Welcome!
The 3rd newsletter of NanoMedTwin project outlines project news and events during its third year (April 2021-March 2022).
NanoMedTwin is a Horizon 2020 project focused on promoting smart specialization at the Technical University of Moldova by developing the field of Novel Nanomaterials for BioMedical Applications through excellence in research and twinning.
During its third year, project activities have focused on advancings its aims of promoting links between the Nano and BioMedicine fields, training a new generation of highly-skilled researchers and extending collaborative networking.
This newsletter is an overview of the projects’ activities and achievements during its third year, also highlighting some of the pertinent publications of the project consortium.
Best regards,
Prof. Ion Tiginyanu
NanoMedTwin project manager
NEWS and EVENTS
Online training workshop “Horizon Europe and H2020 projects – financial issues”
22-24 November, 2021
International R&I projects funded via EU programs, such as Horizon Europe and H2020 are governed by complex financial rules. How to do the initial project budgeting, what costs are eligible, how to correctly calculate personnel costs and how to prepare a project's financial report, avoiding typical errors?
Clear and detailed answers to these questions, as well as other useful information, tips and recommendations on financial management of Horizon Europe and H2020 projects will be provided during the online training workshop organized by the H2020 project "NanoMedTwin", on 22- November 24, 2021.
The workshop was hosted by Technical University of Moldova and presented by Dana Remes and Michael Remes (EFPC) virtually on Zoom due to Covid 19 travel restrictions.
Over 40 researchers participated from the Technical University of Moldova, State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Tiraspol State University, Free International University of Moldova, State University of Physical Education and Sports, Institute of Physiology and Sanocreatology, National Botanical Garden, Institute of Juridical, Political and Sociological Research, Institute of Cultural Heritage, Research Institute Mother and Child Health Care etc.
The 5th edition of the International Conference "Nanotechnologies and Biomedical Engineering"
3-5 November 2021
The 5th International Conference “Nanotechnologies and Biomedical Engineering” took place on November 3-5, 2021. The event was organized by the Technical University of Moldova (TUM), the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Nicolae Testemitanu", the Biomedical Engineering Association in collaboration with the Academy of Sciences of Moldova (ASM), the International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE), with the support of the European Commission via H2020 project "NanoMedTwin". The conference was hosted by the Technical University of Moldova and took place in a mixed format.
The event brought together researchers, scholars and engineers from Germany, Japan, China, Australia, USA and many other countries in Western and Eastern Europe, who are engaged in basic and applied research in the fields of nanotechnology and biomedical engineering, with the aim to report the latest results, theoretical and practical applications. The current edition was also attended by world-renowned scientists in the field, such as prof. Hidenori Mimura, University of Shizuoka, Japan, honorary members of the ASM, prof. Vladimir Fomin Research Institute in Solid Body and Materials Science in Leibniz, Dresden, Germany, honorary member of the ASM and dozens of other notorious scientists.
The opening of the event took place on November 3, 2021, the event being chaired by the president of the ASM and NanoMedTwin project manager, acad. Ion Tighineanu, co-organizer of the conference, TUM rector, dr.hab., prof. Viorel Bostan and prof. Victor Sontea, the focal point of the event, who celebrated his 70th anniversary.
The Conference addressed a variety of current topics in the fields of nanotechnology and biomedical engineering, including: nanotechnologies and nanomaterials, medical devices, biomaterials for medical applications, biomedical instrumentation, biomedical signal processing, medical imaging and biophysics, molecular, cellular and tissue engineering, clinical engineering, medical technology management and evaluation, bioinformatics, e-health and telemedicine, biomedical engineering education, innovation, development and interdisciplinary research, nuclear and radiological safety and security, new technologies for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, etc.
Horizon Europe Training Workshop – MSCA and ERC actions
12 July 2021
The NanoMedTwin project has continued its series of training workshops focused on the Framework Programmes which aims to assist a wide number of researchers and university staff to have a better and practical understanding of the programmes. The first of two three-day training workshops focusing on Horizon Europe was held online on July 7-9, 2021.
The training was delivered by EFPC with the Finance Helpdesk www.finance-helpdesk.org , who are experts in Framework Program rules and regulations and have conducted over 250 workshops in over 20 countries.
The purpose of the workshop was to introduce researchers and staff at Technical University of Moldova to Horizon Europe Programme and in particular to Marie Sklodowska Curie actions and ERC actions. The workshop was given on Zoom and all slide presentations sent afterwards to the participants.
Over 20 researchers participated from the Technical University of Moldova. Irina Cojocaru gave a brief introduction to the event, while prof. Tiginyanu encouraged the attendees to participate in the Horizon Europe programme, increasing Moldova’s research excellence and fostering cooperation.
Summer School "Nanotechnologies and biomedicine in the context of the XXI century challenges"
5-13 June 2021
In the period 5-13 June 2021 the National Center for Materials Study and Testing (NCMST) of the Technical University of Moldova in collaboration with the Academy of Sciences of Moldova and the State University of Medicine and Farmacy “Nicolae Testemițanu” organized a Summer School which covered the fields of nanotechnologies and biomedicine in the framework of the 21st century’ challenges. Due to the pandemic restrictions, the School was organized online, which offered the possibility to engage more participants. About 60 researchers and students from different national higher education institutions and research organisations, along with several high school students were selected to attend the Summer School.
The program of the School covered the fields of nanotechnology and nanoengineering, with lectures delivered by professors from Moldova and Romania, as well as lectures from the fields of tissue engineering, artificial organs and epidemiology, delivered by professors from the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Moldova and Hannover Medical School, Germany. The participants had the unique possibility to attend virtually the lectures and to address questions to five Nobel Prize Laureates in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, and Peace, who delivered public lectures at the Academy of Sciences of Moldova within the Science Week (7-12 June 2021). The theoretical program finished with a lecture on research data management and open access to scientific outputs, delivered by the director of the Information Society Development Institute in Moldova.
All the School attendees received a Certificate of participation and had the opportunity to visit the laboratories of the National Center for Materials Study and Testing at the Technical University of Moldova. During the visit the participants were familiarized with the tools for manufacturing and characterization of nanomaterials including photolitography, plasma etching, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, etc.
STUDENTS' and EXPERTS' VISITS
Vlad Ciobanu (PhD student, National Center for Materials Study and Testing)
2 April – 30 July 2021
Joint Research Center, Ispra, Italy
During the period 02.04.2021 to 30.07.2021, PhD student Vlad Ciobanu from National Center for Materials Study and Testing, UTM, had a visit to Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy where he continued the previous investigations on nanoparticles-protein and nanoparticles-cell culture medium interaction.
Additional to the previous results on the characterization of the formed nanoparticles-protein corona complexes, he also studied the affinity and kinetics of the proteins on different types of nanoparticles by using home modified version of SPR biochips. The cytotoxicity of the selected nanoparticles was also investigated on skin cells. In the last day of stay in Ispra, Vlad presented his results on the online Unit meeting where the obtained results were discussed.
Alina Stoian (PhD student, State University of Medicine and Pharmacy)
1 October 2020 – 31 March 2021
Hannover Medical School, Germany
Alina Stoian, a PhD student at Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, has performed a 6-month student visit to the Hannover Medical School, as part of the NanoMedTwin project. Here is what she says about this experience:
"For me, Alina Stoian, young plastic surgeon, PhD student at Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, interested in treating massive bone defects, the possibility of an internship for a period of 6 months (October 1 - March 31) at the School of Medicine in Hannover, Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplant and Vascular Surgery, Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs was a real challenge.
Having the opportunity to be part of a highly qualified team for a period of 6 months, I developed a lot of my research skills and vission about what exually means to do research in tissue engineering. This helped in advancing my team's study in obtaining vascularized extracellular bone matrices. The ultimate goal of this study is performing vascularized bone allograft in the absence of immunosuppression, certainly a real challenge of the century.
And as I said before, the most important in this project are the interuniversity relations (at national and international level) that have been made. These collaborations not only support young researchers to achieve their ambitions but also aim at a humanitarian factor that helps develop medicine and treatment methods globally.
Being my first visit to Germany, I can say that the project also contributed to my personal development, giving me the opportunity to travel and visit new places even in this difficult period for everyone."
PUBLICATIONS
Ciobanu V, Ceccone G, Jin I, Braniste T, Ye F, Fumagalli F, Colpo P, Dutta J, Linnros J, Tiginyanu I. Large-Sized Nanocrystalline Ultrathin β-Ga2O3 Membranes Fabricated by Surface Charge Lithography. Nanomaterials. 2022; 12(4):689. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12040689
Braniste, T.; Ciobanu, V.; Schütt, F.; Mimura, H.; Raevschi, S.; Adelung, R.; Pugno, N.M.; Tiginyanu, I. Self-Propelled Aero-GaN Based Liquid Marbles Exhibiting Pulsed Rotation on the Water Surface. Materials 2021, 14, 5086. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14175086
A. Liang, L.T. Shi, S. Gallego-Parra, O. Gomis, D. Errandonea, I.M. Tiginyanu, V.V. Ursaki, F.J. Manjón. Pressure-induced band anticrossing in two adamantine ordered-vacancy compounds: CdGa2S4 and HgGa2S4. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Volume 886, 2021, 161226. ISSN 0925-8388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.161226
Mașnik, A., Zalamai, V., Ursaki, V. Electronic transitions and energy band structure of CuGaxAl1-xSe2 crystals. Optical Materials, Volume 118, 2021. 111221, ISSN 0925-3467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2021.111221
Petris A, Gheorghe P, Braniste T, Tiginyanu I. Ultrafast Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Response Excited by fs Laser Pulses at 1550 nm in GaN Crystals. Materials. 2021; 14(12):3194. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14123194
Plesco, I.; Ciobanu, V.; Braniste, T.; Ursaki, V.; Rasch, F.; Sarua, A.; Raevschi, S.; Adelung, R.; Dutta, J.; Tiginyanu, I. Highly Porous and Ultra-Lightweight Aero-Ga2O3: Enhancement of Photocatalytic Activity by Noble Metals. Materials 2021, 14, 1985. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14081985
MORARI, Vadim; URSAKI, Veacheslav; RUSU, Emil; TIGINYANU, Ion. Injection photodiodes based on metal oxide semiconductors. In: Moldavian Journal of the Physical Sciences. 2020, nr. 1-2(19), pp. 98-109. ISSN 1810-648X. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4118693