Priority topics of the Nanobiotechnology laboratory

1. Nanomaterial characterisation including their interactions with biological systems (culture media, proteins, etc.).

2. Detection of nanomaterials and nano-microplastics in complex matrices.

3. Surface chemical analysis of macro and nanomaterials. Surface modification and nano-fabrication.

4. Biomolecular interaction studies, characterisation of antibodies and antigens, bio-interfaces characterisation.

5. Advanced material characterisation for non-bio-applications (energy, transport, circular economy, environment etc.).

Definition and conditions of access

Access to the research infrastructure is granted on the basis of Access Units (e.g. days or weeks of use, hours or sessions of beam time, processing time and gigabytes of data transmitted, etc.). Access Units are specific to the type and nature of each JRC research infrastructure that provides access.

For the Nanobiotechnology Laboratory the Unit of Access is 'Instrument days' which correspond to the use of one (1) instrument during one (1) day.

• Estimated total number of Instrument days allocated to the call: 60-80
• Estimated number of Instrument days per project: 10 (i.e. 2 instruments for 5 days)

Estimated costs excluding consumables and expenses:

• Research infrastructure operated by JRC staff: 0 € / instrument day*
• Research infrastructure operated by users: 0 € / instrument day*

In view of the limited access to the JRC sites due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the research infrastructure will favour remote access. For as long as access restrictions to the JRC sites prevail, physical access of Users to the JRC sites will be limited as much as possible and will be granted only if necessary following the rules of the host country and of the European Commission.

* Payment of additional costs, excluding consumables and expenses, are waived for the present call.

Support to users for travel and subsistence

The JRC may provide a financial or in-kind contribution to support Users to cover their costs of travel and subsistence (T&S) related to the User Stay Days, subject to the availability of funds, personnel and other resources to Users from User Institutions located in a country eligible for the Widening actions under the Horizon 2020 Specific Objective “Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation”.
Namely the countries are:
EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, and
Associated Countries (subject to valid association agreements of third countries with Horizon 2020): Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, The Republic of North Macedonia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine.

A User Stay Day is a day of physical presence of a User at the concerned Research Infrastructure for Access related to the User Access Project. A User Stay Day counts as a registered entry to the JRC site where the Research Infrastructure is located.

• Estimated total number of short-term User Stay Days eligible for T&S allocated to the call: 30
• Estimated total number of long-term User Stay Days eligible for T&S allocated to the call: 0

Long-term stays are primarily for students and have a duration exceeding 20 User Stay Days.

The Lead User is invited to fill in the User travel and subsistence form and send it to JRC-OPEN-NANOBIOTECH@ec.europa.eu by the closing date of the call. For more information the Lead User may contact the JRC Research Infrastructure at  JRC-OPEN-NANOBIOTECH@ec.europa.eu.

Allocation of intellectual property rights:

• The JRC and the entitled party (person or organisation that has been granted access) become co-owners in equal shares of all raw data, treated data and documentation data developed with respect to the access.

or, when users run the research infrastructure

• Raw Data, Treated Data and Documentation Data will be solely owned by the Entitled Party and the JRC receives a non-exclusive, royalty free, unlimited and world-wide licence to use (meaning in particular to access, exploit, adapt, merge, translate, copy and store) the Raw Data, Treated Data and Documentation Data in all fields of exploitation. Where relevant, the licence will include all the data / information necessary to replicate the tests.

Eligibility criteria

• The Lead User Institution and User Institutions (see definitions in the Framework) must be from an EU Member State, or country associated to the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020.
• The Lead User Institution must be from a university, research or public institution, or from a Small-Medium-Enterprise (SME).
• Ethical considerations in accordance with EU Law, in particular Art. 19 of Regulation (EU) 1291/2013, and applicable laws and regulations in the EU Member States.
• The proposal submission form is complete and complies with the instructions.

Selection criteria

Proposals will be evaluated in accordance to the following selection criteria:

• Scientific implementation (50 points)
• Collaboration and access to new Users (20 points)
• Strategic relevance to the JRC (15 points)
• Strategic importance for Europe (15 points)

How to apply

The proposal must be prepared using the Relevance-driven Proposal Submission Form.

During preparation of the proposal, applicants are encouraged to:

• Read the "Framework of Access to Joint Research Centre physical Research Infrastructures" and its annexes.
• Contact the research infrastructure at JRC-OPEN-NANOBIOTECH@ec.europa.eu to assess feasibility aspects related to the capacity of the research infrastructure.

The proposal should be submitted to JRC-RI-OPEN-ACCESS@ec.europa.eu by the closing date of the call.

In addition, the Lead User shall complete the Nanobiotechnology Laboratory List of equipment Form and send it to JRC-OPEN-NANOBIOTECH@ec.europa.eu by the closing date of the call.

Original news: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/research-facility/open-access/relevance-driven/2020-1-rd-nanobiotech