Project description
Filled nanohorns deliver lithium for high-precision neutron capture therapy
The destructive effects of radiation therapy on healthy cells remains a challenge in cancer treatment. Neutron capture therapy (NCT) has the potential to reduce this damage. NCT harnesses isotopes that, when irradiated with neutrons, produce lethal particles with very short path lengths, limiting the destructive effects of radiotherapy to a single cell. The trick has been delivering enough neutron-active atoms to the tumour for effective therapy. The ERC-funded TARLIT project will design "nanohorn" carriers of enriched lithium compounds to deliver lithium nuclides into cancer cells. Given the production of higher energetic particles than those produced by currently available state-of-the-art systems, the use of lithium is expected to significantly improve the efficiency of NCT.
Objective
Cancer accounted for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. Half of all cancer patients are treated with radiation therapy, either alone or combined with other therapeutic modalities (mainly surgery and chemotherapy). One of the first concerns related to radiotherapy is the toxicity of healthy organs and tissues close to the tumour. It is well-known that radiation therapy not only kills cancerous cells that divide, but also affects to the cells in division in healthy tissue. Neutron capture therapy (NCT) is a form of radiotherapy that exploits the potential of some specific isotopes for cancer treatment. The nuclear reaction that takes place when some isotopes are irradiated with neutrons, produces lethal particles with path lengths that can limit the destructive effects to a single cell, thus conferring high therapeutic precision to this form of radiotherapy. For this therapy to be successful, enough neutron active atoms must be delivered to the tumour site so a lethal capture reaction can take place. However, current benchmark pharmacologic agents are limited in their performance due to the low concentration of active species delivered in the tumour sites. TARLIT goes beyond the state-of-the-art and presents an innovative approach that consists on the design of nanoparticles as carriers of enriched lithium compounds. The possibility to deliver lithium nuclides into cancer cells, and the fact that nuclear reactions of lithium resultant from neutron irradiation produce higher energetic particles that the current state of the art, can significantly improve the efficiency of NCT in the eradication of cancer cells and tumours.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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)
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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-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept 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-POC2
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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.
28006 MADRID
Spain
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.