Vasco Bonifácio

Vasco D. B. Bonifácio

assistant professor

AE14-EB30-86A6

Web of Science profile

iBB Group: bsirg

vasco.bonifacio@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

Expertise: Organic synthesis, Dendrimer synthesis, Mechanosynthesis, Green Chemistry, Nanotherapeutics

Short Bio:

Vasco Bonifácio research is focused in the design and green synthesis of biodendrimers for nanotheranostics. Recent work showed that polyurea core-shell polycationic dendrimers (PURE-OEI) are potent antimicrobials againts both MDR Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. Polyurea oxide dendrimers (PURO), being nitric oxide releasing agents, are osteogenic and imunomodulatory dendrimers with great potential in regenerative medicine and cancer therapeutics. Vasco Bonifácio is an expert in mechanochemistry, and mechanochemical-assisted synthesis is being explored in differents applications such as catalysis, energy storage, sensors, bioseparation and nanotherarapeutics.

Research Focus:

Dendrimers, Nanotherapeutics, Regenerative Medicine, Biomaterials, Green Chemistry, Mechanochemistry

Just in time dendrimers (PTDC/CTM/099452/2008)
Dendrimer-based report-eradication antineoplasic machines (PTDC/MEC-ONC/29327/2017)

Urease next-generation inhibition therapy (PTDC/MED-QUI/3542/2020)

Tackling multiple myeloma by osteoblast cross-regulation (AMGEN funding)

Cystathionine-β-synthase inhibition as a therapeutic approach in colorectal and lung cancer (Merck KGaA Germany funding)

Restani, R.B., Morgado, P.I., Ribeiro, M.P., Correia, I.J., Aguiar-Ricardo, A., Bonifácio, V.D.B. (2012). Biocompatible polyurea dendrimers with pH-dependent fluorescence. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 51, 5162-5165. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201200362

Cruz, A., Mota, P., Ramos, C., Pires, R.F., Mendes, C., Pais, J., Nunes, S.C., Bonifácio, V.D.B., Serpa, J. (2020). Polyurea dendrimer folate-targeted nanodelivery of L-buthionine sulfoximine as a tool to tackle ovarian cancer chemoresistance. Antioxidants, 9, 133. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9020133

Pires, R.F., Conde, J., Bonifácio, V.D.B. (2021). Osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells by the single action of luminescent polyurea oxide biodendrimers. ACS Appl. Bio Mater., 3, 9101-9108. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.0c01315

Pinto,S.N., Mil-Homens, D., Pires, R.F., Alves, M.M., Serafim, G., Martinho, N., Melo, M., Fialho, A.M., Bonifácio, V.D.B. (2022). Core-shell polycationic polyurea pharmadendrimers: New-generation of sustainable broad-spectrum antibiotics and antifungals. Biomat. Sci., 10, 5197-5207. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2BM00679K

Furtado, A., Viveiros, R., Bonifácio, V.D.B., Melo, A., Casimiro, T. (2023). Biomolecular Fishing: Design, green synthesis and performance of L-leucine-molecularly imprinted polymers. ACS Omega, 8(10), 9179–9186. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c05714.

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Vasco D. B. Bonifácio