News U6

Nanomedicine applied to Dermatology by Almirall, Leitat Technology Center & NANOMOL (NANBIOSIS U6)

NANOMOL (ICMAB-CSIC), a research group member of ICTS “NANBIOSIS”, more specifically of the Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit (U6), announced today the launch of Nano4Derm, a research project in collaboration with Almirall, S.A and Leitat Technology Center, focused in nanomedicine applied to treat dermatological diseases. Within the framework of this research project, new innovative formulations containing nanoencapsulated active ingredients will be developed for the topical treatment of inflammatory skin conditions, such as Acne and Psoriasis.

Nano4Derm involves the development and physico-chemical and biological characterisation of nanocapsules containing active ingredients, and the generation of scalable formulation prototypes for manufacturing nanoformulations suitable for clinical trials. These innovative formulations will address current unmet needs and challenges, such as antimicrobial resistance, and provide improved topical treatments for Acne and Psoriasis, in terms of side effects, instability of active ingredients, and skin penetration.

Under the terms of the agreement, ICMAB-CSIC and Leitat research centers will be in charge of developing the different prototypes of nanocapsules containing the active ingredients while Almirall will be responsible for the development of formulations containing the encapsulated actives. Furthermore, Almirall and Leitat will evaluate in preclinical studies both the new nanocapsules and formulations in order to select the best solution to address the unmet medical needs in the topical treatment of Acne and Psoriasis.

This agreement will lead to the development of two types of nanocapsules: Quatsomes and Polymeric Nanocapsules. Quatsomes are lipid nanoparticles with higher colloidal stability than liposomes, which favors the production of high quality, pharmaceutical formulations. They are obtained from the DELOS-SUSP, a technology developed by researchers from the Nanomol group (ICMAB-CSIC) based on the use of supercritical fluids such as CO₂. This technology has advantages over other manufacturing methodologies in terms of homogeneity and scalability, as it replaces the use of organic solvents by green solvents. Polymeric Nanocapsules are developed by the Leitat Technology Center, and provide versatility to the project as they can be designed with different drug release profiles depending on the needs being addressed.

This project is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the announcement of the State Program for R&D&i (2016), orientated to the Society Challenges, modality RETOS-Collaboration 2016, and co-financed by FEDER funds from the European Commission.

About Nanomol (ICMAB-CSIC)

NANOMOL is a research group depending on the Institute of Material Science of Barcelona from CSIC, with wide expertise and recognized excellence in the synthesis, processing and study of molecular and polymeric materials with chemical, electronic, magnetic and biomedical properties. NANOMOL is also a member of Biomedical Research Networking center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) and of the technology transfer network TECNIO from ACC1Ó-Generalitat de Catalunya. The development by Nanomol of the different prototypes of nanocapsules will be performed in the ICTS “NANBIOSIS”, more specifically by the Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit (U6) of the CIBER in Bioengineering, Biomaterials & NanomedicIne located at the ICMAB-CSIC.

About Leitat

Leitat is a multisectoral private technological center whose mission is to collaborate with companies and other entities to create economic, social and sustainable value, through R+D+2i projects and technological processes from innovation and creativity. Leitat is a brand of the private entity Acondicionamiento Tarrasense and is recognized by the Generalitat de Catalunya (ACCIÓ) and by MINECO.

The Division of Nanomedicine and nanobiosensors of Leitat develops nanosystems for therapeutic application in order to solve specific problems in safety and, absorption issues and improvement of the efficacy of some API. In addition, related to diagnosis the group develops nanoparticles for specific recognition of analytes for the improvement of the sensitivity and signal amplification of biosensor systems.

The Efficacy and Safety Unit of Leitat also participates in Nano4Derm project, which has extensive experience in the development and application of in vitro models for the toxicological and efficacy evaluation of diverse natural products, from the pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetics and food industries. In the pharmaceutical sector, the Unit acts as a strategic provider in Drug Discovery and pharmaceutical development processes. In recent years this unit has been involved in the development and biological characterisation of micro- and nano-delivery systems for topical application.

About Almirall

Almirall is a global pharmaceutical company with a strong focus in Dermatology and Aesthetics with the mission of providing valuable medicines and medical devices to you and future generations. Our R&D is focused on Dermatology, with a wide range of programs including key indications. Through our innovative products, agreements and alliances, our work covers the entire drug value chain. Almirall is continually growing as a specialist company in a wide range of skin diseases, in order to cover our customers unmet needs.

Founded in 1943, headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, Almirall is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange (ticker: ALM) and it has become a source of value creation for society due to its vision and the commitment of its long-standing major shareholders. In 2016, its revenues totaled 859.3 million euros and, with more than 2,000 employees, it has gradually built up a trusted presence across Europe, as well as in the US.

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Conflicting evidence for ferroelectricity – New publication in NATURE by scientists of NANBIOSIS

Researchers from Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS, -ICMAB (CSIC)/CIBER-BBN-, in collaboration with others from the Universities of Liège, Mons, Grenoble-Alpes, Parma, Augusburg, Girona and CNR-IOA (SISSA) have published in the journal Nature (G. D’Avino et al., Nature, 547, E9-E10, 2017) an article questioning the presence of ferroelectricity at room temperature in organic charge transfer crystals, generated by supramolecular techniques, previously published in the same journal (Tayi et al, Nature, 488, 485-489, 2012), by a team led by Profs. J. Fraser Stoddart (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2016) and Samuel I. Stupp of the University of Northwestern.

For more information: D’Avino et al, Nature 547, E9-E10 (13 July 2017). doi: 10.1038 / nature22801

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Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS-ICTS Biomaterials processing and Nanostructuring at ICMAB-CSIC received the visit of high school students

A group of 22 students from the high school La Serra (Mollerusa) visited the Biomaterials and Nanostructuring Unit of NANBIOSIS, at the Institute of Material Science of Barcelona of CSIC.

The visit was an activity within the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology festival 10alamenos9 in which ICMAB participates.

The students were guided through the labs by Amable Bernabé, technical responsible of U6, who explained them about nanotechnology, NANBIOSIS-ICTS research infrastructure and the different techniques available at “Biomaterials processing and Nanostructuring Unit”.

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NMR signal enhancement of >50 000 times in fast dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization

Jaume Veciana, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS-ICTS has participated in the research results published in the journal Chemical Communication, wich reports the synthesis and the study of a novel mixed biradical with BDPA and TEMPO radical units that are covalently bound by an ester group (BDPAesterTEMPO) as a polarizing agent for fast dissolution DNP. The biradical exhibits an extremely high DNP NMR enhancement of >50000 times, which constitutes one of the largest signal enhancements observed so far, to the best of our knowledge.

Some of the researchs were made taking advantage of the characterization facilities provided by ICTS NANBIOSIS.

For more information:

L. F. Pinto, I. Marín-Montesinos, V. Lloveras, J. L. Muñoz-Gómez, M. Pons, J. Veciana and J. Vidal-Gancedo*. Chem. Commun., 2017,53, 3757-3760. DOI: 10.1039/C7CC00635G

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NANOMOL group, coorditator of Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS has authored 26% of the scientific articles of ICMAB in NATURE

The Nature Index takes into account the published scientific articles from 1 February 2016 to 31 January 2017. This index is elaborated annually based on the affiliations of the authors of scientific articles published in a selection of 68 high-quality journals (http://www.natureindex.com/faq#journals)

CSIC appears as the first Spanish research centre in this ranking and occupies position number 38 in the global ranking of 500 research centres worldwide, while ICMAB occupies the first position within the CSIC centre, taking into account the corrected index WFC that shares the work between the different co-authoring institutions and corrects for the overrepresentation of some fields. Thus, ICMAB appears in the Nature index with a total of 42 articles out of which 12 have been authored by researchers of NANOMOL, showing a significant contribution (26% of the publications contained in this list) to the leadership of ICMAB in excellence in Science.

Some of the published papers were made taking advantage of the characterization facilities provided by ICTS NANBIOSIS

NANOMOL is a research group with wide expertise and recognized excellence in the synthesis, processing and study of molecular and polymeric materials with chemical, electronic, magnetic and biomedical properties, that continuously generate new knowledge in its basic and applied research projects regarding the micro and nano structuring of molecular materials. NANOMOL offers this knowledge to improve the properties of products manufactured in diverse sectors, such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals and electronics, thereby contributing to increasing their added value. NANOMOL is a research group actively involved in implementing nanotechnology and sustainable and economically efficient technologies for preparing advanced functional molecular materials. It is also the group coordinator of Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS and its Leader group, Dr. Jaume Veciana, is the Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS-ICTS

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NANBIOSIS Scientific Director Dr. Jaume Veciana received a Mention of Honor for his dedication to NANBIOSIS

On April 22, Dr. Jaume Veciana received a Mention of Honor from the current President of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, during the celebration of the X Anniversary of the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery “Jesus Usón” for his commitment, effort and dedication in the creation of the Singular Scientific Technological Infrastructures (ICTS) NANBIOSIS, in collaboration with the Center for Biomedical Research Center in Bioingeneering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN).

Further information:

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Materials for Biomedical Applications Scientific School (BIOMAT-2017)

Registration is now open for the Scientific School on Materials for Biomedical Applications (BIOMAT-2017) that will take place on 19th-22nd of June 2017 in the UAB Campus (Barcelona). This school is organized by ICMAB-CSIC and it is included in the Severo Ochoa activities of the Institute.

The school is addressed to last year undergraduate, master and PhD students, who are interested in the development of materials for biomedical applications. The aim of the school is to present the design, development and application of new materials for a wide range of biomedical applications.

The school includes lectures from international and local scientists, hands-on and management activities and practical sessions. One of the practical sessions will take place at Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS and will be directed to the preparation and characterization of particulate nanomaterials with biomedical applications.

This Scientific School is an optimal opportunity to discover, learn and practice on material science focusing on fundamental science and applied research in the field of biomedicine.

There will be grants for students covering the fees of the summer school.

For further details and registration please go to:

https://congresses.icmab.es/matbio2017/

Registration deadline: 21st May 2017

There are only 50 places available, secure yours with an early registration.

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Validation of a drug for foot ulcers in collaboration with Cuba

Nanomol, (Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS) has announced in Cuba that the process of clinical validation of a new drug developed and patented in collaboration with Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Cuba, integrated in BioCubaFarma, has been initiated. The new drug is designed to improve the healing of foot ulcer in diabetics and could be on the market in five years.

The collaboration of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Cuba with Nanomol, coordinating group of Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS, began in 2010. Cuban researchers had developed an effective product in wound healing in diabetics but the product had to be Administered with injections in the affected area. Nanomol obtained a nanoformulation with which it is possible to integrate the protein in a nanovesícula, so that the active principle of its degradation is protected once it is applied in the wound and, in addition, is obtained that the protein is released of suitable form. The results of the work have resulted in a patent and currently the process of validation and scaling of pharmaceutical production is being carried out to bring the product to market.

U6 of NANBIOSIS has played an important role in the development of this potential nanomedicine since it enabled a detailed characterization of several physico-chemical properties of the multifunctional nanovesicles used to construct it.

Validation of a drug for foot ulcers in collaboration with Cuba

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Lipid-based Nanovesicles for Nanomedicine

Jaume Veciana and Nora Ventosa, Scientific Directors of Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS together with other researchers from NANOMOL group, coordinator of Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS, has recently published an interesting review article in the journal Chemical Society Reviews.

This review presents the large plethora of lipid-based nanovescicles available nowadays, focusing on a new generation of non-liposomal L-NVs and showing their similarities and differences with respect to their ancestors (liposomes). Since the overspread of a nanomaterial to the market is also strongly dependent on the availability of technological-scale preparation methods, it also extensively review the current approaches exploited for L-NV production. The most cutting-edge approaches for their preparation based on compressed fluid (CF) technologies is highlighted since they show the potential to represent a game-change in the production of L-NVs, favoring their step from the bench to the market. Finally, this review briefly discusses L-NV applications in nanomedicine looking also for their future perspectives.

Article of reference: N.Grimaldi, F. da Silva, N.V. Segovia, L. Ferrer-Tasies, S. Sala, J. Veciana,^*and N. Ventosa^*, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2016, 45, 6520—6545

Lipid-based Nanovesicles for Nanomedicine

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Extraordinary doctoral award

Ingrid Cabrera, member of the NANOMOL group that coordinates Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS, has obtained the extraordinary doctoral award from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona for her thesis “Nanovesicle-bioactive conjugates to be used as nanomedicines, prepared by a one-step scalable method Using CO₂-expanded solvents“.

This thesis was directed by Jaume Veciana, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS and Nora Ventosa, Scientific Director of Unit 6 of NANBIOSIS.

The main objectives of the PhD Thesis of Dr. Ingrid Cabrera were the preparation and study of multifunctional nanovesicle based nanoformulation of alfa-galactosidase for the treatment of Fabry desease as well as of another multifunctional nanovesicle based nanoformulation of epidermal growth factor for the treatment of complex wounds. Both nanoformulations were prepared by a one-step procedure using compressed fluids at U6 of Nanbiosis. This platform also provided many nanoparticles characterization facilities that enabled to obtain important information on the supramolecular organization and characteristics of the produced multifunctional nanovesicles that were key for understanding their biological activities.

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