12th Early Stage Researchers Workshop in Nanoscience

Title: Tailoring spin waves in 2D magnetic materials

Abstract:

The recent isolation of two-dimensional (2D) magnets offers tantalizing opportunities for spintronics and magnonics at the limit of miniaturization. Among the key advantages of atomically-thin materials are their flexibility, which provides an exciting avenue to control their properties by strain engineering, and the more efficient tuning of their properties with respect to their bulk counterparts. In this presentation we will provide an overview of our recent results on this fascinating topic. First, we will focus on the magnetic properties, magnon dispersion and spin dynamics of the air-stable 2D magnetic semiconductor CrSBr (TC = 146 K) and will investigate their evolution under mechanical strain and Coulomb screening using first-principles. Then, we will introduce novel hybrid molecular/2D heterostructures using sublimable organic molecules to show, as a proof-of-concept, the potential of a chemical approach for magnon spintronics applications.

Biography: 

Dr. José J. Baldoví is the director of the 2D Smart Materials Lab at the ICMol of the University of Valencia, ERC grantee (StG 2021) and distinguished researcher from the Gen-T Plan of Generalitat Valenciana. His research focuses on the design and modelling of smart molecular/2D materials. He completed a BSc in Chemistry (UV, 2009), and joined ICMol to perform an MSc (2012) and a PhD thesis (2016) in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, all of them with extraordinary award. In 2017-19 he was a Marie Curie Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg, Germany. He moved back to ICMol in 2020 after being awarded a CDEIGENT excellence contract.

Title: Milk sEVs as natural nanoparticles in theragnostic

Abstract:

Small Extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are nanometric vesicles (30–150 nm) with the capacity for cell-to-cell communication through the delivery of biological cargo (e.g., proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids) [1]. This natural vesicles are ideal candidates for the development of novel diagnostic imaging agents due to their active role in oncological processes, small size, and biocompatibility. In contrast to non-natural nanometric vehicles, such as liposomes, sEVs present distinct advantages in their use as drug delivery systems (DDS), including their natural roles in diverse biological processes [2] and their ability to naturally deliver the components of their membrane and cytoplasm by merging with the target cell membrane [3]. Among the possible sources, milk sEVs are notable for their easy production and high sample volumes in comparison with culture fluid or blood plasma. With this approximation, a high yield, harmless, and cost-effective production of non-tumor sEVs can be obtained for use as a scalable source [4]. Due to their active role in inflammation and tumor progression, one of the main applications of these natural nanoplatforms is oncology, either as diagnostic tools [5] or as therapeutic systems intended to improve the release of chemotherapeutics in targeted tissues or processes.

References:

[1] Zhang Z, Dombroski JA, King MR. Engineering of exosomes to target cancer metastasis. Cell Mol Bioeng. 2019;13:1–16

[2] De Toro J, Herschlik L, Waldner C, Mongini C. Emerging roles of exosomes in normal and pathological conditions: new insights for diagnosis and therapeutic applications. Front Immunol. 2015;6:203. 12. 

[3]Batrakova EV, Kim MS. Using exosomes, naturally-equipped nanocarriers, for drug delivery. J Control Release. 2015;219:396–405

[4] Santos-Coquillat A, Gonzalez MI, Clemente-Moragon A, Gonzalez-Arjona M, Albaladejo-Garcia V, Peinado H, Munoz J, Ximenez Embun P, Ibanez B, Oliver E, et al. Goat milk exosomes as natural nanoparticles for detecting infammatory processes by optical imaging. Small. 2022;18:e2105421

[5] Santos-Coquillat A, Herreros D, Samaniego R, González M.I.,  Cussó L, Desco M,  Salinas B.

Biography:

Dr. Beatriz Salinas is head of the "Molecular Probes" laboratory of the IiSGM and manager of the Radiopharmacy Core at CNIC. Her line of research focuses on the application of chemical tools (radiochemistry and nanotechnology) to the development of new imaging agents for biomedical imaging. She graduated in Chemistry from the University of Salamanca (2007) with a specialization in radiochemistry and radiopharmacy from the Technical University of Dresden (2007). She carried out PhD studies at UCM and CNIC on the design of magnetic nanoparticles for imaging (2009-2013). She was a postdoctoral researcher (2013-2015) at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York) developing novel radioiodinated tracers for nuclear imaging. In 2016 she joined the Biomedical imaging and instrumentation group (BiiG) at IiSGM and CNIC and since 2018 she is a lecturer at UC3M.