The Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón fosters collaboration with the Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón to develop COVID-19 related projects
The Aragon Institute for Health Research, IIS Aragon, strengthens its collaboration with the Institute of Nanoscience and Materials of Aragon (INMA), CSIC-UNIZAR to promote projects related to COVID-19 and take advantage of the synergies between the multidisciplinary research teams of both organizations, which have been working on the development of new processes and products and are already materializing. To this end, the IIS Aragon has launched a call for grants to support the development of innovative projects in the field of nanotechnology applied to health, aimed at the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of SARS-CoV-2.
This line of support has a budget of 60,000 euros. A maximum of 20,000 euros per project will be financed, with the existence of external collaboration or co-financing being positively valued. The actions described will have a maximum execution period of 12 months.
The initiative arises with the aim of encouraging collaborations between researchers from the two organisations that will enable research projects related to COVID-19 to be launched.
An example of the existing collaborations between the IIS Aragon and INMA is a recent project that develops a method for coating with silver nanoparticles and other virucidal agent on the surface of polypropylene fibres with which surgical masks are made, achieving a material that has a proven effectiveness against COVID-19 greater than 99.99%. The new method, which incorporates two viricides instead of one, offers numerous advantages. In addition to being fast and low-cost, the homogeneous and stable coating allows the fibre to be covered, without affecting other parameters such as airflow pressure drop.
The researchers of the project highlight the importance of this type of collaboration, where the sum of complementary perspectives is fundamental to obtain a broad vision. “The IIS Aragon brings the clinical and health perspective, seeking to solve problems that are detected in hospitals and in the health system, while the INMA contributes with its knowledge in nanoscience and materials science and technology, necessary to make the projects a reality,” they explain.
The interest shown by various companies has led the research group to continue investigating the application of the method to other types of masks, such as hygienic masks. The final objective of this research project is to collaborate with interested companies so that these masks can be marketed.
Both the IIS Aragon and the INMA are eligible for the Aragonese of the Year awards in the category of Science and Research, awards that this year reach its XXVII edition and which represent public recognition of the work done by its staff, especially during the pandemic.
19/05/2021
