Project description
Nanoparticles may soon be shedding light on disease processes
Nanoparticles, materials that are less than 100 nanometres in at least one dimension, are not new. Nature has created all types of nanoparticles found in volcanic ash, soot, ocean spray and sand. Sterling silver forks even release small quantities of silver nanoparticles into the environment. Harnessing the potential of engineered nanoparticles for biomedical applications in human cells relies on meeting some very stringent requirements including stability, non-toxicity, and functionalisation. The EU-funded NanoFUNC project is focusing attention on all-organic light-emitting nanoparticles for biomedical imaging. To make sure they light up targets of interest, scientists are functionalising the most promising nanoparticles to track neurotransmitter receptors in living brain slices. Success should lead to patentable nanoparticles for a variety of bioimaging applications.
Objective
Nanotechnologies have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of devastating diseases such as cancer or neuropathologies. By combining light-emitting nanoparticles (NPs) and super-resolution imaging, it is possible to observe living tissues at the molecular scale, resulting in images of unprecedented detail. To this aim, the ideal NP should be bright, stable, small, spectrally relevant, versatile, targetable, and non-toxic. These features have been sought after by chemists, physicists and biologists alike for more than a decade but their presence in a single NP has not been achieved to date. The objective of the NanoFUNC project is thus to develop the next generation of NPs displaying all the above properties.
We propose to achieve this by conferring targeting properties to the latest all organic NPs of the host laboratory already displaying promising spectral characteristics. We will first validate the functionalisation of these new tools on model cellular systems before applying them to track neurotransmitter receptors deep in intact brain slices of healthy and schizophrenia rat models. We expect this project to impact all communities benefiting from advances in bioimaging including neuroscience, medicine and cell biology as a whole. We thus envisage to patent the obtained NPs for use in marketable bioimaging applications.
The transfer of knowledge between the expertise of the host in nanochemistry and that of the experienced researcher in neurobiology provides a unique opportunity to successfully complete this highly interdisciplinary project. Moreover, the mobility of the researcher back to France in an internationally renowned laboratory is sure to enhance her career prospects as she aims to become an independent researcher in the near future. Together, the host and the researcher will strive for excellent scientific results and build a career plan involving training, management and communication to bring the researcher to full professional maturity.
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 neurobiology
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy super resolution microscopy
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry schizophrenia
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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-EF-RI - RI – Reintegration panel
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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-2018
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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.
33000 Bordeaux
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.