Project description
Intracellular delivery and endosomal escape quantification of biotherapeutics
The intracellular delivery of membrane-impermeable biomacromolecules is crucial for advancements in life sciences, spanning research and biomedical applications. The ERC-funded BioLure project will develop a method for quantitatively measuring intracellular delivery and endosomal escape using a bioorthogonal luminescent reaction in live cells. Unlike conventional approaches that use large fluorophores, this project will use a single amino acid tag to label the molecule of interest (MOI), minimising alterations to its properties. This tag generates a luciferase substrate in the cytoplasm upon successful translocation, facilitated by selective bioorthogonal reactions. The project will focus on protein delivery via membrane disruption, validate results with complementary methods, and evaluate endosomal escape for various MOIs, including therapeutic siRNAs.
Objective
Intracellular delivery of membrane-impermeable biomacromolecules is essential for a broad spectrum of life sciences, ranging from fundamental biological studies to applied biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. Despite the great efforts in developing new intracellular delivery nanocarriers in the recent 20 years, simple, high-throughput, and accurate intracellular delivery quantification in live cells is still technically challenging. In BioLure, I propose an unconventional approach to quantify intracellular delivery and endosomal escape by a bioorthogonal luminescent reaction in live cells. Instead of a bulky fluorophore, I will label the molecule of interest (MOI) to be delivered with a single amino acid tag, which causes minimal changes in MOI’s physicochemical properties and functions. The tag will generate luciferase substrate inside live cells upon successful translocation into the cytoplasm by bioorthogonal reactions with chemoselectivity, rapid kinetics, biocompatibility, and high efficiency. The quantification strategy will initially be applied to the intracellular delivery of proteins via physical membrane disruption and validated by complementary methods. It will then be expanded to nanocarrier-mediated endosomal escape with different MOIs, including therapeutic siRNAs. The successful endosomal escape quantification will allow further nanoparticle screening for siRNA delivery.
I envision that BioLure will lead to a paradigm shift in the intracellular delivery field, facilitating the transformation from qualitative routine fluorescence imaging to high-throughput real-time quantification. The high sensitivity and low background make it an appealing tool for biologists to study endosomal escape and for material scientists to develop potent next-generation non-viral intracellular nanocarriers. Eventually, it will facilitate the design and screening of endosomal escape carriers and future nanomedicine formulations.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology nanomedicine
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
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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)
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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 - 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-2023-STG
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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.
00014 Helsinki
Finland
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.