Call 2 · Available Positions

Organic electronics (OEs) are key components in displays, lighting, textiles, and diagnostic testing, among others. Within this, organic thin film transistors (OFETs) together with OE-sensors are crucial elements for the creation of integrated smart systems needed in a wide range of applications, from the creation of new communication technology systems to in-situ sensing methods for environmental monitoring. Importantly, sensors and OFETs are multifunctional and can be part of each other. Curcuminoids (CCMoids) are molecules that present a convenient skeleton, as well as great chemical versatility, which allows the coexistence of different functionalities. Methods for the synthesis of CCMoids are single-pot reactions, with straightforward purifications and remarkable yields. Therefore, different units can be added to the CCMoid backbone depending on its future applicability.

This project aims to use CCMoids as molecular platforms for their straightforward integration on substrates to act as sensors/active components in FETs. The creation of molecular-based transistors, and sensors, shares the need to evaluate molecular integration on support. Examples of the latter, chitosan and graphene-based FETs, are some of the substrates/devices that have gained significant attention due to their convenient attributes such as high sensitivity, low cost, eco-friendly, lightweight and/or flexibility, among others. The acquisition of knowledge of the hybrid interface (CCMoid+substrate), and the creation of devices in simple steps, is our main objective. Our final contribution will relate to their testing, created by the synergy of two ICMAB groups, for forming smart substrates that can be used for various tasks, such as molecular-based electronic transistors, or light sensors. This multidisciplinary project enables innovation and training, as well as providing the opportunity to work in two groups of chemists and physics and collaborate at national and international levels.

Lanthanide-based molecular compounds are ideal for the design of luminescent Single Molecule Magnets (SMMs) with many attractive applications for high-density information storage, quantum computing, luminescence and switching, among others. The chemical platform offers a flexible platform for the design of magneto-optical devices, at the limit of miniaturization. The significant anisotropy of Ln(III) ions makes them excellent candidates for creating mononuclear SMMs exhibiting magnetic bistability and quantum-tunneling effects. Simultaneously, Ln ions present exceptional luminescent properties, with intense, narrow-banded, long-lived emission bands covering the visible and near-infrared spectrum. The construction of bifunctional luminescent SMMs requires a judicious choice of the ligands, to provide a suitable coordination environment around the Ln ion and sensitize its luminescent emission. Recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of coumarin ligands for creating bifunctional Ln-SMMs with slow magnetic relaxation and remarkably high luminescence quantum yields. On the other hand, icosahedral carboranes represent a commercially accessible group of boron-rich clusters exhibiting remarkable stability, high hydrophobicity, and unconventional electronic structure, being considered as inorganic 3D “aromatic” moieties. Recently, dicarbollide Dy SMMs with remarkably high activation energies for spin relaxation reversal have been demonstrated. Besides, the high sensitization capabilities of m-carborane ligands have been recently shown in Tb and Eu metal-organic frameworks. All these promising previous results have prompted us to propose a project combining coumarins and boron clusters with lanthanides. This project aims to synthesize and investigate the magneto-optical properties of innovative bifunctional Ln-SMMs based on carborane and/or coumarin derivatives.

Do you want to contribute to the next generation of energy storage technologies? If so, get ready to enroll in our multidisciplinary team and develop novel sustainable multifunctional nanocomposites for aqueous metal-air batteries. These batteries are one of the most promising sustainable options, but they still suffer of limited efficiency and cyclability. You will develop nanocomposites having specific catalytic activities to boost their efficiencies. During your PhD, you will have access to cutting-edge facilities to develop those nanocomposites by advanced solution-based processes, to fully characterize them and study their activity and mechanisms in the battery. In particular, you will be trained in the hydrothermal synthesis of nanomaterials, and their processing as electrodes. You will also learn lab and synchrotron techniques (including TEM, SEM, XRD, XPS, XAS, etc.) for their structural and chemical characterization, as well as the most established electrochemical techniques for testing the battery performance (such as cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic cycling, impedance spectroscopy).

The research project will be carried out in a multidisciplinary international group under the supervision of Dr. D. Tonti and Dr. P. Guardia. The group has a wide experience in optical and X-ray spectroscopic and imaging techniques, carbons, synthesis of colloidal nanoparticles, and has been working on aqueous, flow and metal-air batteries for nearly 20 years. The group is hosted at the Institute for Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB, CSIC), a multidisciplinary research center focused on cutting-edge research in functional advanced materials in the fields of energy, electronics, and nanomedicine. ICMAB is located at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) campus, surrounded by other distinguished research and technological centers and with access to state-of-the-art equipment and scientific facilities.

Flexible organic electronics are attracting great attention as a potential low-cost technology for large-area and conformable applications such as wearable electronics, e-skin and sensing. In addition, organic electronics is more sustainable than inorganic devices and can help to cut the consumption of critical raw materials and to reduce electronic waste. However, organic flexible devices typically use thin and light plastic substrates and dielectrics, which, once discarded, can eventually lead to environmentally pollutant microplastics. Hence, searching for the implementation of bio-friendly alternatives is a current priority. In this direction, natural polymers such as cellulose-based materials offer the inherent advantages of low cost, lightweight, flexibility, foldability, and recyclability, as well as biodegradability. For instance, it has been demonstrated that cellulose can be used as a substrate and as a solid-state electrolyte in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs).

In this project, we aim to develop novel organic electronic flexible and bio-compatible devices employing cellulose and other natural polymers such as chitosan and silk. This will be realised thanks to a close collaboration between a group expert in organic electronics and OFETs and another one pioneer on the development of bio-polymers such as bacterial cellulose. Following previous methodologies developed by the groups, spheres of cellulose will be implemented in printed OFETs as electrolyte media. The devices will be then applied as electronic transducers for the development of bio-sensors, such as to sense the change of pH in reactions media for catalysis or even in bio-organisms. The fabrication of an array of devices with discrete electrolyte spheres will allow for the simultaneous study of the processes under different experimental conditions. Thus, this project will contribute to the development of novel low-cost and sustainable devices for applications in bio-sensing.

Many applications in fields that range from energy harvesting to information technology would benefit from tight control of heat transport. However, controlling and handling phonons –the quantized vibrations of the crystal lattice, which carry heat in insulating and semiconducting solids– is an inherently challenging task: proof of this fact is that our ability to manipulate thermal fluxes lags far behind our long know-how in controlling electric and electromagnetic fluxes: this is why we live in a world encoded by electrical and optical signals and heat is normally regarded as wasted energy. Yet, finding rational ways to manipulate thermal fluxes could be pivotal in our quest for a sustainable global energy budget given that heat is the most ubiquitous type of energy and is indirectly dissipated in most technologies.

This PhD project takes up the challenge of heat control in solids and its main goal is advancing our knowledge regarding anisotropic thermal transport. It will tackle two classes of anisotropy: (i) natural, built-in anisotropy that results directly from the anisotropy of the crystal structure or morphology; (ii) artificial anisotropy induced by tailor-made nanostructuring. In this latter case, our main case study will be superlattices (SLs), which are known to foster phonon coherence. There, by controlling the SL period, we will be able to simultaneously tune the anisotropy of the system and the cross-over between incoherent/particle-like and coherent/wave-like phonon transport.

Quantum materials are characterized by their ability to exhibit exotic phenomena such as superconductivity, quantum magnetism and topological order, which arise from the intricate interplay of quantum mechanics, electron correlations and crystal structures. Potential applications of quantum materials include quantum computing, spintronics, energy storage, and metrology, to mention a few. Still, understanding their complex phase diagrams is a major challenge and high-quality materials in different structural forms are imperative to explore and exploit their properties in prospective devices. A case in point is the family of nickelates, which show rich phase diagrams with a large variety of correlated (quantum) phases. Over the last years, one of the most impactful discoveries was that of the long-sought high-Tc superconductivity in bulk nickelates (Ruddlesden–Popper phases) and also superconducting phases in thin-film heterostructures based on infinite-layer nickelates (ANiO2). Yet, the interest in nickelates goes beyond, in other systems that display unusual antiferromagnetic orders, charge-order, multiferroic phases or Mott metal-insulator transitions.

In this project, we aim to chart carefully the phase diagram of some related families of quantum materials, including nickelates, in different forms (powders, single crystals, thin films). The purpose is various. First, we aim to identify the right stoichiometry that gives rise to the appearance of the quantum phases in macroscopic samples. Later, we aim at controlling the phase diagram of selected phases by using the experimental knobs provided by hetero-structuring the material in thin-film form (epitaxial strain, confinement, oxygen vacancies). Overall, the project will span over the whole materials process science to uncover the intricate phase diagrams characterizing the quantum materials.

Magnetic nitrides have been much less investigated than oxides and metallic alloys but can display a broad spectrum of appealing properties, with great potential for breakthrough discoveries of new functional materials. For instance, Fe16N2 has a large magnetization and energy product at room temperature and is a potential substitute for rare-earth permanent magnets. In contrast, in other nitrides, there is a strong magnetic frustration: different magnetic interactions can compete down to very low temperatures hindering the appearance of magnetic order. Interestingly, the latter is a promising feature for discovering exotic states such as quantum spin liquids that could enable new concepts in information processing.

The objective of this PhD is to discover new iron-based nitrides displaying sought-after magnetic properties (such as rare-earth free permanent magnets, multiferroics, and spin liquids) to address current challenges in the fields of energy or information technologies. We will explore several approaches to develop the synthesis of multi-cationic magnetic nitrides containing iron. On the one hand, we will use the nitridation of complex ferrites, in which we already have strong expertise. This will allow us to investigate the influence of substitution of oxygen by nitrogen. Since the nitrogen anion is highly polarizable it tends to create covalent bonds that can result in stronger exchange interactions and increased charge hopping which are relevant parameters to control the magnetic response of the system. On the other hand, we will exploit the concept of high entropy ceramics as a way to access new structure types and increase the number of competing magnetic interactions through the increased number of cationic species. The second block of the PhD will be the advanced structural and magnetic characterization of the prepared materials using magnetometers, diffractometers, or electron microscopes, both in-house or at large facilities.

Inexpensive, functional and atomically precise molecules could be the basis for future electronic devices. Photoswitchable systems based on the norbornadiene-quadricyclane or anthracene dimer photoswitch families will be the focus from the molecular perspective. The overarching goal of the project will be the design and synthesis of photo-responsive materials adsorbed onto conductive substrates towards device integration. The preparation of self-assembled monolayers or thin films will be a key step in the fabrication. Large-area molecular junctions will be prepared and electrically characterized under incident light irradiation to tune the material's properties. These hybrid systems can be applied as miniaturized tunable memories or in the energy field by having a better understanding of the charge transport or charge confinement processes. For the electrical characterization, we will use the eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) liquid metal, to top contact the molecular active layer. We select EGaIn for its outstanding electronic conductivity and deformability, which makes it a clear innovation for soft electronic devices.

The candidate will work in collaboration between the eMolMat and the Kasper Moth-Poulsen research groups, two interdisciplinary teams with closely intertwined research interests and with the vision to bring functional molecules towards practical applications. The eMolMat work ranges from fundamental studies to a more applied perspective aiming at developing proof-of-principle devices. Our areas of interest are synthesis of functional molecules, surface self-assembly, crystal engineering, molecular switches, organic field-effect transistors, charge transport and organic-based (bio)-sensors. The Moth-Poulsen group uses synthetic chemistry to address challenges in energy storage, solar energy, sensors and molecular electronics. The group also builds demonstration devices to illustrate the function of the newly developed materials.

Magnons are the fundamental units of magnetic excitations of the electron's spin in magnetic materials and represent a change of 1 unit of spin angular momentum. When a magnon propagates through a magnetic medium, no electrical charge transport is involved and hence no electrical losses take place. This is one of the key advantages of using magnons as information carriers in devices. We aim to explore engineered heterostructures with unconventional merging of functional materials to develop a new generation of sensors and quantum devices. Devices based on the synergetic combination of oxide ferromagnetic (FM), antiferromagnetic (AFM), Ferrimagnetic, or Superconducting (SC) materials will be investigated. In particular, AFM in spin-orbit-torque architectures will boost density and speed in logic and memory applications, due to its intrinsic insensitivity to spurious magnetic fields and THz dynamics. Merging superconductivity and spintronics opens a rich perspective of new physics with the potential to achieve dissipation-less quantum coherent transport in SC spin-based devices. 

Our scope is to study the fundamental physics of these materials with a focus on experimental basic research yet including the perspective on technological relevance. The project combines experimental work, involving preparation and in-depth characterization of complex oxide thin film and heterostructures. Evaluation of the spin-charge current interconversion rates efficiency by DC spin pumping, spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance, and/or second harmonic detection will be performed.

The project aims to become the foundation of a new generation of miniaturized autonomous biosensing systems. It is a project with a high orientation towards technological development, as it targets the development of micro-batteries in silicon substrates and their integration with CMOS electronic elements to show that it is possible to perform autonomous and contactless sensing of ionic conductivity. Moreover, the functionalization of the battery core with smart polymers that respond to changes in the environment (such as pH, ion concentration or glucose content) will allow showing the viability of turning the batteries tailored to the application's self-powered biosensing entities, with potential applications in biological environments of difficult access (inside the human body, inside tissue, inside cells).

The project PI – Neus Sabaté – is the head of the Self-Powered Engineered Devices Group which in the last years has pioneered the development of a printed battery and its operation as a self-powered conductivity sensor. She is also an expert in battery development with different chemistries and supporting materials – with a sustainability approach - and their characterization. She has been PI and coordinator of different regional, national and European proposals related to this field of research: Single-Use Paper Fuel cells (SUPERCELL) ERC Consolidator Grant (2015 – 2020), D2PATCH - Pegat Digital d'un sol ús per a la monitorització de la deshidratació - AGAUR – Programa PRODUCTE 2018 (2019 - 2020), ECOTAGS - Self-triggered ECObattery TAGS for instant and ubiquitous event detection - CERN – ATTRACT projects – (2019 – 2020), POWER-PATCH: Self-powered skin patch for cystic fibrosis diagnosis (ERC-Proof of Concept) (2019-2021), PRONTO: Self-powered conductometer for digitalization of rapid molecular diagnostics (ERC-Proof of Concept) (2023-2024).

The engineering of flexible substrates for acute and chronic implantation in surface (epicortical) or deep (subcortical) locations in the brain is a design principle for neural interfaces that aims to maximize adherence with uneven tissue architectures and minimize tissue response. This research project is truly multidisciplinary and will require new knowledge generation in materials engineering for the fabrication of flexible, soft substrates and their implantation using in vivo disease models established in the Nanomedicine Lab. All of the expertise, infrastructure and instrumentation within the Nanomedicine Lab and the Advanced Electronic Materials & Devices Group at ICN2 will become available to the Doctoral student for the development of the project. Furthermore, training and strong interaction with collaborating scientists and laboratories of diverse expertise (e.g. microfabrication, in vivo disease modelling, pathophysiology) will be greatly encouraged.

The aim of the Nanomedicine Lab is the development of novel, safe and effective therapeutics based on nanoscale components and their combinations, used as either the ‘drug’ or the ‘transport system’. Such components include DNA, RNA, viruses, radionuclides, liposomes, graphene, 2D-heterostructures, carbon nanotubes and other nanomaterials (quantum dots, metallic nanoparticles). All research efforts aim to bridge the gap between fundamental nanomaterial engineering and medicines development towards the realisation of advanced therapeutic modalities.

The Advanced Electronic Materials and Devices Group at ICN2 aims to explore fundamental electronic and electrochemical phenomena of novel materials, with a current particular emphasis on graphene and other 2D materials (e.g. MoS2), and to develop the fabrication and processing technologies necessary to prepare advanced electronic devices and systems based on them. A major focus of our work is applications related to neural interfaces and neuroelectronics.

The following research projects are available at ICN2:

• Emergent Phases in Quantum Oxides (Prof. Gustau Catalan): the approach we are following in our Knowledge Generation Project EPIQO is to exploit the recent advances in the synthesis of single-crystal, freestanding complex oxide membranes, which provide an unprecedented opportunity to study these materials in a nearly-ideal system (free of interactions with the substrate) and expand the range of tools for manipulation, using planar strains or strain gradients beyond those attainable in epitaxial films or single crystals, or expanding the combinatorial approaches that were so far possible by standard fabrication techniques (e.g. combination with semiconductor or polymeric substrates, or Moiré engineering via multiple layer stacking).
• Synthesis of new porous materials via photocleavage of MOFs and COFs (Prof. Daniel Maspoch): study the synthesis of new porous materials via photocleavage of MOFs and COFs. During the PhD, the candidate will acquire great experience in supramolecular and reticular chemistry and nanotechnology (nanochemistry), as well as in the use of a wide range of characterization techniques. Specifically, the PhD will with nanoporous Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), Covalent-Organic Frameworks (COFs), Metal-Organic Polyhedra (MOPs) and Delivery Systems for applications in myriad areas, including Energy, Catalysis, the Environment, Encapsulation, and Life Science.
• Engineering quantum properties of 2D materials by 1D and 2D superlattices (Prof. Aitor Mugarza): fabricate the samples by the bottom-up growth of different types of superlattices, and the transfer of monolayer thick flakes of the 2D material under investigation on top of the superlattice. The characterization of the structural, electronic, and optical properties of these heterostructures will be carried out by combining scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), scanning tunnelling luminescence (STML), tip-enhanced photoluminescence (TEPL), with (micro) angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (-ARPES), and photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM).
• Multiscale Multiscale modelling of electronic, spin and thermal transport in nanostructured materials (Prof.Pablo Ordejón): Modeling transport in nanostructured materials is a challenging endeavour, due to the complexity of the physical processes and the multiple length and time scales involved. Transport of electrons, spins and heat (in the form of lattice vibrations) can now be studied from first principles (in particular, using Density Functional Theory), dealing with the full quantum-mechanical nature of these degrees of freedom. However, this can only be done for systems with a small number of atoms, far from those needed to address real devices. This project will address this issue, to develop theoretical and computational tools to bridge the atomistic description provided by first-principles methods to the meso and microscopic scales.

Photovoltaics (PV) will play a key role in the EU’s ecologic and digital twin transition paving the way towards the decentralization and decarbonisation of energy production. In this respect, conventional PV technologies, such as those based on silicon are well-suited for high-energy production. However, they are limited to use in integrated applications, due to: i) poor performance under non-standard illumination (e.g. indoor and diffuse solar radiation); ii) visual intrusiveness with very rigid aesthetics; iii) low mechanical flexibility difficulty to integrate into different products with varying sizes and shapes; iv) based on scarce materials and/or production processes that are highly energy-intensive and with high material waste. Given these limitations, there is a clear need to develop novel PV technologies which are designed to better adapt to a wide range of applications (Indoor, IOT, building integration car integration, wearables, etc…) that utilise non-conventional solar light spectrum, that blend into their surroundings, which are easy to mechanically integrate and that can be produced with low energy and low material waste.

In this context, the development of a new generation of wide bandgap PV devices based on nanometric thin films technologies with tuneable material properties based on novel Sb(S,Se) and Zn(O,S) based compounds will allow the development of new PV technologies with high grade of integrability. All this paves the way to the ubiquitous integration of PV in countless scenarios and applications not possible for conventional PV such as the powering of small IoT devices, for building/vehicle/urban furniture integrated PV, agrivoltaics, tandem and bifacial PV.

The Healing-Bat European project involves 10 universities, research centres and industrial partners within the European Union aiming to develop and implement self-healing concepts and materials in the key battery components, used in conventional Li-S batteries and extrapolate the designs and concepts to develop a new class of self-healing structural battery based on Li-S. Furthermore, a toolbox, consisting of self-healing materials, relevant sensors and bespoke BMS (battery management system) to maximize the performance of the developed Li-S battery in terms of quality, reliability and lifetime (QRL) and avoid or timely heal occurring damages. Two parameters will be followed to characterize a battery system – namely the state of charge (SoC) and the state of health (SoH). SoC quantifies the present capacity of a cell while SoH is a particular measure of the performance characteristics, such as peak-current delivery, cycle time and capacity degradation. To manage, diagnose and predict a battery’s SoH and SoC, a BMS utilizes a small array of sensors, alongside computational algorithms. The integrated sensors with actuator capabilities can be a very promising solution to mitigating this issue. Moreover, the BMS monitors data from sensors, alongside computational algorithms to observe the events, indicating that degradation starts to occur, as well as trigger self-healing measures.

Within the Healing-Bat project, the Functional Nanomaterials Group (FNG) at IREC, will develop polymer-based self-healing electrolyte and cathode materials. The FNG group at IREC has a long experience in the synthesis of nanostructured materials and their application in different energy-related fields. In the last 5 years, the group has centred its activities on the field of energy storage and particularly on the development of new battery technologies, specifically Li-S batteries. The FNG and IREC are equipped with advanced synthesis labs and characterization tools for the development of the materials and all the tools necessary for the fabrication of batteries and their test.

ALBA is the Spanish synchrotron light source, a large research infrastructure operating over ten beamlines, complementary facilities, and an EM Center (with other institutions). The facility is used by thousands of researchers spanning a wide variety of fields, most in particular Life Sciences. The Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) is a CSIC, IRTA, UAB and UB Consortium. It brings together diverse plant and farm animal research groups and provides a unique ground to explore the genetic and genomic determinants in plants and animals. The research includes basic science, applied studies and Industry collaborations. CRAG is organized into four different Programs, in particular Plant Development and Signal Transduction. The Programs are supported by several state-of-the-art technological platforms, also open to the wider scientific community.

The supervisor/host (Dr D. Roeland Boer, ALBA – XALOC beamline responsible and MX group leader). The group of Roeland Boer has unravelled the design principles of the auxin response system in plants (Nature Plants, 2020) using MX and SAXS and is now expanding using cryo-EM. The group is also working on infectious diseases, and pharmaceutical targets, and collaborates with Industry. The group runs the XALOC beamline servicing both academia and pharma and is setting up a fragment screening platform for drug discovery. The co-supervisor's work (Dr Ana Caño-Delgado, CRAG-UAB – CRAG Distinguished Researcher) has attracted much attention after her pioneering research on the role of plant brassinosteroid receptors to respond to climate stress. She has opened a new research line aiming at the genetic manipulation of agriculturally relevant plants to confer increased drought resistance without compromising growth. Her group of 10 people is rapidly growing and employs a combination of molecular, genetic, biochemical, and computational approaches using Arabidopsis thaliana, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Sorghum bicolour, among others.

The candidate will perform studies using biophysical techniques (Fluorescence anisotropy, SEC) at the ALBA bio lab and employ structural biology techniques (single particle EM, SAXS, crystallography) at XALOC, NCD and JEMCA-EM-01. The genetically modified plants will be prepared in the CRAG lab.

Climate change and environmental degradation are current threats to Europe and the world. To overcome these challenges, the European Green Deal aims for a more modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy. In this respect, in the last two decades, great worldwide efforts have been devoted to the renewable energy-based processes of production and storage of the so-called green hydrogen. Therefore, ideal candidates for the next generation of hydrogen production processes are those able to generate hydrogen from water and biomass-derived sources, such as bio-alcohols and derived compounds. These challenges motivate the use of catalysis to improve current and future routes of green hydrogen production and purification. Well-known steam and oxidative steam reforming processes have been developed, although still some issues need to be improved, in particular catalyst stability.

In this project, we will prepare and characterize a new generation of catalysts that will be employed for hydrogen production and purification.
ALBA Synchrotron Light Source is one of the most advanced large research infrastructures in Spain, operating different beamlines and complementary facilities like the JEMCA centre, a state-of-the-art TEM platform in partnership with other institutions. The supervisor/host from ALBA, Dr. Carlos Escudero, is a beamline scientist at NOTOS beamline, devoted to X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Powder Diffraction. He has an extensive experience in catalyst characterization with synchrotron-based techniques.

The Institute of Energy Technologies from the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) is oriented towards the preparation, characterization, and evaluation of heterogeneous catalysts for fundamental research and industrial application. The co-supervisor from UPC, Prof. Jordi Llorca, is a worldwide expert on the development of highly efficient catalysts based on in situ and operating spectroscopy and microscopy methods at the atomic level addressed to unravel the nature of the catalytic active sites. The group also works in catalytic reaction engineering and 3D printing of catalysts.

The selected candidate will prepare different catalytic systems by combining amorphous and crystalline phases at the interface aimed at creating unprecedented active sites with singular properties. In addition, a multimodal structural and spectroscopic characterization method will be applied, including techniques such as XAFS/EXAFS, powder diffraction (PD), and TEM both under vacuum and under more relevant environmental conditions. This project has many potential industrial applications and, therefore, this program pretends to leverage the obtained results by fostering industrial applications.

This proposal explores the use of nanovesicles as a target in point-of-care devices for the early diagnosis of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Three major technological challenges, that have been identified as technology bottlenecks for the extensive use of exosomes as biomarkers, will be addressed.

The first one addresses the specificity in the isolation of exosomes from complex biological samples. To achieve that, a rational study of the biomolecules on the membrane of the exosomes will be performed, followed by their use for the isolation by novel solid-phase preconcentration strategies and advanced materials including magnetic molecularly imprinted polymeric nanoparticles. The second one addresses the increase in sensitivity using strategies for the simultaneous amplification and tagging of overexpressed transcripts and microRNA in exosomes. Finally, analytical simplification will be implemented to minimize pipetting, washing steps and manipulation of reagents to provide analytical tools requiring minimal training for final users, but without any loss in the analytical performance. Electrochemical biosensing will be considered a prominent point-of-care technology, which can operate under minimal technical requirements in scarce-resource settings. The application that is envisaged is related to healthcare including targets affecting global health in which the exosomes as novel biomarkers can provide profound information on the disease, following up and treatment, taking as a reference of non-communicable and infectious diseases.

The research group is led by Prof. M. Isabel Pividori (https://isabelpividori.net), who has been actively involved in electrochemical biosensing devices, with over 150 publications in the field. The projects funded by various programs have facilitated the development of technologies aimed at simplifying biosensing procedures and enhancing analytical signals through the integration of nanomaterials. Dr. Pividori is also a co-founder of a start-up. She has participated in several technology transfer programs and holds patents, one of which is being exploited by the start-up.

The project tackles the application of electrochemical sensors as point-of-care (PoC) devices for the detection of disease-related biomarkers, focusing on those electroactive, and thus detectable with simple, sensitive, reusable electrochemical sensors. For example, homovanillic acid (HVA), vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) are three electroactive cancer biomarkers associated with neuroblastoma and carcinoid tumours. Although their single detection has been described, it is their combination with other markers, such as creatinine, that makes them significant. In this direction, the project proposes their simultaneous detection by the development of a cutting-edge multisensor array (e-tongue) based on voltammetric sensors modified by custom synthesised molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as the recognition element. The simultaneous detection of such or other biomarkers, which has been attempted but not achieved, holds great potential to revolutionise cancer diagnostics since individual detection does not provide a comprehensive understanding of the disease's progression or response to treatment.

The Sensors and Biosensors Group (GSB) from the Chemistry Dept. of the UAB, is a leading research group in the field of biosensors, with a highly applied nature in clinical, food safety, security and environmental applications. GSB specialises in the design and implementation of new sensing schemes and strategies directed to simplify chemical and biochemical analysis. The accumulated interdisciplinary know-how and the technological facilities available in both the group and the UAB sphere allow the group to move easily from the conceptual design to the fabrication of integrated (bio)analytical instruments.

The project aims to contribute to the development of innovative solutions for improved biomedical diagnostics and treatments by joining the advantages of miniaturization of nanomaterials synthetic processes and biochemical analyses, with the unique characteristics materials at the nanoscale, which play a crucial role in the advancement of Point-of-Care (POC) devices in healthcare.

Microreactors offer numerous benefits that significantly enhance the efficiency and scalability of nanomaterial synthesis processes, particularly for biomedical applications. Therefore, we focus on synthesizing functionalized nanomaterials tailored specifically for biomedical applications (such as Carbon Dots and Gold Nanoparticles modified with proteins, polymers or chromophores) within microreactors manufactured by Low temperature cofired (LTCC) ceramics microfabrication technology. The objective is to address key challenges in biomedical diagnostics and treatment, such as selective sensing of biomarkers and efficient delivery of therapeutic agents.
Finally, microfluidic Point of Care (POC) devices will be developed using polymer microfabrication technology based on the multilayer approach to address specific biomedical diagnostics using the newly synthesised nanomaterials and providing rapid and on-site analysis with minimal sample volumes.

The Sensors and Biosensors Group (GSB) from the Chemistry Dept. of the UAB, is a leading research group in the field of biosensors with application in clinical, food safety, security and environmental applications. GSB specializes in the design and implementation of new sensing schemes and strategies directed to simplify chemical and biochemical analysis. The accumulated interdisciplinary know-how and the technological facilities available in both the group and the UAB establishment allow the group to move easily from the conceptual design to the fabrication of integrated (bio)analytical instruments.

The detection of GWs from a black hole binary merger by LIGO in 2015 started a new era in the exploration of the universe. The addition of the Virgo antenna into the network led in 2017 to the detection of a neutron star binary merger that could be followed in electromagnetic signals, representing the beginning of multi-messenger astronomy. At the moment, LIGO and Virgo observation plans extend until 2030 with upgraded detectors. The Einstein Telescope (ET) project, a third-generation experiment to be realized in Europe, has been included in the 2021 EU ESFRI roadmap and has recently entered into the preparatory phase. IFAE has taken significant responsibilities related to the control of the stray light inside Virgo and ET. The group plays an important role in the ongoing commissioning, operations and upgrade of the Virgo interferometer. For the latter, IFAE is leading the construction of novel baffles instrumented with photo sensors for Virgo. In addition, IFAE is deeply involved in the detector R&D and optical simulation activities of ET, and in ET-pathfinders. IFAE works with CERN in the design of the ET vacuum pipes and is leading the conceptual design of a novel pre-alignment system inside the optical cavities. Finally, a close collaboration has been established with LIGO institutions, in particular with Caltech in the US.

In the physics analysis, the IFAE research program, using LIGO/Virgo data, includes topics related to: the search for compact binary coalescence events and their mass/spin spectrum determination; search for primordial black holes as candidates for dark matter; searches for axion-like signals in continuous GW signals; test of exotic models for Gravity beyond General Relativity; determination of the universe expansion rate using GWs; and using GWs as probes for inflation and phase transitions in the early universe. The work is naturally extended to physics prospects for ET.

The detection of GWs from a black hole binary merger by LIGO in 2015 started a new era in the exploration of the universe. The addition of the Virgo antenna into the network led in 2017 to the detection of a neutron star binary merger that could be followed in electromagnetic signals, representing the beginning of multi-messenger astronomy. At the moment, LIGO and Virgo observation plans extend until 2030 with upgraded detectors. The Einstein Telescope (ET) project, a third-generation experiment to be realized in Europe, has been included in the 2021 EU ESFRI roadmap and has recently entered into the preparatory phase. IFAE has taken significant responsibilities related to the control of the stray light inside Virgo and ET. The group plays an important role in the ongoing commissioning, operations and upgrade of the Virgo interferometer. For the latter, IFAE is leading the construction of novel baffles instrumented with photo sensors for Virgo. In addition, IFAE is deeply involved in the detector R&D and optical simulation activities of ET, and in ET-pathfinders. IFAE works with CERN in the design of the ET vacuum pipes and is leading the conceptual design of a novel pre-alignment system inside the optical cavities. Finally, a close collaboration has been established with LIGO institutions, in particular with Caltech in the US.

In the physics analysis, the IFAE research program, using LIGO/Virgo data, includes topics related to: the search for compact binary coalescence events and their mass/spin spectrum determination; search for primordial black holes as candidates for dark matter; searches for axion-like signals in continuous GW signals; test of exotic models for Gravity beyond General Relativity; determination of the universe expansion rate using GWs; and using GWs as probes for inflation and phase transitions in the early universe. The work is naturally extended to physics prospects for ET.