Arttic

NANOTRYP is a collaborative European project of the Seventh Framework Programme, partly funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB). The project consortium consists of three European organisations and two African partners that will exploit nanobodies in developing novel diagnostics and treatments for African trypanosomiasis.

Trypanosomiasis is a disease with a devastating socio-economic impact in Sub-Saharan Africa through the direct infection of humans and livestock. Even though diagnostic test and treatments exist, both suffer from serious drawbacks. While current diagnostics have limited specificity, current treatment schemes often results in severe negative side effects in patients, and can even be lethal.

The NANOTRYP project will address these problems by developing new simple to use diagnostic tests as well as new, nanobody based, treatment methods for trypanosomiasis. It foresees an important involvement of the African research community both at the level of fundamental science, aiming at the acquisition of a better understanding of trypanosomiasis, as well as at the level of disease diagnostics, treatment and community awareness building.

For further information you can visit the NANOTRYP public website at: http://www.nanotryp.eu.