83 innovations from Bar-Ilan University, available for licensing, co-investment, or spin-out through BIRAD.
Margel Shlomo
Synthesis and Characterization of Proteinoid and Proteinoid-Polyester Polymers and Nano/Micro-Particles for Industrial and Biomedical Applications
Grinberg Ilya
"מכשירים וחומרים דיאלקטיים של מתנדים בקנה מידה אטומי בתדר רדיו ומיקרוגל
Lellouche Jean-paul
"Effective Nanoscale Delivery System as an anti-Leishmania drug/technological platform for drug delivery"
Nessim Gilbert
The innovation described here consists of synthesizing in a one-step process a self-standing electrode with single-atom catalysts (SACs) supported on a nanocarbon matrix that will outperform the established standards at a much cheaper cost for most electrocatalytic reactions. The scientific breakthrough supporting this research is based on the simultaneous delamination and doping of a thin film stack using chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
Banin Ehud
This research presents bio-friendly a green and cost-effective antibiofilm coating formulations based on Pickering emulsion templating. The coating does not contain any active material, where its antibiofilm function is based on passive mechanisms, laying solely on the superhydrophobic nature of the coating, and thus highly suitable for food and medical applications. The coating is based on water in toluene or xylene emulsions that are stabilized by commercial hydrophobic silica, with Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) that is dissolved in the organic phase. The stability of the emulsions and their structure were studied by confocal microscopy. The most stable emulsions were applied on polypropylene surfaces and dried in an oven to form PDMS/silica rough coatings. The surface morphology of the coatings shows a honeycomb-like structure that exhibits a combination of micron-scale and nano-scale roughness resulting in a superhydrophobic property. The superhydrophobicity of the resulting coatings has been tuned to meet the demands of highly efficient antibiofilm passive activity. The obtained coatings have shown to significantly reduce the accumulation of a decrease of one order of magnitude in the EEscherichia coli-coli accumulation on the surface, suggesting these coatings can be used for antibiofilm applications. that is a significant value for coating with a passive based antibiofilm coating.
NESSIM GILBERT
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major burden that affects ~ 40 million of EU citizens, with enormous direct and indirect costs for the European healthcare systems, quantified in ~ 50.4 billion euros per year. This disease involves the degeneration of cartilage and other joint structures and is one of the most common causes of pain and disability in middle-aged and elderly people. ADMAIORA aims in the long-term at increasing the healthy and active lifespan of people affected by OA, by considerably slowing down or even stopping the degeneration process, thus delaying or avoiding surgical interventions for total joint replacement. Within the project time-frame the target is to achieve a 60% reduction of degeneration in OA animal models treated with the ADMAIORA technologies, with respect to control (untreated) ones, after 4 weeks, and a 90% reduction after 3 months. To achieve this ambitious objective the Consortium will evolve and merge technologies that already showed a high potential as experimental proof of concepts (TRL = 3) and will bring them at a preclinical level (TRL = 5). The ADMAIORA Consortium will develop biosynthetic hydrogels embedded with carbon-based nanomaterials, conferring higher mechanical and lubrication properties, and piezoelectric nanoparticles enabling responsivity to remote wireless ultrasound waves. Stem cells derived from autologous adipose tissue, which already demonstrated anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties, will be entrapped in the hydrogels. Materials and cells will be delivered in situ through an innovative handheld 3D bioprinter, embedded in an arthroscopic tool. A custom brace will be designed and equipped with ultrasound probes for both monitoring the joint status and stimulating the implanted piezoelectric nanobiomaterial. A dedicated App will allow a direct connection between patient and physician in an Internet of Things framework. Overall, ADMAIORA will target a ground- breaking paradigm that may revolutionize OA treatment.
Zalevsky Zeev
The feasibility analysis for the development and the integration of a Near-field Scanning Optical Microscope (NSOM) tip-photodetector operating in the visible domain of wavelengths to an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) cantilever has been simulated, processed and measured. The new tip-photodetector consists in a Platinum-Silicon truncated conical photodetector, sharing a subwavelength aperture and processed using advanced nanotechnology tools on a commercial silicon cantilever. Such a combined device enables a dual-mode usage of both AFM and NSOM measurements, when collecting the reflected light, directly from the scanned surface while having a more efficient light collection process. In addition to its quite simple fabrication process, it is demonstrated that the AFM tip, on which the photodetector is processed, is still operational, i.e. the AFM imaging capability is not altered by the process. The AFM-NSOM capability of the processed tip is presented, and obtained results show a significant improvement in surface characterization accuracy and efficiency.
Margel Shlomo
Using conventional pesticides poses significant risks to both human health and the natural environment, with detrimental effects on beneficial organisms that could otherwise assist in reducing pesticide reliance. Moreover, the emergence of resistance among numerous pest insects has led to a substantial decline in their efficacy. Consequently, many of these products have been delisted as approved control options. The urgent need for an effective, environmentally friendly solution to reduce pest populations and enhance crop yield and economic returns has become paramount. The present disclosure provides an eco-friendly species-specific solution to minimize insect pest populations in precision agriculture. The insecticide of the present disclosure relies on porous silica microcapsules encapsulating minute quantities of a species-specific sex pheromone of the targeted pests and essential oil/s. The sex pheromone volatile specifically attracts the pests towards the microcapsule area, where they come into contact with the essential oil volatile, resulting in a lethal impact on their enzymatic systems. This synergistic approach effectively targets and controls insect pests while promoting a greener and more sustainable agricultural practice. In experiments conducted in a laboratory setting, male moths were subjected to different conditions within large cages. When exposed to perforated SiO2 microcapsules containing the combination of the appropriate pheromone and essential oil, the male moths exhibited a significant decline in their lifespan compared to their counterparts placed in similar cages and were exposed to the same amount of perforated silica microcapsules in the absence of a pheromone and/or essential oil. In addition, addition of PVP or paraffin wax to the SiO2 microcapsules containing encapsulated pheromone and essential oil prolongs the evaporation rate of the active ingredients, resulting thereby in increase in their lifespan compared to those microcapsules in absence of PVP or paraffin oil.
Byk Gerardo
The nanohydrogels (NHGs)are new in away that they are biodegraded slowly after administration. The NHGs can be loaded with drugs such as amphoterycin B or voriconazole for treating fungal infections. The nanohydrogels are monodispersed particles of 100 to 400 nm that have the specialty to be both cross-linked and biodegradable tanks to special cross-linkers used fo their generation. The NHGs are loaded with drugs and display a slow release of the drug both in vitro and in cell assays. The drugs are delivered via intraperitoneal administration and protects the infected animals form lethal doses of fungi strains
Shai Rahimipour
Drug delivery systems play a crucial role in optimizing drug therapy by improving drug efficacy, reducing side effects, enabling targeted delivery, and overcoming biological barriers. They also contribute to advancements in personalized medicine and have the potential to revolutionize healthcare by enhancing treatment outcomes and patient compliance. The advances in genome mapping, molecular diagnosis and production of highly selective humanized antibodies enable the development of precision medicine. Moreover, the emerging technologies in mRNA-based vaccines and treatments together with the breakthrough in gene manipulation using the CRISPR/Cas9 editing methodology have open new avenues in discovery of novel drugs. In general, the translation of these advances into successful therapies relies on the use of biologics, including peptides, proteins and oligonucleotides that exhibit high specificity and potency. However, delivery of drugs and biologics into the brain in different central nervous system conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease, glioblastoma and stroke, remains still a highly challenging endeavor, due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Therefore, there is a growing need for small, non-toxic, and affordable molecules that can increase the penetration of biologics and nanoparticles (NPs) carriers through the BBB. In this application, we demonstrate successful delivery of biocompatible liposomes and gold nanoparticles (GNPs) through BBB by systemic (i.p. and i.v.) injection for early diagnosis and therapy of AD. We show that conjugation of non-BBB permeable gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and liposomes with a cell permeable cyclic D,L-a-peptide (CP-2) dramatically increase the BBB permeation of the particles to generate theranostic probes for early diagnosis and therapy of AD. Targeting the oligomeric forms of Aβ in brain, Aβ oligomers and plaques were detected in the well-established 5xFAD mouse model of AD by CT and fluorescent imaging as early as 2-months. In transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans AD models overexpressing human Aβ, CP-2-conjugated NPs significantly outperformed free CP-2 by improving cognitive and behavioral functions, extending lifespan through reducing toxic Aβ oligomer levels.
Salomon Adi
Nanopatterned attachment for nanometric optical standardization
Zitoun David
All-solid-state sodium batteries offer a promising route toward safe, low-cost, and sustainable energy storage, but their widespread adoption is limited by the lack of solid electrolytes that simultaneously provide high room-temperature ionic conductivity, mechanical flexibility, thin-film processability, and long-term electrochemical stability. Here we introduce a composite solid-state electrolyte based on surfactant-modified sodium-enriched halloysite nanotubes dispersed in polymeric medium. Sodium exchange and surface functionalization transform the naturally abundant clay into an active ion-conducting filler that forms continuous Na⁺ transport pathways while remaining compatible with scalable polymer processing. The resulting self-supporting membranes are as thin as 10 μm, contain up to 50 wt% halloysite while retaining mechanical flexibility, and exhibit a room-temperature ionic conductivity of 3.13 mS cm⁻¹ together with an electrochemical stability window of 4.7 V versus Na/Na⁺. Symmetric Na|Na cells sustain stable cumulative stripping/plating of 500 mAh cm⁻², while Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃|Na cells deliver stable cycling over 5,000 cycles at 20 C with high capacity retention. These results establish naturally abundant halloysite nanotubes as an effective platform for high-performance solid-state sodium electrolytes and demonstrate a scalable strategy for combining fast ion transport, mechanical robustness, and practical battery performance.
