"The intervertebral discs form the elastic part of the spine. It is composed of the annulus fibrosus, a tough outer layer of fibrocartilage, surrounding an elastic gelatinous core, the nucleus pulposus (NP). With age, the water content of the NP decreases, thus, the mechanical loads concentrate on the annulus. This leads to the NP wear, and cracking with a subsequent inflammation reaction and a prolapsed intervertebral disc. The process forms a cycle of accelerated DDD pathology. The ""Gold Standard"" for treatment is the ""spinal fusion"", an extensive surgery, which blocks definitively free spine motion. Surgeons seek new technologies to allow motion preservation, with long-term outcomes. Based on electrospinning proprietary technology of partner NIC and a novel chemically modified ECM-based biopolymer, developed by partner ProCore, the NPmimetic consortium will develop biomimetic nano-polymer based gel for minimally invasive treatment for disc regeneration: Electrospinning technology will be exploited to design and develop nano-fiber based, biocompatible, biodegradable, synthetic scaffold that will mimic mechanical properties of native NP for immediate and short term treatment. Anti-inflammatory drugs will be carried by biodegradable nano-fibers to be gradually released in situ thus, healing and preventing inflammation. Furthermore, the synthetic scaffold will be integrated with the bioactive-polymer that is highly potent in supporting NP cells for long-term cure. A multidisciplinary study will answer scientific and engineering questions raised by the NPmimetic approach, e.g. hydrogel swelling characteristics, drug delivery, and NP cells reaction to the biomimetic gel environment. All will be supervised by a strong leader in spine surgery to define inputs and outputs of the research, from a clinical implementation point of view."