Project description
Self-healing synthetic polymers could advance understanding of cell operations
Our cells’ daily operations are governed by biochemical reactions that take place within their environment. This linked series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell is referred to as a metabolic pathway. Research has largely focused on synthetic dissipative molecular assemblies that mainly consist of small molecules, which help better understand how complex structures organised far from equilibrium help sustain life. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the FuelHydrogel project plans to construct larger self-assembled structures that consist of bulk polymeric materials. The project will construct a series of dextran-based chemically fuelled hydrogels and couple them with appropriate analogue metabolic reaction cycles. The resulting hydrogels are expected to show self-healing capabilities and programmable death.
Objective
Most synthetic materials are close-to or reside-in equilibrium, however, life, the most ‘intelligent materials’ on earth, always stays away-from-equilibrium. This non-equilibrium state is usually sustained by high energy molecules (chemical fuels) harvested from metabolic reaction cycles. This has inspired the construction of chemically fueled dissipative molecular assemblies. Currently, these chemically fueled systems mainly focus on small molecules. Compared to small molecules, polymers show advantages in constructing 3D-bulk materials, as well as, integrating and amplifying molecular-scale changes to visible macroscopic changes. Thus, I propose to construct chemically fueled polymeric materials to overcome current limitations. A series of dextran-based chemically fueled hydrogels are constructed by coupling with appropriate analogue metabolic reaction cycles. The resulting hydrogels are responsive to chemical fuels and have the ability of self-healing and programmable decay. The life-time of the hydrogels is controllable by manipulating the kinetics of the reaction cycles. Controlled release of active ingredients (e.g. for drug delivery applications) from these hydrogels will be investigated.
This fellowship will help me to reintegrate into the scientific community after maternity leave since 2017 in France. The project will be interdisciplinary as it ranges from the understanding of biological materials over polymer chemistry, systems chemistry, and organic chemistry to potential biomedical applications. It will also promote the two-way transfer of knowledge between me and the host.
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 chemical sciences organic chemistry
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
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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-2020
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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.
9220 Aalborg
Denmark
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.