The lymphatic system and lymph nodes (LNs) are an integral part of our adaptive immune system and many tumors exploit lymphatic vessels to spread and colonize downstream LNs. Tumor-LN-oC aims to offer a comprehensive solution for a robust, automated tumor-lymph node-on-chip platform that will connect primary surgically removed human tumors and LN tissue from the same cancer patient. This will allow us to study the interaction of primary tumors with lymph nodes, identify their chemical signature, and offer personalized treatment relying on molecular characterization of lymph node metastasizing cells. The project will significantly advance the fields of microfluidics, cell biology, cancer biology, physics, and computer programming and software development, by pursuing the following objectives: a) To introduce novel designs and develop robust, automated microfluidic chips optimized for tumor cell and LN culture enabling the study of their crosstalk, b) To integrate Quantum Cascade Laser based mid-IR spectroscopy for specific chemical signatures, c) To molecularly characterize both migrating tumor-derived cells attracted to the LN and the soluble signals driving migration, d) To demonstrate an advanced image analysis and signal processing platform using deep learning algorithms facilitated by a micro-optics module to monitor in real time the cells migration, e) To integrate all Tumor-LN-oC technologies in an automated platform prototype incorporating interfaces compatible with existing laboratory equipment. The Tumor-LN-oC platform, will be developed at TRL5 and will be validated using real patient samples. Regulatory pathways, standards and requirements compliance will be considered in order to facilitate exploitation and early market entry. The consortium encompasses key – industrial partners and experts in the aforementioned interdisciplinary fields and is expected to have substantial impact in EU’s economy and healthcare.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a major obstacle in treating diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Schizophrenia and brain cancer, affecting 180 million Europeans with less than 5% of current candidate drugs effectively reaching the brain. NAP4DIVE strives to revolutionize the traditionally expensive and inefficient drug development for these diseases by establishing advanced non-animal alternatives for testing and predicting nanoparticle (NP)-based drug delivery across the human BBB. This approach aligns with EU and global initiatives to reduce animal testing and advance human-based biomedical research models. The project will develop two complementary non-animal tools: a high-throughput BBB-on-Chip and an in silico model based on machine-learning (“NP Design Simulator”). A digital repository of optimized nanoparticle designs “NP Design Library” will be created to gather publicly available and newly obtained NP characterisation data, specialised for BBB delivery. The Design simulator screens thousands of NP designs to recommend the most promising ones, which will be tested in vitro on the microfluidic BBB-on-Chip with real-time measurement of barrier integrity. The accuracy and physiological relevance of both tools will be validated by the pharmaceutical partner through comparison with clinical and pre-clinical data. NAP4DIVE tools will reduce animal use in CNS drug development by up to 95% while saving 30 % of costs. By identifying nanoparticles for cross-BBB drug delivery and offering avenues for new effective treatment options, NAP4DIVE addresses one of the most pressing healthcare challenges of the century. A comprehensive HTA will demonstrate market readiness and cost-effectiveness of the tools, an ethical assessment will analyse harm reduction and engagement with regulators and policy makers will promote non-animal alternatives in preclinical testing on a larger scale.

EDAPHOS proposes a holistic and innovative land management approach to contribute to the Mission “A Soil Deal for EU” and to its specific objective “Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration”. EDAPHOS will develop a framework for land rehabilitation and ecological restoration of contaminated areas featuring nature-based solutions (NBS) technologies, to accelerate the recovery of contaminated lands to a healthy ecosystem status and making ecological restoration a mainstream business endeavor. EDAPHOS will improve the monitoring of contaminated soils and the understanding of precise pollution sources at selected EU regions by combining robust remote sensing tools and GIS-based methods that will be applied at representative territorial lands. Site-specific risk assessment methods and metrics, based on the TRIAD concept and considering the sources, the pathways, the exposure and effects of soil pollution, will be developed and applied on 7 case studies. EDAPHOS will perform lab and field studies to validate the technological readiness and the cost-effectiveness of NBS as effective remediation strategy for reducing soil contamination in urban, peri-urban and rural settings and land uses. EDAPHOS will assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of selected NBS sites and will develop the most suitable quantitative metrics and KPIs that depict accurately and reliably their integrated socio-environmental performance in both terms of economic benefit (e.g. growth of ecosystem services value, final phytoremediation compounds for further industrial valorization) and cost prevention (e.g. environmental footprint reduction) potentials, along with tailored ecological finance instruments for establishing a self-sustained and replicable EU NBS market. With the aim of providing data-driven tools for forecasting, analyzing and establishing quantitative relationship of multi-scale processes, artificial intelligence techniques will be implemented throughout the project.

In Europe about 75% of all neonatal deaths and 60% of all infant deaths occur in infants born preterm, and worldwide 450 neonatal deaths occur every hour. The number of preterm births is growing despite advances in medicine as more pregnancies are in the later age but also due to increasing environmental treats and lack of suitable treatments. In the LIFESAVER vision, every pregnant woman must have a proper living environment with the minimal risks to the fetus, safeguarded with scientifically justified regulations in use and control of potentially risky chemical and medicinal products, leading to healthier quality lives of the babies, overarching for generations. The LIFESAVER addresses the presently unmet societal and healthcare needs in creating and developing of a validated scientific knowledge base for the development and implementation of regulatory approaches relevant to maternal and fetal health. The objective is in creation of new, digitally cloned in vitro system for emulation of the pre-natal conditions in the vicinity of uterine/placental interface, capable of future high biofidelity prediction of safety and risk of substances towards unborn babies. LIFESAVER concept is based on an original idea of hybridization of several innovative technologies, integrating digital in silico/in vitro (biodigital twin) systems, enabling effective screening of chemicals and pharmaceuticals which might affect pregnant women health, reducing animal, preclinical and clinical testing, which is not presently possible with any other existing approaches to the same level of confidence. The outcomes are in design, manufacturing and deployment of a platform having key components of in vitro placental tissue for sufficient emulation of typical prenatal conditions. This aims to provide a solid scientific rationale for new regulations for chemical and pharmaceutical use relevant for the Green Deal vision.