Project description
Fluorescence lifetime screening for encapsulated drugs
Nanomedicine can transform healthcare through targeted drug delivery, but it lacks efficient, non-invasive tools for assessing drug formulations. Current methods are often destructive and time-consuming. The ERC-funded enLIGHT project aims to introduce a groundbreaking, patented fluorescence lifetime-based screening technology that offers real-time insights into the physical state of encapsulated drugs without the need for fluorescent labelling or complex sample preparation. This technology has uncovered unexpected behaviours in FDA-approved nanomedicines, highlighting hidden formulation instabilities. The project will transform enLIGHT from a complex lab setup to a compact, user-friendly device for pharmaceutical and research laboratories, validating its performance across various nanoformulations. Ultimately, the tool will enhance drug development pipelines, reduce formulation failures, and streamline regulatory processes.
Objective
Nanomedicine has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by enabling targeted drug delivery, reducing side effects, and improving treatment efficacy. However, the field faces a critical bottleneck: the lack of efficient, non-invasive analytical tools to assess drug encapsulation, stability, and release dynamics in nanoformulations. Current techniques rely on destructive, time-consuming methods, limiting their applicability in formulation development and quality control.
enLIGHT introduces a breakthrough approach—a patented, label-free fluorescence lifetime-based screening technology that provides real-time, quantitative insights into the physical state of encapsulated drugs. By leveraging exploitation of the intrinsic luminescence of drugs and a phasor-based, fit-free and purely graphical analysis, enLIGHT eliminates the need for fluorescent labeling or complex sample preparation, offering a rapid, cost-effective, and non-destructive alternative to traditional characterization techniques.
Validated in laboratory settings, enLIGHT has already revealed unexpected drug behaviors in FDA-approved nanomedicines, demonstrating its ability to uncover hidden formulation instabilities.
This Proof of Concept project aims to move enLIGHT from a complex lab setup to a compact, user-friendly device for pharmaceutical and research laboratories. By refining the prototype and validating its performance across diverse nanoformulations, the project will establish enLIGHT as an indispensable tool in nanomedicine analytics.
With its potential to enhance drug development pipelines, reduce formulation failures, and streamline regulatory approval processes, enLIGHT represents a transformative innovation for the pharmaceutical industry—ensuring more stable, effective, and safer nanomedicines for the future.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology nanomedicine
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
56126 Pisa
Italy
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.