DNABEATS

Start date: 1 September 2023

End date: 31 August 2026

Project coordinator: Silvia Hernández-Ainsa, researcher ARAID (email: silviamh83@unizar.es)

Project partners: Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IISA), University of Tartu (Estonia), University of Vilnius (Lithuania) and Jagiellonian University (Poland).

Project summary

TITLE: Customised DNA-based nanotransporters to boost cardiac regeneration

Myocardial infarction and its progression to heart failure is one of the leading causes of death in Europe. Current treatments are insufficient to address this problem, and heart transplantation remains the only solution. DNABEATS aims to provide advanced materials to promote cardiac regeneration through gene therapy. The project will use DNA nanotechnology, a cutting-edge synthetic tool, to fabricate biocompatible DNA-based nanocarriers (DNCs) chemically tailored for efficient and cardiac-targeted delivery of regenerative gene therapy. The therapeutic efficacy of DNCs will be evaluated in human-derived cardiac cells, a novel aspect that, together with extensive in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility research, will facilitate their future clinical application and industrial transfer. DNABEATS thus brings benefits for multiple stakeholders, from industry to patients and clinical practice. Sustainability is also present in the project and different dissemination and exploitation actions are foreseen to maximise the socio-economic impact. 

More information here

The publication is part of the action PCI2023-143390, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union.

Project DNABEATS was selected in the Joint Transnational Call 2022 of M-ERA.NET 3, which is an EU-funded network of about 49 funding organisations (Horizon 2020 grant agreement No 958174). The project is funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación, AEI, Spain.