Biomineralization: Understanding of basic mechanisms for the design of novel strategies in nanobiotechnology

Objective

Biomineralization is the formation of minerals by living cells and organisms. To understand the processes involved in biomineralization, at the cutting edge between inorganic and organic world, the cooperation between molecular and cell biologists, inorganic chemists, and physical chemists, but also computational scientists is required. The products formed by biomineralization are often composite materials consisting of both mineral and organic components. The ability of organisms to form nanostructured biominerals with high precision and in large copy number under biological and environmentally benign conditions makes the mechanisms underlying biomineral formation extremely interesting for nano(bio)technology, a key technology of the 21st century. In the proposed Marie Curie Initial Training Network, we focus on the formation of biominerals consisting of calcium carbonate or biosilica-glass due to the enormous interest and importance that these biominerals have achieved in the last few years. The successful research on this topic which also includes the future industrial application of the results relies on the coordinated multidisciplinary effort of highly qualified researchers with special skills in different disciplines. There is, in particular, an urgent need for training of young researchers in Europe in this pioneering area of research. The goal of this multidisciplinary network is to understand basic principles of biomineralization (bio-silicification and bio-calcification) in order to develop novel strategies to apply the biological mechanisms in the field of nanotechnology. To achieve this goal, an effective and milestone-oriented joint training and transfer-of-knowledge programme will be established. It is expected that - through training of young researchers in the most advanced techniques to study biomineralization – this network will strengthen the competitiveness of the European Union in this important field of present-day research.

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.

• engineering and technology materials engineering composites
• natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry inorganic compounds
• natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry alkaline earth metals
• engineering and technology nanotechnology

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

• Biomineralization
• Biosilica
• Modelling
• Molecular biology
• Nanobiotechnology
• Natural sciences

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

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.

• PEOPLE-2007-1-1-ITN - Marie Curie Action: " Networks for Initial Training"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2007-1-1-ITN
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.

MC-ITN - Networks for Initial Training (ITN)

Coordinator

Participants (9)