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uPGRADE project meeting takes place at INL

The final meeting of the uPGRADE project was held on Monday, October 23, at INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. The meeting attendees included Spin.Works, the leading company, ISQ – Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade, and a team from the University of Texas Center for Space Research at Austin, represented by Dr João Encarnação (currently at TU Delft) and the distinguished Professor Byron Tapley. Professor Tapley is responsible for the major space missions GRACE and GRACE-FO, which have provided instrumental gravimetric data for the understanding of climate change in recent decades. Rosana Dias and Filipe Alves from the Integrated Micro and Nanotechnologies Research Group coordinated INL and UMinho’s work on the uPGRADE project. The uPGRADE CubeSat is part of the ‘goPortugal – Global Science and Technology Partnerships Portugal’ initiative and is co-financed by the FEDER program, through Compete2020 of the European Union, by the Regional Operational Programs, and by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). During the meeting, the team members reviewed the project’s significant conclusions and hurdles, as well as the next steps and plans for further collaboration, including planning the uPGRADE satellite launch. Both Portugal and Texas team members considered the project a success, and uPGRADE is […]

Using graphene to purify water

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020, only 74% of the global population, equivalent to 5.8 billion people, had access to safely managed and accessed drinking water services. Efforts in water filtration and purification are critical for recovering clean water from wastewater effluents containing different classes of pollutants. Traditional water purification methods encompass a combination of processes, which are implemented at various stages of treatment. However, these methods are not effective in completely eliminating pollutants and contaminants from treated water. INL researchers propose the utilisation of layered graphene materials in membrane production to overcome these limitations, while providing high-level performance. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice, possessing remarkable strength, conductivity, and other exceptional properties, making it a strong candidate for a diverse range of applications. These include potential applications in electronics for high-speed transistors, composite materials with enhanced strength and flexibility, and filtration systems due to its unique structure, robustness and flexibility. In a recently published paper in the Advanced Functional Materials journal, INL researchers from the 2DMD and the Water Quality research groups describe an efficient and environmentally-friendly approach to develop graphene-based filtration membranes with micrometre-size. The developed membranes […]

UT Austin Portugal Conference 2023

UT Austin Portugal Conference 2023Reviewing a 16-year journey with an eye to the future. INL hosted the 2023 edition of the UT Austin Portugal Program Annual Conference. The event – the largest knowledge-sharing and networking initiative of the Program – brought together at INL the UT Austin Portugal community and worldwide renowned experts. The conference fostered lively discussions and interactions that explored the successful journey of the past 16 years and culminated in an ideation exercise focused on the future. “In the dynamic landscape of research and innovation, the UT Austin Portugal Program is now embarking on a new horizon as it completes its third funding cycle. Guided by its 16-year legacy of achievements, this collaboration charts a visionary path, recognizing that true scientific progress requires the need for nanoscience and nanotechnology.” highlighted Paulo Ferreira, UT Austin Portugal Program’s Area Director for Nanotechnologies from INL. The community analysed how the Nanotechnologies Program has evolved through the latest phase and shined a bright light on the near future, as advanced by Brian Korgel, UT Austin Portugal Area Director for Nanotechnologies from UT: “Now we’re thinking about phase four and what should be the evolution of the Program regarding the role of […]

3DSecret project, coordinated by INL, targets metastasis patterns in breast cancer

Cancer remains the second most prevalent cause of mortality in developed countries, only behind cardiovascular disease. Critically, rather than the primary tumour, it is estimated that metastases are responsible for up to 9 in every 10 cancer deaths. The 3DSecret project, coordinated by INL, aims to unravel stochastic patterns that drive metastasis by combining a set of bleeding edge technologies: microfluidics, spectroscopy, nucleic acid sequencing, and artificial intelligence. The project, which unites partners from Portugal, Spain, Italy, and the UK, will use a multifactorial approach to study circulating tumour cells from the blood of breast cancer patients and identify patterns of cancer cell aggressiveness. The project kicked off in January, and a team of researchers from the Medical Devices research group at INL have successfully achieved the growth of cancer spheroids containing hundreds of breast cancer cells, originating from one single cell (figure below). The capacity of studying metastasis at the single-cell level avoids the averaging errors introduced by studying large cell populations and has the potential to allow the identification of cell-specific factors that can lead to the establishment of metastasis. The consortium has also designed a clinical protocol together with 2CA at Braga Hospital, which will allow utilising the […]

INL Colloquium with Andrew deMello, Professor of Biochemical Engineering at ETH Zurich

Today INL hosted another captivating colloquium with Andrew deMello, Professor of Biochemical Engineering in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH Zurich. His work focuses on combining optical microscopy and flow cytometry techniques to enable high-throughput imaging of cells within dynamic environments, offering a wealth of possibilities for biomedical research and diagnostics. At the INL Colloquium, Andrew emphasized that while modern flow cytometers excel at high-speed processing, they often require significant sample and reagent volumes, and they lack spatial resolution within individual cells. In response to these limitations, deMello’s research has revolved around leveraging microfluidic systems for precise manipulation and high-throughput processing of micron-sized objects. He also explores innovative optical detection methods that allow the capture of clear images of swiftly moving objects. Andrew de Mello’s presentation at the INL Colloquium shed light on the cutting-edge technologies and methods that are poised to reshape how we understand and analyse cellular dynamics. The event unfolded at INL’s auditorium with a diverse audience of researchers keen on unravelling the latest developments in the field of microfluidics for blood diagnostics.

World Food Day 2023: INL is working towards a sustainable agri-food system

World Food Day is an annual event that highlights the importance of addressing global hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture. With the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, the need for a robust and sustainable agri-food system has never been more critical. The INL Food Cluster is committed to foster innovation in agriculture and food production. INL researchers are at the forefront of this mission, striving to create a resilient, efficient, and sustainable agri-food system. Their multidisciplinary approach combines nanotechnology, biotechnology, and advanced materials to create solutions that enhance food quality, safety, and availability. This video showcases INL’s nanotechnologies to build a future food system that is sustainable and able to secure healthier, tastier, authentic, and safer foods, optimising and monitoring the processes all throughout the different parts of the whole food value chain.

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