• Technology

• Health

• Environment

• Project Co-ordination: Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Felix Thiele, M.Sc.; Scientific Co-ordination: Dr.-Ing. Margarethe Hofmann-Amtenbrink (MatSearch)
  

• Duration: 2/10–1/14

• Work Package “Nanoparticles for medical purposes. Technical, medical, and ethical aspects”

• NanoDiaRA-Homepage www.nanodiara.eu

• Funding: Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission

• Press Release “Interdisciplinary EU Project: Chances and Risks of Using Nanotechnology in Medicine”

• Press Release “Second scientific meeting and summerschool of EC funded project on nanotechnology in medicine to improve early diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis”

• Further information on “Nanotechnology”

Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are widely spread diseases causing severe morbidity and mortality. However, up to now there are no sufficient diagnostic methods to detect the disease at an early stage. In order to promote research in this field, the European Commission supports the interdisciplinary consortium “Development of Novel Nanotechnology Based Diagnosed Systems for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis (NanoDiaRA)”. The main objective of this project is to develop novel diagnostic methods for the early detection of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. To achieve this aim, modified super paramagnetic nanoparticles are to be applied.

The project consortium consists of 15 European partners from university and non-university institutions. For the duration of four years a budget of about nine million Euros will be provided by the European Commission.

NanoDiaRA project co-ordinator is the Europäische Akademie – supported by MatSearch Consulting Hofmann (Switzerland). Furthermore, the Europäische Akademie is leading a work package on ethical aspects of nanotechnology application in medicine: “Nanoparticles for medical purposes. Technical, medical and ethical aspects”.

The following international partners are involved:

• AnaMar AB (Sweden)

• Arrayon Biotechnology (Switzerland)

• Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique SA, Microfluidics & Microhandling (Switzerland)

• Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Rheumatology Clinic (Germany)

• Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Institute of Materials (Switzerland)

• MatSearch Consulting Hofmann (Switzerland)

• Merck Chimie – Estapor Microspheres Division (France)

• Merck Serono, Strategic Innovation & Research & Portfolio Management (Switzerland)

• Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversität Salzburg, Institute of Anatomy & Musculoskeletal Research (Austria)

• University of Fribourg, Department of Chemistry (Switzerland)

• University of Geneva, Cell Physiology and Metabolism (Switzerland)

• University of Lund, Department Experimental Medical Science (Sweden)

• University of Nimwegen, Rheumatology (Netherlands)

• University of Tartu, Internal Medicine Faculty of Medicine (Estonia)