Research
The training of 11 BioInspireSensing ESRs will take place both at world-leading European academic institutions and companies, forming strong interdisciplinary relations between technical sciences and industry. These relations are implemented through direct employment of the ESRs and through inter-sectoral secondments. The BioInspireSensing project will thus create opportunities for the ESR’s career mobility and their knowledge transfer to the European Community, increasing their employability in the biotechnology and med device industries and health economy. The project offers to the ESRs the opportunity to make a high impact contribution to the scientific community and to increase EU’s competitiveness by creating the basis to launch in the future an innovative product: a prosthetic/sensing device highly sought by the medical community.
OBJECTIVES
Creation of new engineered ion channel proteins with potentiated gating response to act as a sensor.
Study of new implantable materials with high biocompatibility and programed lifetime.
Integration and testing of implantable and bioabsorbable sensors as a proof-of-concept.
Build an “organ in a chip” platform type to test biosensors and minimize the impact of animal testing.
WORKING PACKAGES
BioInspire Sensing has 11 individual research projects divided under seven work packages:
WP1 - ETHICS
Lead: Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC)
WP2 - DESIGN AND MODULATION OF NEW BIOMATERIALS AS SENSOR ELEMENT
Description: covers the development of new bio inspired sensor elements from engineered natural molecules. More specifically, three different ion channel types (i.e. MscL, TRP, and ASIC) and one peptide will be used as element sensor of pressure/stress, temperature, acidity and cholesterol, respectively.
Lead: University of Lausanne (UNIL)
ESR01
Modeling engineered ion channels and their modulation.
ESR02
Optimizing TRP channels
for use
as stable
thermosensors.
ESR03
Optimization of acid-sensing ion channels for sustained pH sensing.
ESR04
Protein
purification
and reconstitution
into lipid
bilayers.
ESR05
Construction of vesicle systems and engineering of membrane proteins.
WP3 - DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF A BIODEGRADABLE SENSOR SKELETON AND ELECTRODES
Description: Supporting structures for the natural sensor elements will be treated in WP3. Concretely, two different supporting elements will be studied for such purpose.
Lead: Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC)
ESR05
Construction of vesicle systems and engineering of membrane proteins.
ESR06
Synthesis and functionalization of biodegradable polymers supporting lipid membranes.
ESR07
Development of new flexible and biodegradable conducting polymers in biosensors.
ESR08
Structural and functional characterization of ion channels embedded in planar lipid bilayers.
WP4 - SENSOR INTEGRATION AND TESTING
Description: Integration of sensor elements into implantable devices will be conducted into the third WP4. Also, a specific testing device will be built based on microfluidic and microenvironmental control technologies, to recreate biological cells environments in order to evaluate the sensor device behaviour.
Lead: University of Warsaw (UW)
ESR07
Development of new flexible and biodegradable conducting polymers in biosensors.
ESR08
Structural and functional characterization
of ion channels embedded in
planar lipid
bilayers.
ESR09
Development of a sensor's testing platform based on cell culturing and microfluidic technologies.
ESR10
Integration of
chemical
implantable
sensors of
acidity and
cholesterol for in
vitro analysis.
ESR11
Integration of sensor electronics and signal treatment for in vivo analysis.
WP5 - TRAINING AND TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
Lead: 4Dcell
WP6 - DISSEMINATION, EXPLOITATION AND OUTREACH
Lead: University of Teramo
WP7 - MANAGEMENT
Lead: Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC)
