Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina

Lines of research

BIOENGINEERING AND MEDICAL IMAGING

MULTIMODAL DIAGNOSIS:

The imaging diagnosis is increasingly complemented by another type of diagnosis based on different biophysical elements such as the combined use of different imaging techniques (CAT, MRI, PET, DTI, etc.), the actual prior treatment of the image (atlas, advanced segmenting and detection systems, morphological co-registering, etc.), very different types of signals (ECG, EEG, …), as well as morphological and functional models derived from tissue and organ modeling. These components allow a more efficient, complete and rigorous diagnosis.

The objective of this line is therefore related to the combined analysis of all this information, promoting improvements in diagnosis systems, elaborating tools for aiding in making clinical decisions and encouraging pre- and inter-operatory planning systems, as well as simulation and control stools in virtual surgery.

This line is in turn complemented with others such as the line relating to Biosensors and Molecular Diagnosis and the Implant Design line in which similar or complementary techniques are used.

INTELLIGENT DEVICES:

The introduction of more portable and efficient medical devices affording a greater deal of autonomy with regard to the clinical specialist (incorporating a certain degree of intelligence) significantly increases the quality of life of the patients. These devices include remote monitoring systems for high-risk patients, in conjunction with automatic telecommunication systems; automated drug delivery systems, even in a closed loop; controllably adaptable implants, among many other examples.

This implantation will involve a greater degree of autonomy for the patients and will translate into less of a burden on healthcare personnel. Additionally, the research results coming from this line will offer more thorough and continuous control of the patients, since the evolution of their health condition can be tracked and different variables could be simultaneously monitored.

BIOMATERIALS AND TISSUE ENGINEERING

REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

Three fundamental areas are incorporated in this line:

a) Scaffold-based Tissue Engineering. Includes the development of new materials for scaffolds, the design and use of bioreactors for cell culture, the analysis of the processes involved and the effect of different tissue regeneration stimuli on scaffolds, both in vitro and in vivo, the functionalization of the scaffold surface or non-invasive follow-up and monitoring systems in vitro and in vivo, among many others.
b) Cell therapy. Preferably referring to the technologies involved in cell therapy, including direct cell injection systems, bioreactors and pre-differentiation in vitro, combined drug-cell systems, controlled release systems, non-invasive follow-up and monitoring systems in vivo, etc.
c) Cell biophysics. This line seeks to obtain greater knowledge of how the cell works both in relation to its biophysical properties (cell channels, membrane and cytoskeleton mechanics, etc.), and in relation to its response to biophysical stimuli (cellular mechanotransduction, adaptation and plasticity) and, finally, modeling the behavior of the individual cell and of cell populations, down to the organization of tissues and organs. This line of research has a huge development potential due to the enormous current and future interest of regenerative medicine.

ENDOPROSTHESES AND IMPLANTS

The global objective of this line is to move forward in a new generation of patient-specific implants and endoprostheses with greater control over their behavior and over the evolution of the organ after implantation. This line therefore includes all those elements contributing to the improvement of implant design and features such as: advanced modeling taking into account the implant-organ interaction (osseointegration, tissue adaptation, influence of drugs, etc.), systems for supporting the surgical decisions made, treatment and surface functionalization systems, local and controlled drug release systems operating from the surface of the implant, biomaterials for implantation, intelligent prostheses (monitoring and active control), etc.

NANOMEDICINE

MOLECULAR DIAGNOSIS AND BIOSENSORS:

This line will give priority to conducting projects that seek to solve clinical problems where the application of systems based on biosensors and specific biomarker detectors provides a plausible solution and a clear diagnostic advantage. Priority will preferably be given to the development of technologies in the context of relevant clinical needs.

This line includes both the use of biomarkers for tracking the evolution of a certain disease, and for specific therapy target recognition. Techniques based on spectroscopic NMR, specific antibodies, etc., will be the preferred object of the line, as well as the use of nanobiosensors with high-specificity and even multiplexed nanobiosensors. The use of these techniques will allow diagnoses with a more solid biological base and more reliable results, which will translate into greater precision in the diagnosis of different pathologies.

THERAPEUTIC NANOCONJUGATES AND DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS:

This line will concentrate on the development of new pharmacological therapies based on the intelligent design of guided nanoconjugates. It contemplates both the development of pharmacological release systems optimized to traverse the blood-brain barrier and the release especially of enzymes, proteins or gene inhibition strategies by means of siRNA. Priority will be given to obtaining therapeutic nanoconjugates in prevalent clinical areas and in rare diseases.

The pharmacological reformulation of drugs already existing in clinical practice will not be a priority, nor will the technological development not associated to a relevant clinical need. The line must assure that toxicological and therapeutic activity data are obtained in all the newly designed nanoconjugates. The basic objective is to obtain suitable proofs of concept.

The development of therapeutic nanoconjugates and of local and controlled release systems for these nanoconjugates will allow guiding the treatment to the area of action in the attempt to achieve perfect control of the therapy, thereby preventing the action of the drug or therapeutic particle in areas that may entail a potential risk for the patient.

Priority lines

Basic research lines

Integral Modeling of Biological Systems, including aspects relating to biological signal and image treatment, as well as to the mathematical modeling of the functional behavior of biological systems from the cell to the organ, passing through the tissues and the different intermediate scales. The applications focus on improving the diagnosis, pre-operative planning and aiding the medical professional in making a decision, virtual surgery and support for the remaining priority lines based on modeling. This line can obviously be applied in improving diagnostic methods, and it can also be used for a better knowledge of the mechanisms occurring in tissue regeneration and the interaction of tissue with biomaterials and with implants.
Intelligent Sensing, including sensing elements based on a better understanding of the interaction between sensory biomaterials and biological molecules, and on the use of new physico-chemical bases and micro- and nanotechnologies for detecting new markers and non-invasive continuous monitoring techniques both in vivo and in vitro. This priority area of research is obviously directly related to the strategic line of biosensors and to the development of new monitoring devices and, again, for the improvement of different diagnostic processes.
Cell Biophysics and Epigenetics. The purpose of this line is to gain further knowledge in the understanding of the function of basic cell processes, such as the mechanisms of transduction (mechanotransduction, electrotransduction,…), cell-cell communication and the effect of the environment (chemical, electrical or mechanical) on cell expression (epigenetics) and, therefore, on pathological processes (tumor development, osteoporosis, …) or physiological processes (morphogenesis, growth, tissue repair or adaptation). In this case, in vitro monitoring devices are used for cell control and a good knowledge of the cell response is essential for improving tissue engineering techniques and for developing biosensors (i.e. of membrane biosensors) and therefore mechanisms of diagnosis which, on the other hand, as occurs with molecular and confocal imaging techniques, are essential for advancing in this field.
Development of new Active Molecules and Nanoconjugates, which must necessarily include comprehension of active devices and mechanisms as well as their integration and interaction with the organism and, finally, with the cell response. This line, which is obviously essential with regard to the strategic line of nanotherapies, is also very useful in implant and tissue engineering with the delivery of active ingredients, and in the strategic line of biosensors to incorporate, for example, these nanoconjugates as recognition elements on the surface of biomaterials for sensing.

Applied priority lines

Development of a software utilities integration platform for medical signal and image treatment and for functional tissue and organ modeling. It is considered as a continuation of the VPHTk project carried out in the last two years in CIBER-BBN and in connection with the European Virtual Physiological Human Network of Excellence. The objective is to develop a broad-spectrum and open-source platform to be used to quickly, reliably and robustly prepare diagnostic, modeling and simulation aid tools having a particular purpose in biomedicine. It is obviously directly connected to the Multimodal Diagnosis line but it can also be a tool in aiding in the design and evaluation of implants, pre-operative planning, virtual surgery or the development of devices with decision and control software that can be supported on algorithms and models included in the VPHTk platform.
Design and manufacture of micro- and nanodevices for instrumentation, sensing, control and monitoring of biological processes applied both in vitro and in vivo. The first case relates to elements for “bench” diagnostics (associated, for example, to the priority line of biosensors) or the monitoring of biological processes such as those developed in cell cultures (therefore associated to the priority line of cell biophysics), etc. The second cases, however, relate to devices inserted in implants or on the human body (intra- or extracorporeal) for the continuous monitoring of physiological variables which can include or not include telemedicine elements, integration with other devices in broad-spectrum platforms or adding elements for aiding in making decisions, warning and control. It is clearly a general and horizontal line which relates to all the strategic lines except, perhaps, with the development of active nanoconjugates.
Design and application of new implants, fixations, and devices supporting tissue regeneration. This line attempts to apply in practice the know-how developed in the strategic lines of implants and regenerative medicine the specific applications, improving the designs, incorporating a certain intelligence in the designs and in the monitoring, and also including active coatings or coatings with therapeutic properties. This line is obviously related to the two strategic lines of the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering area, with the Nanoconjugates and Drug Delivery area, and with the Intelligent Devices area.
Manufacture and launching on the market of nanoparticles for different applications, including controlled drug delivery, direct activation or inhibition of different biological or physico-chemical processes (i.e. hyperthermia), the increased contrast in magnetic resonance imaging, among others.