TWINNING FOR EXCELLENCE IN MICROSTRUCTURAL AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF BIOMEDICAL HIGH-ENTROPY ALLOYS

TWIN-BioHEA aims to significantly enhance the research and innovation capacity of the Technical University Gheorghe Asachi of Iași (Romania), a Widening country institution, through a structured Twinning partnership in the field of biomedical High-Entropy Alloys (HEA-BIO). The project brings together complementary expertise from Universidad de Oviedo (Spain), CNRS-LP3 (France), TU Dortmund University (Germany) and Università “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara (Italy), covering the full value chain from alloy design to biological validation. TWIN-BioHEA addresses this challenge through a coordinated framework of knowledge transfer, mobility and institutional capacity building. The project focuses on implementing advanced methodologies such as isomorphic Ti–Zr alloy design, EBSD-based microstructural analysis, LIBS chemical mapping and laser surface functionalization, integrated into a unified structure–property–biological response paradigm. Beyond scientific advancement, the project aims at a structural transformation of the coordinating institution by strengthening research management capacity, developing standardized operating procedures (SOPs), and embedding best European practices. Through a structured two-way mobility programme and strategic networking, TUIASI will evolve into a competitive and internationally connected research actor within the European Research Area. TWIN-BioHEA contributes to reducing the research and innovation gap in Europe, advancing biomaterials science, and supporting the development of more reliable and durable biomedical implants with societal and healthcare benefits TWIN-BioHEA proposes a replicable model for transforming widening institutions through integrated scientific–administrative capacity building. The project does not aim to develop a specific alloy, but to transform the institutional capability to design, characterize, and validate entire classes of advanced biomaterials.