Project description
Exploiting the chirality of fluoroquinolones for safer drugs
Pharmaceuticals, and their metabolites and transformation products (TPs), are stable, poorly biodegraded and recalcitrant, and thus responsible for the emerging contamination of aquatic environments. Existing mitigation measures are insufficient and often too risky due to the possible generation of TPs. As such, a disruptive prevention strategy is urgently needed. The ERC-funded ERA-ARE project will build a robust base for the realisation of a world-leading research group promoting environmental safety. The ERA|ARE innovative method relies on fundamental understanding of enantioselectivity of environmental processes that can impact the fate/behaviour of pharmaceutical contaminants. The project will exploit the chirality of selected fluoroquinolones as a piloting tool to reduce antibiotic resistance and create innovative guidelines for developing safer drugs.
Objective
The detrimental effects on ecosystems and human health caused by the emerging contamination of aquatic environment by pharmaceuticals urges a disruptive prevention strategy. These drugs, their metabolites and transformation products (TPs) are stable, poorly biodegraded, and recalcitrant. Though novel mitigation measures have been proposed, they are insufficient and often risky due to the possible generation of TPs. Under this increasingly deteriorating scenario for future generations, ERA|ARE aspires to build a strong ground for the realization of an internationally leading research group dedicated to promoting environmental safety. ERA|ARE approach is based on fundamental understanding of enantioselectivity of environmental processes that can impact the fate/behaviour of pharmaceutical contaminants. Fluoroquinolones (FQs), a group of chiral fluorinated antibiotics/anti-cancer agents will be explored as a proof of concept, since most small molecules approved in the last years are either fluorinated and/or chiral, presenting a stable C–F bond and a potentially enantioselective bioactivity. To attain its goals, ERA|ARE will exploit the chirality of selected FQs as a piloting tool to: 1) realize the impact of stereochemistry on antimicrobial resistance (key innovation) by testing the hypothesis that antibiotic resistance (AR) may be acquired in (and not only spread/disseminated by) wastewater treatment plants (never verified before); 2) reveal how to better select drug candidates by biodegradability; 3) pave the way for future directions of Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA); and 4) avoid ecotoxicological effects and bioaccumulation. ERA|ARE will contribute to reduce AR (expected to cause 10 million deaths/year by 2050), raising the alert level for environmental protection and sustainability. ERA|ARE will rebrand the relationship pharmaceutical industry vs environment by disrupting the ERA process and creating pioneering guidelines for the pursuit of safer drugs.
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.
This project has not yet been classified with EuroSciVoc.
Be the first one to suggest relevant scientific fields and help us improve our classification service
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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-2021-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
4099-002 Porto
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.