News

Members of the EU-funded project NABIHEAL during the kick-off meeting in Barcelona on 11 January 2023.

New European Project NABIHEAL in biomaterials for complex wound healing

Press Links:

The Horizon Europe project NABIHEAL, coordinated by the Center for Biomedical Research Network (CIBER) at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), was launched on 11-12 January 2023 in Barcelona with the first meeting of the international consortium, formed by 14 partners from 7 countries, including research centers, universities, and private companies. 

New Projects, Breaking News, timeline, Press Review

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Welcome Giovanni Schievano at ICMAB!

Nombre y apellidos: Giovanni Schievano
"Hello! I'm Giovanni, bachelor in Material Science in University of Padova. Here to do the master thesis of NANOMED Erasmus mundus program. Always up for sport, outdoor activities, barbeques and beers. See you around!"

Italy

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Hierarchical Quatsome-RGD Nanoarchitectonic Surfaces for Enhanced Integrin-Mediated Cell Adhesion

Título : Hierarchical Quatsome-RGD Nanoarchitectonic Surfaces for Enhanced Integrin-Mediated Cell Adhesion
Autores: Marc Martínez-Miguel, Miquel Castellote-Borrell, Mariana Köber, Adriana R. Kyvik, Judit Tomsen-Melero, Guillem Vargas-Nadal, Jose Muñoz, Daniel Pulido, Edgar Cristóbal-Lecina, Solène Passemard, Miriam Royo, Marta Mas-Torrent, Jaume Veciana, Marina I. Giannotti, Judith Guasch, Nora Ventosa*, and Imma Ratera*
Citation and DOI:
ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022, 14, 42, 48179–48193
Publication Date:October 17, 2022
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c10497
PlumX: Hierarchical Quatsome-RGD Nanoarchitectonic Surfaces for Enhanced Integrin-Mediated Cell Adhesion
The synthesis and study of the tripeptide Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), the binding site of different extracellular matrix proteins, e.g., fibronectin and vitronectin, has allowed the production of a wide range of cell adhesive surfaces. Although the surface density and spacing of the RGD peptide at the nanoscale have already shown a significant influence on cell adhesion, the impact of its hierarchical nanostructure is still rather unexplored.

Biomaterials

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Alejandro De Sousa with supervisors and PhD Committee | ICMAB, CSIC

Congratulations Dr. J. Alejandro De Sousa, new ICMAB PhD graduate!

Doctor Jesús Alejandro De Sousa Rodríguez from the Molecular Materials for Electronic Devices (eMolMat) group at ICMAB-CSIC, defended his PhD thesis "Stable perchlorinated trityl radicals on surfaces for molecular (opto)electronics and spintronics" on Friday, 16 December 2022 at ICMAB. 

PhD Congrats

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A transversal approach to predict surface charge compensation in piezoelectric force microscopy

Título : A transversal approach to predict surface charge compensation in piezoelectric force microscopy
Autores: HuanTan, Jike Lyu, Yunwei Shenga, Pamela Machado, Tingfeng Song, Akash Bhatnagar, Mariona Coll, Florencio Sánchez, Josep Fontcuberta, Ignasi Fina
Citation and DOI: Applied Surface Science Volume 607, 1 January 2023, 154991
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.154991
PlumX: A transversal approach to predict surface charge compensation in piezoelectric force microscopy
Piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) has demonstrated to be a powerful tool to characterize ferroelectric materials. However, extrinsic effects, most notably, those resulting from surface charges, often mask or mirror genuine piezoelectric response, challenging PFM data understanding. The contribution of surface charges to PFM signal is commonly compensated by using appropriate external bias voltage, which is ad-hoc selected and sample dependent.

Oxides

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Welcome Daniel Martín Jiménez at ICMAB!

Nombre y apellidos: Daniel Martín Jiménez
Hi there! My name is Daniel Martín Jiménez and I am a new postdoc at ICMAB. I am an expert in Scanning Probe Microscopy. In 2017, I obtained my Ph.D. certificate in Madrid, and later I was working at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen (Germany). I like science and literature.

Spain

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Welcome Liher Urrutia at ICMAB!

Nombre y apellidos: Liher Urrutia
HI, I'm Liher Urrutia and I'm 22 years old. I studied Biology in the UAB and now I'm at the master's degree in biochemistry, molecular biology and biomedicine at the UAB. I will do my master's thesis at this center and in the Vall d'Hebron, about the development of murine models for nanoparticle therapy of head and neck cancer.
I'm coming from the Basque Country and I really like travelling and cooking, but I am also a fan of soccer and chess.
Nice to meet you!

Spain

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Welcome Alfonsina Torimtubun at ICMAB!

Nombre y apellidos: Alfonsina Torimtubun
Hi! My name is Alfonsina from Indonesia (I think I am the only Indonesian at ICMAB). I have studied Chemical Engineering degree at University of Brawijaya, Indonesia, then I earned a scholarship to relocate to Taiwan pursuing my Master degree in Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at National Central University, Taiwan. After that, I received a Marie Curie COFUND fellowship to do my doctoral study at Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Spain to study ternary organic solar cells. Nowadays, under the supervision of Dr. Mariano Campoy and Dr. Alejandro R. Goñi, I am going to start my postdoctoral study in the NANOPTO group of ICMAB with the research focus on improving the efficiency of organic solar cells using advanced geometries and artificial intelligence. In my free time, I like exploring new places, connecting with nature, trying different culinary, cooking and singing. See you around!

Indonesia

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Open PhD Position: Wireless electrochemistry for energy storage

Deadline: 2023-01-28

We offer a position for a predoctoral researcher in the framework of the project “Non-contact bipolar electrochemistry and its effects on bioelectrodes, electrochemical energy storage and electrocatalysis” with Nieves Casañ and Xavier Torrelles. 

The candidate will work on the project "Effects of wireless electrochemistry in materails and devices for energy storage" in the groups of Nieves Casañ and Xavier Torrelles. 

PhD Fellows, Breaking News

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Stable nanovesicles formed by intrinsically planar bilayers

Título : Stable nanovesicles formed by intrinsically planar bilayers
Autores: Mariana Köberb, Sílvia Illa-Tuseta, LidiaFerrer-Tasies, Evelyn Moreno-Calvo, Witold I. Tatkiewicz, Natascia Grimaldi, David Piña, Alejandro Pérez Pérez, Vega Lloveras, JoséVidal-Gancedo, Donatella Bulone, Imma Ratera, Jan Skov Pedersen, Dganit Danino, Jaume Veciana, Jordi Faraudo, Nora Ventosa
Citation and DOI:

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science Volume 631, Part A, February 2023, Pages 202-211

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2022.10.104

PlumX: Stable nanovesicles formed by intrinsically planar bilayers
Hypothesis
Quatsome nanovesicles, formed through the self-assembly of cholesterol (CHOL) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in water, have shown long-term stability in terms of size and morphology, while at the same time exhibiting high CHOL-CTAB intermolecular binding energies. We hypothesize that CHOL/CTAB quatsomes are indeed thermodynamically stable nanovesicles, and investigate the mechanism underlying their formation.

Biomaterials

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Assessing the local structure and quantifying defects in Ca4Fe9O17 combining STEM and FAULTS

Título : Assessing the local structure and quantifying defects in Ca4Fe9O17 combining STEM and FAULTS
Autores: Jon Serrano-Sevillano, Judith Oró-Solé, Jaume Gázquez, Carlos Frontera, Ashley P. Black, Montse Casas-Cabanas and M. Rosa Palacín *
Citation and DOI:

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2022,9, 6425-6430

https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI01951E

PlumX: Assessing the local structure and quantifying defects in Ca4Fe9O17 combining STEM and FAULTS
Defects in crystalline structures play a vital role in their properties, so their proper characterization is essential to understanding and improving the behaviour of the materials. In this work, their presence in Ca4Fe9O17 has been analysed. Its structure exhibits three different iron coordination topologies and can be described as layers of corner-sharing FeO5 bipyramids stacked along the c axis together with layers of edge-sharing FeO6 octahedra, both being linked by FeO4 tetrahedra. The relative position of the FeO4 tetrahedra generates three possible stacking directions, which results in stacking faults when more than one is combined.

Energy

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"Dones en Nanociència i Nanotecnologia" Conference AMIT-CAT on 8 Feb 2023

Date : 2023-02-08

Sign up before 9 January 2023 to the III Conference AMIT-CAT on "Women in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology" to be held in Barcelona.

The DONESNANO2023 conference is organized by AMIT-CAT, Association of Women Researchers and Technologists in Catalonia (AMIT-CAT) and is sponsored by the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC).

The conference will take place on Wednesday, 8 February 2023, at the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC) in Barcelona.

DONESNANO2023 will be a meeting point to share experiences and knowledge in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Meetings Participation, Meetings Organization, Breaking News

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Structural and magnetic properties of Ca3 Mn2−x Rux O7 (0x≤0.9)

Título :

Structural and magnetic properties of Ca3Mn2-xRuxO7 (0<x<0.9)

Autores: J. Blasco,*, J. A. Rodríguez-Velamazán, J. L. García-Muñoz, V. Cuartero, S. Lafuerza, and G. Subías
Citation and DOI:

Physical Review B Vol. 106, Iss. 13 — 1 October 2022

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.106.134403

PlumX: Structural and magnetic properties of Ca3Mn2−xRuxO7(0x≤0.9)
We here report on the study of the crystallographic and magnetic properties of layered perovskites Ca3Mn2xRuxO7 (x0.9). We observe a solid solution between Mn and Ru atoms in the whole series and all samples present the same orthorhombic structure independently of the Ru content. Different magnetic structures, depending on the Ru content in the sample, have been determined using neutron powder diffraction. For low Ru doping (x0.1), there is a dominant G-type antiferromagnetic ordering in the perovskite bilayers but, differently from undoped Ca3Mn2O7, the magnetic moments are located on the ab plane.

Oxides

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Top 10 ICMAB collaborators

ICMAB’s most frequent collaborators in 2022 - A year in review

Collaboration is a key part of research. Whether it is collaboration with similar researchers with different skill sets or perspectives, or collaboration with researchers in other fields for an interdisciplinary approach, joining efforts with other institutions is a solid way to improve ICMAB’s work. Here are the institutions that have collaborated more with ICMAB in 2022:

Top Science Results

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Word cloud of all the journals in which we published | ICMAB, CSIC (Made in wordclouds.com)

ICMAB’s 2022 most published journals - A year in review

"It doesn't exist if it is not published", or "Publish or perish". For sure you have heard some of these sentences. Our ICMAB researchers do great science, and also publish the results in specialized scientific journals, to disseminate the research results they obtain.

Top Science Results

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Top 10 ICMAB articles with a higher IF in 2022 - A year in review

The Clarivate journal Impact Factor metric system gives a yearly numeric indicator of how much has an article been cited and how much impact has it had. With a total of 210 of publications with IF (before finishing the year), ICMAB’s average IF has been at 9.00, with an 26.7 % of all publications having an IF higher than 10. These are the ICMAB articles that have had a higher IF during 2022:

Top Science Results

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Luminescence of Macrocyclic Mononuclear DyIII Complexes and Their Immobilization on Functionalized Silicon-Based Surfaces

Título : Luminescence of Macrocyclic Mononuclear DyIII Complexes and Their Immobilization on Functionalized Silicon-Based Surfaces
Autores: Yolimar Gil, Raquel Gimeno-Muñoz, Ricardo Costa de Santana, Núria Aliaga-Alcalde, Pablo Fuentealba, Daniel Aravena, Arántzazu González-Campo*, and Evgenia Spodine*
Citation and DOI:
Inorg. Chem. 2022, 61, 41, 16347–16355
Publication Date:October 5, 2022
 
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c02342
PlumX: Luminescence of Macrocyclic Mononuclear DyIII Complexes and Their Immobilization on Functionalized Silicon-Based Surfaces
Two mononuclear DyIII complexes, [Dy(L1)(NCS)3] (Dy-EDA) and [Dy(L2)(NCS)3] (Dy-DAP), where Ln (n = 1–2) corresponds to a macrocyclic ligand derived from 2,6-pyridinedicarboxaldehyde and ethylenediamine (L1) and 1,3-diaminepropane (L2) were immobilized on functionalized silicon-based surfaces. This was achieved by the microcontact printing (μCP) technique, generating patterns on a functionalized surface via covalent bond formation through the auxiliary −NCS ligands present in the macrocyclic complex species.

Molecular

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Liposomal formulations for treating lysosomal storage disorders

Título : Liposomal formulations for treating lysosomal storage disorders
Autores: Judit Tomsen-Melero, Josep Merlo-Mas, Aida Carreño, Santi Sala, Alba Córdoba, Jaume Veciana, Elisabet González-Mira, Nora Ventosa
Citation and DOI:

Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews Volume 190, November 2022, 114531

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2022.114531

PlumX: Liposomal formulations for treating lysosomal storage disorders
Lysosomal storage disorders (LSD) are a group of rare life-threatening diseases caused by a lysosomal dysfunction, usually due to the lack of a single enzyme required for the metabolism of macromolecules, which leads to a lysosomal accumulation of specific substrates, resulting in severe disease manifestations and early death. There is currently no definitive cure for LSD, and despite the approval of certain therapies, their effectiveness is limited. Therefore, an appropriate nanocarrier could help improve the efficacy of some of these therapies.

Biomaterials

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Our Tió de Nadal | ICMAB, CSIC

Merry Christmas from all of us at ICMAB!

Last Wednesday, 14 December, we celebrated Christmas at ICMAB. The event was in honour of Xavier Granados, Clara Viñas, and Francesc Teixidor, and included some surprises for all the staff! 

The morning started at 10:30 h with a session in which the three ICMAB researchers who retire this year: Xavier Granados, Clara Viñas, and Francesc Teixidor, talked about their first years at ICMAB.

With some questions from the audience, they talked about how and why they arrived at ICMAB, what was research like in the beginning of their research career, and how was, for example, the differences between women in science now and then. 

Commemorations, Meetings Organization, Breaking News, timeline

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Congratulations Dr. Jinghai Li, new ICMAB PhD Graduate!

Doctor Jinghai Li from the Molecular Materials for Electronic Devices (eMolMat) group at ICMAB-CSIC, defended his PhD thesis "Device Performance Optimisation and Photoresponse of Printed Organic Field-Effect Transistors" on Tuesday, 13 December 2022 in an online session. 

PhD Congrats

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Advanced Optical Characterization of PEDOT:PSS by Combining Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Raman Scattering

Título : Advanced Optical Characterization of PEDOT:PSS by Combining Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Raman Scattering
Autores: Minghua Kong, Miquel Garriga, Juan Sebastián Reparaz, and Maria Isabel Alonso*
Citation and DOI:
ACS Omega 2022, 7, 43, 39429–39436
Publication Date:October 18, 2022
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c05945
PlumX: Advanced Optical Characterization of PEDOT:PSS by Combining Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Raman Scattering
The optical properties of various PEDOT:PSS films obtained by drop casting and blade coating are analyzed by variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry in the visible-UV spectral range. We discuss observed differences in the optical spectra due to PSS content and DMSO treatment and correlate them to structural changes extracted from Raman measurements. In particular, we investigate the optical anisotropy of the complex refractive indices which arises from the in-plane arrangement of the PEDOT backbones, giving rise to optically uniaxial behavior with the optic axis perpendicular to the film plane.

Energy

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Book on Advances in Catalysis with Boron clusters | ICMAB, CSIC

New book on advances in catalysis with Boron clusters

On the occasion of the 70th birthday and retirement of ICMAB researchers Francesc Teixidor and Clara Viñas, a special volume of the Advances in Catalysis book series book titled “Advances in the synthesis and catalytic applications of boron clusters: a tribute to the works of Professor Francesc Teixidor and Professor Clara Viñas” has been edited. 

Outreach publications, Published books

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Welcome Pau García Ramón at ICMAB!

Nombre y apellidos: Pau García Ramón
Hi everyone, Here Pau. I studied biology at the UIB and now I am doing a master’s degree in biochemistry, molecular biology and biomedicine at the UAB. I will spend a few months at ICMAB, in the group of Gerard Tobias, to do the final master’s work, where we will evaluate the functioning of nanoparticles in prostate cancer. Some of my hobbies are hiking, going out with friends, playing volleyball, listening to music...
Nice to meet you!

Spain

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Xiao Long | ICMAB, CSIC

Congratulations Dr. Xiao Long, new ICMAB PhD Graduate!

Doctor Xiao Long the Multifunctional Thin Films and Complex Structures (MULFOX) group at ICMAB-CSIC, defended his PhD thesis "Photoresistance and electroresistance in ferroelectric tunnel junctions based on BaTiO3 and Hf0.5Zr0.5O2" on Friday, 25 November 2022 at ICMAB. 

PhD Congrats

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Towards a Simplified Electrochemical Method of Assessing Cations Transference Numbers of Electrolytes

Título : Towards a Simplified Electrochemical Method of Assessing Cations Transference Numbers of Electrolytes
Autores: R. Dugas and A. Ponrouch
Citation and DOI: J. Electrochem. Soc. 169 100518
DOI: 10.1149/1945-7111/ac96ae
PlumX: Towards a Simplified Electrochemical Method of Assessing Cations Transference Numbers of Electrolytes
A simplified method is presented to extract the transport parameters of a liquid electrolyte solution from an experiment in a four-electrode cell. By observing that both polarisation and relaxation tend exponentially to a finite value with the same time constant, it becomes possible to precisely evaluate the limiting voltage attained upon polarisation though no steady state can be reached in practice, and use this input to evaluate the cation transference number as a function of the thermodynamic factor.

Energy

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Bioevaluation of magnetic mesoporous silica rods: cytotoxicity, cell uptake and biodistribution in zebrafish and rodents

Título : Bioevaluation of magnetic mesoporous silica rods: cytotoxicity, cell uptake and biodistribution in zebrafish and rodents
Autores: Jan Grzelak, Mariana Teles, Nerea Roher, Alba Grayston, Anna Rosell, Martí Gich* and Anna Roig
Citation and DOI: RSC Adv., 2022,12, 31878-31888
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA05750F
PlumX: Bioevaluation of magnetic mesoporous silica rods: cytotoxicity, cell uptake and biodistribution in zebrafish and rodents
Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) characterized by large surface area, pore volume, tunable chemistry, and biocompatibility have been widely studied in nanomedicine as imaging and therapeutic carriers. Most of these studies focused on spherical particles. In contrast, mesoporous silica rods (MSR) that are more challenging to prepare have been less investigated in terms of toxicity, cellular uptake, or biodistribution. Interestingly, previous studies showed that silica rods penetrate fibrous tissues or mucus layers more efficiently than their spherical counterparts.

Molecular

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Welcome Huixia at ICMAB!

Nombre y apellidos: Huixia Lu
Hello everyone, I am HUIXIA LU, just joined ICMAB today, I am gonna working with Prof. Jordi Faraudo of ICMAB and Prof. Jordi Marti of UPC for the next two years. Very happy to come back and work on the anti-cancer drugs and membrane proteins using NAMD/GROMACS/AMBER packages to explore molecular mechanisms at atomic level. I like Spanish/Catalan cultures in general, and the food here really captures my heart. The most I like is the muy amable people here. I have had amazing cooperation before, and I am looking forward to continue it. In my free time, I love visiting interesting towns and wondering in the nature (hiking in the mountain, enjoying quality time with my family and friends on the beach, dancing salsa (I am very clumsy, but I like it while holding a beer), etc.). I am fun and easy going and a coffee/cheese cake lover.

China

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CSIC celebrates its 80th anniversary | CSIC

Happy Birthday! CSIC in Catalonia celebrates its 80th anniversary

Título Artículo: Happy Birthday! CSIC in Catalonia celebrates its 80th anniversary
To commemorate this anniversary, a ceremony was held at the CSIC Delegation in Barcelona, with the attendance of the Secretary General for Science Policy, the President of the CSIC, and the Government Delegate in Catalonia.

Appointments

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Ferroelectric (Hf,Zr,La)O2 films

Título : Ferroelectric (Hf,Zr,La)O2 films
Autores: T. Song, S. Estandía, I. Fina, F. Sánchez
Citation and DOI: Applied Materials Today, Volume 29, 2022, 101661, ISSN 2352-9407
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmt.2022.101661
PlumX: Ferroelectric (Hf,Zr,La)O2 films
The impact of La, Zr and Hf content on the crystal phases and ferroelectric and dielectric properties of (Hf,Zr,La)O2 has been determined by investigating epitaxial films. The polarization of La-doped Hf1-xZrxO2 films strongly depends on La and Zr content, with remanent polarization ranging from 0 to about 30 µC/cm2. The optimal La doping in Hf1-xZrxO2 increases from 0% to 2–5% for decreasing the Zr content from 100% (ZrO2) to 0% (HfO2).

Oxides

  • Hits: 483

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