CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Spectroelectrochemical and Photovoltaic Characterization of a Solution-Processable n-and-p Type Dopable Pyrrole-Bearing Conjugated Polymer

D-A-D-type polymers are of high interest in the field of photovoltaics and electrochromism. In this study we report the synthesis and electrochemical properties of PPyBT along with its photophysical properties and photovoltaic performance. PPyBT is soluble in common organic solvents and both n- and p-type dopable, which is a desired property for conjugated polymers. During electrochemistry studies, the onset potentials of the polymer were determined as +0.2V for oxidation and -1.4V for reduction. Using these values, HOMO and LUMO energy levels were calculated. The photovoltaic properties of PPyBT were also studied. PL studies showed that there is a charge transfer between PPyBT (donor) and PCBM (acceptor)

In Situ Spectroelectrochemical Study of Positively and Negatively Charged States in a Donor/Acceptor EDOT/Benzotriazole‐Based Polymer

Positively and negatively charged states in cPBEBT, which consists of EDOT/benzotriazole/EDOT as the building block, are studied using CV, in situ UV-Vis, and FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. The results show that cPBEBT is an ambipolar D-A-type polymer capable of conducting both holes and electrons. The injected positive and negative charges are distributed over the whole polymer backbone, which is proven by in situ FTIR-ATR where spectral signatures associated with the benzotriazole unit are observed in both p- and n-doped cPBEBT. HOMO and LUMO values obtained from CV and FTIR-ATR experiments during oxidation and reduction are compared. cPBEBT is an example of the D-A approach towards the improvement of the electronic properties of the resultant polymer

Processable Multipurpose Conjugated Polymer for Electrochromic and Photovoltaic Applications

A benzotriazole and 3-hexylthiophene (3HT) bearing a donor acceptor donor (D-A-D) type conjugated polymer (PHTBT) was synthesized. The polymer is both p and n-dopable, fluorescent, soluble in common organic solvents, and processable. Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical characterization of PHTBT and its photovoltaic performance in organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells (SC) have been measured. Using PHTBT as donor material in BHJ solar cells resulted in increased open circuit voltage (V-oc) up to 0.85 V