The main objective of the Action is to promote a chemical biology approach for the investigation of free radical pathways. Chemical reactivity and molecular libraries are the start of a multidisciplinary research context �from small molecules to large systems�, culminating in the biological complexity. The Action aims at improving communication and exchange among neighbouring scientific fields, such as chemistry with several domains of life sciences, specifically addressing the real barrier consisting of specialist language and tools. Four working groups address the formation, reactivity and fate of free radicals involving bio-molecules, such as unsaturated lipids, aromatic-, cyclic- and sulphur-containing amino acid residues, sugar and base moieties of nucleic acids. Tasks concern the role of free radicals in normal cell metabolism and in damages, defining structural and functional modifications, in the framework of physiologically and pathologically related processes relevant to human quality of life and health. The Action also promotes the training of young researchers in multi-faceted research tasks. The Action is expected to involve research groups with funds amounting approximately to 31 million EUR.
Keywords: Radical-based biological processes and mechanisms, biomarkers, radical functioning and damage, modification of unsaturated lipids, degradation or modification of peptides/proteins and nucleosides/DNA.
