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Docent Georgios Sotiriou is awarded the ERC Proof of Concept grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The aim of the Photocure project is to investigate whether a light-activated nanocomposite film can be an effective treatment for severe, infected wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers. But also to prepare the step from innovation to medical device. This is the second time Georgios Sotiriou has been awarded the prestigious grant, and the third time he has received funding from the ERC.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed nanorobots that kill cancer cells in mice. The robot’s weapon is hidden in a nanostructure and is exposed only in the tumour microenvironment, sparing healthy cells. The study is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

A recently published study shows how nanoclusters of insulin can control insulin activity. The results can lead to new types of insulin drugs, senior author Ana Teixeira at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics (MBB) at Karolinska Institutet, says.

Professor Molly Stevens at Karolinska Institutet and Imperial College London has been awarded the 2023 Novo Nordisk Prize for her pioneering work in innovative bioengineering approaches. One of her goals is to democratise access to healthcare using nanotechnologies.

The nanomaterial graphene oxide—which is used in everything from electronics to sensors for biomolecules—can indirectly affect the immune system via the gut microbiome, as shown in a new study on zebrafish by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The findings are reported in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Scientists hope that tiny sacs of material excreted by cells – so-called extracellular vesicles – can be used to deliver drugs inside the body. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now show that these nano-bubbles can transport protein drugs that reduce inflammation caused by different diseases. The technique, which is presented in Nature Biomedical Engineering, shows promising results in animal models.

Samir El Andaloussi, researcher at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, has been awarded the 2020 European Research Council Consolidator Grant for the project “Release of engineered Extracellular vesicles for delivery of Biotherapeutics”.

The Center for the Advancement of Integrated Medical and Engineering Sciences, AIMES, is a collaboration between KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institutet, in partnership with Getinge, with the vision to enhance the exchange of expertise within academia and industry. The center was officially inaugurated on 30 September 2020, in Biomedicum, Solna (and via Youtube).

A new way of producing nanoparticles that can function as carriers in so-called mRNA vaccines has been developed by researchers at the Hong Kong node of Karolinska Institutet – the Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine – and the MIT, USA. Using the method, which is described in the scientific journal Nature Biotechnology, the researchers have identified a new class of carrier molecules that inhibit tumour growth and prolong survival in mouse models of cancer.