NanoImmunoTherapies Group
Dr. Cristina Fornaguera
OUR RESEARCH FOCUS
Polymeric nanoparticles
Synthesis of proprietary polymers as biomaterials to formulate polymeric nanoparticles for the controlled delivery of drugs, biologicals and actives with smart delivery properties.
Extracellular Vesicles
Engineering and loading of extracellular vesicles to further use them as natural carrier systems for controlled drug delivery.
Crossing biological barriers
Formulate nano and microscarriers able to selectively interact with mucoses, epithelial and immune resident cells, to achieve the non-invasive delivery (i.e. inhaled administration or blood-brain barrier crossing).
mRNA vaccines
Design of prophylactic or therapeutic mRNA vaccines for pharmaceutical and veterinary uses.
Cancer combined immunotherapies
Use of the engineered nanotools, encapsulating different therapeutic nucleic acids, to become the next generation of cancer nanomedicines.
Cosmetic applications
Use of the technology generated for the nano and micro-encapsulation of active ingredients of interest for cosmetic industries.
TEAM
Cristina Fornaguera, PhD
Team Leader
Marta Guerra Rebollo, PhD
Senior Researcher
Patricia González, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Jennifer Fernandez, PhD
Postdoctoral researcher
Vladimir Stamenovic
Postdoctoral researcher
Mònica Guarro Ferrer, MSc
PhD Candidate
Carles Bofill, MSc
PhD Candidate
Nil Gonzalez Rios, MSc
PhD Candidate
Yvette Rabadà Soler, MSc
PhD Candidate
Maria José Sanchez Gomez, MSc
PhD Candidate
Maria Gil-Vives, BSc
PhD candidate
Ana Moyo, BSc
MSc student
Maria Navalón Lopez, MSc
PhD Candidate
Maria Stampa Lopez-Pinto, MSc
PhD Candidate
Jordi Guixeras, MSc
PhD Candidate
Mar Losada, MSc
PhD candidate
Toni Torres, BSc
PhD candidate
Elena Haro, MSc
PhD candidate
Anna Tarrats, MSc
PhD candidate
Pau Castells
MSc Student
Alessia Remondino, BSc
MSc student
Dalia Belhadj
MSc student
Ida Pagnotta
MSc student
Andrea Díaz
Lab technician
Raquel Vaya
Lab technician
Caroline Porskamp
BSc student
Joanna Baulés
BSc student
Rubén Garcia
BSc student
Delia Lupica
Visiting MSc
Jonas Reckmann
Visiting MSc
Sara Giancaterino
Visiting PhD candidate
Paula Niella
BSc student
FORMER MEMBERS
Noraini Ahmad
Visiting professor
José Rodrigo Magaña Rodriguez, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Fleur Van Vooler
MSc candidate
Clara Presciutti
MSc candidate
Coral Garcia-Fernandez, MSc
PhD Candidate
Marc Sabartés, BSc
MSc candidate
Odile Fernández, BSc
MSc candidate
Ïa Casanovas, BSc
MSc candidate
Daniel Serrano, BSc
MSc candidate
Laia Martí, BSc
MSc candidate
Alex Gil, BSc
MSc candidate
Giacomo Sansone
Visiting MSc candidate
Alex Vicente
Lab Technician
Pau Jorba
Lab Technician
Leire Franquesa
Undergraduate Student
Mar Corgos
Undergraduate Student
Natalia Rodríguez
Undergraduate Student
Laia Gorrindo
Undergraduate Student
Lara Font
Undergraduate Student
Panagiota Papaioannou
Visiting MSc
Anna Fotopolou
Visiting MSc
Laura Olmo
Lab Technician
Gae Azzara
Visiting MSc
Carla Giacobino
Visiting MSc
Marta Jové
MSc student
HIGHLIGHTED PUBLICATIONS
Articles in scientific journals
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Aurora Dols-Perez, Cristina Fornaguera, Natalia Feiner-Gracia, Santiago Grijalvo, Conxita Solans, Gabriel Gomila, Effect of surface functionalization and loading on the mechanical properties of soft polymeric nanoparticles prepared by nano-emulsion templating, Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2022.113019
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Fornaguera C., Torres-Coll A., Olmo L., Garcia-Fernandez C., Guerra-Rebollo M., Borrós S., Engineering oncogene-targeted anisamide-functionalized pBAE nanoparticles as efficient lung cancer antisense therapies, RSC Advances, 2023. DOI: 10.1039/D3RA05830A
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González-Ríos N., Artigues M., Guerra-Rebollo M., Planas A., Borrós S., Faijes M., Fornaguera C., Novel α-mannose-functionalized poly(β-amino ester) nanoparticles as mRNA vaccines with increased antigen presenting cell selectivity in the spleen, Journal of Material Chemistry B, 2023. DOI: 10.1039/D3TB00607G
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Cosialls R., Fernández O., Simó C., Pulagam K.R., Guerra-Rebollo M., Llop J., Fornaguera C., Cuenca A.B., Borrós S., Ammonium trifluoroborate-modified poly(β-aminoesters): A case study for PET-guided in vivo pharmacokinetic studies of a non-viral gene delivery system, Journal of Controlled Release, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.05.017
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Bofill-Bonet C, Gil-Vives M, Artigues M., Hernández M., Borrós S., Fornaguera C., Fine-tuning formulation and biological interaction of doxorubicin-loaded polymeric nanoparticles via electrolyte concentration modulation, Journal of Molecular Liquids, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2023.122986
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Navalón-López M., Dols-Perez A, Grijalvo S, Fornaguera C, Borrós S, Unravelling the role of individual components in pBAE/polynucleotide polyplexes in the synthesis of tailored carriers for specific applications: on the road to rational formulations, Nanoscale Advances 2023. DOI: 10.1039/d2na00800a
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Riera R., Tauler J., Feiner-Gracia N., Borrós S., Fornaguera C., Albertazzi L., Complex pBAE Nanoparticle Cell Trafficking: Tracking Both Position and Composition Using Super Resolution Microscopy, ChemMedChem, 2022. DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202100633
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Guarro M., Suñer F., Lecina M., Borrós S., Fornaguera C., Efficient extracellular vesicles freeze-dry method for direct formulations preparation and use, Colloids Surf B: Biointerfaces. 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2022.112745
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Giacobino C., Canta M., Fornaguera C., Borrós S., Cauda V., Extracellular vesicles and their current role in cancer immunotherapy, Cancers, 2021. DOI: 10.3390/cancers13092280
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García-Fernández C., Saz A., Fornaguera C., Borrós S., Cancer immunotherapies revisited: state of the art of conventional treatments and next-generation nanomedicines, Cancer Gene Therapy, 2021. DOI: 10.1038/s41417-021-00333-5
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Fornaguera C., Díaz-Caballero M., García-Fernandez C., Olmo L., Stampa-López Pinto M., Navalón-López M., Guerra-Rebollo M., Borrós S., Synthesis and Characterization of mRNA-Loaded Poly(Beta Aminoesters) Nanoparticles for Vaccination Purposes. JoVe, 2021. DOI: 10.3791/62889.
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Guerra-Rebollo M., Stampa Lopez-Pinto M., Fornaguera C.*, Borrós S., Electrostatic coating of viral particles for gene delivery applications in muscular dystrophies: influence of size on stability and antibody protection. Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases, 2021. DOI: 10.3233/JND-210662.
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Parés M., Fornaguera C., Vila-Julià F., Oh S., H Y Fan S., Tam Y.K., Comes N., Vidal F., Martí R., Borrós S., Barquinero J., Preclinical Assessment of a Gene-Editing Approach in a Mouse Model of Mitochondrial Neurogastrointestinal Encephalomyopathy. Human Gene Therapy, 2021. DOI: 10.1089/hum.2021.152
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Arista-Romero M., Cascante A., Fornaguera C., Borrós S., Role of surviving in bladder cancer: issues to be overcome when designing an efficient dual nano-therapy. Pharmaceutics. 2021.
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García-Fernández C., Fornaguera C., Borrós S., Nanomedicine in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: From Conventional Treatments to Immunotherapy. Cancers, 2020. DOI: 10.3390/cancers12061609.
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Brugada-Vilà P., Cascante A., Lázaro M.A., Castells-Sala C., Fornaguera C., Rovira-Rigau M., Albertazzi L., Borrós S., Fillat C., Oligopeptide-modified poly(beta-amino ester)s-coated adnuparme1a: boosting the efficacy of intravenously administered therapeutic adenoviruses. Theranostics, 2020. DOI:10.7150/thno.40902.
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Salinas Y., Kneidinger M., Fornaguera C., Borrós S., Bruggemann O., Teasdale I., Dual stimuli-responsive polyphosphazene-based molecular gates for controlled drug delivery in lung cancer cells. RSC Advances, 2020. DOI: 10.1039/D0RA03210G
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Balcells L., Fornaguera C., Brugada-Vila? P., Guerra-Rebollo M., Meca-Corte?s O., Martínez G., Rubio N., Blanco J., Santamaría J., Cascante C., Borro?s S., SPIONS’ enhancer effect on cell transfection: an unexpected advantage for an improved gene delivery system. ACS Omega, 2019. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.8b02905.
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Fornaguera C., Castells-Sala C., Lázaro M.A., Cascante A., Borrós S., Development of an optimized freeze-drying protocol for OM-pBAE polyplexes. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2019.118612
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Fornaguera C., Guerra-Rebollo M., Lázaro M.A., Cascante A., Rubio N., Blanco J., Borrós S., In vivo retargeting of poly (beta aminoester) (OM-pBAE) nanoparticles is influenced by protein corona. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2019. DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201800335
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Riera R., Feiner-Gracia N., Fornaguera C., Cascante A., Borrós S., Albertazzi L., Tracking complexation state of pBAE polyplexes in cells with super resolution microscopy. Nanoscale, 2019. DOI: 10.1039/C9NR02858G
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Fornaguera C., Guerra-Rebollo M., Lázaro M.A., Castells-Sala C., Ramos V., Cascante A., Rubió N., Blanco J., Borrós S., mRNA delivery system for targeting antigen-presenting cells in vivo. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2018. DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201800335
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Feiner-Gracia N., Dols-Pérez A., Royo M., Solans C., García-Celma M.J., Fornaguera C., Cell penetrating peptide grafting of PLGA nanoparticles to enhance cell uptake. European Polymer Journal, 2018. DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2018.09.026.
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Fornaguera C., Lázaro M.A., Brugada P., Porcar I., Morera I., Guerra-Rebollo M., Garrido C., Rubió N., Blanco J., Cascante A., Borrós S., Application of an assay cascade methodology for a deep preclinical characterization of polymeric nanoparticles as a treatment for gliomas. Drug Delivery, 2018. DOI: 10.1080/10717544.2018.1436099
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Fornaguera C., Solans C., Methods for the in vitro characterization of nanomedicines – biological components interaction. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 2017. DOI: 10.3390/jpm7010002
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Fornaguera C., García-Celma M.J., Personalized nanomedicine: a revolution at the nanoscale. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 2017. DOI: 10.3390/jpm7040012
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Fornaguera C., Grijalvo S., Galán M., Fuentes-Paniagua E., de la Mata F.J., Gómez R., Eritja R., Calderó G., Solans C., Novel non-viral gene delivery systems composed of carbosilane dendron functionalized nanoparticles prepared from nano-emulsions as non-viral carriers for antisense oligonucleotides. International Journal of Pharmaceutics 2015. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2014.11.031
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Fornaguera C., Calderó G., Mitjans M., Vinardell P., Solans C., Vauthier C., Interaction of PLGA nanoparticles with blood components: protein adsorption, coagulation, activation of the complement system and hemolysis studies. Nanoscale, 2015. DOI: 10.1039/C5NR00733J
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Fornaguera C., Feiner-Gracia N., Calderó G., Garcia-Celma M.J., Solans C., Galantamine-loaded PLGA nanoparticles, from nano-emulsion templating, as novel advanced drug delivery systems to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Nanoscale, 2015. DOI: 10.1039/C5NR03474D
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Fornaguera C., Dols-Pérez A., Calderó G., García-Celma M.J., Camarasa J., Solans C., PLGA nanoparticles prepared by nano-emulsion templating using low-energy methods as efficient nanocarriers through the blood-brain barrier. Journal of Controlled release, 2015. DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2015.06.002.
IN THE NEWS
Our group has been funded to develop a project for “La Marató 2021” devoted to depressive syndrome treatment
C. Fornaguera highlighted as one of the Women in Science.
Our group promotes cancer research at IQS.
IQS has been awarded the COST Innovator Grant (CIG) 2022 for the proposal PANDORA, from NIT
Our group participates in the Oligofastx project
Some of our postdoc and PhD students participate in the IQS Startup Challenge
Our research contributes in the Day of Materials 2021, by presenting in home designed microneedles for muscle regeneration applications.
Interview: Cancer treatments research: contribution to the development of vaccines against infectious diseases-
Our Research featured in JoVe.
Our CoviNanoVax project arrives to preclinical stages.
Our RetiPatch Project highlighted in the news.
Participating in #Conocelas, from ASEICA program of Science Awareness Activities to promote girls engagement with STEM professions.
Celebrating the Women in Science Day with our group
Among all proposals, only three projects for the development of the Spanish Covid-19 vaccine funded by ISCIII, and one is ours!
IMAGE GALLERY
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Nanoscale Advances 2023
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ChemMedChem
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Cells grown on microcarriers
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Mammal EVs
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Schematic representation of NPs
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GBM reduction of size
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In vitro cell transfection
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NPs accumulation in spleen – vaccination confirmation
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NTA size measurement
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Studies of exocytosis
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Studies of autophagy
JOIN US
We are a young team looking for highly motivated outstanding researchers of the multidisciplinary disciplines that involves our research, focused on nanomedicine, immunotherapies and biomaterials.
We encourage applications for postdoc, PhD and MSc thesis. If you are interested, you can directly contact us: cristina.fornaguera@iqs.url.edu
(c) 2021 Dra. Cristina Fornaguera Puigvert
Nanomedicine | Biomaterials | Immunotherapy | Cancer Smart Therapies | mRNA Vaccines | Controlled Delivery Systems | Crossing biological barriers