'La Caixa' Foundation promotes a CIC biomaGUNE project to restore motor functions of patients with spinal cord injuries

A project led by Ikerbasque research professor and AXA chair Maurizio Prato of CIC biomaGUNE has been selected in the CaixaImpulse 2023 call for proposals by a panel of international experts and professionals in the field of life sciences and health from among over 300 pioneering projects submitted to the call. The project, one of 29 innovative biomedical research projects with the potential to reach the market and the general public, will receive 50,000 euros from the program to boost its research, and also to provide support through individualized mentoring and training. "La Caixa" Foundation is thus seeking to assist innovative biomedical projects in validating their assets and specifying their exploitation and valorization strategy, in order to bring them closer to the market.

The project, led by one of the world's leading experts in graphene and carbon nanotubes, is proposing a novel solution for restoring motor functions in patients suffering from spinal cord injuries. CIC biomaGUNE’s Carbon Bionanotechnology research team is seeking fresh evidence supporting the potential of small carbon nanotube implants to promote electrical reconnection at the site of injury and, consequently, the recovery of lost functions. Previously, “we have shown that carbon nanotube implants in small mammals allow them to regain activity soon after a paralyzing injury”, said Prato. It has been possible to observe that providing a nanotube scaffold promotes the growth and synaptic/electrical reconnection of newly sprouted nerve fibers, leading to the recovery of lost functions, including motor functions, as well as strength and the sense of touch.

With their unique combination of morphology, strength, flexibility, biocompatibility and electrical conductivity, carbon nanotubes form a matrix that, according to Prof Prato, “constitutes the ideal artificial implant to induce neuronal growth, maturation, reconnection and repopulation of damaged tissue”. The team is aiming to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of the proposed solution by improving the design of the implants and their production process, and by testing the restoration of motor function in small mammals in order to move on, in later stages, firstly to larger animals, and then to clinical trials.