Light4lungs, a project within the H2020 FET Open and led by Dr. Santi Nonell, Professor at IQS School of Engineering, proposes an innovative solution to solve the problem of antimicrobial resistance in the treatment of chronic lung infections, through the use of photodynamic therapies as an alternative to antibiotics.
In December, IQS held the launch sessions for Light4lungs, a project within the H2020 FET Open led by Dr Santi Nonell, Full Professor of the IQS School of Engineering and Director of the AppLightChem research group at IQS.
Light4lungs proposes an innovative solution to solve the problem of microbial resistance in the treatment of chronic lung infections, the cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diseases like cystic fibrosis and hospital-acquired lung infections. The four-year project aims to develop an alternative therapeutic framework to treat these infections: a novel inhalable photodynamic therapy.
Light4lungs moves away from the current paradigms in these treatments, with the focus on:
- Removing bacteria without any externally added drug, overcoming the multiple drug resistance profile.
- Preventing the use of invasive physical elements, through the therapeutic action of a source of inhalable light.
The FET Open Project, funded by the European Commission, encompasses the development of particles with persistent luminescence, aerosol technology to activate the particles and release them in the lungs, and defining treatment parameters based on toxicity and efficacy trials in clinically relevant respiratory infection models.
Their results have the potential to go beyond the treatment of persistent bacterial infections in the respiratory tract to other diseases of the lungs and other organs, enriching the areas of health, nanomedicine, materials science, nanotechnology, and illumination.
The Consortium, which is formed by eight partners from four European countries and is coordinated by the IQS School of Engineering, combines a broad spectrum of specialised scientific areas, from photonics to chemistry, physics, microbiology, cellular biology, and medicine.
Project contact: light4lungscoordinationteam@iqs.url.edu
AppLightChem
The AppLightChem group at IQS is a research group specialising in the chemical aspects of the biomedical applications of light, focusing its research and transfer activity on photoprotection, the photochemistry of cancer and photoantimicrobial therapies. Under the coordination of Dr. Santi Nonell, Full Professor at the IQS School of Engineering, the group develops advanced chemistry technologies for photoprotection, diagnosis and disease treatment through light-activated drugs.
AppLightChem is an internationally renowned research group in the field of Photobiology, thanks to having made internationalisation a key component of its research strategy.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 863102.
