Catarina Gonçalves is currently a research fellow in the Food Processing Group, Department of Life Sciences. She works with cell culture models (Caco-2 and HT29-MTX), based on human cell lines derived from the intestinal epithelium, as a tool for the in vitro study of oral absorption of bioactive molecules. She also performs in vitro cytotoxicity tests, such as cell viability, membrane integrity and ROS generation.

Catarina holds a Diploma (2004) in Chemical Engineering, from ISEP, Porto and a PhD degree (2010) in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. As a postdoctoral researcher (2010-2016) at the Centre of Biological Engineering, in Braga, she worked on the chemical modification of natural polymers for nanogels preparation (through self-assembly) and their physic-chemical characterization, nanoencapsulation and release studies (small molecules and proteins), cytotoxicity evaluation and in vivo biodistribution studies (mice and rat models). Catarina also worked with radiolabeled nanogels stabilizing γ-Fe2O3 for use as dual modality probe, combining SPECT and MRI.

• Gonçalves, C., Martins, J.A., Gama, F.M.
  “Self-assembled Nanoparticles of dextrin substituted with hexadecanethiol”.
  Biomacromolecules, 2007, 8 (2) 392-398.

• Gonçalves, C., Torrado, E., Martins, T., Pereira, P., Gama, F.M.
  “Dextrin nanoparticles: studies on the interaction with murine macrophages and blood clearance”.
  Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 2010, 75, 483-489.

• Gonçalves, C., Ferreira, M.F.M., Santos, A.C., Prata, M.I. M., Geraldes, C.F.G.C., Martins, J.A., Gama, F.M.
  “Studies on the biodistribution of dextrin nanoparticles”.
  Nanotechnology, 2010, 21, 295103.

• Gonçalves, C., Lalatonne, Y., Melro, L., Badino, G., Ferreira, M.F.M., David, L., Geraldes, C.F.G.C., Motte, L., Martins, J.A., Gama, F.M.
  “New dextrin nanomagnetogel as contrast agent for Magnetic Resonance Imaging”.
  J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013, 1, 5853-5864.

• Gonçalves, C., Silva, J.P., Antunes, I.F., Ferreira, M.F.M., Martins, J.A., Geraldes, C.F.G.C., Lalatonne, Y., Motte, L., de Vries, E.F.J., Gama, F.M.
  “Dextrin-Based Nanomagnetogel: In Vivo Biodistribution and Stability”.
  Bioconjugate Chemistry, 2015, 26(4), 699-706.