Objective Cancer is a major health problem worldwide, being the most common cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. The major goal of new anticancer therapies is to specifically kill tumour cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. A main challenge to achieve this aim is the development of better drugs, including novel treatments based on the use of siRNAs. These macromolecules are potentially the most powerful anti-cancer drugs that exist, but still there is no efficient way of getting them delivered specifically to the tumour. Indeed, lifetime of such molecules is generally too short and therefore need to be protected in a carrier until they are delivered into tumour target cells.This project focuses in the development of nanocarriers based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), one of the most exciting developments in recent porous materials science. The study of the mechanisms that control drug delivery is of critical importance to nanomedicine applications, where nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionise cancer therapy. Given the challenging nature of the drug delivery problem for cancer therapy, this project builds on 4 interrelated main concepts: i) the design of bio-compatible MOFs for drug delivery applications; ii) the post-synthesis engineering of MOFs to enhance stability, controlled drug release, and targeting; iii) the identification of optimal textural properties (i.e. pore size distribution, surface area, pore volume) and surface chemistry of MOFs for siRNA delivery using experiments and molecular simulation techniques; iv) the assessment of their performance in vitro and in vivo, giving a translational dimension to the proposed research. The novelty of this work lies therefore in the synergistic combination of tools from different areas and disciplines (chemistry, biochemical engineering and medicine) to produce advances that are of both fundamental scientific interest and of bioengineering relevance in nanomedicine applications. Fields of science medical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurologydementiaalzheimermedical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologygenetic engineeringgene therapymedical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologynanomedicinemedical and health sciencesclinical medicinecardiologycardiovascular diseasesmedical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologypancreatic cancer Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2016-COG - ERC Consolidator Grant Call for proposal ERC-2016-COG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Host institution THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Net EU contribution € 1 903 685,00 Address TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge United Kingdom See on map Region East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 903 685,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 1 903 685,00 Address TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge See on map Region East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 903 685,00
