Last Friday, the ALBA-UAB PhD student Johannes Groen defended his thesis about the behaviour of a nanomaterial drug specifically designed to inhibit the collagen overproduction after a myocardial fibrosis event. The ALBA synchrotron light was crucial to observe the induced morphological changes in the affected cells. Groen’s results set the precedent for the development of pre-clinical studies of novel therapeutic agents.
Researchers of the HyPhOE European Project have developed biohybrid plants with an electronic root system, which could be used to store energy or as electronic sensors. This study proved the integration of circuits and electrochemical devices into the plants without damaging them, so that they continued to grow and adapt to their new hybrid state. Experiments at the NCD-SWEET beamline of the ALBA Synchrotron were crucial to shed light on the plant-based technology field.
The new zeolite, named ZEO-1, shows a three-dimensional system of interconnected extra-large pores (around 10 Å), the highest observed in stable zeolites after 80 years of research. It could work as a catalyst in fine chemistry for the production of pharmaceutical intermediates, in controlled substance release, for pollution abatement or as a support for the encapsulation of photo- or electroactive species. Experiments at the MSPD beamline of the ALBA Synchrotron were key to determine the accurate structure of ZEO-1.
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics, the ALBA Synchrotron and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have succeeded in creating a two-dimensional ferromagnetic material for the first time exhibiting an easy-plane magnetic anisotropy, i.e. an “XY class” of 2D ferromagnet. This is of fundamental relevance and was elusive so far, without discarding potential application in energy efficient information technologies. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism experiments at BOREAS beamline of ALBA first proved the ferromagnetic nature of the system, while further measurements at BESSY VEKMAG facility completed the demonstration of the XY universality class. The results have been published in the renowned journal Science.
Researchers of IQAC-CSIC, in collaboration with the ALBA Synchrotron, demonstrate that African hair has more lipids that are highly disordered. This distinction with Caucasian and Asian hair might be relevant to develop new ethnic hair-care products.
