Carina Crucho

assistant researcher

iBB Group: bsirg

carina.crucho@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

Expertise: Organic Synthesis, Nanomaterials, Polymeric Nanoparticles, Silica Nanoparticles, Carbohydrates

Short Bio:

I hold a degree in Applied Chemistry (2007) and a master's degree in Bioorganic Chemistry (2010), both from NOVA, which have provided me with a solid foundation in the field of chemistry. Before embarking on my PhD journey, I taught organic chemistry at Egas Moniz School of Health & Science and engaged in interdisciplinary research on Catostylus Tagi, a jellyfish species found in the Tagus River. In 2015, I completed my PhD in Chemistry at NOVA. My work focused on the synthesis of polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery. After my PhD I moved to the Optical & Multifunctional Materials at IST and between 2015-2018, I conducted postdoctoral research aiming to complement my background with know-how and expertise in silica nanoparticles for theranostics. During this time, I was awarded an individual postdoctoral grant by FCT, and the L'Oréal Award for Women in Science prize designed to support and recognise outstanding young women scientists at the beginning of their research career. Since October 2018, I am a Junior Researcher at the Biospectroscopy and Interfaces Research Group in iBB - IST focusing on the design of smart silica nanomaterials.

Research Focus:

I am an organic chemist performing creative and imaginative research in the field of nanotechnology, particularly in the synthesis and development of nanomaterials, focusing on the design of smart nanomaterials.

T-WRAP – Thermo-Wrap of Viral Vaccines: a supramolecular chemistry approach.Funding Source: IBB – funded internal research project

SCOVI – Smart Silica Cloaking of Oncolytic Viruses
Funding Source: LPCC-NRS/ TERRY FOX 2020/21

DEFENSE – DElayed FluorescencE Nanomaterials for imaging and SEnsing
Funding Source: FCT-Portugal. Team member. PTDC/QUI-QFI/32007/2017

Crucho, C.I.C*; Barros, M.T., (2023). Sweet as sucrose. Nat. Chem., 15, 154.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-022-01113-w

Lima, M., Avó, J., Berberan-Santos, M. N., Crucho, C.I.C*, (2022). pH-responsive Silica Coatings: A Generic Approach for Smart Protection of Colloidal Nanoparticles. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 5(7), 9460-9468. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c01723

Crucho, C.I.C., Avó, J.*, Nobuyasu, R., Pinto, S., Fernandes, F., Lima, J. C., Berberan-Santos, M. N., Dias, F. B., (2020). Silica nanoparticles with thermally activated delayed fluorescence for live cell imaging, Materials science & engineering. C, 109, 110528. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2019.110528

Crucho, C.I.C., Baleizão, C.*, Farinha, J. P.*, (2017). Functional group coverage and conversion quantification in nanostructured silica by 1H-NMR, Analytical Chemistry, 89, 681-687. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.6b03117

Crucho, C.I.C*.; Barros, M.T. (2014) Surfactant-free polymeric nanoparticles composed of PEG, cholic acid and a sucrose moiety, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2, 3946-3955. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C3TB21632B

iBB People

Carina Crucho