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Safe nanomotors propelled by sugar

Researchers at IBEC and their collaborators have made a breakthrough in nanomotors for applications in medicine by developing the first ever fully biocompatible self-propelling particles that are powered by enzymes that consume biological fuels, such as glucose.

In Nanoletters today, IBEC group leader and ICREA research professor Samuel Sánchez and his collaborators at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), the University of Tübingen and the MPI for Solid State Research, describe their fabrication of enzyme-powered synthetic nanomotors that overcome the disadvantages of current systems by being both biocompatible and powered by biologically benign fuels.

IBEC group presents 4th generation biomaterial that mimics bone

nanoscaleoscarIBEC researchers have published a paper in Nanoscale elucidating a brand new biomaterial that paves the way towards a fourth generation of effective structures for tissue regeneration.

The Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies group and their collaborators in the Netherlands and Poland describe a hybrid material which faithfully mimics the structure of bone’s extracellular matrix.

Findings on seizure susceptibility open new avenues to understanding epilepsy in rapid progressive dementia

IBEC researchers have revealed the role played by the cellular prion protein (PrPC) – which is associated with a plethora of biological functions including cell proliferation, differentiation and signaling – in epilepsy.

In the latest edition of Scientific Reports, a Nature group journal, the Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology group and their collaborators outline findings that could lead to a better understanding of rapid neurodegenerative diseases that involve epileptic fits, such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD).

How cells cope with stress and strain

opcio 13_webA study by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) reveals how cells withstand breakage during the constant changes in shape and volume experienced in most biological processes

During critical biological processes such as embryonic development, breathing, the pumping of the heart, wound healing and tumor growth, the body’s cells are stretched and distorted to adapt to their environment. The cell’s membrane, though, is rigid and inflexible. So how does it withstand all these constant deformations, so that it doesn’t break?

New malaria strategy proposes using unaffected red blood cells as drug carriers

IBEC and ISGlobal’s joint unit, Nanomalaria, has published a new therapeutic strategy against malaria.

The study, which appeared in the current edition of the Journal of Controlled Release, tackles a major hurdle in malaria treatments, which is that most antimalarial drugs start working on the infected cell quite late in Plasmodium’s life cycle, when their effect is often too short to be lethal to the parasite. The work has been done in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, as one of the few cases of partnerships involving industry in the research and development of innovative antimalarial nanomedicines.

IBEC groups join forces to combat chronic bacterial infections

torrentsengelA study published today in the Journal of Controlled Release describes a new nanoparticle strategy able to target hard-to tackle infections caused by biofilm-forming bacteria.

Two IBEC groups have worked together to develop a new type of nanoparticle to help fight chronic illness caused by biofilm-forming bacteria.

Genetic “editing” a new tool to fight inherited disease

CellforwebResearchers at the Hospital Clínic, IDIBAPS, the Hospital Sant Joan de Deu and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have participated in a study, led by Dr. Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte of the Gene Expression Laboratory at California’s Salk Institute, that uses molecular “scissors” to remove mitochondrial mutations in mouse eggs.

For thousands of women worldwide who are carriers of a mitochondrial disease, having a healthy child can be a gamble.

A new mechanism in cell communication that promotes cancer metastasis

Xavier Trepat_lab1Pioneering international study supported by the Obra Social “la Caixa” opens new possibilities to control metastasis

At a press conference at the Obra Social “la Caixa”’s Palau Macaya earlier today, Xavier Trepat, group leader at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Enric Banda, director of the department of Science and Environment of the Obra Social ”la Caixa”, and Josep Samitier, director of IBEC, described a study published in Nature Cell Biology which sheds new light on how to control metastasis.

New hope against growing threat of antibiotic resistance

torrents feb 2015 image smThe increasing prevalence of bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics pose an escalating threat to human health. Now, researchers in Barcelona have identified a molecule with huge potential as a new type of antibacterial agent

Access to effective antibiotics is essential in all health systems. Their use has reduced childhood mortality and increased life expectancy, and they are crucial for invasive surgery and treatments such as cancer chemotherapy and organ transplants.

A major step towards repairing the spinal cord

OECs_smResearchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia and their collaborators reveal that they’re a step closer to optimizing cells able to guide regeneration of the spine

The olfactory system is an area of the body that can renew itself, and it does this by using olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) to guide newly formed axons – long projections of nerve cells – towards the body’s central nervous system. Naturally, researchers have already tried transplanting OECs to the spine, to see if this ability also works to promote axonal regeneration in spinal cord injuries and neural diseases.