Partners

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM)

Spain

UAM is one of the leading scientific institutions in Spain and, together with the National Spanish Research Council (CSIC), it constitutes a declared International Campus of Excellence (ICE). The Biohybrid Materials and Systems Chemistry Group led by Prof. de la Escosura conducts research on artificial photosynthetic systems, biohybrid materials, prebiotic systems chemistry and the origins of life. The group has a strong expertise in the organic synthesis of biohybrids and confinement of chemical processes, allowing for the development of a wide and diverse toolbox of NA derivatives and their compartmentalisation in NA–lipid vesicles. Prof. de la Escosura is the project coordinator for CLASSY and alongside managing the project he will also lead CLASSY's research efforts in system chemistry of programmable replicating peptide catalysts.

The CLASSY team at UAM includes:

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU)

Israel

BGU is one of Israel’s leading research universities and among the world leaders in many fields. The Laboratory of Systems Chemistry led by Prof. Ashkenasy has strong expertise in peptide self-assembly and replication networks, from both an experimental and a computational point of view.The lab's research efforts are devoted to the design and synthesis of multicomponent chemical systems, termed as Molecular Networks, and to the analysis of their dynamic self-organisation. Within the CLASSY project Prof. Ashkenasy and his group are involved in the research efforts focusing on systems chemistry of programmable replicating peptide catalysts and microfluidics production of catalytic flow reactors.

The CLASSY team at BGU includes:

ETH Zürich (ETH)

Switzerland

The ETH is an institution of the Swiss Confederation dedicated to higher learning and research. Known for its excellence, the ETH regularly features in international rankings as one of the best universities in the world and the leading university in continental Europe. The Wennemers Group at ETH focuses on the development of small molecules with functions that are fulfilled in nature by large macromolecules. The group has a strong expertise in peptide catalysis and chemical biology, which will enable the implementation of catalytic properties in replication networks and their use to catalyse cascade reactions in microfluidic compartments. Within the CLASSY project Prof. Wennemers has the role of deputy leader for outreach activities and the research contribution of her group will be in designing and evaluating reaction cascades that combine multiple different catalysts, including enzymes, peptides and other catalysts of low molecular weight.

The CLASSY team at ETH includes:

Radboud University Nijmegen (RU)

Netherlands

RU was established in 1923 as the Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen and is now one of the leading academic communities in the Netherlands. Within the Department of Physical-Organic Chemistry, the Huck Research Group focuses on understanding and replicating the physical environment and reaction networks of the living cell. The wide expertise of Huck’s group in microfluidic reactors will contribute to the CLASSY project by leading the research efforts on microfluidics production of catalytic flow reactors and by providing the ability to produce vesicle or hydrogel compartments with various compositions, from multiple independent input channels, each separately controllable. Prof. Huck and his group will also be in the deputy lead of efforts focusing on creating a prototype of a cell-like molecular assembly line.

The CLASSY team at RU includes:

Universität Graz (UG)

Austria

UG was founded in 1585 and is Austria's second oldest university and one of the largest in the country. The Biocatalysis Research Group led by Prof. Kroutil focuses on the study of novel enzyme activities, artificial enzyme cascades, applying enzymes for organic synthesis, expanding the possible reactions-range of enzymes (enzyme promiscuity) and on the search for novel organic solvent tolerant enzymes. Within the CLASSY project Prof. Kroutil leads the research efforts devoted to developing a prototype of a cell-like molecular assembly line.

The CLASSY team at UG includes:

Micronit B.V. (MICRONIT)

Netherlands

MICRONIT is a Dutch SME founded in 1999 that performs design and manufacturing of lab-on-a-chip microfluidic devices. Its R&D focuses on the development of new and improved manufacturing processes, and on the addition of generic microfluidic functionalities. Furthermore, MICRONIT develops microfluidics chips with standard functionalities, such as microreactors and micromixers at various scales. Within CLASSY, MICRONIT will complement the Huck lab, developing a microfluidic platform with powerful tools for analysing the microreactor contents using mass spectrometry or FRET.

The CLASSY team at MICRONIT includes:

accelopment Schweiz AG (accelCH)

Switzerland

accelCH is a Swiss SME specialised in European research, development and innovation support initiatives, such as Horizon 2020 and the SME-focused Eurostars programme. Its core activities include professional project administration, consortium organisation and communication, financial management and reporting, the facilitation of communication and dissemination of project results to external stakeholders and supporting the exploitation of project results. Alongside being the deputy leader for the management of CLASSY and assisting the coordinator in smoothly running the project, accelCH leads the communication, dissemination and exploitation activities of CLASSY.

The CLASSY team at accelCH includes: