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Strengthening the Research Area of Delivery of Nucleic acid mimics (NAMS) into bacteria to fight the antibiotic crisis

Fact Sheet

Reporting

Results

Project information

DelNAM

Grant agreement ID: 810685

Project website

Status

Ongoing project

Start date

1 August 2018
End date

31 July 2021

Funded under:

H2020-EU.4.b.

Overall budget:

€ 960 853,75
EU contribution

€ 960 853,75

Coordinated by:

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO

Portugal

Objective

DelNAM aims at Strengthening the Research Area of Delivery of Nucleic Acid Mimics (NAMS) into bacteria to fight the antibiotic crisis. This will be achieved by twinning the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) with outstanding EU institutions with high expertise in the areas of NAMs development and nanodelivery strategies. DelNAM will allow the development of a consolidated strategic research approach and a set of guidelines for exploitation and commercialization of the results that will have a strong regional, national and European impact. The proposal integrates synergies in complementary fields of research that include nanotechnology, synthetic chemistry, microbiology and bioprocess modelling, aiming to obtain scientific breakthroughs that can improve the global health and economy.

The objectives of this proposal are in line with the specific challenge and scope of the topic H2020-WIDESPREAD-2016-2017 of the Twinning call, addressing networking gaps and deficiencies between the research institutions of the Widening countries and internationally-leading counterparts at EU level. This challenge is addressed by twinning FEUP with 2 leading EU research institutions: University of Southern Denmark (SDU), in Odense, Denmark, a global leader in the development and invention of novel NAMs for gene therapy. They contribute with their extensive experience on the synthesis, structural studies and molecular modelling of NAMs; Ghent University (UGhent), in Belgium, an internationally-recognized laboratory for its excellence in the field of nanomedicines for the delivery of drugs and, in particular, nucleic acids. They provide decisive expertise on the design of delivery systems for nucleic acids and their behavior in native biological fluids.

Programme(s)

H2020-EU.4.b. - Twinning of research institutions

Topic(s)

WIDESPREAD-05-2017 - Twinning

Call for proposal

H2020-WIDESPREAD-05-2017-Twinning

See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

CSA - Coordination and support action

Coordinator

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO

Address

Praca Gomes Teixeira
4099 002 Porto

Portugal

Activity type

Higher or Secondary Education Establishments

EU Contribution

€ 475 978,75

Website

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Participants (2)

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SYDDANSK UNIVERSITET

Denmark

EU Contribution

€ 246 125

UNIVERSITEIT GENT

Belgium

EU Contribution

€ 238 750

Project information

DelNAM

Grant agreement ID: 810685

Project website

Status

Ongoing project

Start date

1 August 2018
End date

31 July 2021

Funded under:

H2020-EU.4.b.

Overall budget:

€ 960 853,75
EU contribution

€ 960 853,75

Coordinated by:

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO

Portugal

Project information

DelNAM

Grant agreement ID: 810685

Project website

Status

Ongoing project

Start date

1 August 2018
End date

31 July 2021

Funded under:

H2020-EU.4.b.

Overall budget:

€ 960 853,75
EU contribution

€ 960 853,75

Coordinated by:

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO

Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DelNAM (Strengthening the Research Area of Delivery of Nucleic acid mimics (NAMS) into bacteria to fight the antibiotic crisis)

Reporting period: 2018-08-01 to 2019-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics poses a threat to the global public health, being already responsible for thousands of annual deaths globally and expected to kill more than cancer by 2050 if no solution is encountered. However, the development of novel antibiotics has proven to be a challenge for pharmaceutical companies due to the rapid acquisition of resistance by bacteria.
Nucleic Acid Mimics (NAMs) may be the answer to this problem, since they can be designed to recognize and block key bacterial genes. Therefore, depending on the target, NAMs can be used to kill bacteria or to restore bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics, provided they can penetrate bacteria and reach their targets. The penetration of NAMs is, however, limited by the complex bacterial envelope composed of several layers that surround the bacterial cells. As a result, the NAMs need to be delivered across the bacterial envelope.
The DelNAM project aims to develop an innovative solution to fight and solve the crisis of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, through the delivery of NAMs into bacteria. In addition, DelNAM aims to position the consortium as leaders in the application of NAMs and delivery vehicles to combat bacterial resistance to antibiotics, raise public awareness concerning this problem, and train the Portuguese institution’s research staff in emergent technologies and interface science areas.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the period covered by the report, DelNAM’s team has defined a long-term research strategy in the scientific area of NAMs delivery. This strategy encompasses the exchange of knowledge and researchers between the consortium’s institutions and the investment in technological capacity, in addition to the active commitment to dissemination and exploitation, and to the search for new funding opportunities. The application of this strategy has been crucial to develop FEUP’s innovation management and scientific production capabilities. A PhD student has already been to a partner institution in order to take advantage of their know-how and technical capabilities, and this type of exchange will continue to be encouraged and of interest to the development of the project. Additionally, several efforts have been made to invest in new equipment, to benefit from the techniques available across the consortium, and to set new collaborations, in order to gain access to the methods that are not yet available within the consortium.
The group has organized and participated in several events, with the objective of disseminating results and increasing DelNAM’s contact network. Furthermore, several companies and research groups have been contacted in order to promote future collaborations, aiming to improve the exploitation of the project and its results, as well as seeking a future translation into the industry. The team has also been responsible for regular communications on social media platforms and the project’s website, with the intention to maximize DelNAM’s impact, reaching not only the scientific community but the general public as well.
In order to improve the researchers’ skills in the study area, the group has developed and supervised research projects, as well as encouraged the participation in external conferences, to promote the attainment of shared knowledge. Additionally, several training actions have been organized to facilitate improvement of the members’ competences in science communication and knowledge valorization.
Lastly, the team has been successful in the monitoring and the coordinating of tasks, putting corrective measures in practice when necessary, and has ensured compliance with the set-out ethics requirements.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

In terms of scientific progress, the researchers have been working to apply fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) in the evaluation of the diffusion of NAMs in the cytoplasm of bacteria for the first time, in order to gain better insight into the underlying internalization mechanisms. Additionally, the group has been studying the interaction mechanisms between NAMs and certain carriers, such as fusogenic cationic liposomes, so as to facilitate their loading. The team at FEUP has taken advantage of specialized techniques available within the consortium, like Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) and Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA), to evaluate the stability of the NAM/liposome complexes.
In terms of the scientific and social impact, a number of measures have already taken effect. Several publications, prepared in the scope of the DelNAM project, have been accepted and are currently in press. Additionally, researchers have been integrated in the UPORTO team under the DelNAM research area, under research grants or doctoral programs, leading to an increase in their qualifications and the enhancement of the research & development activities at UPORTO. Social networks and the group’s events have been used as a way to raise awareness towards antimicrobial resistance not only in the scientific community, but in the general public as well. While measures such as intellectual property protection and the creation of new business models are out of reach for now, given the current technology readiness level (TRL) of the project, these goals remain in DelNAM’s horizon. As such, a particular effort has been made to expand the DelNAM network and to participate in actions related to the valorization of results, towards facilitating the transition of the project’s research to a marketable product to fight antimicrobial resistance.

DelNAM Logo

Project information

DelNAM

Grant agreement ID: 810685

Project website

Status

Ongoing project

Start date

1 August 2018
End date

31 July 2021

Funded under:

H2020-EU.4.b.

Overall budget:

€ 960 853,75
EU contribution

€ 960 853,75

Coordinated by:

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO

Project information

DelNAM

Grant agreement ID: 810685

Project website

Status

Ongoing project

Start date

1 August 2018
End date

31 July 2021

Funded under:

H2020-EU.4.b.

Overall budget:

€ 960 853,75
EU contribution

€ 960 853,75

Coordinated by:

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO

Portugal

Project information

DelNAM

Grant agreement ID: 810685

Project website

Status

Ongoing project

Start date

1 August 2018
End date

31 July 2021

Funded under:

H2020-EU.4.b.

Overall budget:

€ 960 853,75
EU contribution

€ 960 853,75

Coordinated by:

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO

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Last update: 9 November 2018

Record number: 217829

Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/217829/en

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Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DelNAM (Strengthening the Research Area of Delivery of Nucleic acid mimics (NAMS) into bacteria to fight the antibiotic crisis)

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