Acetic acid is a major inhibitor of yeast cell growth in industrial settings and a key determinant of host colonization by pathogenic yeasts. Despite the importance of the understanding of the mechanisms underlying yeast response and tolerance to acetic acid and the numerous studies dedicated to the topic, the role of ion fluxes and their regulation is understated in scientific literature but crucial for the effective yeast adaption and tolerance to acetic acid stress. A review paper, just published in FEMS Yeast Research, offers a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms governing ion homeostasis in the context of acetic acid toxicity, adaptation, and tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and non-Saccharomyces species of clinical and biotechnological relevance. This new publication has as first-author the PhD student Miguel Antunes of the PhD programme in Biotechnology and Biosciences of the Department of Bioengineering  of  Instituto Superior Técnico and the FCT-DP BIOTECnico - and as a corresponding author his thesis supervisor, Professor Isabel Sá-Correia.

IBB researchers Vasco Bonifácio (PI), Sandra Pinto, and Hélio Barros together with Jacinta Serpa (NOVA Medical School) won the Enabling Progress with Ball Mills prize, a scientific challenge promoted by the German company RETSCH GmbH. The project was ranked second in the competition, having the team received a check of 1000 euros. The award-winning project targets the mechanosynthesis of new drugs using industrial waste. The competition had the participation of 23 countries with a total of 90 candidate projects.

Carla CCR de Carvalho participated in the 11th annual World Ocean Summit & Expo, following an invitation from the organizers. The summit, organized by the Economist Impact, joined over 1500 attendees, from more than 80 countries, to discuss ocean health, industry strategies for a sustainable ocean economy, and ocean-climate solutions. The agenda included sessions such as Blue Food, Ocean health, and Shipping and ports, as well as innovation showcases, “How to” sessions, and networking.

We're excited to share that Pedro Fonte and his team have received the Top Downloaded Paper Award from in JSFA Reports, Wiley. Their paper "Optimization of the Brewing Parameters on Coffee Extraction Using a Central Composite Rotatable Design"  is a notable contribution to coffee research.

The paper, authored by Lívia Alves Barroso, Ana S. Macedo, Iara Lopes Lemos, Nathália de Andrade Neves, Marcio Schmiele, João Vinícios Wirbitzki da Silveira, Tatiana Nunes Amaral, and Pedro Fonte, explores the science behind coffee brewing. This study reveals the high efficiency of cold brew extraction and its potential at the industrial scale, decreasing costs.

This award is a testament to the team's innovative research and its impact on both the scientific community and coffee lovers globally!

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Special Issue titled "Liposomes Applied in Drug Delivery Systems" published in Pharmaceutics. This issue, edited by Dr. Pedro Fonte, Dr. Teresa Esteves and Dr. Sofia de Oliveira Dias Duarte, focuses on the recent advancements and applications of liposomes in drug delivery, emphasizing their pivotal role in targeted therapy and diagnostics. Since the emergence of liposomes in pharmaceutical research, there has been a significant drive to bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and market application. We aim to cover a broad spectrum of topics, including but not limited to the design and synthesis of liposomes, advancements in targeted drug delivery using liposomes, the role of liposomes in gene therapy, innovations in liposomal formulations for enhanced drug stability, and their application in specific health problems like cancer therapy and regenerative medicine. For more information, please visit the Special Issue page.

We eagerly anticipate your valuable contributions to this exciting Special Issue.

The regulation of angiogenesis could be very helpful in the development of therapeutic approaches for wound healing and anticancer therapy. Recently, Dra. Filipa Pires from Instituto de Telecomunicações in collaboration with IBB (Dr. João C Silva and Dr. Frederico C. Ferreira) and FCT-UNL (Dr. Carla Portugal) researchers, designed magnetic heparinized hydrogels to modulate the anti-inflammatory and angiogenic activity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), aiming to accelerate tissue healing. The results evidenced that the application of a static magnetic field guides MSC alignment and affects the angiogenic and anti-inflammatory character of the MSCs secretome. Particularly, the outcomes showed that the hydrogels containing less heparin and magnetic nanoparticles (0.25%) display a low pro-inflammatory character, ensuring an MSCs secretome with enhanced pro-angiogenic properties, which showed to be able to enhance wound contraction and cell migration rate compared to non-heparinized hydrogels.

Carla C.C.R. de Carvalho and Sebastião Tavares did a one-week research stay at Norce, in Bergen, Norway. During the research stay, they worked with the Norwegian team of the project Yum Algae. In this project, both teams work to use enzymes to improve the organoleptic and sensory properties of microalgae for food products. During the stay, Carla and Sebastião had the opportunity to test several techniques, from enzyme purification to harvesting microalgae produced in large photobioreactors.

A new article, published in mSystems, delved into the secondary metabolite biosynthesis potential of Flavobacteriaceae to find highly intertwined phylogenetic-secondary metabolism relationships within this family. The authors examined 2,680 genomes to suggest that the carbohydrate, peptide, and secondary metabolism triad synergistically shaped the evolution of this keystone and widely distributed bacterial taxon. These features likely underpin the broad host range and opportunistic-to-pathogenic behaviour encompassed by species in this family. This study breaks new ground for future research on select Flavobacteriaceae spp. as reservoirs of novel drug leads. Particularly, it highlights a versatile secondary metabolism among species belonging to the genera Aquimarina and Kordia, which should be explored in future natural product research endeavours. The study was first-authored by former iBB/DBE PhD student Sandra Silva and coordinated by professor Rodrigo Costa, counting on expert contributions from iBB/DBE scientist Tina Keller-Costa, and Ulisses Nunes da Rocha and Masun Homsi from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany.

Microbial life present in the marine environment has to be able to adapt to rapidly changing and often extreme conditions. In a recently published paper, Ricardo F.S. Pereira and Carla C.C.R. de Carvalho form iBB and colleagues from CQE and ISEL, used genomic, lipidomic and biochemical approaches to characterise a Serratia rubidaea, isolated from a sample taken at a shallow water hydrothermal vent, and its red product. Several state-of-the-art techniques, such as DSC, FTIR, NMR, and Ultra-High Resolution Qq-Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry, were used to characterize the structure of the red pigment which was found to be prodigiosin.

AIMS Meeting is the largest biomedical conference in Europe, organized by medical students, gathering each year over a thousand participants from all the world. Under the guidance of Dr. Teresa Esteves and Dr. Paola Sanjuan-Alberte, Catarina's innovative research reached the finals of the AIMS research competition, securing the second-place award and a €1,000 grant. Out of over 200 abstracts submitted, only 60 were selected to present a poster and pitch, with just three advancing to the finals to present in the plenary session and receive awards. This team focuses on developing advanced wireless nanobioelectronic systems aimed at targeting cancer bioelectricity, addressing critical challenges in healthcare.

Vasco Bonifácio (DBE, iBB) developed a iron-free mechanochemical inverse vulcanization. This solvent-free reaction, in addition to its importance in a circular economy approach, uses industrial waste to produce chiral oligosulfides, a class of compounds that have therapeutic potential for the treatment of colorectal cancer. The reaction mechanism is proposed, and the formation of the products may follow a homolytic opening of the sulfur ring (S8), triggered by mechanical stress. The formation of thiiranes, sulfur-containing three-membered rings, using mechanosynthesis is reported for the first time. The work was published in RSC Mechanoschemistry, a new journal from the Royal Society of Chemistry, fully dedicated to the field of mechanochemistry. DOI: 

We are delighted to announce that our paper "Maximizing MRNA Vaccine Production with Bayesian Optimization" has been recognised by Wiley as one of the most downloaded papers in Biotechnology and Bioengineering!
The paper steams from a collaboration between researchers from IBB (Sara Rosa, Miguel Prazeres and Ana Azevedo), UCL (Marco Marques) and FCUL/LASIGE (David Nunes and Luis Antunes), and explores the innovative use of machine learning, specifically Bayesian optimisation, to advance the field of mRNA production.
This award is testament to the dedication and hard work of the team, as we continue to drive innovation and make significant contributions to the field of biotechnology.

We are excited to announce the call for submissions for the upcoming Special Issue of Pharmaceutics, titled "Novel Micro/Nanomaterial Based Drug Delivery Systems for Theranostic Applications". As guest editors, Pedro Fonte, Pedro Brandão, and Sofia Duarte, we eagerly invite your contributions to this innovative and rapidly evolving field. This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest advancements in micro- and nanomaterials, particularly in their application to drug delivery systems for theranostic purposes. The intersection of nanotechnology and medicine is paving the way for breakthroughs in healthcare, allowing for the creation of more effective drug delivery mechanisms that can diagnose and treat diseases simultaneously. Our focus is on how these advanced materials can improve therapeutic efficacy, reduce side effects, and transform disease management. For more information, please visit the Special Issue page.

Electrical stimulation (ES) has been tested clinically for over 40 years to promote bone healing, mainly as an adjunct to standard fracture treatments. However, the biological mechanisms by which ES promotes bone healing and the osteogenic commitment of bone progenitors cells remain poorly described.

In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, iBB researchers (João C. Silva, Fábio Garrudo and Frederico Ferreira) in collaboration with Sofia Fernandes (IBEB-Faculdade de Ciências-Universidade de Lisboa) and João Meneses, Nuno Alves and Paula Pascoal-Faria (CDRSP-Politécnico de Leiria), study the effect of five different ES protocols on the viability, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hBM-MSCs). A numerical finite element method (FEM) model of the culture platform was employed to characterize the system and predict the magnitude/distribution of the electric fields generated by the different ES protocols. In vitro cell culture studies showed that all the ES protocols did not impair cell viability and morphology and supported the osteogenic differentiation of hBM-MSCs. Our results evidenced relevant differences when considering the applied protocol operation mode (potential versus current controlled), including the choice of stimulus duration and period. They also suggest an improved performance of the applied current-controlled protocol (STIM3 OM) in promoting hBM-MSCs osteogenic differentiation as shown by a more efficient in vitro mineralization and higher expression of the late osteogenic marker genes. Overall, this work emphasizes the critical role of numerical modelling in selecting and optimizing ES parameters to improve MSC-based osteogenesis in vitro, a step forward towards the development of novel therapeutic strategies for bone regeneration.

This study was developed under the scope of the FCT funded projects “InSilico4OCReg” (PTDC/EME-SIS/0838/2021) and “OptiBioScafold” (PTDC/EME-SIS/4446/2020).

In a recent article published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B, iBB researchers working in collaboration with colleagues from Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), CDRSP-Politécnico de Leiria and CERENA, demonstrated a synergistic effect between 3D printed porous electroconductive scaffolds and electrical stimulation (EStim) in the enhancement of the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hBMSCs), envisaging improved bone tissue engineering (BTE) strategies. The 3D scaffolds were fabricated in polycaprolactone (PCL) and coated with the conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) following previously optimized strategies. Results show that the PEDOT:PSS coatings are electroconductive (11.3–20.1 S cm−1), stable (up to 21 days in saline solution), allow the immobilization of gelatin (Gel) to further improve bioactivity, and enhance the in vitro mineralization of the scaffolds. Finite element modelling allowed the prediction of the magnitude and distribution of the electrical fields within the conductive scaffolds structure when submitted to EStim. The osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs was performed with and without EStim and the abovementioned synergy between conductive materials and EStim in the improvement of BTE strategies was clearly shown by the increased cell-secreted calcium deposition (tissue mineralization) and by the upregulation of bone-specific marker genes. This study was coordinated by Dr. João C. Silva (iBB) and Dr. Fabio Garrudo (iBB and IT) and performed under the scope of the FCT projects BioMaterARISES (EXPL/CTM-CTM/0995/2021) and InSilico4OCReg (PTDC/EME-SIS/0838/2021).

A new study from iBB, Instituto Superior Técnico, carried out within the scope of the FCT project “Mechanistic insights into adaptation and increased robustness to acetic acid and other weak acids toxicity in yeasts”, was published today in the journal Microbial Cell Factories. This study provides new biological knowledge of interest to gain further mechanistic insights into toxicity and tolerance to linear-chain monocarboxylic acids of increasing liposolubility and reports the first lists of tolerance genes, at the genome scale, for butyric and octanoic acids. These genes and biological functions are potential targets for synthetic biology approaches applied to promising yeast cell factories, towards more robust superior strains. This is a highly desirable phenotype to increase the economic viability of bioprocesses based on mixtures of volatiles/medium-chain fatty acids derived from low-cost biodegradable substrates or lignocellulose hydrolysates. The work was led by Prof. Isabel Sá-Correia and the two first co-authors are the PhD student of the Doctoral Programme in Biotechnology and Biosciences, Marta Mota, and the researcher with a MSc degree, Madalena Matos.

The marine bacterial genus Aquimarina (Flavobacteriaceae, Bacteroidota) receives increased attention due to its versatile natural product biosynthesis capacity and antimicrobial activities. iBB and DBE researchers Joana Couceiro,Matilde Marques, Sandra Silva, Tina Keller-Costa and Rodrigo Costa identified two novel Aquimarina species, Aquimarina aquimarini Aq135T and Aquimarina spinulae Aq349T, isolated from marine sponges in Portugal, and describe them in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. Aq135T is known for its production of a unique set of peptide antibiotics, aquimarins, while Aq349T is known to produce the trans-AT polyketide cuniculene. In their polyphasic approach, the researchers used phylogenetic, phylogenomic, phenotypic, and biochemical analyses to determine the novel species statuses of both strains. The bacteria are available in BSRG-iBB’s culture collection associated with the ‘Portuguese Blue Biobank’ of the Blue Bioeconomy Pact and can be purchased at three internationally recognized culture collections - DSMZ, ATCC, and UCCCB.

Ana Melo obtained a Visiting Researcher Award from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Brazil. This funding allowed her to stay in Brazil during October 2023 for: i) Visiting the Laboratory of Professor Rosangela Itri at Physics Institute, University of São Paulo (IFUSP); ii) Performing measurements at the Brazilian Synchrotron Sirius -4th Generation (Campinas, São Paulo State); Iii) Participating in the 47th Annual Meeting of Brazilian Biophysical Society (SBBf, Unicamp Convention Center from 19 to 22 October 2023).

Miguel Cacho Teixeira’s research impact was acknowledged in this year’s edition of the ULisboa/CGD scientific awards. Miguel received an honorable mention for his work in the category "Biology, Biological Engineering, Biochemistry and Biotechnology". His work is focused on understanding, in a Systems Biology perspective, the mechanisms underlying yeast evolution and stress adaptation, with particular focus on pathogenesis and drug resistance displayed by Candida species. The award ceremony took place on the 23rd of November 2023.