Three projects of the University of Navarra have obtained funding in a call of the Regional Government for the provision of R&D equipment and infrastructures to technology centers and research organizations, and their adaptation to the new post-COVID-19 normality.

The criteria taken into account when awarding these grants, which will cover 50% of each project, focus on recognizing the excellence and rigor of the scientific-technical proposal; available personnel; impact in terms of scientific results, employment and sustainable development; shared use with other agents of the SINAI (Navarre R&D&I System), and adaptation to the new normality derived from COVID-19.

As a novelty, this year the aim is to facilitate the adaptation of research infrastructures to the new normality. To this end, it has been assessed that in all research facilities there are appropriate means of protection, complying with the recommendations issued by the health and labor authorities.

In total, the Government of Navarra will allocate 2 million euros to 28 projects from 10 centers. Two of the projects presented by the University are among the four projects that have obtained the highest score in the call for proposals.

The "Orbitrap-Exploris 120" is a high resolution mass spectrometer incorporating Orbitrap technology. This technology is the only one on the market with the ability to analyze very small molecular weights (metabolites such as sugars, amino acids, plant hormones, organic acids, etc.), combined with very high sensitivity. It also allows the investigation of unknown compounds thanks to its high mass accuracy and structural elucidation capability.

The equipment will be used by the BACH (Biological and Agricultural Chemistry) research group of the Department of Environmental Biology of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Navarra. It will be used in research projects to be carried out in collaboration with the Public University of Navarra, the Lurederra Technology Center and the CSIC. For example, the role of plant hormones in leguminous plants grown under drought conditions, the reduction of nitrate content in vegetables, the development of new generation biofertilizers, etc. will be studied.

It has a budget of 202,268 euros, of which the Government of Navarra will finance 101,134 euros.

The "MicroSPECT-CT" allows high-resolution metabolic and anatomical images to be obtained in animal models of human diseases using radiolabeled compounds. It is the first equipment of its kind in Navarra. It will enable collaborative projects in translational molecular imaging for in vivo and non-invasive monitoring in animal models of a large number of metabolic processes, as well as for the development of new drugs and research in personalized medicine, advanced therapies and radionano-pharmacobiology.

The equipment will be managed by the Research Group in Radiopharmacology, Radiopharmacobiology and Translational Molecular Imaging (RADIOMIN) of the University of Navarra. It will be installed in the Preclinical Molecular Imaging Unit of the University of Navarra, an IdiSNA Research Support Unit, and will therefore be available to all researchers at the Institute.

The cost of this initiative is 456,200 euros, of which 228,100 euros will be subsidized.

The third of the projects that has obtained funding in this call has been the Biodiversity and Environment Research Institute (BIOMA) for the acquisition of a modular analytical equipment, unique in Spain, with a wide range of applications in different research areas.

The equipment will be installed at the Integrated Environmental Quality Laboratory (LICA) and consists of a Centri multimode platform coupled to a gas chromatograph and a high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Centri-GC-Bench TOF-MS) for the determination of organic compounds in a wide range of sample types (solid, liquid and gaseous).

The versatility of the new equipment will contribute to the creation of interdisciplinary work groups, university-industry collaboration and the implementation of R&D&I research projects at different scales, favoring the transfer of results and internationalization.