Molecular Physical-Chemistry Research and Development Unit (QFM-UC)

Cancer is the second cause of death worldwide, early cancer diagnosis being paramount for increasing survival rates. This project aims at developing diagnostic methods based on vibrational spectroscopies, state-of-the-art techniques for obtaining high resolution information at the cellular/tissue level, particularly useful for histopatological analysis and differentiation between healthy and early-state diseased physiological conditions. The project aims at contributing to the development of accurate and non-invasive techniques with high sensitivity and specificity for an effective molecular diagnostic of cancer and pre-cancer lesions, which is still an unmet clinical need.

This project studies Pt and Pd polynuclear complexes with aliphatic amines particularly regarding: (i) cellular and tissue bioavailability; (ii) cyto- and histological effects; (iii) induced metabolic changes.

Several methodologies are chosen: (i) Vibrational spectroscopy (Raman, FTIR, Inelastic Neutron Scattering (INS)) and synchrotron-based Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS); (ii) quantification of the intracellular complex concentration by LC-MS/MS; (iii) Raman microspectroscopy and synchrotron radiation infrared microspectroscopy (SR-IRMS); (iv) 1H High Resolution Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (HRMAS-NMR) spectroscopy; (v) Ex vivo and in vivo assays for pre-clinical evaluation.

This project aims to study plants from the Central Region of Portugal, particularly from the Portuguese coastline (e.g. salicornia, sarcorcornia, corema album) regarding their potential chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic activities, with a view to develop novel functional food ingredients in collaboration with the food industry.

Complementary Raman and infrared techniques are used, allowing to obtain unique vibrational signatures for each part of the plants – leaves and berries (and within the latter pulp, seed and skin). Distinct chemical compositions are thus revealed, which will help to understand the measured biological properties (e.g. antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory).

The pine wood nematode (PWN) is a major threat to the conifer forests. One of the most susceptible species to the PWN is the P. pinaster (maritime pine) whereas other Pinus spp., such as P. pinea and P. halepensis are less, or even non-susceptible to the PWN. However, the reasons for these differences are not well understood. The PineWALL project focus on how the pine cell wall (CW) composition and structure can influence the host susceptibility to PWN infection under a climate change scenario. Our main premise is that CW composition and structure are associated to varying degrees of susceptibility to PWD. Moreover, we need to understand the effects of varying environmental conditions on host susceptibility/resistance to PWN infection.

Human skeleton specimens as often found in archaeological and forensic sites, but their inequivocal identification is impossible at present due to heat-induced changes during the burning process. The aim of this project is the evaluation of these variations (both dimensional and chemical), through spectroscopic techniques – infrared, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering.

These studies are performed resorting to the colection of burned human skeletons hosted at the Anthropology Lab of the Life Sciences Dep, Fac, Science and Technology, Univ. Coimbra (Colection of Identified Skeletons XXI Century).

The obtained results are of the utmost relevance for forensic, bioanthropologic and archaeologic investigations.

Within the thematic line “Education, History & Philosophy of Science” school sciences research guided by principles of education for sustainability and by concepts of scientific literacy are developed and integrated.