Objective
Cancers are the leading cause of death in the developed world, with populations facing a 30% chance of developing the disease by the age of 75. As part of a concerted effort to open up new treatments and improve patients’ experiences with existing ones, the concept of drug delivery – using non-toxic carriers to transport medicines directly to the location of disease – has emerged. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), porous materials comprised of organic linkers and metal joints, show considerable promise as drug delivery vectors due to their high storage capacities, amenability to functionalization and the ability to prepare entirely non-toxic nanoparticulate derivatives. This proposal will use the PI’s expertise in advanced MOF synthetic methods to facilitate dramatic technological breakthroughs through unprecedented control of MOF self-assembly and surface chemistry. Management of MOF surface chemistry will allow installation of stimuli responsive release mechanisms and offer control over the trapping and release of cargo within MOFs, ensuring drugs are released only at the site of disease in the body. Surface incorporation of sophisticated biotargeting units such as peptides and aptamers will facilitate selective uptake of the MOFs by diseased tissues only. Rapid clean microwave syntheses will allow metal radionuclides to be incorporated for PET imaging, offering a novel alternative to traditional chelates. Comprehensive in vitro and in vivo testing will ensure that this multidisciplinary streamlining of materials, supramolecular and medicinal chemistries with the biosciences will generate highly efficient theranostic devices, offering more efficient, targeted drug delivery to improve treatment efficiency, mitigate side effects and open up new therapeutic avenues such as siRNA delivery. The fundamental advances required to generate these novel materials will also impact across the many applications of MOFs, from molecular storage and separations to catalysis.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
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.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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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.
(opens in new window) ERC-2015-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
G12 8QQ Glasgow
United Kingdom
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.