INMA seminar: Valle Palomo, from IMDEA Nanociencia (Madrid)

🎯 Scientific lecture about advances in neurodegeneration and nanotechnology

Title: “Quantum dots and peptide-based sensors to develop and improve drug selection in neurodegenerative diseases”.

Speaker: Valle Palomo (IMDEA Nanociencia).

The research is focused on the use of chemical tools, including nanoparticles, to understand biological mechanisms in pathological conditions of neurodegenerative diseases.

💡 Main focus: We use Quantum Dots (QDs) as luminescent nanoparticles. QDs offer great potential for studying biological systems due to their optimal luminescent properties and the versatility of conjugation with different biomolecules.

🧪 Key applications:

Visualisation and monitoring: QDs are employed to visualize molecular targets, monitor enzyme activity, cellular functionality, and identify biomarkers.
Sensors and drug development: We have developed protease sensors for in live cell activity monitoring, and tools designed to track intracellular transport. These systems are tested in the presence of drug candidates that help us to optimise drug selection against neurodegenerative diseases.
Enhanced brain delivery: In parallel, we develop multitarget drugs against Alzheimer’s disease and their conjugation to nanoparticles to improve brain delivery.

This lecture will show the different strategies being used to develop drugs and effectively measure therapeutic action on neurodegenerative disease models.