The project has got off to a flying start: with the launch of the Baltic Sea Network at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, the project involving partner universities from Germany, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden has successfully commenced. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with around 76,500 euros, the project focuses on the production and characterisation of novel structured nanomaterials for medical applications.
Kleve/Kamp-Lintfort, 18 November 2014: The ‘Baltic Sea Network’ is a multidisciplinary project dedicated to researching new biomedical applications such as anti-cancer drugs, antimicrobials, biosensors and contrast agents for medical diagnostics. Through the shared use of laboratories at the partner universities and scientific exchange between the members of the international research team, the Baltic Sea Network is to be established, thereby enabling all parties to benefit from the jointly obtained research findings.
The project involves combining and testing new structures to create defined hybrid nano-objects. Hybrid nano-objects are minute compounds, measuring one millionth of a millimetre, consisting of two different types of defined structures: organic structures, such as carbon or oxygen, and inorganic structures, such as gold or metal. Chemically branched compounds (dendrimers) serve as the basis for stabilising the nanoparticles and are intended to generate self-assembled hybrid systems with defined nanostructures (spherical structures and nanowires). The conductivity and surface properties of the hybrid nano-objects are also being investigated and represent a key aspect for their future applications. The aim of the joint project is to establish a new platform of nanostructured hybrid materials for the exploration of new biomedical applications.
The newly obtained research findings will be used as a basis for securing funding for future projects, for which applications will be submitted to the European Commission’s ‘EU Horizon 2020’ programme as well as other EU funding schemes for training programmes (Marie Curie) and networking programmes (COST Actions). In addition to Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, represented by Prof. Amir Fahmi, the participating higher education institutions include the University of Oulu in Finland, represented by Prof. Krisztián Kordás, Prof. Seppo Vainio and Dr Alexey Popov; the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research Dresden e.V., represented by Dr Dietmar Appelhans, Riga Technical University in Latvia, represented by Prof. Valdis Kampars; the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences in Lithuania, represented by Prof. Rimas Vaisnoras; the University of Łódź in Poland, represented by Prof. Aneta Koceva and Prof. Maria Bryszewska; the ‘KTH Royal Institute of Technology’ from Sweden, represented by Prof. Michael Malkoch; and ‘PlasmaChem GmbH’ from Germany, represented by Dr Alexei A. Antipov. The research group’s consortium is renowned and internationally recognised.
