MicroLung

5th Joint Call: MicroLung

The proposal aims to develop a pulmonary blood-air barrier model to study COVID-19 pathogenesis and screen potential therapeutics. By combining tissue engineering and microfluidic systems, the project seeks to replicate the complex lung microenvironment, enabling more accurate studies of virus-host interactions and testing of nanoparticle-based therapeutic delivery.
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Background

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the urgent need for advanced models of infectious respiratory diseases. Current cell culture systems fail to mimic the complexity of the human lung, while animal models lack essential properties of the human pulmonary blood-air barrier, often requiring costly humanized transgenic systems.

To advance understanding, there is a need for experimental platforms that reproduce the pulmonary microphysiology, particularly the alveolar epithelial cells targeted by SARS-CoV-2. Such models can reveal mechanisms of viral entry and progression, while supporting the evaluation of novel therapeutic interventions.

The project

MicroLung pursues the following objectives:

  • Develop pulmonary blood-air barrier models using microfluidic and tissue-engineered systems.
  • Design nanoparticles functionalized with ACE2-specific peptides to mimic viral binding and compete with SARS-CoV-2 for cell entry.
  • Engineer nanoparticles carrying antiviral agents for drug transport studies across the lung barrier.
  • Validate models with SARS-CoV-2 isolates in biosafety level 3 laboratories to compare nanoparticle results with actual viral behavior.
  • Foster transnational collaboration between partners for nanoparticle design, microfluidic systems, and virus validation studies.

The science

The consortium integrates complementary expertise:

  • Microfluidic and tissue engineering platforms to recreate the pulmonary barrier (ACU, Turkey).
  • Nanoparticle-based therapeutic delivery systems and functional testing (Fraunhofer IKTS, Germany).
  • In-vitro infection studies with SARS-CoV-2 isolates in biosafety level 3 facilities (UGM, Indonesia).

Outcomes include novel lung models for COVID-19 research, nanoparticle-based therapeutic concepts, and platforms applicable to other respiratory viruses beyond SARS-CoV-2.

The team

The MicroLung partners are:

Prof. Dr. Vasif Nejat Hasirci (Coordinator), Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University (ACU), Turkey

Dr. Joerg Opitz, Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS), Germany

Assoc. Prof. Ika Dewi Ana, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Indonesia

 

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Vasif Nejat Hasirci           Email: vasif.hasirci@acibadem.edu.tr 

Tags
INFECTIOUS DISEASES