Objective
Objective: The aim of GLYMCE is to understand how carbohydrates and their assemblies are recognized by pathogens to drive infections. The identified molecular patterns will be transferred to biomimetic glycopolymer materials to extend the arsenal for the fight against infections.
Carbohydrates are not just sweet, they are crucial in various biological interactions: Cell surfaces are covered in carbohydrates, the glycocalyx, that governs contact with pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. A class of carbohydrates critical for pathogen attachment and infections are glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). GAGs are highly diverse polysaccharides already used in medicine (e.g. heparin against thrombosis). The potential of GAGs in fighting viral and bacterial infections has been recognized in biology and medicine, but, as of today, there are no GAG-based drugs used for this purpose. A key limitation is insufficient knowledge about the mode of action of GAGs within the complex ensemble of the glycocalyx:
How does the display of GAGs within the glycocalyx affect their pathogen interactions?
GLYMCE wGLYMCE will tackle this question from the polymer chemists point-of-view: taking a bottom-up approach to prepare GAG mimetics (level 1); assemble glycocalyx mimetics and study their spatial organization of GAGs upon pathogen binding (level 2); reengineer the glycocalyx of living cells to understand the factors governing infection (level 3). This is only now possible through recent synthetic tools developed by my lab enabling GAG mimetics with controlled sequence, molecular weight, chain conformation, architecture and sulfation patterns all parameters known to critically impact the affinity and selectivity of GAGs.
Overall, by taking a radically different approach informed by chemical biology and brought to life by polymer chemistry, mechanisms for GAG-mediated pathogen attachment will be derived and applied to develop new materials and strategies to detect, prevent and treat infections.
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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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.
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HORIZON.1.1 - 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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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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-2022-COG
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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.
79098 Freiburg
Germany
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.