cAMINAR is a project that has the fundamental objective of developing and validating safe, effective and transferable tools to clinical practice that allow the controlled administration of microRNAs (miRNAs) for the treatment of spinal injury. Specifically, the project plans to develop and validate the following tools:

-Mimetics of functionalized myRNAs to increase their stability and activity

- Polymer-miRNA complexes capable of heading towards specific cells of the nervous system and carriers of fluorescent probes that allow their follow-up.

-Controlled administration systems based on locally implanted thermosensitive hydrogels that controlledly release miRNAs under hypothermia conditions.

As a secondary objective, the neuroprotective potential of administering miR-138 miRNA will be evaluated with tools designed to treat spinal injury.

The team that develops this project combines researchers who are experts in nucleic acid chemistry from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Nanotechnology of the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC, CSIC) and experts in the syntheses, characterization and functionalization of polymeric biomaterials from the Polymers Functionalization group of the Institute of Science and Polymer Technology (ICTP, CSIC), under the coordination of experts in experimental spinal injury , neuroprotective therapies and miRNAs from the Research Unit of the National Paraplegic Hospital (UDI-HNP, SESCAM).