Nanotechnologies for Bio-inspired polySaccharides: biological 'decoys' designed as knowledge-based, multifunctional biomaterials (NANOBIOSACCHARIDES)

Basic data for this project

Description

The NanoBioSaccharides project convenes an interdisciplinary consortium of scientists from academia and industry to develop and exploit nanotechnologies for the generation of knowledge-based, multi-functional, bio-inspired polysaccharides to be used as intelligent, sustainable, environment-friendly, consumer- and patient-safe bio-materials. The project is based on the novel concept of biological decoys acting as functional bio-medical materials. This concept which was recently developed by the core partners of the NanoBioSaccharides project causally links the physico-chemical properties of polysaccharides, in particular of chitosans, to their biological activities. The NanoBioSaccharides project aims at validating this concept which upon verification would generate breakthrough knowledge in the highly promising field of nanobiotechnologies, and which upon implementation would potentially lead to significant transformation in the field of medical bio-materials, drug and gene delivery, and cell and tissue engineering. Polysaccharides are by far the most versatile and diverse class of biopolymers, and with an estimated annual production of 10 11-12 tons of cellulose and 10 10-11 tons of chitin alone, they are also by far the most abundant renewable resource available. Owing to their superior structural properties, polysaccharides have long been used in bulk quantities in the film and fiber, paper and textile industries. However, increasing evidence suggests that polysaccharides also have superior functional properties, being involved e.g. in the non-self recognition in human immune systems and plant disease resistance. Polysaccharides, thus, emerge as the third and so far neglected and unexploited class of information-bearing biopolymers. Their great complexity and diversity and their innate microheterogeneity make analysis and synthesis of polysaccharides extremely demanding, and even the most sophisticated chemical and physical methods are inadequate to fully understand the many roles polysaccharides play in nature. The emerging techniques of nanotechnology, however, promise to allow for the first time analysis and manipulation of single molecules, a conditio-sine-qua-non for the nano-scale understanding and exploitation of polysaccharides. Bio-active polysaccharides have been isolated from natural sources to be used in biotechnological applications, but with limited success due to a lack of understanding the molecular basis of their biological activities. A second generation of bio-mimetic polysaccharides was later developed trying to improve their performance in biomedical applications but again, with little commercial success due to a lack of reliability. Based on extensive studies of the structure-function relationships of chitosans, the core proposers of the NanoBioSaccharides project have recently developed the concept of bio-inspired ‘decoy' polysaccharides to be used as novel plant protectants and medical bio-materials. A decoy is a not a bio-mimetic, but rather a bio-inspired material which only partially resembles a natural structure and which therefore elicits only certain reactions in a cell, tissue, or organism. As the decoy is not identical to the natural structure, it only induces some aspects of the natural reactions, but not others - or it may be more stable and long-lasting, as it is much less rapidly degraded. By tailor-designing a bio-inspired decoy, it will be possible to elicit only those aspects of a given natural reaction that are wanted, with no unwanted side reactions. By developing nanotechnologies suitable for polysaccharides, the NanoBioSaccharides project will secure the EU a head start in the emerging and promising field of functional bio-materials. In an exploratory manner, we will initially focus on the polysaccharide chitosan which can be generated from the chitin isolated from shrimp shell wastes of the fishery industries, increasingly broadening our scope to other polysaccharides such as plant pectins, alginates, and animal and human glycosaminoglycans. The project will integrate the whole product chains from the raw materials to the novel, nano-scale modified polysaccharides as well as nanoparticles and nano-structured physical hydrogels prepared from them to be used in biotechnological applications. Again, the project will be strictly focused to bio-medical applications in drug and gene delivery, and in cell and tissue engineering, but will keep an open eye on further applications, e.g. in pharmacology, cosmetics, agriculture, and food sciences.