Mano, F, Aroso I, Barreiros S, Borges JP, Reis R, Duarte AR, Paiva A.
2015.
Production of Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) Fibers with Encapsulated Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent (NADES) Using Electrospinning. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 3(10):2504–2509.
AbstractFunctionalized electrospun fibers are of great interest for biomedical applications such as in the design of drug delivery systems. Nevertheless, in some cases the molecules of interest have poor solubility in water or have high melting temperatures. These drawbacks can be overcome using deep eutectic solvents. In this work, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), a common biodegradable biopolymer, was used to produce new functionalized fibers with the eutectic mixture choline chloride:citric acid in a molar ratio of (1:1) ChCl:CA (1:1), which was used as a model system. Fibers were produced from an aqueous solution with 7.8% (w/v) and 9.8% (w/v) of 95% hydrolyzed PVA and a 2% (v/v) of ChCl:CA (1:1). Smooth, uniform fibers with an average diameter of 0.4 μm were obtained with a content of 19.8 wt % of ChCl:CA (1:1) encapsulated.
Aquino, AS, Bernard FL, Borges JV, Mafra L, Dalla Vecchia F, Vieira MO, Ligabue R, Seferin M, Chaban VV, Cabrita EJ, Einloft S.
2015.
Rationalizing the role of the anion in CO2 capture and conversion using imidazolium-based ionic liquid modified mesoporous silica. RSC Advances. 5:64220-64227., Number {79}, {THOMAS GRAHAM HOUSE, SCIENCE PARK, MILTON RD, CAMBRIDGE CB4 0WF, CAMBS, ENGLAND}: {ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY}
AbstractCovalently supported ionic liquids in mesoporous materials were prepared by grafting 1-methyl-3-(3-trimethoxysylilpropyl)imidazolium chloride in MCM-41. Subsequently, the {[}Cl-] anion was changed to {[}BF4-], {[}PF6-] or {[}Tf2N-]. These materials that present an advantageous combination of the properties of mesoporous solid materials and ionic liquids were evaluated for CO2 sorption as well as catalysts for CO2 conversion into cyclic carbonate using propylene oxide. The material with the {[}Cl-] anion had the best performance for both CO2 sorption and conversion. A CO2 sorption of 11 w/w% on the adsorbent was achieved and the cycloaddition reaction exhibited a conversion of 67% with 82% selectivity with the catalyst remaining active after 5 cycles, proving that the same sorbent/catalyst setup can be used for both CO2 capture and conversion. Based on the experimental data and electronic-structure numerical simulations, we have hypothesized two major reasons why chloride out performs other anions when adsorbed on MCM-41 unlike unsupported ionic liquids.
Araújo, N.
2015.
A reindustrialização de Portugal num contexto de crise e hegemonia industrial dos países emergentes. IET Working Papers Series. 2015(3):20.
AbstractThis working paper aimed to understand the importance and the role of Industry for the Portuguese' economic recovery, integrated in a context of progressive deindustrialisation over the last few years, and simultaneously an impressive growth and domain over some production sectors by emergent countries, associated with the 2008 crisis. We intended to analyse this problematic in both national and European levels, bringing into context the national industry, identifying the causes for the progressive abandon of the industry and its consequences. To identify the main stakeholders and their role on the reindustrialization process. To identify policies and instruments contributing to the promotion of this reindustrialisation and main conclusions.
Reed, P, Atilano ML, Alves R, Hoiczyk E, Sher X, Reichmann NT, Pereira PM, Roemer T, Filipe SR, Pereira-Leal JB, Ligoxygakis P, Pinho MG.
2015.
Staphylococcus aureus survives with a minimal peptidoglycan synthesis machinery but sacrifices virulence and antibiotic resistance. PLoS Pathogens. 11:e1004891.
Nascimento, SMC, Linhares JMM, Joao CAR, Amano K, Montagner C, Melo MJ, Vilarigues M.
2015.
Estimating the Colors of Paintings. Computational Color Imaging, Cciw 2015. 9016(
Tremeau, A., Schettini, R., Tominaga, S., Eds.).:236-242.
Abstractn/a
Fundo, JF, Amaro AL, Madureira AR, Carvalho A, Feio G, Silva CLM, Quintas MAC.
2015.
Fresh-cut melon quality during storage: An NMR study of water transverse relaxation time. Journal of Food Engineering. 167:71-76.
AbstractMolecular mobility is a fundamental parameter which reflects the dynamic properties of food components and contributes to food degradation reactions comprehension. Fresh-cut fruits have become an important food market segment. However, processing of fruits promotes faster its physiological deterioration, biochemical changes and microbial degradation. The purpose of this work was to use NMR methodology as a tool to evaluate fresh-cut fruit quality, during storage at refrigerated conditions. The fresh-cut melon transverse relaxation time (T-2) was measured for a period of 7 days of storage at 5 degrees C. The relationship between the obtained values, microstructure and quality parameters was investigated. In general, results show the existence of one class of water fluidity in the system, the one present in cells after processing. T-2, a measure of this fluidity, is affected by the processing and storage time. Also, it is possible to find a close relationships between T-2 and quality parameters of total colour difference (TCD), firmness and a(w). As T-2 increases TCD also increases, while firmness and aw decrease. These results highlight the usefulness of NMR methodology application in food science. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Kempener, R, Assoumou E, Chiodi A, Ciorba U, Gaeta M, Gielen D, Hamasaki H, Kanudia A, Kober T, Labriet M, Maïzi N, ÓGallachóir B, Saygin D, Seixas J, Wagner N, Wright E.
2015.
A Global Renewable Energy Roadmap: Comparing Energy Systems Models with IRENA’s REmap 2030 Project. Informing Energy and Climate Policies Using Energy Systems Models. 30(
George Giannakidis, Labriet, Maryse, Brian ÓGallachóir, GianCarlo Tosato, Eds.).:43-67.: Springer International Publishing
Abstractn/a
Azevedo, G, Domingues B, Abreu H, Sousa-Pinto I, Feio G, Hilliou L.
2015.
Impact of cultivation of Mastocarpus stellatus in IMTA on the seaweeds chemistry and hybrid carrageenan properties. Carbohydr Polym. 116:140-8.
AbstractThe biomass yield potential of Mastocarpus stellatus, a commercially attractive carrageenophyte for foods and pharmaceutics, was investigated by cultivating the seaweeds in the nutrient-rich outflow of a commercial fish farm. Results from two consecutive 4 weeks experiments indicate that the cultivation of this seaweed produces a mean biomass of 21 to 40.6 gDW m(-2) day(-1) depending on the time of the experiment. DRIFT and CP-MAS NMR analyses of seaweeds indicate that cultivation during May affected quantitatively the seaweeds chemistry, and thus the chemical and gelling properties of native extracts of kappa/iota-hybrid carrageenan (KI). Overall, algal growth leads to the production of more sulphated KI, the percentage increase varying between 27% and 44% for the two experiments. However, alkali treatment of seaweeds before extraction reduces the variations in gelling properties of KI induced by the algal growth. This study demonstrates the capacity of growing M. stellatus in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system for the sustainable production of high value polysaccharides.
Alves, BM, Borlido L, Rosa SASL, Silva MFF, Aires-Barros MR, Roque ACA, Azevedo AM.
2015.
Purification of human antibodies from animal cell cultures using gum arabic coated magnetic particles. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology. 90:838–846., Number 5: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
AbstractBACKGROUND The emergence of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) as new biopharmaceutical products requires the development of new purification methods that are not only effective but are able to reduce production costs. To address the problematic recovery of mAbs, gum arabic (GA) coated magnetic particles (MPs) were used for the purification of human antibodies from animal cells supernatants. RESULTS MPs were synthesized via co-precipitation and exhibited a spherical-like physical aspect, with an average hydrodynamic diameter of 473 nm and a zeta potential of –26 mV. The adsorption and elution of IgG on these adsorbents was thoroughly studied. Adsorption of human IgG was enhanced at pH 6, for which a qmax of 244 mg IgG g−1 MPs and Kd of 25 mg L−1 were obtained. Increasing salt concentrations at a basic pH (1 mol L−1 NaCl at pH 11) were found to improve the elution of bound IgG. The MPs were challenged with an artificial protein mixture containing human IgG, albumin, insulin and apo-transferrin. An overall yield of 84% was achieved, retrieving 92% of bound IgG. CONCLUSIONS MPs were successfully used for the capture of monoclonal antibodies from two distinct mammalian cell cultures, a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and a hybridoma cell culture supernatants. The elution yields were high, ranging between 84% and 94%, with overall yields ranging from 72% to 88%. Final purities of 85% were reached for hybridoma cell supernatants. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry