Prof. Cecília Roque is a full professor at FCT – Nova University of Lisbon. Prof. Roque is the leader of the Biomolecular Engineering Lab since 2008, dedicated to minimal biomimetic systems, combining designed molecular recognition agents with functional materials, which together find applications in Bioseparation, Biocatalysis, Sensing & Diagnostics, and Nanomedicine.

Abstract

“Dynamic materials for artificial olfaction”

Supramolecular self-assembly provides the possibility to generate modular and tunable materials with self-powered stimuli-responsive properties. This field is attracting enormous interest as an approach to functional materials design, and has tremendous, mostly untapped opportunities in creating new types of sensors.

I will present our research on peptide and protein self-assembly in non-conventional solvents, and on how this gives rise to new materials, with properties distinct from the corresponding water-based assemblies, namely molecular recognition towards analytes, air-stability and transduction potential. Given these properties, the new materials have been used as sensors in artificial olfaction [1], with unraveled possibilities in soft and flexible electronics. The molecular self-assembly mechanisms of bio-based molecules in ionic liquids are complex and still poorly understood, as ionic liquids themselves present self-assembling properties. The versatility of the ionic liquids can be matched to the properties of the gelator molecules, leading to rationally designed structured materials.