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NANO TECHNOLOGIES AND MICROENCAPSULATION course

Next October 15-18, the researchers of NANBIOSIS U12, Nanostructured liquid characterization unit, are giving a course on Nano Technologies and Microencapsulation organized by CSIC General Foundation and CUIMPB – Center Ernest Lluch of the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) in Barcelona.

The nano- and microencapsulation consists in the protection of active substances inside nano- and microcarriers, particularly labile molecules, improving their stability, with the aim of transporting them and achieving their controlled release. This topic is the subject of great interest in numerous fields and industrial applications. It is known that the performance efficiency of an active substance greatly increases with its encapsulation, depending on the size of the capsules, their transfer surface and the permeability properties of said capsules. In addition, the capsules can be directed specifically inside an organism, using suitable vectors.
The object of the course is to provide attendees with the basics of micro- and nanoencapsulation techniques, including fundamentals and preparation methods, as well as innovative applications in the chemical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical fields, among others.

The registration form and detailed information can be found on the CUIMPB website

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AKT2 as a promising target for future anti-cancer therapies

The researchers of NANBIOSIS U20, led by Ibane Abásolo and Simó Schwartz have published a new article on the scientific magazine Cancers, with the title Pivotal Role of AKT2 during Dynamic Phenotypic Change of Breast Cancer Stem Cells

All the in vivo studies were performed by NANBIOSIS U20 In Vivo Experimental Platform.

Therapeutic resistance seen in aggressive forms of breast cancer remains challenging for current treatments. More than half of the patients suffer from a disease relapse, most of them with distant metastases. Cancer maintenance, resistance to therapy, and metastatic disease seem to be sustained by the presence of cancer stem cells (CSC) within a tumor. The difficulty in targeting this subpopulation derives from their dynamic interconversion process, where CSC can differentiate to non-CSC, which in turn de-differentiate into cells with CSC properties. Using fluorescent CSC models driven by the expression of ALDH1A 1(aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1), we confirmed this dynamic phenotypic change in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and to identify Serine/Threonine Kinase 2 (AKT2) as an important player in the process. To confirm the central role of AKT2, we silenced AKT2 expression via small interfering RNA and using a chemical inhibitor (CCT128930), in both CSC and non-CSC from different cancer cell lines. Our results revealed that AKT2 inhibition effectively prevents non-CSC reversion through mesenchymal to epithelial transition, reducing invasion and colony formation ability of both, non-CSC and CSC. Further, AKT2 inhibition reduced CSC survival in low attachment conditions. Interestingly, in orthotopic tumor mouse models, high expression levels of AKT2 were detected in circulating tumor cells (CTC). These findings suggest AKT2 as a promising target for future anti-cancer therapies at three important levels: (i) Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) reversion and maintenance of CSC subpopulation in primary tumors, (ii) reduction of CTC and the likelihood of metastatic spread, and (iii) prevention of tumor recurrence through inhibition of CSC tumorigenic and metastatic potentia

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New publication by scientists of NANBIOSIS Unit 6 aims to motivate scientific community to start a new research line for organic and bio-organic electronics focused on the device fabrication

Researchers of Nanomol Group, coordinator of NANBIOSIS U6 of CIBER-BBN and ICMAB-CSIC, led by Inma Ratera and Jaume Veciana have publish a new article titled “Reversible switching of the Au(111) work function by near infrared irradiation with a bistable SAM based on a radical donor–acceptor dyad“, at Journal of Materials Chemistry C.

Article:
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/TC/C9TC00906J#!divAbstract

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The Autonomous University of Barcelona, in the elite of the 300 best universities in the world

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), known as Shanghai Ranking, which was made public on August 15, places the Autonomous University of Barcelona among the elite of the 300 best universities in the world.

This indicator organizes up to 20,000 university centers worldwide,
based on transparent methodology and objective third-party data. ARWU is regarded as one of the three most influential and widely observed university rankings

The Autonomous University of Barcelona houses two of NANBIOSIS Units:

U1 Protein Production Platform (PPP), led by Toni Villaverde, Neus Ferrer and Paolo Saccardo, offer an “tailored” service for the design, production and purification of recombinant proteins using both prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems

U25 NMR: Biomedical Applications I, led by Carles Arús and Ana Paula Candiota, with a recognized research track record in the use of NMR as a tool for biomedical applications, and more especifically to identify biomarkers of different pathologies, the main objective of this unit is the acquisition, processing and/or interpretation of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance data

Here you can check the results of the University of Zaragoza in this year’s Shanghai Ranking:
http://www.shanghairanking.com/World-University-Rankings/Autonomous-University-of-Barcelona.html

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The University of Zaragoza, in the elite of the 500 best universities in the world

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), known as
Shanghai Ranking, which was made public on August 15, once again places the University of Zaragoza among the elite of the 500 best universities in the world.

This indicator organizes up to 20,000 university centers worldwide. Among the keys that have been able to positively influence the results of the research, according to the Vice Chancellor for Prospect, Sustainability and Infrastructure of the University of Zaragoza, Francisco Serón, are the increase in public campus funding for four years as well as the quality of their Scientists.

The University of Zaragoza houses three of NANBIOSIS Units:

U9 Synthesis of Nanoparticles Unit, led by Jesús Santamaría and Gema Martínez

U13 Tissue & Scaffold Characterization Unit, led by Miguel Ángel Martínez Barca and Fany Peña

U27 High Performance Computing , led by Pablo Laguna

Since 2003, every August, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), known as “Shanghai Ranking,” is published, one of the international reference studies to compare higher education institutions. The ranking selects the 1,000 best educational institutions from a global point of view, among the 20,000 higher education centers that exist.

It is possibly the most famous and most recognized university analysis that values the quality of institutions in the generation of knowledge. The research community respects the results of these rankings because they are based on objective data and their classification is reproducible.

Here you can check the results of the University of Zaragoza in this year’s Shanghai Ranking: http://www.shanghairanking.com/World-University-Rankings/University-of-Zaragoza.html.

Source:
https://www.aragondigital.es/2019/08/15/la-uz-en-la-elite-de-las-500-mejores-universidades-del-mundo-segun-el-ranking-de-shanghai/

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Scientific breakthrough against the problems of advanced age in fertility.

Researchers of CCMIJU. led by Javier G. Casado, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS U14 Cell Therapy, are coauthors of the article “Extracellular vesicles derived from endometrial human mesenchymal stem cells enhance embryo yield and quality in an aged murine model” published by. Biology of Reproduction,

The study of the beneficial effect of endometrial stem cell exosomes on embryonic quality has been developed in NANBIOSIS U14 and in collaboration with U22 and U23

Advanced age is a risk factor undermining women’s fertility. Hence, the optimization of assisted reproduction techniques is an interdisciplinary challenge that requires the improvement of in vitro culture systems. Here, we hypothesize that supplementation of embryo culture medium with extracellular vesicles from endometrial-derived mesenchymal stem cells (EV-endMSCs) may have a positive impact on the embryo competence of aged oocytes. In this work, 24 weeks old B6D2 female mice were used as egg donors and in vitro fertilization assays were performed using males from the same strain (8–12 weeks); the presumptive zygotes were incubated in the presence of 0, 10, 20, 40, or 80 μg/ml of EV-endMSCs. The results from the proteomic analysis of EV-endMSCs.

In summary, the supplementation of embryo culture medium with extracellular vesicles from endometrialderived mesenchymal stem cells increases the quality of aged embryos.

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Nanomol group initiates contact with the AEMPS to bring a new treatment against venous leg ulcers to the clinic

Researchers of the Nanomol group, ICMAB-CSIC and CIBER-BBN members of the ICTS “NANBIOSIS”, specifically of the Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring unit (U6), together with the company Nanomol Technologies S.L. have begun a consultation process with the Spanish Association of Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) to try and enter a new treatment in a clinical studies stage, to fight against venous ulcers in lower extremities. The study is carried out within the framework of the RIS3CAT NANONAFRES project.

Approximately, 80% of ulcers in lower extremities have associated pathologies of venous insufficiency and these wounds are usually recurrent. An open ulcer can take from weeks to years to close, increasing the risk of mortality and affecting the quality of life of patients who suffer from them, mostly elderly people. The solution proposed within the NANONAFRES project consists of a medicine for topical application based on the incorporation of a biomolecule, with skin regenerating activity, encapsulated in nanoparticles. This approach ensures the protection of the active substance, preventing its degradation, while allowing the controlled and direct release of the drug in the area of the ulcer.

The NANONAFRES project, led by Nanomol Technologies SL, was born from the collaboration of the Nanomol group from ICMAB-CSIC with the companies Nanomol Technologies and BIOMED-LEITAT, the primary care centres EAP Osona Sur-Alt Congost SLP and the EAP Vallcarca-Sant Gervasi, public hospitals such as the Terrassa Health Consortium and the Maresme Health-Consortium Foundation and international research centres such as the Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología de Cuba. This project, awarded with a RIS3CAT fund sponsored by the Generalitat of Catalonia, has a budget of 2.3 million euros and a duration of 3 and a half years.

This first consulting meeting with the AEMPS is a very important milestone in the process of developing any drug, in order to carry out clinical trials and transfer the system to the market, and thus bring the proposed treatment to the people who need it.

This approach will improve the effectiveness of current venous ulcers treatments, as well as the quality of life of patients, reducing the cost of medicines available today. In addition, the Nanomol group already has an internationally granted patent on this product, which demonstrates the novelty of this system and strengthens its position to reach the market through the partners present in this consortium and, in particular, through its spin-off Nanomol Technologies S.L.

Links of interest:

Article published on ICMAB’s site: http://icmab.es/nanomol-participa-al-projecte-nanonafres-de-la-comunitat-ris3cat-de-nous-dispositius-de-diagnostic-i-big-data-aplicades-a-la-salut

Article published on LEITAT’s site: https://projects.leitat.org/nanonafres/

Patent: “VESICLES COMPRISING EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR AND COMPOSITIONS THEREOF” (WO2014019555)

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Making the most from Signals in Biomedical applications.

Last week took place on Berlin the EMB Conference 2019, (the 41^stInternational Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference) with the overarching theme “Biomedical engineering ranging from wellness to intensive care” counting with plenary keynotes from leading academic and industrial scientists, who presented aspects of innovation and translational engineering in biomedicine.

Pablo Laguna, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS Unit 27, from CIBER-BBN and I3A-UZ, was invited to give a talk on the topic “Phisiologically Driven Biomedical Signal Processing: making the most of Signals”

Pablo Laguna has co-authored more than 150 research papers on this topic, over 300 international conference papers, and has advise 15 Ph.D Thesis. He has lead a broad number of projects on biomedical signal interpretation specially in the cardiovascular domain, most of them with international collaborations at clinical and engineering sites. He is having some international scientific responsibilities, as serving as past-president of the board of directors of Computing in Cardiology conference, editor of the digital signal processing journal (Eurasip), and of the Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing (springer), organizer of different scientific conferences, etc. He is also responsible of the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at Zaragoza University. He is Fellow of the IEEE. He is, together with L. Sörnmo, the author of Bioelectrical Signal Processing in Cardiac and Neurological Applications, book (Elsevier, 2005)

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NANBIOSIS- OmicsTech: EXPLORING COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN ICTS FACILITIES

Last week, representatives of NANBIOSIS and OmicsTech met at the IQAC-CSIC facilities in Barcelona to exchange common research lines, points of view of their complementarity and collaboration possibilities of the facilities, both recognized as Unique Scientific Technical Infrastructure (ICTS) by the Spanish Government.

The Infrastructure for Omics Technologies OmicsTech ICTS is a distributed infrastructure that offers researchers the possibility of using globally competitive singular facilities exclusively dedicated to work with omics technologies, with a spectrum of biomolecular analysis tools for holistic capture of biological processes, to support research, technological development, and innovation activities. Advances in genomics, proteomics and metabolomics technologies have opened new avenues towards understanding molecular disease mechanisms and the behavior of cells, tissues, organs and, eventually, whole organisms. OmicsTech is formed by the Center of Omic Sciences (COS-URV-EURECAT), Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG) and the Proteomics Platform-CRG (PP-CRG-UPF).

The Infrastructure for the Production and Characterization of Nanomaterials, Biomaterials and Systems in Biomedicine NANBIOSIS ICTS is a distributed infrastructure for biomedical research with outsourcing equipment and expertise of excellence to design and produce biomaterials, nanomaterials and their nanoconjugates as well as their characterization from a physic-chemical, functional, toxicological and biological (preclinical validation) point of view, focused on biomedical applications such as: IVDs, medical devices, biosensors, regenerative medicine, drug delivery systems, therapeutic agents or MRI contrast agents. NANBIOSIS provides more than 700 accesses per year and services to 100 companies.

Due to this complementarity, both ICTS facilities have explored collaborations possibilities and a list of initiatives were discussed. This new collaboration will start with a session of OmicsTech in the Annual Conference of CIBER-BBN that will take place next October 21-22 in Tarragona. Meanwhile, both ICTS will work together stablishing synergies between different services that both institutions provide increasing the scope of the biomedical solutions given to the health sector. Collaboration between groups of the CIBER-BBN and groups related to OmicsTech will additionally facilitate the synergies between the two ICTS facilities.

For further information:

www.nanbiosis.es; www.omicstech.org

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Agreement signed with Spanish Goverment for the allocation of FEDER funds for NANBIOSIS ICTS

In the framework of the FEDER Program in ICTS 2014-2020, a projects related to the ICTS NANBIOSIS has been selected by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for co-financing with FEDER funds of the European Regional Development Funds program.

An agreement has been signed between Ministry of Science, Innovation and University of Extremadura, institution that houses NANBIOSIS unit 16 for the co-financing of the Project FICTS1420-14-09: “Compra e instalación y puesta a punto de equipamiento de caracterización para complementar la Unidad 16 de NANBIOSIS – Surface Characterization and Calorimetry Unit –NANBIOSISU16”.

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