Objective
The recent pandemic has emphasised the need to rapidly develop materials that can detect, inhibit and destroy viruses and other pathogens. Antibodies achieve selective recognition of biological targets at ultralow concentrations via multivalent interactions, i.e. the cooperative binding of multiple sites to cognate receptors. While antibody deployment is ubiquitous in diagnostics and therapy, their animal-based manufacturing is costly, time-consuming, lacks universal applicability and raises ethical concerns following EU Directive 2010/63/EU. Recent theoretical studies have established novel material design principles for the emergence of so-called superselectivity, yet the required detailed interplay of valency and individual bond strength with repulsive steric interactions remains inaccessible with available synthetic pathways.
The aim of EngToTarget is to establish a closed-loop engineering approach to superselective nanoparticles that is based on the acquisition, analysis and learning from large data sets. An experimental platform will be developed that combines robotic hardware, synthetic procedures amenable to automation, high-throughput characterisation and advanced statistical methods. Influenza, cholera and SARS-CoV-2 will be used as case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method for achieving greatly enhanced selectivity and target discrimination in physiological fluids. Such nanoparticles will be deployed in novel detection principles that are enabled by superselectivity and validated for their effectiveness in diagnostic assays. The methodology is generic, affordable and open-source, allowing for rapid adaption to a broad range of emerging viruses or other biological targets (e.g. cancer biomarkers) and serving a global community of experimentalists with rational, effective and expedited approaches to nanoparticle engineering.
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 - 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-2025-COG
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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.
80333 Muenchen
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.