In the CONSENSE project, 15 ESRs worked on their research projects in the field of affinity-based biosensing technologies based on advanced engineering of biomolecular nanoswitches and optical detection. The work in WP1 focused on developing efficient methodologies to design and isolate molecular binders, developing strategies to make functional constructs with proteins and nucleic acids, and designing competitive and sandwich-type measurement formats. The work in WP2 addressed the development of optical sensing platforms suitable for nanoswitches and continuous biosensing, focusing on platforms with particle motion technology, nanoparticle-on-film, nanohole array, and fiber optic surface plasmon resonance. The work in WP3 covered the development of integrated continuous biosensing systems based on particle motion and fiber optics, as well as preclinical validation methodologies for continuous sensing, with a focus on demonstrator systems and in vitro cell-based model systems of the human immune response.
The ESRs received training through their local PhD programmes and the network-wide training events. The ESRs received training in scientific, transferable and business skills. Furthermore, ESRs went on secondments, for training purposes as well as to strengthen collaboration between the network partners. This resulted in collaborative research, with several scientific publications written by two or more beneficiaries.
The network implemented communication and dissemination activities with strong involvement of the ESRs. The CONSENSE website (www.consense-itn.eu) was established and contained regular contributions from the ESRs. The Outreach Support Team, formed by five ESRs, established a Twitter account and shared relevant content through these channels. Furthermore, the ESRs contributed to various national and international conferences.
CONSENSE consortium meetings were co-localised with events of the annual international SensUs biosensing competition (www.sensus.org). This turned out to be very effective for both CONSENSE and SensUs. One of the results has been the development of a new recurring symposium series: the International Symposium on Continuous Real-time Biomolecular Sensing (CRBS). The 1st and 2nd CRBS editions were co-organised by CONSENSE and SensUs, in 2024 and 2025. The recordings are online available, see
https://symposium.sensus.org(si apre in una nuova finestra).
A total of 15 papers were published in peer-reviewed journals, such as ACS Sensors, Advanced Materials, and Science. A total of 15 papers were in the publication process (submitted, under review, in revision, or accepted), of which 9 papers were already published on preprint servers. Another 17 manuscripts were still in preparation. Thus, a total of 47 peer-reviewed publications are expected to come out of the project. About half of the publications were collaborative outputs of two or more beneficiaries within the consortium. One of these publications is an Application White Paper entitled ‘Continuous Biosensing to Monitor Acute Systemic Inflammation, a Diagnostic Need for Therapeutic Guidance’ with co-authorships from 7 CONSENSE partners, published in ACS Sensors, a high-impact journal in the field of biosensing [1].
Four ESRs have successfully defended their PhD thesis, and a further three will be defending their PhD theses within the next three months and will gain their PhD degree. All other ESRs are on a path toward finalizing and defending their PhD theses.
[1] G. Gouveia et al, ACS Sensors (2025), DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.4c02569(si apre in una nuova finestra).
