Project description
Engineering recombinant protein bioemulsions to improve induced pluripotent stem cells’ scalability
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can expand in cultures and differentiate into various cell types, are a promising tool for regenerative medicine, disease modelling and drug discovery. However, issues concerning scalability, cost, quality and safety inhibit their wider use in clinical applications. While bioemulsions show promise in sustaining iPSC culture, current protein and polymer nanosheet technologies do not meet compliance protocols for widespread manufacture and use. To address this, the ERC-funded uPSCale project aims to develop recombinant protein nanosheets that will stabilise biomedical-grade oil microdroplets, enabling scalable production of bioemulsions in line with regulatory protocols. The resulting bioemulsions and related technology will be validated and optimised in cooperation with industry partners to ensure their safety and stability.
Objective
Advances in stem cell technologies have revolutionised cell therapy and advanced in vitro models, but remain limited by our ability to scale up and automate cell manufacturing. In particular, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) expansion and differentiation require complex processing protocols that are preventing the wider deployment of associated technologies to the clinic and industry. Although solid and hydrogel microcarriers have displayed potential in addressing this challenge, they present hurdles to the processing and separation from cell products, leading to contamination of the generated cells, the poor control of their phenotype and high production costs. Developing cost-effective, scalable, and regulatory-compliant platforms for culturing, differentiating and processing iPSCs, while circumventing reliance on solid substrates and microcarriers, remains critical for advancing cell manufacturing and will significantly impact the sustained growth of associated biotech markets. To mitigate contamination risks, streamline bioprocessing, and reduce associated costs, bioemulsions have emerged as promising alternatives. Despite their demonstrated performance in a growing range of cellular contexts, current underpinning protein and polymer nanosheet technologies raise concerns regarding regulatory compliance, for broad application in regenerative medicine. We propose the engineering of recombinant protein nanosheets for the stabilisation of biomedical grade oil microdroplets, that will tackle these challenges and allow the production of bioemulsions in a scalable format, aligned with regulatory expectations. The ability of the resulting bioemulsions to sustain the culture of iPSCs and their differentiation into defined lineages will be validated and this technology will be de-risked, in collaboration with industrial partners aiming to scale up iPSC technologies. This will allow the development of further IP that will support the exploitation of bioemulsions.
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
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- engineering and technology chemical engineering separation technologies
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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-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.
E1 4NS LONDON
United Kingdom
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.