Project description
Intracellular biochips to improve immunity against pathogens
Intracellular pathogens and viruses elicit immune responses by presenting their antigens to T cells. At the same time, they have evolved immune evasion mechanisms which essentially reduce the antigenic repertoire that is presented to the immune system. To overcome this problem, the EIC-funded ICARO project proposes to use silicon-based microchips that carry pathogen antigens and can be internalised by immune cells to aid antigen presentation. These biochips are retained within cells for a long time and will provide the foundation for a novel vaccination strategy that can boost specific T cell responses. The consortium will develop standardized methods for ICARO manufacturing and functionalisation to be easily applicable to different pathogens, thus accelerating the generation of new vaccines in the future.
Objective
Intracellular pathogens and viruses elicit immune responses by presenting their antigens to T cells. At the same time, they have evolved immune evasion mechanisms which essentially reduce the antigenic repertoire that is presented to the immune system. To overcome this problem, the EIC-funded ICARO project proposes to use silicon-based microchips that carry pathogen antigens and can be internalised by immune cells to aid antigen presentation. These biochips are retained within cells for a long time and will provide the foundation for a novel vaccination strategy that can boost specific and long-lasting T cell responses. The consortium aims to develop standardized methods for ICARO manufacturing and functionalisation to be easily applicable to different pathogens, thus accelerating the generation of new vaccines in the future
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyvirology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusescoronaviruses
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccines
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantivirals
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
EIC - EICCoordinator
28004 Madrid
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.