Project description
Smart materials inspired by nature’s recruitment process
Nature’s ability to assemble complex structures through weak cooperative interactions offers a blueprint for innovative material design. The ERC-funded RECRUIT project is inspired by receptor recruitment – a biological process where multiple interactions work together to bind particles such as viruses to cell membranes. Researchers will mimic this process to create self-assembling building blocks with well-defined architectures. These dynamic assemblies will be stabilised and functionalised to study recruitment and self-assembly processes in detail. The team will also develop nanoscale platforms for sensing and isolating biological particles, such as viruses and extracellular vesicles. Bridging biology and material science, the proposed approach will offer new tools for detecting, isolating and understanding living systems.
Objective
Receptor recruitment occurs in biology as a response to binding, for example, by virus particles to a cell membrane. The interactions that underlie the binding process are typically multivalent in nature, in other words, multiple interactions of the same motif occur simultaneously to provide a collective, cooperative effect. This project aims to employ recruitment as a design criterium for self-assembling building blocks into well-defined architectures. Intrinsically weak and dynamic interactions are essential in achieving self-assembly and recruitment. Exquisite control over stoichiometry and structure of the assemblies is achieved by harnessing ground-breaking developments in the understanding of these multivalent interactions. Follow-up fixation processes will be developed to transfer the molecular organization onto stable building blocks and materials. Functional, e.g. fluorescent, groups will be implemented into the systems to provide insight into recruitment and self-assembly processes. These breakthrough insights will be used tackle challenges with the identification, sensing and isolation of biological particles. High-throughput methods will provide technology to screen multiple virus–glycan combinations with the aim of providing ‘fingerprints’ of viruses based on their binding behaviour. Platforms with nanoscale dimensions and molecular functionalities will be prepared, which will be used for single-particle sensing and particle isolation of, for example, virus particles and extracellular vesicles. As such, this proposal takes inspiration from nature, by borrowing recruitment as a concept to build self-assembled materials, and to contribute to a better understanding of living systems using new detection and isolation tools, with application prospects for biomedical platforms and smart materials.
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 human-validated.
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 human-validated.
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-2023-ADG
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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.
7522 NB Enschede
Netherlands
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.