Objective
Fish living in polar oceans have evolved an elegant, macromolecular, solution to survive in sub-zero water: they secrete antifreeze (glyco)proteins (AFGPs) which have several ‘antifreeze’ effects, including ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) - they slow the rate of ice crystal growth. Ice crystal growth is a major problem in settings as diverse as oil fields, wind turbines, road surfaces and frozen food. Analysis of the process of cryopreservation, whereby donor cells are frozen for later use, has revealed that ice recrystallization is a major contributor to cell death upon thawing. Enhanced cryopreservation methods are particularly needed for stem cell storage to maximize the use of this currently limited resource, but also to enable storage of clinically transfused cells such as platelets and red blood cells. AFGPs have thus far not found application in cryopreservation due to their low availability from natural sources, extremely challenging synthesis, indications of cytotoxicity, but more importantly they have a side effect of shaping ice crystals into needle-shapes which pierces cells’ membranes, killing them. The aim of this ambitious project is to take a multidisciplinary approach to develop synthetic polymers as tunable, scalable and accessible bio-mimetics of AFGPs, which specifically reproduce only the desirable IRI properties. Precision synthetic and biological methods will be applied to access both vinyl- and peptide- based materials with IRI activity. The bio-inspired approach taken here will include detailed biophysical analysis of the polymer-ice interactions and translation of this understanding to real cryopreservation scenarios using blood-borne cells and human stem cells. In summary, this ambitious project takes inspiration from Nature's defense mechanisms that have evolved to allow life to flourish in extreme environments and will employ modern polymer chemistry to apply it to a real clinical problem; cryopreservation.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology ichthyology
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry alcohols
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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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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - 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.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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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-2014-STG
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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.
CV4 8UW COVENTRY
United Kingdom
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.