Ramón Martínez Máñez, researcher from Universitat Politècnica de Valècia (UPV) and scientific director of the CIBER-BBN, has received an ERC Advanced Grant – the European Research Council’s most prestigious grant – with a budget of 2.5 million euros for the development of the EDISON Project (Engineered Particles for Chemical Communication).
This project focuses on the field of chemical or molecular communication. Its aim is the study, development and application of nanoparticles capable of communicating with each other and whose application would bring about a revolution in the field of chemical research.
“Our goal is to move forward in understanding how abiotic micro/nanoparticles can communicate with each other and with living systems. In this context, one way of establishing communication on a nanometric level is mimicking how nature communicates, namely using chemical messengers. If we are capable of laying the foundations for communication between micro/nanoparticles and between micro/nanoparticles and cells, future potential applications in the biomedical field, and in other fields such as environmental and industrial technology, are almost limitless,” highlights Ramón Martínez Máñez, who is currently deputy director of the Interuniversity Research Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM) of the Universitat Politècnica de València and the Universitat de València.
In the medical field, for example, these nanoparticles could help to unveil the keys for preventing and treating cancer, as they could act as nanotranslators to help connect cancer cells with immune system cells, regulating interactions with each other and, in general, to connect cells with each other that would otherwise be unable to communicate. They could also be key to developing new strategies to kill resistant micro-organisms and biofilms, detecting the presence of chemical species that using bacteria to create biofilm, inhibiting these signals.
The research proposed by EDISON will be carried out at the IDM, the CIBER-BBN and in the Mixed Research Units in which Ramón Martínez Máñez participates together with the Principe Felipe Research Centre and the Hospital La Fe in Valencia.
The project, which started on 1 October, will last 5 years until 30 September 2027. In a first stage, the team at the IDM Institute of the Valencia Polytechnic University will create the basic components to study chemical communication. In the second, EDISON will focus on developing systems that can establish communication between nanoparticles and living systems. Finally, the UPV researchers will work on developing nanosystems that integrate nanoparticles that are sensitive to stimuli and electronics to create new hybrid communication structures.
“Hundreds of nano/microparticles are identified every year but in practically all cases they are used as independent entities without connections between them. The connection/communication between particles is the base to develop more complex cooperative systems with new functionalities,” states professor Martínez Máñez, who will devote most of his time to developing the EDISON Project with the aim of laying the foundations for this new idea.
Thanks to this highly prestigious grant, the research group will be able to focus on the development of a new form of nanometric communication based on the use of chemical messengers that will facilitate the development of new applications at the nano-scale beyond what is possible using information and communication technologies at the macro-scale that we know today.
Born in Valencia on 11 Abril 1963, Martínez Máñez is a national and international authority in the field of chemical research.
In addition, his group at the IDM Institute of the UPV is working on developing nanometric devices with “molecular gates” for the controlled release of drugs. The nanoparticles studied are capable of retaining a charge within their pore system and delivering it upon application of a chemical, physical or biochemical stimulus. These particles have been used, for example, for the selective release of certain compounds to kill cancer cells and bacteria, for the release of drugs in senescent cells and also for the release of certain substances in food or agricultural applications.
Furthermore, Martínez Máñez’s team also works on developing molecular probes for the detection, through colour and fluorescence changes, of elements of environmental and biomedical interest such as drugs, nerve gases, certain biomarkers, etc.
Among the numerous acknowledgements he has received, in 2016 he was granted the Research Excellence Award by the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) and in 2018, the Jaume I Award for New Technologies.
Author of over 500 publications, Ramón Martínez Máñez has a very prominent presence in the most significant journals in the field of multidisciplinary chemistry, such as the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition or Nature Communications. In addition, he has been cited more than 25,215 times (Web of Science, 29,484 times in Google Scholar), with an average of more than 47 citations per article, and has an h-index of 75 (Web of Science, h-index of 81 in Google Scholar).
In the medical field, for example, these nanoparticles could help to unveil the keys for preventing and treating cancer, as they could act as nanotranslators to help connect cancer cells with immune system cells, regulating interactions with each other and, in general, to connect cells with each other that would otherwise be unable to communicate. They could also be key to developing new strategies to kill resistant micro-organisms and biofilms, detecting the presence of chemical species that using bacteria to create biofilm, inhibiting these signals.
The research proposed by EDISON will be carried out at the IDM, the CIBER-BBN and in the Mixed Research Units in which Ramón Martínez Máñez participates together with the Principe Felipe Research Centre and the Hospital La Fe in Valencia.
The project, which started on 1 October, will last 5 years until 30 September 2027. In a first stage, the team at the IDM Institute of the Valencia Polytechnic University will create the basic components to study chemical communication. In the second, EDISON will focus on developing systems that can establish communication between nanoparticles and living systems. Finally, the UPV researchers will work on developing nanosystems that integrate nanoparticles that are sensitive to stimuli and electronics to create new hybrid communication structures.
“Hundreds of nano/microparticles are identified every year but in practically all cases they are used as independent entities without connections between them. The connection/communication between particles is the base to develop more complex cooperative systems with new functionalities,” states professor Martínez Máñez, who will devote most of his time to developing the EDISON Project with the aim of laying the foundations for this new idea.
Thanks to this highly prestigious grant, the research group will be able to focus on the development of a new form of nanometric communication based on the use of chemical messengers that will facilitate the development of new applications at the nano-scale beyond what is possible using information and communication technologies at the macro-scale that we know today.
Born in Valencia on 11 Abril 1963, Martínez Máñez is a national and international authority in the field of chemical research.
In addition, his group at the IDM Institute of the UPV is working on developing nanometric devices with “molecular gates” for the controlled release of drugs. The nanoparticles studied are capable of retaining a charge within their pore system and delivering it upon application of a chemical, physical or biochemical stimulus. These particles have been used, for example, for the selective release of certain compounds to kill cancer cells and bacteria, for the release of drugs in senescent cells and also for the release of certain substances in food or agricultural applications.
Furthermore, Martínez Máñez’s team also works on developing molecular probes for the detection, through colour and fluorescence changes, of elements of environmental and biomedical interest such as drugs, nerve gases, certain biomarkers, etc.
Among the numerous acknowledgements he has received, in 2016 he was granted the Research Excellence Award by the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) and in 2018, the Jaume I Award for New Technologies.
Author of over 500 publications, Ramón Martínez Máñez has a very prominent presence in the most significant journals in the field of multidisciplinary chemistry, such as the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition or Nature Communications. In addition, he has been cited more than 25,215 times (Web of Science, 29,484 times in Google Scholar), with an average of more than 47 citations per article, and has an h-index of 75 (Web of Science, h-index of 81 in Google Scholar).
In the medical field, for example, these nanoparticles could help to unveil the keys for preventing and treating cancer, as they could act as nanotranslators to help connect cancer cells with immune system cells, regulating interactions with each other and, in general, to connect cells with each other that would otherwise be unable to communicate. They could also be key to developing new strategies to kill resistant micro-organisms and biofilms, detecting the presence of chemical species that using bacteria to create biofilm, inhibiting these signals.
The research proposed by EDISON will be carried out at the IDM, the CIBER-BBN and in the Mixed Research Units in which Ramón Martínez Máñez participates together with the Principe Felipe Research Centre and the Hospital La Fe in Valencia.
The project, which started on 1 October, will last 5 years until 30 September 2027. In a first stage, the team at the IDM Institute of the Valencia Polytechnic University will create the basic components to study chemical communication. In the second, EDISON will focus on developing systems that can establish communication between nanoparticles and living systems. Finally, the UPV researchers will work on developing nanosystems that integrate nanoparticles that are sensitive to stimuli and electronics to create new hybrid communication structures.
“Hundreds of nano/microparticles are identified every year but in practically all cases they are used as independent entities without connections between them. The connection/communication between particles is the base to develop more complex cooperative systems with new functionalities,” states professor Martínez Máñez, who will devote most of his time to developing the EDISON Project with the aim of laying the foundations for this new idea.
Thanks to this highly prestigious grant, the research group will be able to focus on the development of a new form of nanometric communication based on the use of chemical messengers that will facilitate the development of new applications at the nano-scale beyond what is possible using information and communication technologies at the macro-scale that we know today.
Born in Valencia on 11 Abril 1963, Martínez Máñez is a national and international authority in the field of chemical research.
In addition, his group at the IDM Institute of the UPV is working on developing nanometric devices with “molecular gates” for the controlled release of drugs. The nanoparticles studied are capable of retaining a charge within their pore system and delivering it upon application of a chemical, physical or biochemical stimulus. These particles have been used, for example, for the selective release of certain compounds to kill cancer cells and bacteria, for the release of drugs in senescent cells and also for the release of certain substances in food or agricultural applications.
Furthermore, Martínez Máñez’s team also works on developing molecular probes for the detection, through colour and fluorescence changes, of elements of environmental and biomedical interest such as drugs, nerve gases, certain biomarkers, etc.
Among the numerous acknowledgements he has received, in 2016 he was granted the Research Excellence Award by the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) and in 2018, the Jaume I Award for New Technologies.
Author of over 500 publications, Ramón Martínez Máñez has a very prominent presence in the most significant journals in the field of multidisciplinary chemistry, such as the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition or Nature Communications. In addition, he has been cited more than 25,215 times (Web of Science, 29,484 times in Google Scholar), with an average of more than 47 citations per article, and has an h-index of 75 (Web of Science, h-index of 81 in Google Scholar).
