For last three CinC conference editions, fellowship support has been provided by Mortara Instrument Inc. When available, these Fellowships take the form of financial awards which allow young presenters to participate in the CinC meeting when travel costs might otherwise limit abstract submission and attendance. The Fellowships are intended to offset up to $2000 of the cost of attending CinC for successful applicants who a) should be 32 years old or younger, b) do not reside in the country of the current year’s conference, c) have previously presented their work at CinC, and d) submit acceptable papers on the topics of ECG or Patient Monitoring, which may include mathematical modelling. Full details can be found on the website, but please note that applications for these fellowships require a full 4-page paper to be submitted by the time of the conference abstract deadline. If awards become available this year, it will be an excellent opportunity for young investigators not to have the distance to Rennes as a barrier for attending CinC 2017.

CinC Challenge
Similar to previous years, there will be an exciting PhysioNet Challenge, organized in co-operation with PhysioNet. The topic of the the PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2017 will be announced soon at the web page. Those wishing to participate will need to submit an abstract describing their work on the Challenge no later than April 15th, 2017, and must attend the conference to present it. Details on the challenge are expected to become public in early February, at http://www.cinc.org/ and, later in http://physionet.org/challenge/2017/.

CinC 2017 – Abstract Deadline
Please note that the abstract deadline is April 15th, 2017, and remember that all young investigators submitting a 4-page paper by the time of the abstract deadline, and attending the conference with their mentor/supervisor, will receive a 50% discount in registration, even if their paper is not submitted for YIA.

Facebook and Twitter
You can access and follow the CinC profiles via https://www.facebook.com/ComputingInCardiology and https://twitter.com/CinC_tweets where timely information is distributed about the conference.

Board Membership
An announcement was made at the closing of CinC 2016 that there would be four vacancies on the Board of CinC in September 2017. The Board invited expressions of interest from those who would be willing to work towards the aims of the organisation. The rest of the current members of the Board, who have not yet completed their 3 periods, each with a 3-year mandate, will most likely remain to provide experience and continuity. If you have attended a good number of previous meetings of CinC, feel you could bring some managerial experience to the Board, and you have not yet done so, please write to the past president, Peter Macfarlane, Peter.Macfarlane@glasgow.ac.uk, who will coordinate the process and provide you with a form to fill in your data and submit a short statement about your qualifications and skills. Please remember to provide that information no later than April 1st 2017.

See you in Rennes!
I sincerely hope that you are planning to submit an abstract for CinC 2017 so that we can continue to ensure that Computing in Cardiology remains the top conference for those interested in the field. The Board of Directors looks forward to seeing you in Rennes, France, in September 2017.

Pablo Laguna
President

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Bioengineering is being strengthened in Spain

Titania-coated gold nanorods with expanded photocatalytic response

Jesús Izco, Coordinator of NANBIOSIS, leading the Health Innovation Group at the MATERPLAT Steering Committee Meeting

3DBio-impression systems and bio-ink for the regeneration of cartilage and bone

Equations that can save thousands of lives

A multiplexing nanophotonic biosensor for cancer diagnosis

STAFF III database published at Physionet

MRSI-based generation of nosological images for noninvasive therapy response assessment in preclinical GBM

Computing in Cardiology President’s Newsletter – 2017

NANBIOSIS at the 10th Annual Conference of Technological Platforms of Biomedical Research