WP1: Project Coordination and Management
- Provide necessary support for successful project completion
- Optimize resources and financial management
WP2: DAGEs production and comparative analysis of AGEs patterns
- Provide individual AGEs with different stable-isotope labellings
- Identify important individual salivary AGEs
- Develop/optimize tools for targeted/untargeted analysis of AGEs in biofluids, especially saliva
WP3: Pre-clinical characterization of AGEs and related molecular mechanisms
- Development of pre-clinical models suitable for studying AGEs
- Evaluation of the AGEs patterns and effects
- Identification of molecular pathways involved in AGEs effects
WP4: Biosensors for salivary AGEs detection
- Development of the salivary biosensor prototype
- In vitrotesting of the detection limits of the salivary biosensor prototype using artificial saliva with various known amounts of AGEs added
- In vitrocalibration of the biosensor in order to detect the amount of AGEs in the human saliva
- In vitrotesting on human saliva collected from healthy subjects and from type 2 diabetic patients
- Assessment of the sensitivity and the specificity of the biosensor
- In vivotesting of the ability of the biosensor to perform continuous recording of the salivary AGEs
WP5: Human cohort study
- Elaboration of the informed consent form for the enrolment of the patients in the study; obtaining the approval of the Ethics Committee of the “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Elaboration of the questionnaire for the patients
- Harvesting of the biologic samples: saliva, blood, urine
- Detection of AGEs in the skin and oral mucosa by echography
- Performing the tooth extraction and harvesting of biologic samples: blood from the post-extraction alveoli, gingiva and periapical granulomas
- Histological examination and immunohistochemistry (AGEs) on the gingiva and periapical granulomas
WP6: Glyco-signaturing, volatilome and metabolomic fingerprints
- Glycoprofiling of biological fluid glycoproteins
- Comparison of glycoprofiles from patient and healthy samples
- Detailed profiling of primary metabolites in bio-fluids
- Characterization of salivary Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
WP7: Dissemination and exploitation
- To ensure the correct dissemination of the project results
- To clarify the social challenges faced by the project
- To find new opportunities for the project development