Project description
Innovative diagnostics of endothelial function
Endothelial cells line the interior of blood and lymphatic vessels and form a barrier between the vessels and tissues, controlling the flow of substances. Accumulating evidence indicates that endothelial cells are the main culprit behind many diseases, necessitating the development of novel diagnostic tools. The aim of the EU-funded LOGIC LAB project is to provide a unique method for identifying endothelial dysfunction. The consortium will train young researchers in the development of multiplex analyte sensors that can provide a more comprehensive view of the complexity of endothelial tissues. The whole concept relies on molecular logic sensing which upon detection of an external stimulus has the capacity to undertake logic operations and provide a response.
Objective
A dysfunction of cells lining the inner walls of blood vessels, i.e. the endothelium, is the primary cause of many lifestyle related diseases. According to the WHO, those diseases accounted for 60% of all deaths worldwide in 2005. Tailor-made diagnostic tools for early and reliable identification of endothelial dysfunction are urgently needed both in fundamental research and clinical routine, respectively.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie action LOGIC LAB objects to develop and characterize innovative molecular logic gates that can be applied as advanced diagnostic tools for parallel analyte sensing in live mammalian cells. Thereby, providing a unique method to discover endothelial dysfunction and the onset of diseases much easier and earlier than so far.
LOGIC LAB creates a multi-faceted and multi-sectoral research environment for the next generation of scientists in order to establish a novel type of molecular logic sensors that reliably operate in biological media – a crucial requirement for their application i.e. as rapid and easy-to-handle tools for intracellular diagnostics.
With excellent cross-disciplinary scientific and complementary training provided in the network, we aim to educate highly-skilled young scientists in the fields of chemistry, physics and biology, who will significantly strengthen the international research community in the domain of molecular logic sensing. Thus, in the long term, LOGIC LAB aims to finally bridge the gap between lab bench and biological or medical practice. It is this gap, that so far prevents a wide-ranging use of existing molecular logic gates e.g. for the diagnosis of lifestyle-associated diseases.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Coordinator
07745 Jena
Germany