The European Research Council (ERC)

erc background The European Research Council (ERC) – the first pan-European funding body for frontier research - was set up in 2007 under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7, the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe, running from 2007-2013).
It aims to enhance the dynamic character, creativity and excellence of European research at the frontiers of knowledge.
Through peer reviewed competitions the best researchers are funded to perform their research in Europe. The total budget allocated to the ERC for the period 2007 to 2013 is € 7.5 billion.

PROJECT GOALS

The overall goal of the FOLDHALO project will be to fully elucidate the capabilities and properties of halogen atoms as recognition "sticky" sites in the context of biomolecules. The programme of work will centre around three closely integrated and synergistic strands. The common theme is to exploit halogen bonding for the design of "smart" peptides and foldamers (Strand 1), the obtainment of complexes of polyhalogenated organic pollutants with serum proteins and antibodies (Strand 2), and to assemble biomimetic sensors for polyhalogenated organic pollutants (Strand 3). The overall aim of this project is, therefore, to enlighten to the scientific community the potential that halogen bonding has to become a very powerful tool in the manipulation of molecular recognition phenomena in chemistry, biology, and materials science.

FOLDHALO News

A new bioreducible nanovector
Read our latest article on Bio-Nanomaterials published in ACS Nano. "Bioreducible Hydrophobin-Stabilized Supraparticles for Selective Intracellular Release"
ACS Nano, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b04979

Press release (in Italian)
Invited Lecture at HALCHEM VIII
Pierangelo Metrangolo will give an invited lecture at the 8th International Meeting on Halogen Chemistry, which will be held in Inuyama city, Aichi, Japan from 12th to 15th September, 2017. The title of the lecture will be "Halogenation as a New Tool to Control Peptide Self-Assembly".

LINK TO THE CONFERENCE WEBSITE
TEDx Talk for Principal Investigator
Prof. Pierangelo Metrangolo gave a talk entitled "molecular machines" in a TEDx event organized by Politecnico di Milano on December 13^th, 2016. This contribution is a tribute to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa, winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2016. In the context of supramolecular chemistry, also the aims of FoldHalo have been mentioned.

CLICK HERE to see the presentation
Congratulations to Dr. Loic Stefan

Former member of FOLDHALO team Dr. Loic Stefan started a new position at CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique). FOLDHALO team members wish Loic all the best for a bright future!