Project description
Capturing UV sunlight for skin protection solutions
Climate change affects society and economic development. It also increases skin cancer cases due to higher UV radiation. While sunscreens are commonly used for protection, concerns remain about the safety of their chemicals for humans and marine life. The ERC-funded CUSHOSP project will develop organic assemblies for eco-friendly sunscreens using advanced generative artificial intelligence. This innovative approach repurposes hydrogen-bonding networks (HBNs) to capture UV light and prevent skin damage. Building on promising preliminary results from the ERC Consolidator Grant, the project will create a leading candidate for an organic sunscreen. This research has the potential to establish a new market for sustainable and accessible skin protection solutions, significantly impacting the skin protection and cosmetics industries.
Objective
Global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer due to climate change, is having an
enormous impact on human society and economic development. In this Proof of Concept
(PoC), we focus on a preventative measure for the rising cases of skin cancer induced by
the increase in harmful exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, a factor that is having
profound consequences at all levels of the economic sector. The most common measure
used in the industry to protect the skin from UV rays, is through the application of
sunscreens. The safety of the key chemical components of these sunscreens on both humans
and marine life, are recurrently a matter of concern and debate in our society.
The CUSHOSP PoC seeks to explore, through state-of-the-art generative artificial
intelligence, the design of organic assemblies that will form the building blocks of next-
generation eco-friendly sunscreens. The radical idea behind CUSHOSP involves the re-
purposing of hydrogen-bonding networks (HBNs) into sunscreens to capture UV light and
subsequently prevent skin damage. The PoC leverages the expertise and promising
preliminary results that have been amassed through the ERC Consolidator Grant, on the
chemical physics and spectroscopy of HBNs as optical probes that can emit visible light.
Through an interdisciplinary team involving partnerships between computational and
experimental scientists along with industry consultants, the PoC has the ambition to create
a chemical formulation that will serve as a lead candidate for an organic eco-friendly
sunscreen.
The potential for technology transfer could create a completely new commercial market for
sustainable, eco-friendly, and socio-economically accessible skin protection solutions with
impact in both the skin protection and cosmetics industry. This, in turn, would enable more
effective long-term planning to address the challenges posed by climate change in the
coming decades.
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.
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-2025-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.
75007 Paris
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.