Project description
New solution for better drug testing models
Drug discovery and personalised medicine face challenges due to unreliable preclinical testing methods. Current tissue models like flat petri dishes and isotropic hydrogels cannot replicate the complex structures of human tissues. Animal models, often used as an alternative, differ from human biology and raise ethical concerns. This contributes to high costs, delays and limited success in developing new treatments. In this context, the ERC-funded AnisoPlate project has created a handheld magnetic device that aligns special hydrogel rods to form 3D tissue structures. These models mimic the anisotropic architecture of human tissues, offering researchers and pharmaceutical companies an accurate tool for drug testing. The overall aim is to make drug development faster, cheaper and more effective.
Objective
The limitations of current in vitro tissue models pose a significant challenge in drug discovery and personalized medicine, leading to inefficiencies and unreliability in preclinical testing. These shortcomings result in high costs and prolonged timelines for drug development, straining resources and delaying patient access to innovative treatments. This is mainly due to the currently available cell and tissue models based on flat petri dishes and isotropic hydrogels, which fail to accurately represent the anisotropic structures found in native tissues leading to unreliable preclinical results. Animal models, although considered the gold standard, raises ethical concerns and introduces significant differences compared to human tissues. To address these shortcomings, we have developed a hydrogel system that can be used to fabricate 3D culture models with oriented structures using AnisoPlate. The AnisoPlate is a handheld magnetic device for providing the required external magnetic field in culture plates for the orientation of the rods. The hydrogel system consists of rod-shape elements that are made magneto-responsive by encapsulating superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). When exposed to low external magnetic fields (in the millitesla range) provided by the AnisoPlate, these rods align in the direction of the field and can be assembled into 3D macroporous oriented constructs mimicking the anisotropic architecture of human tissues. Our solution holds promise not only for researchers in drug discovery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine but also for pharmaceutical industries seeking physiologically relevant in vitro models for more accurate preclinical studies, contract research organizations (CROs) aiming to enhance their efficacy in high-throughput screening, and ultimately patients who stand to benefit from accelerated and improved drug development processes leading to innovative treatments.
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-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-2023-POC
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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.
52074 Aachen
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.