Dia Mundial dos Materiais 2019

 

Decorreu em Coimbra, no dia 6 de novembro, mais uma comemoração do Dia Mundial dos Materiais 2019, organizada pela SPM e pela Ordem dos Engenheiros.
Eis as teses premiadas:
Prémio SPM:
Ana Carina Ferreira Lopes
U Minho- DEP
Study and evaluation of different combinations of virgin and processed PA material for Selective Laser Sintering technology

Menção Honrosa SPM (ex-aequo)
Nuno Santos Ferreira
FCT/UNL-DCM
In situ green synthesis of silver nanoparticles into bacterial cellulose for breast cancer diagnostic by SERS
Resumo: Breast cancer accounts for 11.6% of all cancer cases in both genders. Even though several diagnostic techniques have been developed, the mostly used are invasive, complex, time-consuming, and cannot guarantee an early diagnosis, significantly constraining the tumor treatment success rate. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that carry biomolecules from tissues to the peripheral circulation, representing an emerging noninvasive source of markers for early cancer diagnosis. Current techniques for exosomes analysis are frequently complex, time-consuming, and expensive. Raman spectroscopy interest has risen lately, because of its nondestructive analysis and little to no sample preparation, while having very low analyte concentration/volume, because of surface enhancement signal (SERS) possibility. However, active SERS substrates are needed, and commercially available substrates come with a high cost and low shelf life. In this work, composites of commercial nata de coco to produce bacterial nanocellulose and in-situ-synthesized silver nanoparticles are tested as SERS substrates, with a low cost and green approach. Enhancement factors from 104 to 105 were obtained, detecting Rhodamine 6G (R6G) concentrations as low as 10–11 M. Exosome samples coming from MCF-10A (nontumorigenic breast epithelium) and MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer) cell cultures were tested on the synthesized substrates, and the obtained Raman spectra were subjected to statistical principal component analysis (PCA). Combining PCA with Raman intravariability and intervariability in exosomal samples, data grouping with 95% confidence was possible, serving as a low-cost, green, and label-free diagnosis method, with promising applicability in clinical settings.

Menção Honrosa SPM (ex-aequo)
João Miguel Bogalho Duarte
IST – DEMec
Recycling of Rare Earth Elements Contained on Fluorescent Lamps by Hydrometallurgical Processing

Prémio Ordem dos Engenheiros
Alexandra Agostinho Gomes Fernandes
FCT/UNL- CENIMAT
An electrochromic paper-based device as a diagnostic test for Cystic Fibrosis

Resumo: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disorder affecting more than 70 000 people worldwide, especially Caucasian populations. Currently, it has no cure but an early diagnosis remains a critical issue. Sweat chloride test has been the gold standard to diagnose CF since the affected present sweat chloride concentrations ≥ 60 mM. In this work, a planar electrochromic “point-of-care” device, based on tungsten trioxide nanoparticles produced by microwave assisted hydrothermal synthesis, was developed as a first approach for CF diagnostic testing especially in resource-limited environments. For electrodes patterning, a CO2 laser technology was used in a PET/ITO sheet. The device presents a design that allows the NaCl-based electrolyte deposition, used as artificial sweat, only on time of usage directly on the nanoparticles or in a paper pad. By applying an operating voltage of -3 V, the nanoparticles change their optical properties according to NaCl concentration, presenting a blue colouration with different intensities for different NaCl concentrations. The device was able to differentiate between a positive and negative diagnosis, with a colouration time of only 1 min, using an RGB analysis with a B/R ratio of 1.37±0.03 for 60 mM of NaCl, and a low power consumption.
 
Menção Honrosa Ordem dos Engenheiros (ex-aequo)
Ana Filipa Gomes Durão
U Aveiro -DEMaC
Processamento e caraterização de cermetos à base de Ti(CN) com ligantes de Ni/Co

Menção Honrosa Ordem dos Engenheiros (ex-aequo)
Melissa Bacatelo Guerra Martins Costa
IST-DEMec
Recycling of Li-ion batteries from electric vehicles

A tese premiada com o Prémio SPM vai ser apresentada na conferência Júnior EUROMAT 2020, em Granada, (12-16 de Julho), para concorrer  à FEMS award to the best master thesis in Europe, ganha pela SPM em 2018.
A deslocação e estadia do candidato são financiadas pelo Prémio SPM.
O Prémio Ordem dos Engenheiros mantém-se como prémio pecuniário no valor de quinhentos Euros.

A SPM e o Colégio de Engenharia de Materiais da Ordem dos Engenheiros agradecem a participação de todos e felicitam calorosamente os contemplados com os Prémios e Menções Honrosas.