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Isotope-labeled amino acids – Providing solutions to complex biological questions

Project description

Attention protein researchers, the fast train carrying labelled amino acids is at the station

Proteins are behind innumerable critical functions in our bodies providing mechanical support and immunity, controlling growth and differentiation, transporting and storing nutrients, and carrying signals. As amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, one of the tricks of the scientific trade in studying processes in health and disease is to label them to facilitate structure determination or to figure out where they go and what they do. Current methods for producing labelled amino acids face synthetic challenges that limit the accessibility of these labelled amino acids, slowing innovation. The EU-funded LABELED AMINO ACIDS project developed a new technology to overcome these barriers. Successful commercialisation of the product will strengthen Europe's leadership, streamline research and development, and open the door to the study of proteins that are currently inaccessible.

Objective

Isotope-labeled amino acids are highly valuable and versatile tools to tackle complex biological questions and to accelerate research and therapeutic development. Current production processes are, however, low-yielding, expensive and time-intensive, and cannot be applied to all amino acids, leading to missed therapeutic opportunities and inefficient use of resources. We have addressed these limitations and developed an innovative and more efficient method to produce such isotope-labeled amino acids. Our new technology is fully scalable, substantially undercuts industry production costs, and provides access to products currently not available.

The main objective of this project is to advance this technology to a commercializable stage that will enable us to distribute these valuable tools globally. This requires further proof-of-concept data and expansion and optimization of our protocols to bring it to industry standards and scale. This, in turn, will strengthen our intellectual property position, which is crucial for establishing a spin-off company. Anticipated outcomes of successful commercialization of our technology include several economic benefits for the EU, strengthening EU’s leadership in biotechnology and innovation, and –most importantly– technological advancements that will create new research avenues, improve research translation and disease management, and lead to an overall improvement of health and well-being.

Host institution

UNIVERSITAT WIEN
Net EU contribution
€ 150 000,00
Address
UNIVERSITATSRING 1
1010 Wien
Austria

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Region
Ostösterreich Wien Wien
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost
No data

Beneficiaries (1)