Hydrogex

Project mission

The Hydrogex project focuses on the exploitation of a self-assembling, self-adhesive and highly permeable peptide hydrogel material for the selective confinement and easy integration of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in multiplexed analytical platforms. Hydrogels represent ideal semi-wet systems, as biomolecules can be gently confined within a native-like environment, preserving their structural and functional properties. The new material will be validated in clinically relevant environments, such as bladder cancer, with the purpose of developing alternative, timely and non-invasive techniques for diagnosis. This will greatly facilitate routine analysis protocols and biomarkers discovery practices, thereby greatly reducing the economic burden for Regional healthcare system.