Project description
Nanomaterials for killing pathogens
Antibiotic treatment is necessary for killing pathogens, but it also affects microbiome homeostasis, leading to immune deregulation. Scientists of the EU-funded NanoBindMicro project propose a different, nanotechnology-based approach against pathogens. The rationale is to use functionalised nanomaterials to recognise and remove specific pathogens from the 100 trillion microbes present in the gut. Specific surface molecules of pathogens will serve as the targeted ligands for these functionalised nanomaterials to outcompete the binding sites of pathogens on the epithelium. The project's results have the potential to contribute to a novel antibiotic-free approach for tackling multi-drug resistant pathogens and reduce the pressing need for the discovery of new antibiotics.
Objective
Antibiotic-resistant microbes have become a serious health problem world-wide. Development of new antibiotics has been focused on killing pathogens. However, these antibiotics also kill other components of microbiome resulting in immune dysregulation. It is crucial to develop new strategies which can remove pathogens without damaging the homeostasis of the microbiome.
Nanotechnology is one of the key enabling technologies identified in the European Union (EU) 2020 Strategy that may be promising in dealing with antibiotic-resistant microbe. My recent study showed that microbes' binding to nanomaterials (NMs) was dependent on NMs' characteristics. This finding inspired me to consider whether I can find functionalized NMs to recognize and remove specific pathogens from 100 trillion microbes in gut and pose no harm to the other microbes. The idea is novel and does not follow the conventional use of NMs killing microbes directly, but I believe this is possible because microbes have very different cell surfaces. This would enable the design of NMs that bind certain microbes but not others.
I hypothesize that specific surface molecules of pathogens can be acted as the multiple targeted ligands for functionalized NMs to outcompete the binding sites of pathogens on the epithelium. To verify the hypothesis, I plan to use multiple ligand coated NMs, a new concept of personalized protein corona, and in vitro and in vivo gut microbiome models to study the mechanisms of functionalized nanomaterials binding to microbes in gut. My research experiences on nano-bio interactions combined with my host and collaborators’ expertise in nano-therapy (France), nano-protein corona (Germany) and nano-characterization (Denmark) will allow me to successfully execute this challenging program. The proposed study will result in a new strategy for using NMs to fight multi-resistant microbes without antibiotics.
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 biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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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.
75006 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.