Dr. José Malta, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal

Nature-inspired Cellulose Networks for Moisture Sensing

DynaCellCollect Researcher José Malta, was invited to present the results of the DynaCellCollect project at Campus Tecnológico e Nuclear (CTN) of Instituto Superior Técnico, on October 31.

Entitled ‘Nature-inspired Cellulose Networks for Moisture Sensing,’ the session explored how observing natural phenomena—such as those found in plants or certain insects—can inspire new material systems.

Doctor José Malta highlighted the role of cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer in nature, in creating smart and sustainable materials capable of changing shape or colour when exposed to water. Practical applications of these systems in smart textiles, environmental sensors, biomedical devices and soft microrobotics were also discussed.

Thank you to Dr. António Pereira Gonçalves, for the invitation. It was a pleasure to talk about our work.

@31/10/2025

Professor Matteo Gigli, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy

Unlocking the power of nature: from biomass residues to functional materials 

A big thank you to Prof. Matteo Gigli from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice for visiting and sharing his inspiring work on biomass valorization into advanced functional materials!

His seminar took us form chitin-based biomedical films to bioactive packaging polyesters, and lignin valorization via enzymatic treatments, Prof. Gigli's seminar highlighted exciting advances at the intersection of green chemistry and circular innovation.

We’re grateful for the opportunity to learn from his expertise and exchange ideas on the future of sustainable materials.

Thank you to everyone who joined!

@30/07/2025

Professor Fran Giesselmann, University of Stuttgard, Germany

Chitin Nanocrystals from Various Biological Sources and their Chiral Nematic Suspensions in Water

On June 16th, 2025, we had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Fran Giesselmann from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, for a research seminar titled "Chitin Nanocrystals from Various Biological Sources and their Chiral Nematic Suspensions in Water."

In his talk, Professor Giesselmann shared insightful advances on the extraction and characterization of chitin nanocrystals and their ability to form chiral nematic phases in aqueous suspension, highlighting the influence of their biological origin on self-assembly behavior. His work offers valuable perspectives for the development of sustainable nanomaterials with unique optical and structural properties.

@16/06/2025