Objective
Current state-of-the-art drug carrier systems deliver new ‘biological drugs’ (like proteins and nucleic acids) poorly to the target site. This is something I daily experience in my research on delivery of small interfering RNA. The in vivo challenges are threefold:
• Biological drugs are fragile molecules (subject to degradation and denaturation)
• They need to gain access to the target site
• They need delivery to a specific cell type and even to a specific subcellular location to be active.
Recent research points out an endogenous communication system transporting proteins and nucleic acids between cells, outperforming current synthetic drug delivery systems. These carriers, known as microvesicles, appear Nature’s choice for delivery of biologicals and have created excitement in the research community. Microvesicles encompass a variety of submicron vesicular structures that include exosomes, shedding vesicles, and microparticles. The lipids, proteins, mRNA and microRNA delivered by these microvesicles change the phenotype of the receiving cells. Microvesicles appear to play an important role in many disease processes, most notably inflammation and cancer, where their efficient functional delivery of biological cargo contributes to the disease progress. Up to now, most research addresses the role of microvesicles in cell biology. At the same time, surprisingly little is known about their in vivo kinetics, targeting behavior and tissue distribution from a drug carrier standpoint.
The aim of my proposal is to design and develop microvesicle-inspired drug delivery systems to improve targeting and delivery of biological drugs.
The work plan is divided into two approaches:
1-A synthetic approach based on liposomes or isolated microvesicle constituents
2-A biological approach based on biotechnologically-engineered and cell-produced microvesicles.
The results of this research are expected to improve insights into in vivo behavior of microvesicles and the critical molecules that trigger their delivery and targeting success. It should also be clear which of the two approaches is best suited for the production of pharmaceutically acceptable microvesicle-mimics. Finally, the research should result in a prototype microvesicle-inspired carrier. These results can form the basis for an attractive new generation of microvesicle mimicking drug delivery systems.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules nucleic acids
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
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.
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.
ERC-2010-StG_20091118
See other projects for this call
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.
Host institution
3584 CX Utrecht
Netherlands
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.