Objective
The goal of the proposed research project is to reconstruct a human cornea in vitro, for use both in corneal grafting and as an alternative to animal models for cosmeto-pharmacotoxicity testing. The project responds to the urgent need to develop new forms of corneal replacements as alternatives to the use of donor corneas, in view of the worldwide shortage of donors, the increasing risk of transmissible diseases, the widespread use of corrective surgery, which renders corneas unsuitable for grafting, and the severe limitations of currently available synthetic polymer-based artificial corneas (keratoprostheses). The originality of the proposal lies in the use of recombinant human extra cellular matrix proteins to build a engineered-engineered scaffold to support growth of the different cell types found in the cornea, cells to be derived from human adult stem cell pools. The development of a reconstructed human cornea will represent a real breakthrough, allowing diseased or damaged corneas to be replaced by tissue-engineered human corneal equivalents that resemble in all respects their natural counterparts. The proposal also responds to impending ED legislation banning the marketing of cosmetic products that have been tested on animals, using procedures such as the Raise rabbit eye irritation test. The development of tissue-engineered corneas will provide a non-animal alternative, which will therefore alleviate animal suffering. The project will lead to a transformation of industry to meet societal needs using innovative, knowledge-based approaches integrating Nan technology and biotechnology. The project brings together 14 participants with complementary expertise from 9 different countries, including basic scientists, ophthalmologists and industrialists (three Sees). Ethical and standardisation aspects will also be included.
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 surgery
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology tissue engineering
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
FP6-2002-NMP-1
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.
Coordinator
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.