Eva Jakab Toth receives the “Torsten Almén” Award

Eva Jakab Toth, co-leader of the "Metal complexes and MRI" group, received the "Torsten Almén" Award for her pioneering research on contrast agents, from the "Contrast Media Research" committee of the World Molecular Imaging Society (WMIS).

This biannual prize rewards unique research activities that have shaped the field of contrast agents. Torsten Almén was a pioneer in the field of non-ionic contrast agents for radiography. His work forever revolutionized the research and clinical use of X-ray imaging agents. In the same spirit, the committee specifically identified "the creativity of the preclinical and translational work of Eva Jakab Toth, in the design, deep characterization and application of paramagnetic MRI contrast agents".

Eva Jakab Toth gave the “Torsten Almén Medal Award” lecture at the 2022 « Contrast Media Research » Symposium in Annapolis, Maryland (August 21-25, 2022).

 

Annual scientific day of the Federation of Physics and Life Chemistry Research at the UFR Law, Economics, Management of the University of Orléans.

Guest speakers:

Martin Picard, Laboratory of Physico-Chemical Biology of Membrane Proteins, IBPC, Paris - "Structure-function study of tripartite efflux pumps from Gram negative bacteria in lipid nanodiscs, proteoliposomes, amphipols, or in their native membranes"

Christophe Rochais, director of CERMN, Caen - "Application of the concept of polypharmacology to the design of donecopride, a preclinical candidate against Alzheimer's disease"

Programm

Professor Vincent L. Pecoraro of the University of Michigan is invited at the CBM from May to August 2022 through a LE STUDIUM Research Professorship

Professor Pecoraro is internationally recognized for his major contributions in bioinorganic chemistry, notably on the role of manganese complexes and clusters in photosynthetic water oxidation. He is also a pioneer in the design of metalloenzyme mimetics and in the study of metallacrown complexes with unique magnetic and/or luminescence properties for developments in medical imaging, a field in which several patents have recently been filed with the team “Luminescent lanthanide compounds, optical spectroscopy and bioimaging” from the CBM.

Professor Pecoraro was awarded the Blaise Pascal International Chair in 2010. In 2021, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Aix-Marseille and a LE STUDIUM Research Professorship (Loire Valley Institute). In addition, Professor Pecoraro is the 2021 recipient of the Franco-American award from the American Chemical Society and the “Société Chimique de France”.

He is currently president of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry.

He is one of the co-founder of the startup VIEWaves founded in Orléans in March 2022 that aims at the commercialization of the optical imaging agents emitting in the near-Infrared domain created on the basis of the collaborative work conducted with the team at CBM.

7th Biotechnocentre theme day – June 17, 2022

Researchers in biosciences and life chemistry met "face-to-face" for the Biotechnocentre's thematic day on "Exposome and Epigenetics: how does the environment play with our genes?" ". Renowned speakers declined the different facets of the exposome: physical or chemical exposure or exposure to different pathogens, stress, diet, social inequalities... They also highlighted the impact of the exposome on the environment and on our health, which can have different consequences depending on gender, age, genetic heritage and on its regulation by reversible epigenetic modifications.

In Cellulo and In Vivo Comparison of 3 helper lipids for Lipid Nanoparticle Formulation of mRNA

LNPs are a leading class of mRNA delivery systems. LNPs are made of an ionizable lipid, a polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-lipid conjugate and helper lipids. The success of LNPs is due to proprietary ionizable lipids and appropriate helper lipids.

Using a benchmark lipid (D-Lin-MC3) researchers compared the ability of three helper lipids to transfect dendritic cells in cellulo and in vivo. Studies revealed that the choice of helper lipid does not influence the transfection efficiency of immortalized cells but, LNPs prepared with DOPE (dioleylphosphatidylethanolamine) and β-sitosterol were more efficient for mRNA transfection in murine dendritic cells than LNPs containing DSPC (distearoylphosphatidylcholine).

This higher potency of DOPE and β-sitosterol LNPs for mRNA expression was also evident in vivo but only at low mRNA doses.

References of the article published in Nanomaterials:
Ayoub Medjmedj, Albert Ngalle-Loth, Rudy Clemnçon, Josef Hamacek, Chantal Pichon and Federico Perche
In Cellulo and In Vivo Comparison of Cholesterol, Beta-Sitosterol and Dioleylphosphatidylethanolamine for Lipid Nanoparticle Formulation of mRNA
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(14), 2446; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12142446