Objective
This proposal aims at bringing to the market a revolutionary device to uniquely identify the chirality of molecules. An object is chiral if it differs from its mirror image, like our left and right hands. Chirality plays an extremely important role in two main fields: (1) Many drugs are chiral and selecting one of the two forms often enables the pharma industry to extend patent franchise, thus increasing profitability, and to improve the quality, safety and efficacy of the drug. (2) Researchers in the chemistry and biophysics labs use chirality as an indication of the 3D structural conformation of proteins and DNA, to study e.g. their secondary structure and stability under external stimuli. Spectrometers for measuring chirality already exist in the market. Many customers in the two aforementioned sectors could be interested in the new product we propose because it presents several advantages, namely a 2-fold reduction of the price, a 4-fold shrinking of the footprint and an increased information content. The ground-breaking concept (under patenting) behind this new spectrometer is to employ an ultra-stable interferometer to measure the chiral spectrum of molecules via a Fourier-transform approach and a heterodyne amplification of the signal. A first working prototype has already been realized and tested. The CHIMERA project has two main goals. (1) We aim at unleashing the innovation potential of the approach, by technically validating two prototypes in a pharmaceutical company and a biochemistry research lab, thus pushing the Technology Readiness Level of the system to the ultimate maturity required to approach the market, corresponding to TRL9. (2) We will design a complete exploitation plan, performing a thorough analysis of the market, developing a financing strategy, benchmarking our instrument against the competitors’ ones, profiling strategic partners and drafting a first version of a Business Plan to decide on the opportunity to found a start-up company.
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 genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences biophysics
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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-POC - Proof of Concept 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-2016-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.
20133 Milano
Italy
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.