Department of Chemistry, FCT-UNL

LAQV-REQUIMTE - Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry


office 406-B, tel. +351212948300, ext. 10946

short CV / research interests:

I completed my degree in Applied Chemistry (Organic Chemistry specialization) through the Faculty of Science and Technology of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (FCT-UNL) in 2006, during which I performed an internship in the group of J.L. Capelo on the field of Proteomics. Afterwards, I started working as a Marie Curie Fellow within the Research Training Network NASCENT (Nanomaterials for Applications in Sensors, Catalysis and Emerging Technologies), at the Friedrich-Schiller University (Jena, Germany), where I completed my PhD in 2010, under the supervision of Dr. Gerhard Mohr. My research was focused on the development of fluorescent sensors for ions and biomolecules, a field which endured as one of my main research topics until today. In 2011, I returned to my “Alma mater”, as I joined the Supramolecular and Photochemistry group of Professor Fernando Pina  at the Department of Chemistry of the FCT-UNL, working under the supervision of Prof. J.C. Lima. My current research interests are (i) fluorescent sensors, (ii) photochemical release of drugs/biomolecules, (iii) flavylium based multi-state systems and (iv) characterization of Alkynyl-Gold(I) complexes. The methodologies applied for this work include standard organic synthesis procedures, structural characterization of small molecules (NMR, mass, elemental analysis), photochemical characterization (light irradiation), optical characterization via UV-Vis spectroscopy, steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, flash photolysis, HPLC.

Current collaborators include the group of Dr. Pedro Baptista at FCT-UNL , Dr. Piotr J. Cywinski at Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, Germany , and Dr. Laura Rodríguez at the Universitat de Barcelona.

5 selected publications:

(full publication list: RID, RG)

J. Arcau, V. Andermark, E. Aguiló, A. Gandioso, A. Moro, M. Cetina, J.C. Lima, K. Rissanen, I. Ott, L. Rodríguez, “Luminescent alkynyl-gold(i) coumarin derivatives and their biological activity”, Dalton Trans. 2014, 43, 4426. DOI: 10.1039/C3DT52594E

A.J. Moro, A.M. Diniz, V. Petrov, F. Pina, “Chemistry of 7,8-dihydroxy-2-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-1-benzopyrylium. A photochromic system switching from yellow to green”, J. Photochem. Photobiol. A: Chem. 2013, 263, 17, DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2013.04.007

P.J. Cywinski, A.J. Moro, T. Ritschel, N. Hildebrandt, H.-G. Löhmannsröben, "Sensitive and selective fluorescence detection of guanosine nucleotides by nanoparticles conjugated with a naphthyridine receptor", Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 2011, 399, 1215, DOI: 10.1007/s00216-010-4420-2

A.J. Moro, P.J. Cywinski, S. Körsten, Mohr G.J., “ An ATP Fluorescent Chemosensor Based on a Zn(II)-Complexed Dipicolylamine Receptor Coupled with a Naphthalimide Chromophore“, Chem, Commun. 2010, 46, 1085, DOI: 10.1039/b919661g

R. Rial-Otero, R.J. Carreira, F.M. Cordeiro, A.J. Moro, L. Fernandes, I. Moura, J.L. Capelo, “Sonoreactor-based technology for fast high-throughput proteolytic digestion of proteins”, J. Proteome Res. 2007, 6, 909,