Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CHEM2NATURE (Enabling precision chemical methodologies applied to natural-based systems for the development of multifunctional biomedical devices)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2017-04-01 al 2018-12-31
Overall, the different tools used in this action (i.e. organization and attendance of different scientific and training events, transfer of knowledge by secondments, etc.) was able to provide UMINHO with improved capacity, knowledge and expertise in the use of chemical strategies to modify biomaterials and to enhance their functionality in the biomedical field. It is seeded a new strategy in the coordinator that will improve its scientific output and translational capacity of the lab developments.
It was also organized 3 symposium in the same theme of the CHEM2NATURE project. One of them was integrated within the 5th PYCheM / 1st EYCheM Meeting organized by the Young Chemists Group from the Portuguese Chemistry Society, in Guimarães, Portugal, between the 26th to the 29th of April 2016. The symposium included 3 keynote presentations. The whole event counted with 215 participants. Additional 2 other symposium were organized in the facilities of the coordinator.
The project also counted with the secondment of staff that contributed to the improvement of the knowledge and expertise of the current UMINHO researchers.
It is important to point out that these improvements can also induce a multi-functionality which are extremely important in the biomedical area due to the necessity to interact with a complex environment, where, for example is important to create materials able to specifically interact with the cellular environment, as for example to induce the differentiation of stem cells, while maintaining the bioactivity of proteins, among many other important features.
The achievement of these scientific objectives has the potential to induce a significant advancement in the capacity of the biomaterials to better interact with the cellular environment. These new biomaterials, with appropriate and specific tuning, can present a much higher performance in contact with cells, tissues and organs, than the ones that are presently being investigated. In this sense, the implantation of these new multi-functional structures can produce a significant impact in the society due to the expected significantly better performance, improving the quality of life of the patients that, in the future, will receive such biomaterials.