Objective
Silicatein is a unique enzyme from siliceous sponges that is able to catalyze the formation of an inorganic material, silica or “biosilica” which forms the inorganic skeleton of these sponges. Another exceptional property of this protein is its dual function, as we discovered for the first time in the ERC Advanced Grant “BIOSILICA” (Grant no. 268476): silicatein both (i) acts as an enzyme (biosilica formation) and (ii) exhibits structure-forming/guiding activity. Even more important with regard to the biomedical application of silicatein: the product of the enzymatic reaction, biosilica, is osteogenic and biocompatible and allows the formation of a moldable material – the ideal basis for the potential application in bone healing, as we found. Moreover, we demonstrated that biosilica not only increases the expression of bone morphogenic protein 2 (BMP-2), but also modulates the ratio of expression of two proteins, osteoprotegerin (OPG) and RANKL, that are crucial in pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Hence, biosilica has potential in prophylaxis and therapy of osteoporosis, a major health threat worldwide. Measures to prevent the development of osteoporosis have become increasingly important due to the demographic development in many industrialized countries. Our idea arising from the ERC-funded project is to apply the silica-enzymes fused to a hydroxyapatite-binding protein tag for the formation of bioactive biosilica-based scaffold / nanocomposite materials for bone regeneration and repair in osteoporotic patients and patients with related bone diseases. The proposed project aims at bringing this idea to a pre-demonstration stage by conducting a proof of concept and verifying its innovation potential. The potential commercialization opportunities and the IPR position of this idea will be clarified.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
- engineering and technology materials engineering nanocomposites
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2012-PoC
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
55131 Mainz
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.