PHOTORELEASE

The project ran from 2011 to 2014. The project was funded by the European Commission (PIRSES-GA-2010-269099). and involved researchers from the UK, France, Spain and the Ukraine.

The objective of the proposed program concerned the fabrication of NDs modified with photo-labile linkers thorough which different molecules can be directly attached without chemically modification of the biomolecule itself. PHOTORELEASE researchers aimed to develop sugar-NDs as novel inhibitors for Escherichia coli-derived biofilm formation. Optimisation activities led to NDs with improved functionalization that displayed significantly improved anti-biofilm activity. The research project brought together centres from France, the UK, Spain and the Ukraine. The network aimed to offer training in the fabrication and characterisation of new materials for biological applications.

The EU funded project took advantage of the properties of NDs to develop novel inhibitors for E. coli-derived biofilms. The first generation of sugar-conjugated NDs showed marked anti-adhesive activity in cell-based assays without displaying toxicity towards eukaryotic cells. Trimeric mannoside clusters in which the sugar units are thioglycosides rather than the more typical O-glycoside-based ligands (such as our first generation NDs) were found to be 30 times more active than the unconjugated sugar cluster and three times more active than the first generation NDs.

Unexpectedly, the tri-thiomannoside cluster alone displayed a relatively potent inhibition of biofilm formation, while the corresponding ND-conjugated tri-thiomannoside cluster only gave a fourfold greater relative inhibitory potency relative to the unconjugated compound. This result is unprecedented. Indeed, thioglycoside-linked mannoside clusters have not, until now, been considered as inhibitors. A thioglycoside linkage renders the anomeric tethering much more robust to acidic or enzymatic hydrolysis than the O-glycosidic functions making such structures of special interest for ND surface functionalisation. Read the full report, PHOTORELEASE: Fabrication of particles with photo receptors: bio-analytical application such as controlled drug delivery.