An I3PT project in cardiovascular health, awarded by La Marató

TV3's La Marató Foundation announced this Wednesday the research projects that will receive funding from the funds raised during the 31st edition of The Marathon, Dedicated to cardiovascular health.

Mediafixer cardiovascular diseases, which include those affecting the heart and blood vessels, are currently the leading cause of death in the world and one of the most relevant public health problems. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), each year they cause the death of 18 million people, which represent 32% of all deaths worldwide.

In order to find solutions and promote scientific research into these pathologies, TV3's La Marató Foundation has awarded 71 research groups in cardiovascular diseases with a total of $11.296.936.

With this amount collected they can be carried out 37 research projects that bring advances in the prevention, treatment and prognosis of these diseases with the aim of improving the hope and quality of life of people who live with a cardiovascular health problem.

The prize-winning project of the I3PT

This year, the community and health care-related infections research group of the I3PT, led by the researchers Óscar Quijada and Oriol Gasch, has been awarded a scholarship of 399.055 euro.

Over the next few years, the group will work together with Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS, the Institute of Research and Agro-Food Technology (IRTA) and the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB) to find answers and offer a comprehensive approach to cardiovascular health.

The project has been selected, from a total of 186 that were submitted, through an international evaluation process, of contrasting rigor and transparency, coordinated by the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS), from Department of Health.

Project information

Prevention of infections of cardiac implantable electronic devices using a bimodal coating based on a thermally activatable hydrogel with broad-spectrum antimicrobials

Antecedents: Prevention of cardiac implantable electronic device (IEC-I) infections is a priority.

Targets: A new bimodal strategy will be designed to functionalize the surface of DEICs routinely used, thus allowing the prevention of bacterial adhesion and the formation of biofilms, through use of multibiofunctional hydrogels with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity that will contain cationic peptides with bactericidal activity against the bacteria involved in DEIC-I.

Methods: Four clinical and basic research groups will develop a final proof of concept model experimental DEIC -I made of titanium and thermoplastic polyurethane. The project has 4 stages:

Producing multifunctional host defense peptide-based antimicrobial proteins with broad-spectrum activity.
Design and synthesize a thermosensitive hydrogel to coat the surfaces of DEIC components.
To evaluate the activity of the proteins/hydrogel (free or complexed in nanovesicles) against the microorganisms causing DEIC-I in an in vitro model of biofilm formation.
To compare the infection-preventing efficacy of DEICs coated with proteins/hydrogel versus or combined with recommended antibiotics, in a rabbit model of DEIC-I.

Expected results: DEICs coated with the multi-biofunctional hydrogel with antimicrobial functions will become infected less frequently when exposed to commonly implicated microorganisms.