Three UJI projects in the field of chemistry are working with enzyme inhibitors, molecular nanoparticles and multi-target agents to improve the treatment of leukaemia, cancer, SARS-CoV-2 and Alzheimer's disease. 



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## Three UJI projects in the field of chemistry are working with enzyme inhibitors, molecular nanoparticles and multi-target agents to improve the treatment of leukaemia, cancer, SARS-CoV-2 and Alzheimer's disease.

20/03/2023 |
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Three projects of the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló have obtained four hundred thousand euros in the last call of the State Plan for Scientific, Technical and Innovation Research 2021-2023 in the field of chemistry to study and design new compounds in diseases such as those caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, cancer or Alzheimer's; to prepare self-assembled molecular nanoparticles to load them with anticancer drugs, photosensitisers and microbial agents: or potential anticancer agents for application in targeted therapies.

The project "Computational biocatalysis: an approach to the rational design of enzyme inhibitors and biocatalysts with applications in biomedicine", directed by Professor Vicente Moliner Ibáñez of the Computational Biochemistry Group and member of the University Institute of Advanced Materials, will apply multiscale simulation methods in the study of complex biochemical reactions and in the design of new compounds with strong implications for problems related to human health. It has obtained funding of 157,300 euros and will be developed in coordination with national and foreign research groups.

The objectives have been grouped into three different packages. The first will incorporate Machine Learning strategies to improve the efficiency of current Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics (QM/MM) methods and to aid in the prediction of new compounds. The second will focus on the study and design of enzyme inhibitors, especially for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. In the third, the aim is to design new biocatalysts for two important health problems: the degradation of plastic rejects and the improvement in the treatment of leukaemia.

The study "Organic molecular nanoparticles from bolaamphiphilic molecules and their use as vehicles for anticancer drugs, photosensitisers and antimicrobial agents", led by professors Juan Felipe Miravet Celades, coordinator of the Nanomaterials Group, and Juan Felipe Miravet Celades, coordinator of the Nanomaterials Group, coordinator of the Organic Molecular Nanomaterials with Biomedical Applications Group (ORGNANO) and Francisco Galindo Honrubia of the Photochemistry and Sensors Group (FYS) aims to prepare self-assembled molecular nanoparticles from bolaamphiphilic molecules to load them with anticancer drugs, photosensitisers and microbial agents to improve the pharmacological action and efficacy of photodynamic therapy.

With funding of 145,200 euros, the project also envisages that the nanocarriers will attenuate the process of resistance to antimicrobial agents and will use bolaamphiphiles labelled with fluorescent units to follow the process of endocytosis of the nanoparticles and their intracellular fate. The two principal investigators have expertise in organic self-assembly and photoactive compounds and the team includes the researcher Rosa de Llanos, distinguished research staff - junior modality (Beatriz Galindo grant, State Plan) from the Predepartmental Unit of Medicine, an expert in microbiology.

The project "Development of new multi-diana anticancer agents with potential disruptive effect on the tumour microenvironment", directed by Professor Eva Falomir Ventura, coordinator of the Chemistry for Medicine Group (JMC) and endowed with 96. 800 in funding, focuses on the discovery of potential anticancer agents for application in targeted therapies, for which libraries of small non-peptide organic molecules will be synthesised and an exhaustive evaluation of their biological activity will be carried out, including multicellular 3D cultures.

Tumours are not just isolated masses of cancer cells, but interact with surrounding cells and the extracellular matrix and generate the tumour microenvironment (TME). Recognition of the importance of the TME has led to a shift from a tumour-centric view to viewing the tumour as a complex ecosystem in which non-malignant cells and molecular components can influence tumour progression and metastasis as much as cancer cells. The challenge is to discover active molecules, since one of the characteristics of MSDs is that alterations in a single component can cause a dramatic reorganisation of the entire system.  
  
STATE RESEARCH PLAN

The research staff of the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló has obtained 4.17 million euros from the State Research Agency, two more than in the previous call, for the development of 38 new research projects of the State Plan for Scientific Research, Tècnica i d'Innovació 2021-2023, which focuses its objectives on the most strategic sectors for recovery, such as health, ecological transition and digitalisation.

The success rate (number of projects approved out of the total presented) is 70% (the national average is 50%) and with an average funding per project of around 110,000 euros and 14 projects more than in the previous edition. With the 2021 call, the Universitat Jaume I reaches the 23.7 million euros of funding for R+D+i since the launch of the Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation a decade ago.

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