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Samuel Sánchez, a referent in the nanotechnology field, elected new member of the Young Academy of Spain

An international committee has elected Samuel Sánchez, the European referent in nanomotors, as one of the new 13 researchers, among 185 candidates, who will be a member of the Young Academy of Spain.

Last Thursday, May 28, the General Board of the Young Academy of Spain elected 13 new academic members. An independent international committee composed of highly prestigious researchers from different areas of knowledge participated in the selection process.

School research projects on bioengineering developed at IBEC have great success

Last March Alex Pachón, a stutent that did his research project at IBEC won the CRACKS Prize awarded each year by the University of Girona (UdG) thanks to his School Research Project on nanobiotechnology applied to cancer medicine. Filotea Crasovan won the Foro de Gracia contest.

Alex’s work, entitled ‘The secret of oncological medicine hidden in the nanoworld’, is one of the 25 school research projects tutored last year by IBEC researchers.

Samuel Sánchez wins an ERC Consolidator Grant to study the collective behaviour of self-propelled nanorobots


Samuel Sánchez, Group Leader at IBEC and ICREA Research Professor, has been awarded the prestigious “Consolidator Grant” of the European Research Council (ERC). With his i-NANOSWARMS project, Sánchez and his team at the Smart Nano-Bio-Devices Group will study the collective behaviour of nanorobots capable of self-propelling, and thus study their possible application in drug delivery and imaging diagnosis.

The highly sought-after ERC Consolidator grants are awarded to EU-based principal investigators with at least seven and up to twelve years of experience after his PhD who have demonstrated talent and scientific potential.

Three researchers from IBEC awarded with grants from “la Caixa” for their pioneering and high social impact research

José Antonio del Río, Pau Gorostiza, and Samuel Sánchez have been awarded in two of the “la Caixa” calls.

José Antonio del Río, principal investigator of the Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology Group at IBEC, is one of the winners of the second edition of the call for applications in biomedicine and health. Del Río’s project focuses on analysing the molecular mechanisms involved in the genesis and propagation of tau protein in brain cells. This protein is linked with several neurodegenerative processes and is present in numerous diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Pau Gorostiza, principal investigator of the Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches Group, also received an award at the second edition of the call for applications for research projects in biomedicine and health. In this case, for his project on degenerative eye conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, which causes blindness due to the progressive degeneration of the cones and rods, which are the light sensitive cells.

Discovered the determining factors for the propulsion of microrobots

A study led by researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) opens the door to moving new microscopic objects using an entire library of enzymes According to experts, these microrobots will be able to be used in the near future for environmental and biomedical purposes.

Swallowing a pill to cure a serious disease or adding a pinch of a synthetic powder to purify water seemed like concepts from science fiction up to only a few generations ago. However, the appearance of new disciplines, such as bioengineering, is raising the level of sophistication and specialisation of new materials to unforeseen limits.

3D bioprinted robots

IBEC’s Smart Nano-Bio-Devices group – the institute’s experts in micro- and nanorobots – have used 3D bioprinting to produce ‘biorobots’ made of biological elements such as muscle tissue.

These bio-inspired soft robotic devices could offer many more capabilities for movement and performance – such as real-time bio-sensing, self-organization, adaptability, or self-healing – than existing systems, which use solely artificial materials.

“Bio-inspired soft robotics is an exciting new discipline, as it may help us overcome the limitations of traditional robotic systems, such as flexibility, responsiveness and adaptability,” says Samuel Sanchez, group leader at IBEC and ICREA research professor.

Samuel breaks own record for smallest jet engine

Samuel Sanchez has broken his own Guinness World Record for the smallest jet engine.

The ultimate authority in record-breaking achievements has recognized his and Xing Ma’s nanotube, 220nm or 0.00022 millimeters in size, as the world’s tiniest jet engine. Previously, Samuel and his collaborators from IFW Dresden held the record until this year, with a 600nm tube.

The tubular ‘engine’ is powered by an enzyme-triggered biocatalytic reaction using urea as fuel. The reaction creates an internal flow that extends out into the surrounding fluid through one of the cavities, causing a flux of fluid that results in thrust, propelling the nanotube along.