Project description
Towards safer pharmaceuticals
Enantiomers are mirror-image forms of chiral molecules and can have different chemical and biological properties. This is particularly important in fields like pharmaceuticals, where one enantiomer of a drug may have therapeutic effects, while the other could be inactive or harmful. Being able to distinguish between enantiomers poses significant challenges in modern chemistry, so producing pure molecules with the right conformation is crucial. The ERC-funded AMEN project aims to develop advanced technologies for selective enantiomer production using autonomously moving chiral microreactors. The research team plans to scale up the process and evaluate its commercial potential.
Objective
Enantiodiscrimination is one of the major challenges in contemporary chemistry. Chiral molecules exist in two non-superimposable mirror image forms, which induce different effects in biological systems. Thus, they need to be produced in a stereoselective way, especially for pharmaceutical use.
The motivation and societal relevance of this project is based on the fact that if the wrong enantiomers are present in pharmaceuticals, their effects can be toxic or even lethal, as has been exemplified by the scandal around the use of racemic mixtures of thalidomide in the 1960ies. Subsequently, it became obvious, and strongly recommended by the FDA and European legislation, that medication should contain pure enantiomers.
Therefore, there is a strong and constantly increasing need to develop advanced technologies that allow a selective production of enantiomers by new synthesis strategies. This challenge is at the heart of the AMEN project. We plan to follow an unconventional concept, developed during the ERC Advanced grant ELECTRA, in order to obtain single enantiomers instead of racemic mixtures. This is achieved by directing the transformation of molecules towards one of the two possible enantiomers with the help of autonomously moving chiral microreactors.
The fundamental strategy has been already validated with proof-of-principle experiments during the ERC Advanced project and showed extremely high selectivity, efficiency, and controllability, however only at the laboratory scale. Therefore, we plan as a next logic step with technology transfer character, to investigate in detail the possibility of scaling up this process and to evaluate its commercial viability and competitivity.
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-2024-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.
33402 Talence
France
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.