Skip to main content
Vai all'homepage della Commissione europea (si apre in una nuova finestra)
italiano it
CORDIS - Risultati della ricerca dell’UE
CORDIS

A bioengiNeered platform to address the DRivers of micrO/nanoplastic accuMulation in hEalthy and DiseAsed brains

Obiettivo

Brain exposure to micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) has become a great concern: MNPs have been found in the human brain, with an exponential increase of their median concentration in the last eight years and higher values found in diseased brains. MNPs accumulation impairs brain functionality, affecting the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, which protects our functional brain tissue, namely the brain parenchyma, from harmful molecules penetration. The biochemical mechanisms involved are still unknown: there is an urgent need to reveal the key MNPs drivers affecting MNPs-brain interaction, to reduce MPNs accumulation and brain damage incidence. My project poses the hypothesis that MNPs accumulation is due to specific MNPs chemical and geometrical features which impair the glymphatic system, an anatomical structure that generates a fluid flux to wash away undesired molecules from the brain parenchyma. Current in vivo and in vitro models are inadequate to address my hypothesis: in my vision, a model representing the glymphatic system mass transport and its cross-talk with the blood-brain barrier and the brain parenchyma is mandatory to fill this gap. To validate my hypothesis, I will develop a revolutionary microphysiological system, to represent the brain vascular and glymphatic system circulation biomechanics at the microscale. My platform will allow delivering a diagram indicating the “green zone” where the combinations of selected MNPs features cause the lowest glymphatic system impairment and impact on the blood-brain barrier permeability and brain parenchyma functionality. My project is ground-breaking in its innovative bioengineering-based approach, addressing MNPs accumulation by using a microfabricated model of brain vascularisation. It will open a new perspective to address MNPs impact on brain with a huge impact on bioengineering, microphysiological systems, microfabrication, polymer science, boosting also our knowledge on brain diseases in neuroscience.

Campo scientifico (EuroSciVoc)

Questo progetto non è ancora stato classificato con EuroSciVoc.
Suggerisci i campi scientifici che ritieni più rilevanti e aiutaci a migliorare il nostro servizio di classificazione.

Parole chiave

Programma(i)

Argomento(i)

Meccanismo di finanziamento

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

Vedi tutti i progetti finanziati nell’ambito di questo schema di finanziamento

Invito a presentare proposte

(si apre in una nuova finestra) ERC-2025-ADG

Vedi tutti i progetti finanziati nell’ambito del bando

Istituzione ospitante

POLITECNICO DI MILANO
Contributo netto dell'UE
€ 2 200 000,00
Indirizzo
PIAZZA LEONARDO DA VINCI 32
20133 Milano
Italia
Regione
Nord-Ovest Lombardia Milano
Tipo di attività
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Collegamenti
Costo totale
Nessun dato

Beneficiari (3)