Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms and their partners in crime
Eduard Torrents
Group leader
An alternative to mice for toxicity testing
Eduard Torrents and his team present an alternative to experimentation with mice. The research proposes the use of waxworms to evaluate the toxicity of nanoparticles, which is also cheaper and more ethical. These insects allow us to model their possible nanotoxicity in a living organism.
IBEC researchers propose a cheaper and more ethical model for toxicological studies
A new study by IBEC’s Bacterial Infections: Antimicrobial Therapies and Molecular and cellular neurobiotechnology groups shows that Galleria mellonella larvae can be effective to test the toxicity of nanoparticles. This work thus paves the way toward a new animal model for toxicity studies that represent an inexpensive and more ethical alternative to rodent testing.
Eduard Torrents talks about antibiotic resistance on the radio
Eduard Torrents, group leader at IBEC is interviewed in the radio program “Després del Col·lapse” of RTVE talking about his research on new therapies for infectious diseases in the face of antibiotic resistance.
Nanoparticles against “maxibacteria”
Eduard Torrents, leader of the group “Bacterial infections: antimicrobial therapies” at IBEC, is interviewed in the ALMA magazine to explain how his group is fighting against the bacteria that causes cystic fibrosis.
Researchers identify a mechanism that explains the recurrence of many lung infections
A team of researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has discovered that strains of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from patients are more persistent than laboratory strains and propose a molecular mechanism to explain intracellular survival.
The study, published in the journal Virulence, finds that the class II ribonucleotide reductase enzyme (RNR) plays a key role in frequent lung infections, for example, those that occur in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Researchers at IBEC provide new insights on how to treat chronic infections
Researchers at Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have managed to recreate the coculture conditions and environmental requisites that would allow the simultaneous and stable growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, two major pathogens commonly found growing together in intricate biofilms in disease-affected lungs or wounds.
Most chronic infections occur due to the inherent capacity of some bacterial pathogens to grow in biofilms. Biofilm-associated infections, which have become a critical worldwide threat, have historically been treated as single-species events.
Researchers at IBEC track how pathogens adapt to oxygen changes
The Bacterial Infections: Antimicrobial Therapies group at IBEC, led by Eduard Torrents, has developed a system capable of investigating how pathogens adapt to oxygen changes.
Using this technique, they have discovered that bacteria E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa can adapt to environmental changes through different mechanisms, which opens the door to better knowledge and treatment of infections.
The BioVac project led by IBEC and ICN2 awarded at the BIST Ignite Awards 2020
BioVac, a project led jointly by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) has been awarded the BIST Ignite Awards 2020.
BioVac, a project led jointly by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) has been awarded the BIST Ignite Awards 2020.The aim of this collaboration is to populate nanoparticles with antigens to create a new generation of vaccines against untreatable infections and multi-resistant bacteria. The award ceremony of the BIST Ignite Awards 2020 will be held on March 11 at the Auditorium of La Pedrera.
The directing board of the “Asociación Catalana de Fibrosis Quística” visits IBEC
Representatives of the board of directors of the Catalan Association of Cystic Fibrosis (ACFQ) recently visited IBEC laboratories to discuss the latest advances in bacterial resistance with Dr. Eduard Torrents, principal investigator at IBEC of the group of Bacterial infections: Antimicrobial therapies .
Representatives of the board of directors of the Catalan Association of Cystic Fibrosis (ACFQ) recently visited IBEC laboratories to discuss the latest advances in bacterial resistance with Dr. Eduard Torrents, principal investigator at IBEC of the group of Bacterial infections: Antimicrobial therapies .Eduard Torrents, with the support of the ACFQ since 2009, is investigating different antimicrobial strategies to eradicate infections associated with this disease. As on previous occasions, he showed his laboratory to the representatives of the association and shared with them the latest advances in the different lines he is currently developing. “Working with the patient association made me change the way I was doing my research, I want to find solutions,” he said.
On their behalf, the “Associació Catalana de Fibrosi Quística”, that since his foundation at 1988 backs the assistencial and researcher work, devotes a large part of its financial resources to achieve progress in treatment and research, providing different improvements to different research groups .