(Tuesday’s/9.30H/CEB anfitheatre)
Sofia Gabriel Meirinho | Development of a novel aptamer-based multi-sensor device for the detection of osteopontin
The development of aptamer-based electrochemical biosensors as an emerging technology has made the detection of small and macromolecular analytes easier, faster, and more suited for early detection of protein biomarkers. Biomarkers are produced by body organs or tumors and measure antigens on cell surfaces. When detected in high amounts in blood, they can be suggestive of tumor activity. These markers are more often used to evaluate treatment effects or to assess the potential for metastatic disease in patients with established disease. Osteopontin is a protein found in all body fluids, and constitutes a possible biomarker because its overexpression has been related with breast cancer evolution and metastasis. Nowadays, biomarkers are commonly used for the development of diagnostic methods, allowing the detection of the disease in its initial stages. Therefore, the aim of this work is to develop a biorecognition element (aptamer) with high affinity and sensitivity for OPN, for further use in the production of an electrochemical biosensor. Afterwards, the device will be designed, characterized and validated.
Gabriel Pinto Mendes | Magnetotransfection – Exploring new ways to improve Clostridium pasteurianum for better butanol yield
Biodiesel production generates 10% (wt) glycerol and its production reached 7.8 million tons in 2008. Conventional use of glycerol cannot accommodate for this excess. Biologically derived butanol and longer chain alcohols (e.g. pentanol) are presently gaining attention, due to the increasing use of renewables for production of chemicals and biofuels. Clostridium pasteurianum, a strain capable of economic production of butanol from crude glycerol, may increase the butanol yield but is hard to transform even with electroporation. We propose to explore a new method to increase the transformation efficiency using functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). This method will also be tested with E. coli and B. subtilis. This presentation will focus on the synthesis, characterization and functionalization of MNPs of different sizes and shapes for magneto-transformation and an overall perspective of the research plan will also be provided.
