Interactions in Three-dimensional (3D) in vitro environments of Nanoparticles and Cells

Objective

The applications for nanoparticles (NPs) in medicine have rapidly increased in recent years; some examples are drug delivery, medical imaging, in vitro biosensors and cancer treatment. Typically, the biological assessment of NPs is carried out first in vitro (in a 2D petri dish) and then in small animals in vivo (3D). This whole process is costly and time consuming; similarly to that is required for the drug development, 11-15 years and $500 to $800 million to reach the market. An intermediate step between (2D) in vitro and (3D) in vivo assays could provide relevant information, decreasing the total cost of the biological assessment. 3D in vitro assays mimic biologically relevant tissues in an economical and rapid manner; although, current 3D in vitro methods entail complex engineering steps. 3DinvitroNPC focuses on a simple and innovative strategy to create 3D in vitro cell cultures using sheets of porous materials and embedding living cells and NPs within those materials. 3D cell cultures require a material non-toxic for cells and highly porous to allow cells to grow within its microstructure. This project explores aerogels of biomaterials to create 3D in vitro novel scaffolds that are biodegradable and transparent. Combinations of cells and NPs in the 3D in vitro constructs permits the assessment of viability and functionality of NPs in relevant biological environments which is critical for using NPs in medical applications. Gold NPs and FexOy-NPs will be assessed, the first as model NPs and the latter as magnetic label of cells. FexOy-NPs internalized by cells, magnetically label the cells. Localization of magnetic cells using a magnet placed outside the body is a recently developed medical method non-invasive for tissue recovery after cerebral ischemia. For this purpose, the platform of 3DinvitroNPC will evaluate magnetic cells within the on-purpose developed 3D cell scaffolds.

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.

• medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
• engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors biosensors
• medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
• engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
• engineering and technology medical engineering diagnostic imaging

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

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.

• FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG - Marie-Curie Action: "Career Integration Grants"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG
See other projects for this call

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.

MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)

Coordinator