Objective
The utility of conventional peptides in pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications is limited by their poor stability and bioavailability. Cyclotides are plant derived mini-proteins with unique structural properties that make them exceptionally stable and have a range of exciting applications in drug design and agriculture. Beside the variety of intrinsic activities, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the mechanism involved in cyclotides activity. Understanding how they exert their biological effects is a crucial step and is the basis of this proposal. Recent evidence has emerged that these actions are mediated by membrane interactions and this study will determine the chemical and biophysical basis for these interactions. The main goal of this project is to explore the interaction of a selected set of cyclotides with biological membranes. The specific objectives are to evaluate: 1) the structural features important for the membrane binding of cyclotides; 2) the structural basis of membrane selectivity; 3) if the self-association properties of cyclotides are involved in their mechanism of action; 4) the biophysical basis for the effects of cyclotides on living cells; 5) the information from objective 1-4, together with bioactivity data to rationalise the bioactivity of cyclotides. Understanding how cyclotides exert their biological activities will provide valuable information that can be applied in subsequent drug design studies. The outgoing host lab has a strong background on cylotides and several facilities that can be optimized for peptide-lipid studies (NMR and fluorescence spectroscopies, isothermal titration calorimetry and surface Plasmon resonance). An advanced training to complement applicant specific expertise and skills in peptide-lipid interaction, obtained previously in return host lab, will be acquired. This knowledge exchange between outgoing and return host organization will create an environment for future collaborations.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine medicinal chemistry
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
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.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-1-IOF
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.
Coordinator
1649 028 Lisboa
Portugal
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.