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IBEC internal collaboration succeeds in measuring bacterial cell response to electrical fields

Two groups working together at IBEC demonstrate the potential of electrical studies of single bacterial cells in a paper published in ACS Nano.

Gabriel Gomila’s Nanoscale Bioelectrical Characterization group and that of Antonio Juárez, Microbial Biotechnology and Host-pathogen Interaction, combined their expertise on microscopic electrical measurements and bacteria respectively to come up with a way to study the response to external electrical fields of just a single bacterial cell.

Scientists develop first light-operated drug for most common target proteins

Researchers in IBEC’s Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches group and their collaborators have announced the development of the first ever light-controlled therapeutic agent whose effects focus specifically on the largest, most important class of drug target proteins – G protein-coupled receptors.

In the journal Nature Chemical Biology this week, the scientists reveal Alloswitch-1, the latest advance in their research into photoswitchable (or light-operated) drugs. Controlling drug activity with light means that the therapeutic effects can be accurately delivered locally, thus reducing their effect on other areas and the resultant side effects, and helps reduce the dosage required.

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It is vital that research in bioengineering and nanomedicine receives private support. Without this help, our mission to conduct high quality investigation to find solutions for novel, affordable medical technologies is an insurmountable challenge. Josep Samitier, Director of IBEC No discovery in science could take place without basic research. The mission of IBEC is to … Read more

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Research management staff

DirectorManuel Salmeron Former DirectorJosep Samitier Managing Director Sergi Camacho Assistant to the DirectorEster Sánchez People Management We welcome you to the People Management Unit of the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC). We are dedicated to supporting IBEC’s mission by providing high-quality, efficient, and accurate services to our entire community, always placing people at the … Read more

Researchers measure a property of DNA for the first time

The electric polarizability of DNA is a fundamental property that directly influences its biological functions. Despite the importance of this property, however, its measurement has remained elusive so far.

In a study published in PNAS today, researchers at Barcelona’s Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) led by Laura Fumagalli, senior researcher at IBEC and lecturer at the University of Barcelona, and their collaborators at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) and at Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), and at Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB-CSIC) and IMDEA Nanociencia in Madrid, describe how they have found a way to directly measure DNA electric polarizability – represented by its dielectric constant, which indicates how a material reacts to an applied electric field – for the first time ever.

Bacterial infections: antimicrobial therapies

The Bacterial infections: antimicrobial therapies group is a senior group. Infectious diseases constitute a tenacious and major public health problem all over the world. The emergence and increasing prevalence of bacterial strains that are resistant to available antibiotics demand the discovery of new therapeutic approaches. Biofilms are bacterial communities that grow embedded within a protective … Read more

Research groups

Units Severo Ochoa Distinguished Professor Associated Researchers Associated researchers are university professors seconded to IBEC who are working on topics that are of interest or complementary to our research areas.