Objective
Perfusable vascularized microphysiological systems such as vasculature- and thrombosis-on-chip platforms are emerging as powerful tools to study cardiovascular disease and evaluate therapies. Monitoring biochemical processes such as platelet activation, thrombin generation, or endothelial signaling within these systems remains challenging. Current readout strategies rely mainly on continuous microscopy or integrated sensors, which are difficult to scale across extended vascular networks and interfere in biological experiments.
FlowAgents will bring biocompatible microagents as circulating molecular sensors for perfusable microphysiological systems to market. These cell-scale hydrogel particles incorporate programmable molecular circuits to detect biomolecules and store activation events as molecular memory. Circulating with the flow, large numbers of microagents sample biochemical activity across vascular networks and generate a population-level fluorescence readout. The technology builds on results from the ERC Starting Grant FlowMem, which uncovered mechanisms for information transport in vascular flow networks, and combines these insights with advances in DNA nanotechnology.
The ERC Proof-of-Concept project will validate the sensing platform for thrombosis-on-chip applications, representing a clear initial market opportunity. Stakeholder engagement with researchers, organ-on-chip companies, and pharmaceutical developers will define performance requirements and integration pathways. By providing a non-invasive sensing layer compatible with existing microphysiological platforms, FlowAgents aims to enable improved monitoring of organ-on-chip systems and prepare the technology for commercialization through a future spin-out. In the long term, the microagent platform could enable next-generation blood diagnostics for personalized medicine and, ultimately, in-vivo sensing approaches for cardiovascular disease monitoring and therapy guidance.
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 clinical medicine angiology vascular diseases
- engineering and technology nanotechnology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine cardiology cardiovascular diseases
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors
- engineering and technology other engineering and technologies microtechnology organ on a chip
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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)
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-2026-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.
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.