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Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches

About

Research in the laboratory focuses on developing nanoscale tools to study biological systems. These tools include instrumentation based on proximity probes, such as electrochemical tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy and single molecule force spectroscopy, that we apply to investigate electron transfer in individual redox proteins, and other biophysical and biochemical interactions.

These studies are relevant to understand lipid membrane dynamics, to the development of biosensors and molecular electronics devices, and have led to the discovery of long-distance electrochemically gated electron transport between partner proteins of the respiratory and photosynthetic chains.

Another set of nanotools that we are developing is based on engineered molecular actuators that can be switched with light, such as azobenzene, which can be chemically attached to biomolecules in order to remotely control their activity (photopharmacology). They include peptide inhibitors of protein-protein interactions, small molecule enzymatic inhibitors, and photoswitchable ligands of a diversity of other proteins.

Among several applications, these compounds have enabled photoactivated chemotherapy, photocontrol of cellular signaling mediated by ion channels and G protein-coupled receptors, photocontrol of cardiac activity and locomotion, sensory restoration, and photocontrol of brain waves.

Based on these tools, we have also developed two-photon pharmacology to manipulate and study the activity of neurons and glia in intact brain tissue with pharmacological selectivity and sub-cellular three-dimensional resolution.

Staff

CURRENT STAFF

Pau Gorostiza Langa

Group Leader / ICREA Research Professor
+34 934 020 208
pgorostizaibecbarcelona.eu

ALUMNI LIST

  • Dr. Ismael Díez-Pérez. Professor at King’s College London.  
  • Dr. Juan Manuel Artés. Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.  
  • Dr. Mercè Izquierdo-Serra. Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona. 
  • Dr. Andrés Martín-Quirós. Manager atthe technology consulting company EY in Barcelona. 
  • Dr. Lorena Redondo-Morata. Researcher at the Pasteur Institute in Lille.
  • Dr. Berta Gumí. Project manager at the clinical research consulting company Teamit in Barcelona. 
  • Dr. Antonio Bautista. Data scientist at the data science and analytics company Le Wagon in Bordeaux. 
  • Dr. Marisabel Bahamonde-Santos. Postdoctoral researcher at the Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona. 
  • Dr. Silvia Pittolo. Marie Slodowska Curie postdoctoral fellow at the University of California in San Francisco and Max Delbrück Center in Berlin. 
  • Dr. Montserrat López-Martínez. Postdoctoral fellow at the Technical University of Vienna. 
  • Dr. Aida Garrido-Charles. Alexander vonHumboldt postdoctoral fellow at the University of Göttingen.
  • Dr. Fabio Riefolo. Project manager at the clinical research consulting company Teamit in Barcelona. 
  • Dr. Carlo Matera. Associate Professor at the University of Milan. 
  • Dr. Rossella Castagna. Assistant Professor at the Latvian Institute of Organic Chemistry in Riga and in the Politecnico di Milano. 
  • Dr. Miquel Bosch. Assistant Professor at the International University of Catalonia in Barcelona. 
  • Dr. Davia Prischich. Postdoctoral fellow at the Imperial College, London. 
  • Dr. Alexandre Gomila-Juaneda. Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Barcelona. 
  • Dr. Manuel López-Ortiz. Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Rostock.

Projects

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTSFINANCERPI
DEEPER · Deep Brain Photonic Tools for Cell-type specific targeting of Neural diseases (2021-2025)European Commission, ICTPau Gorostiza
Human Brain Project Specific Grant Agreement 3 (2020-2023)European Commission, FET FLAGSHIPSPau Gorostiza
NATIONAL PROJECTSFINANCERPI
DEEP RED · Neuromodulación de las vías inhibitorias mediante fotofarmacología activada por luz roja e infrarroja (2020-2023)MINECO, Retos investigación: Proyectos I+DPau Gorostiza
PRIVATELY FUNDED PROJECTSFINANCERPI
Drug4Sight · Light-regulated drugs to restore sight (2019-2022)Obra Social La CaixaPau Gorostiza
FINISHED PROJECTSFINANCERPI
DECA CECH · Cluster Emergente del Cerebro Humano (2019-2021)RIS3CAT – Tecnologies EmergentsPau Gorostiza
SGR Grups de recerca consolidats (2017-2020)AGAUR / SGRPau Gorostiza
Q-SPET · Quantum-controlled Single Protein Electron Transport (2019-2020)BIST Ignite ProgramPau Gorostiza
Human Brain Project Specific Grant Agreement 2 (2018-2020)European Commission, FET FLAGSHIPSPau Gorostiza
FOCUS Single Molecule Activation and ComputingICTPau Gorostiza
THERALIGHT Therapeutic Applications of Light-Regulated DrugsERC-PoCPau Gorostiza
Single-BioET Single-molecule junction capabilities to map the electron pathways in redox bio-molecular architectures (2012-2016)MARIE CURIE – RGIsmael Díez
Optogenetic pacemaking to rewire neural circuitsLa Marató TV3Pau Gorostiza
OPTOPHARMACOLOGY Aplicaciones terapéuticas de la optofarmacologíaMINECO (CTQ2013-43892-R)Pau Gorostiza
Milk fat globule membrane and periphera proteins: lipid-protein interactions (2016-2017)Fausto SanzINRA
WaveScalES Human Brain Project Specific Grant Agreement 1 (2016-2018)European Commission, FET FLAGSHIPSPau Gorostiza
OPTOFRAX Optopharmacological brain mapping of autism mouse (2015-2017)MARIE CURIE – IFMiquel Bosch
NANOPROSTHETICS Prótesis moleculares para restablecer la visión basadas en fotoconmutadores covalentes dirigidos (2016-2019)MINECO, Retos investigación: Proyectos I+DPau Gorostiza
MODULIGHTOR Moduladores fotoconmutables sintéticos para manipular remotamente proteínas endógenas: fotocontrol in vivo de canales iónicos pentaméricos (2015-2018)MINECO Nacional /Acciones de Programación Conjunta InternacionalPau Gorostiza
nanoET-leukemia Nanoconductance of electron transfer proteins of the respiratory chain. Direct measurement at the single molecular level and therapeutic regulation in cancer stem cells (2015-2018)MINECO, Proyectos RETOS 2015 / CIBERMarina  Giannotti / Anna Lagunas
Inhibición fotoselectiva de interacciones proteína-proteína para el estudio de redes interactómicas y el desarrollo de nuevas terapias (2015-2018)Pau GorostizaFundación Ramon Areces
Fotoconmutadores covalentes para el control remoto de receptores endógenos (2017-2019)Pau GorostizaConvocatoria de Ayudas a la Investigación FUNDALUCE

Publications

Equipment

  • iMic molecular imaging system
  • Electrochemical scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) for molecular imaging
  • Asylum Research Molecular Force Probe
  • Multimode SPM Nanoscope III (SCT-UB)
  • Autolab potentiostat
  • Patch clamp setup with Heka EPC10 amplifier
  • Molecular Imaging Electrochemical STM

Collaborations

  • Prof. Amadeu Llebaria
    Institut de Química Avançada de Catalunya (IQAC-CSIC)
  • Prof. Ernest Giralt
    Dept. de Química Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona
  • Prof. Miquel Àngel Pericàs
    Institut Català d’Investigació Química (ICIQ), Tarragona
  • Dr. Piotr Bregestovski
    Institut de Neurobiologie de la Mediterraneé (INMED), Marseille
  • Dr. Mireia Oliva
    Dept. de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica, Universitat de Barcelona
  • Dr. Artur Llobet
    Dept. Patología y Terapéutica Experimental, Universitat de Barcelona
  • Dr. Joan Torrent
    Escola Universitària d’Òptica i Optometria de Terrassa, Spain
  • Prof. Dirk Trauner
    Chemistry Dept., UC Berkeley, USA
  • Prof. Carles Solsona
    Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics Dept, UB
  • Prof. Francisco Ciruela
    ICREA / Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
  • Prof. Jesús Giraldo & Dr. Jordi Hernando
    Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
  • Niek van Hulst, Michael Krieg, Pablo Loza
    Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO)
  • Carme Rovira
    ICREA, Universitat de Barcelona
  • Pedro de la Villa
    Universidad de Alcalá de Henares
  • Eduardo Fernández
    Universitat Miguel Hernández
  • Burkhard König
    Regensburg University
  • Michael Decker
    Regensburg University
  • Elisabet Romero
    Institut Català d’Investigació Química (ICIQ), Tarragona
  • Ismael Díez-Pérez
    King’s College London
  • Andrea Barberis
    Italian Institute of Technology
  • Roberta Croce
    Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  • Gertrudis Perea
    Instituto Cajal
  • Irene Díaz-Moreno, Miguel Ángel de la Rosa, Antonio Díaz-Quintana
    Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad de Sevilla
  • Joan Torrent
    Escola Universitària d’Òptica i Optometria de Terrassa, Spain
  • Jordi Hernando, Ramon Alibés, Félix Busque, Josep Maria Lluch
    Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

News

A scientific team led by IBEC and UAB manages to efficiently activate molecules located inside cell tissues using two-photon excitation of with infrared light lasers. The results of the study has been published in Nature Communications. Having absolute control of the activity of a molecule in an organism. Deciding when, where and how a drug is activated. These are some of the goals expected to be reached with the so-called photoswitchable molecules, compounds that, in the presence of certain light waves, change their properties. Today, thanks to the results of a study led by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) together with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the scientific community is one step closer to achieving this objective.

A new technique allows researchers to focus the action of drugs via infrared light

A scientific team led by IBEC and UAB manages to efficiently activate molecules located inside cell tissues using two-photon excitation of with infrared light lasers. The results of the study has been published in Nature Communications. Having absolute control of the activity of a molecule in an organism. Deciding when, where and how a drug is activated. These are some of the goals expected to be reached with the so-called photoswitchable molecules, compounds that, in the presence of certain light waves, change their properties. Today, thanks to the results of a study led by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) together with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the scientific community is one step closer to achieving this objective.

Collaborating IBEC groups have published a study in Nature Communications that reveals that electron transfer can take place while a protein is approaching its partner site, and not only when the proteins are engaged, as was previously thought. The results open up a new way of thinking about how proteins interact, and can have implications in a better understanding of many processes – such as photosynthesis, respiration and detoxification – in which electron transfer plays an important role. The relocation of an electron from one chemical entity to another – electron transfer (ET) – doesn’t happen passively: electrons are carried individually by redox proteins.

Proteins can transfer electrons at a distance

Collaborating IBEC groups have published a study in Nature Communications that reveals that electron transfer can take place while a protein is approaching its partner site, and not only when the proteins are engaged, as was previously thought. The results open up a new way of thinking about how proteins interact, and can have implications in a better understanding of many processes – such as photosynthesis, respiration and detoxification – in which electron transfer plays an important role. The relocation of an electron from one chemical entity to another – electron transfer (ET) – doesn’t happen passively: electrons are carried individually by redox proteins.

Researchers at IBEC and IDIBELL have developed a light-regulated molecule that could improve chemotherapy treatments by controlling the activity of anticancer agents. Chemotherapy – the use of cytotoxic agents to kill the rapidly proliferating cells in tumors – is one of our main tools in the fight against cancer. However, its effectiveness and the body’s tolerance of it is often dramatically limited: it can affect healthy areas rather than just the cancerous ones, which causes side effects.

IBEC researchers uncover strategy to reduce chemotherapy side effects

Researchers at IBEC and IDIBELL have developed a light-regulated molecule that could improve chemotherapy treatments by controlling the activity of anticancer agents. Chemotherapy – the use of cytotoxic agents to kill the rapidly proliferating cells in tumors – is one of our main tools in the fight against cancer. However, its effectiveness and the body’s tolerance of it is often dramatically limited: it can affect healthy areas rather than just the cancerous ones, which causes side effects.

Researchers at IBEC, IQAC-CSIC and CNRS have developed molecules that can modulate the activity of glutamate receptors in the central nervous system, with important applications in biomedicine. For the last few years the collaborators have been working on the development of molecules called targeted covalent photoswitches (TCPs), whose structure can be changed using light. This change in shape causes the molecule to be recognized – or not – by a biological receptor as a key is to a lock. This coupling activates the receptor or not, triggering the activity.

Molecules activated by light to control glutamate receptors

Researchers at IBEC, IQAC-CSIC and CNRS have developed molecules that can modulate the activity of glutamate receptors in the central nervous system, with important applications in biomedicine. For the last few years the collaborators have been working on the development of molecules called targeted covalent photoswitches (TCPs), whose structure can be changed using light. This change in shape causes the molecule to be recognized – or not – by a biological receptor as a key is to a lock. This coupling activates the receptor or not, triggering the activity.

IBEC group leader and ICREA research professor Pau Gorostiza took part in the 17th Symposium of La Marató de TV3 this week, which was devoted to the celebration of the 30 research projects awarded funding by the telethon in 2010. The event at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans on Wednesday, which included a poster session open to the public, featured round tables of experts discussing the findings of the projects, which covered research into the understanding, treatment and prognosis acquired spinal cord and brain injuries.

Celebrating advances in spinal cord and brain research by Marató-funded projects

IBEC group leader and ICREA research professor Pau Gorostiza took part in the 17th Symposium of La Marató de TV3 this week, which was devoted to the celebration of the 30 research projects awarded funding by the telethon in 2010. The event at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans on Wednesday, which included a poster session open to the public, featured round tables of experts discussing the findings of the projects, which covered research into the understanding, treatment and prognosis acquired spinal cord and brain injuries.

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Jobs

We are happy to receive CVs and enquiries from talented individuals. Prospective students and staff are encouraged to contact us to discuss possibilities. Please feel free to suggest new projects, areas of research or new ideas. You can visit the jobs page to find currents job openings in all IBEC groups or administration positions.