Biomolecular Engineering Lab

Name: Biomolecular Engineering Lab
Address: FCT-UNL, Campus de Caparica, Quinta da Torre, Almada, 2829-516CAPARICA, PT
Telephone: +351212949624

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Portugal
Almada
Biomolecular Engineering Lab

Established in 2008 by Prof. Cecília Roque. We are dedicated to minimal biomimetic systems.

We are a multidisciplinary team in Applied and Computational Chemistry, Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Physics of Materials. The Biomolecular Engineering Group @ UCIBIO, REQUIMTE (FCT/UNL) in interface with iBET, was established in 2008 by Prof. Cecília Roque and is composed by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in Applied and Computational Chemistry, Biotechn

ology, Biomedical Engineering, and Chemical Engineering. Our group is dedicated to the molecular engineering of interaction partners with biological, synthetic and hybrid properties and to combine them with stimuli-responsive platforms to be applied in the Biocatalysis, Bioseparation, Biosensing and Biomedical areas.

22/06/2026

This past week, we had the pleasure to welcome Lawrence Honaker.

Lawrence is a visiting postdoctoral researcher and Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow from the University of Luxembourg, working on the TECHSTILE project to produce liquid crystal-functionalized fibers which can respond to harmful stresses and conditions. In our lab, he was eager to investigate and learn about the lab's gas sensing technologies and set-ups and to apply them to the fibers he makes.

We would love to work with you again!🚀✨

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT
UCIBIO

University of Luxembourg

09/06/2026

We’re excited to share Carolina Natal’s latest article, “High-Yield Production and Cost-Effective Purification of an Alkali-Resistant Hexameric Protein A Variant for Antibody Affinity Chromatography”, now published in Biotechnology Journal.

We present a scalable method for producing the antibody-binding ligand Z6AlkC, a six-repeat, alkali-resistant Protein A–derived Z domain with a terminal cysteine. The ligand was produced at high yield via extracellular secretion in bioreactors and subsequently purified by high-productivity ultradiafiltration with low water consumption.

Check out the full article: https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.70247

For more information about the PURE project, go to PURE website: https://pure-fetopen.eu/

European Research Council
UCIBIO
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT

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05/06/2026

Taking Science to Elementary School Students 2026

Once again inspiring future scientists through hands-on learning!

We had the pleasure of working with 7th and 8th grade students at Elias Garcia School on a series of engaging and interactive science activities.

For the 7th grade class, we extracted DNA from bananas 🍌🧬 — a fun and accessible way to introduce genetics and the molecular basis of life. We also explored anti-counterfeiting tags and multiple security levels. 🏷🔦

The 8th grade students participated in a more advanced activity simulating how proteins are produced in cells. 🧪 We also introduced the basics of protein modeling and the real-world applications of biotechnology, human and animal diagnostics and material science, always with an eye on sustainability.

It was truly rewarding to see the students’ curiosity, creativity, and excitement for science!

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT
UCIBIO
European Research Council

03/06/2026

It's a pleasure to announce that student Matilde Castro, from Escola Básica e Secundária Josefa de Óbidos, presented an experimental work developed within the scope of the INSPIRE project (2024.15575.PEX) at Mostra Nacional de Ciência 2026.

Matilde won the third place prize - 750€ - with the Dot Blot project as a method of identification for an osteogenic biomarker. Matilde will now represent Portugal in one of the largest competitions and science fairs in China, CASTIC (China Adolescents Science & Technology Innovation Contest), with all expenses covered by the Fundação da Juventude.

✨ Congratulations, Matilde! It was a pleasure having you with us and we wish you the best in your promising scientific career ! 🧪

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT
UCIBIO

13/05/2026

🧪We’re excited to share Carolina Natal’s latest article, "One-pot synthesis of a small ligand for antibody purification", now published in Biotechnology and Bioengineering.

✨The authors report a rapid, one‐pot liquid‐phase chemical synthesis of a synthetic affinity ligand (B1A12A2) displaying affinity for antibody molecules, namely human IgG from plasma and IgY from crude samples, achieving antibody recoveries of 55% and 91%, respectively, with purity exceeding 86%. This streamlined workflow highlights the advantages of liquid‐phase synthesis for ligand characterization and adsorbent optimization, thus providing a versatile platform for advancing affinity purification technologies.

Check out the full article: https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.70226

For more information about the PURE project, go to PURE website: https://pure-fetopen.eu/

European Research Council
UCIBIO
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT

11/05/2026

Welcome Likhita! ✨

Likhita Kusampudi holds a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Bharath University, India. She is currently completing her master's in molecular biotechnology from Hochschule Anhalt, Germany. She worked with polymers for bone glue development as her master's thesis at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Galway, Ireland, as an Erasmus student. She will be part of INSPIRE, dedicated to the production of cell-free extracts.

Excited to have you on board, Likhita!

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT
UCIBIO

07/05/2026

Aiming to strengthen the connection between doctoral students, BRIDGE- the group of PhD students from UCIBIO- organised the 2nd PhD Day UCIBIO, which took place on the 23rd and 24th April, at Academia de Instrução e Recreio Familiar Almadense, in Almada. This in-person event brought together PhD students from both units of UCIBIO (NOVA FCT and FFUP), where they could share their experiences with fellow colleagues.

The 2nd PhD Day UCIBIO included exciting plenary sessions with highly experienced researchers (Francisco Enguita from FMUL, Ana Pina from ITQB and Nuno Morais from NMS), a workshop on the use of AI in scientific research, poster and oral presentations, and several social activities.

We are looking forward for the 3rd PhD Day! ✨

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT
UCIBIO
Universidade do Porto

05/05/2026

From 10th-12st March, Professor Cecília Roque attended the Bioprocessing Summit Europe in Barcelona. Cecília participated in the Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s 9th Annual “Advances in Recovery and Purification Part 1: Optimising Downstream Efficacy and Yield” conference stream, as chairperson of the session on “Downstream Processing of Complex Modalities”. During this 2-day event, speakers shared the most recent research in downstream processing, covering a variety of strategies and applications, such as chromatography, digitalization, bispecifics, next-generation resins and many more.

As part of the “Sustainable Approaches to DSP” session Professor Cecília also gave a lecture on “New DSP Materials and Technologies”, Bioseparation is a critical step in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. It employs polymeric adsorbents decorated with affinity ligands to increase the selective capture of target biological products. The EU-funded PURE project aims to develop precisely functionalised adsorbents. The project has brought together an interdisciplinary team of leading scientists from academia and industry with expertise in biology, chemistry, computational modelling, materials science, bioprocess engineering and applied social sciences.

For more information, go to PURE website: https://pure-fetopen.eu/

European Research Council
UCIBIO
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT

27/04/2026

Welcome Susana! ✨

Susana Serrano holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Algarve and an MSc in Microbiology from the University of Aveiro and is currently concluding her PhD in Veterinary Sciences (Food Safety and Technology) at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon. Her multidisciplinary research started with zebrafish models of Paget’s bone disease, shifted to bioinformatics during her master’s, where she combined in vivo and in silico analyses of antimicrobial metabolites from haloarchaea, and progressed in her doctorate to metagenomic and conventional microbiology studies of Portuguese Traditional Protected Designation of Origin PDO cheeses to identify regional biomarkers and industrial strains. An international internship at the University of Basilicata (Italy) strengthened her R-based data analysis. She has now joined the Biomolecular Engineering Lab for the INSPIRE project to develop cross-species tools for monitoring bone diseases and cancer, reconnecting with bone pathology while integrating microbiology, bioinformatics, and bioengineering expertise.

Excited to have you on board, Susana!

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT
UCIBIO

24/04/2026

🔬✨EXPO FCT 2026 just concluded this past week!

On April 15th, we had the pleasure of participating in EXPO FCT 2026 and sharing our research projects with high school students from all backgrounds. Through interactive games like "Proteins around the World" (PROSPLIGN, UNMASK Projects), "Sustainable Purification of Biological Medications" (PURE Project) and "From Gelatin to Safety Seals" (SUBTLE Project) the students learned about the science we do here at Biomeng Lab!

It was heartening to see their enthusiasm and vision for the future of bioengineering. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, see you next year! 🙌

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
NOVA FCT
UCIBIO

Endereço

FCT-UNL, Campus De Caparica, Quinta Da Torre
Almada
2829-516CAPARICA

Telefone

+351212949624

Website

https://sites.fct.unl.pt/biomolecular_eng/home

Notificações

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