Project description
Smart drug delivery against bovine mastitis
Bovine mastitis (BM) is the most prevalent disease of dairy cows, causing significant economic losses in the dairy industry worldwide. The causative pathogenic bacteria switch to intracellular and biofilm forms to persist in the mammary gland and evade antibiotic therapies and host immune response. To address this problem, the EU-funded THERMUCNA project will develop smart nanogels to deliver antimicrobial agents into the mammary glands of infected cows and cure BM. These hydrogels will be engineered to penetrate bacteria biofilms and release the minimum effective drug dose upon thermal stimulation. Blocking the virulence mechanisms developed by pathogens is central to their eradication, and reducing exposure to antimicrobials will minimise drug resistance.
Objective
Bovine mastitis (BM) is the most prevalent disease that affects dairy cows in many countries and it is the most important cause of economic losses in the dairy industry worldwide. The dairy activity is very important for the European economy, producing nearly a quarter of the world’s available milk. Currently, BM control consists mainly of antibiotic therapies. However, they usually cannot eradicate the infection due to acquired drug resistance and survival strategies of bacteria. The mechanisms developed by pathogens are intracellular and biofilm lifestyles that allow them to persist in the mammary gland protected from antibiotic therapies and host immune response. So new therapeutic approaches are needed. The present research project proposes the employment of smart nanogels (NGs) for antimicrobial delivery into mammary gland for BM treatment. The synthesized NGs will present: (i) nanometer size; (ii)thermoresponsive behavior: thermally triggered drug release; (iii) disulfides in their structure: mucoadhesive trigger upon the mucosal environment; (iv) modulated positive charge which will improve their penetration into bacteria biofilms. Several polymers and crosslinker agents will be evaluated to obtain a series of NGs. Defensin 5 and ceftiofur will be studied as antimicrobial agents to entrap into NGs. The virulence mechanisms developed by bacteria are the main responsible for the failure of antimicrobial treatments. Therefore, NGs will be studied and characterized to find suitable nanocarriers with the ability to penetrate bacterial biofilms and internalize host cells, blocking the virulence mechanisms developed by pathogens. Also, the smart drug release lets ensure that the exposition of the host to antimicrobial will be minimum and necessary to kill bacteria. This fact contributes to reducing bacterial resistance development. Nanotechnology in BM treatment is poorly explored which highlight the novelty of the research project proposed.
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 microbiology bacteriology
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science dairy
- engineering and technology nanotechnology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance
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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.
48940 LEIOA
Spain
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.