Advanced Material Characterisation System is a multidisciplinary project combining cutting-edge nano fabrication, materials growth and advanced x-ray synchrotron techniques for the investigation of materials with fundamental and technological relevance. Its aim is to provide advances both at the level of nanoscale materials preparation as well as the characterisation techniques, enabling experiments on high quality materials in a form that is not available today, pushing the nanoscale spatial resolution. First goal: To develop the know-how in nanofabrication of sample-integrated holography-masks for x-ray holography. It also provides novel ideas to perfect and refine the processes to push the technique ultimate resolution. Lens-less coherent x-ray imaging is considered as one enclosing the biggest potential suitable to investigate specimens from solid state materials for solar, batteries or spintronic technologies to applied materials such as polymers or biological matter. Second goal: The project proposes to develop a novel bottom-up path for obtaining epitaxial single crystalline membranes of ferromagnetic, ferroelectric and superconducting materials. Such process will combines ultimate clean-room processing, focused-ion beam nano-fabrication, and most advanced growth of materials by molecular beam epitaxy & pulsed laser deposition. This will enable to advance the state-of-the-art of materials for high-resolution transmission x-ray and electron microscopies, allowing studies of a broad class of relevant materials in an unprecedented high-quality form and unperturbed state. This project provides a unique opportunity to broad the knowledge and career skills of the MSCA candidate, which will coordinate and lead the efforts of the different researchers and centers involved in this synergic collaboration in the Scientific Cluster (BNC-b) and the UAB Campus of Excellence surrounding ALBA synchrotron facility.

The use of high-atomic-number nanoparticles (NP) as tumour radio-sensitizers has been recently proposed as a breakthrough in radiotherapy (RT). Numerous biological studies have shown the enhanced effectiveness in tumor cell killing when NP were associated to photon RT and, more recently, to charged particle therapy. However, the mechanisms of action are not clear yet. In addition to the damage due to a possible local dose enhancement (physical effects), the interaction of NP with essential biological macromolecules could lead to changes in the cells (biochemical effects) leading to an amplified effect of the radiation. Within this framework, the main goal of the NANOCANCER project is to get deeper insights into the mechanisms underlying the amplification of radiation effects of NP. For this purpose, I will use a multidisciplinary strategy to evaluate both the biochemical and physical effects involved in these innovative nano-RT approaches. Vibrational spectroscopy (Fourier transform infrared, FTIR, microspectroscopy) will be employed for the first time to investigate the biochemical features in glioma cells combining two high-Z standard nanoparticles (Au and Gd) and charged particle beams. Physical effects will be also assessed by performing complementary Monte Carlo simulation of radiation transport, which will allow a realistic modelling of early biological damages induced by the radiation at the nanometre scale. This interdisciplinary proposal will be essential to better characterize the radio-sensitization effects of NP in glioma cells and, in addition, will bring light to the present charged particle therapy radiobiology, which seems to lead to substantially different tumour responses with respect to conventional RT at the cellular and molecular level. The knowledge of these biochemical features will help researchers to develop RT by taking full advantage of the underlying biology an enhance the therapeutic index of RT for diseases with poor prognosis.

Radical technological transformation in the last one hundred years have been based on the understanding electronic properties of materials that has enabled their application in electronics, energy harvesting, among others. There is no doubt that the solution to the new challenges of our time will also come from the understanding of materials and their applications. In this context, layered materials are very promising on account of their broad range of electronic properties, including insulators, semiconductors, conductors, superconductors, ferromagnets and antiferromagnets, that can lead to a variety of applications. FUNLAYERS will focus on two types of applications, energy storage and spintronics. The exploration of layered materials is such a vast enterprise that requires the engagement of an army of different institutions. There is a huge effort, worldwide, and if Europe wants to remain competitive and be a major player in this incoming revolution, it is essential to strengthen the capabilities of institutions everywhere, most notably in widening countries. FUNLAYERS will bring together three partners to march together in this direction, two consolidated research institutions with outstanding scientific reputation, MPG and ALBA-CELLS, and INL, in Portugal. Taking advantage of incipient collaborations in layered materials, this twinning exercise will put INL to speed in this blooming research field and will benefit all partners thanks to their complementary strengths. FUNLAYERS will identify weak points in INL research capacity, and provide training, knowledge sharing, exchange of good practices and access to facilities to address these points. It will engage the three partners in collaborative research aiming at high impact results, and lay the foundations to sustain this collaboration and the positive impact of the project over time and bring concrete solutions to our greatest challenges, namely, climate change and low energy consumption.

This project contributes to strengthen the capacities of research institutions of the widening countries, in particular Sylinda aims at boosting the research and development capabilities of SOLARIS, the Polish Synchrotron facility, based on the experience brought by the partners’ consortium. The X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) beamline of SOLARIS is to be upgraded with a high resolution spectrometer which will make it scientifically excellent and very attractive for academic and industrial users dealing with low atomic number elements studies. New industry cooperation avenues with the Pharmaceutical-, rubber-, agro-, (micro-) biological, chemical- and cosmetics-sectors will be consequently opened. The SOLARIS staff structure is to be reinforced with an Industrial Liaision Officer, a beamline scientist and a grant officer to better serve those industries as well as the academic community. That staff will be enrolled in a twinning and training programs at the premises of the experienced partners to master their specialties. Special emphasis on improving industry research project management, proposal preparation and administration skills will be placed. A summer school on science management for early stage researches and their participation on industrial research projects will broad their views about industry innovation and funding opportunities. A focused communication plan together with an industrial workshop will put SOLARIS in the European scene of those scientific and industrial areas. All those activities are the first step forward that will be sustained beyond the end of this project thanks to the networking and links established with the experienced partners that will open the doors to SOLARIS for future collaborations with other European and worldwide research institutions. No doubt this project aims to represent a quantum leap for SOLARIS in research and development terms.

Micronutrients are essential for maintaining a good human health, and although they are needed in only trace amounts, deficiencies reportedly affect 3 billion people worldwide. One of such micronutrients is selenium (Se). This element is a cofactor of many enzymes (e.g. glutathione peroxidase or thioredoxin reductase) and it is important for the protection against oxidative stress demonstrating the highest activity as a free radical scavenger and anti-cancer agent, T-cell immunity, and its role regulating the thyroid hormone metabolism. Currently, inadequate dietary Se intake affects up to 1 in 7 people globally with the associated risk of developing many chronic degenerative diseases. Animals, including humans, are not able to easily transform inorganic species of Se into organic forms and, in fact, due to its toxicity, the human body can tolerate only very low levels of inorganic Se. However, plants are able to transform the inorganic species of Se to seleno-amino acids, which are the forms of selenium desired for animal diets. The selenium present in our diet comes indirectly from the reservoir in soils. Thus, regions with low Se level in soils would provide Se deficient diets. In order to overcome this problem, the elaboration of functional foods starting from Se-enriched edible plants has been proposed as a solution to overcome low levels of Se in the diet of animals and humans. This research action is aimed to produce Se-enriched dairy products and cheese as functional food through Se-biofortified alfalfa hay for feeding milking cows. To achieve the transferability of the methodology to different regions, Se will be applied directly to the plant (foliar application), instead to the soil, overcoming issues related with the unpredicted bioavailability of Se in soils with different physicochemical characteristics. Hence, this methodology will ensure an appropriate level of Se into the diet regardless the particularities of the agricultural soil.