Seminar “Synthesis of nanomaterials with pulsed lasers and their applications in biology”.

Next 15/12/2023, at 12:00 h, a research conference entitled “Synthesis of nanomaterials with pulsed lasers and their applications in biology” will take place in the auditorium of the Institute of Bioengineering, located in the Vinalopó building of the Elche campus, within the program of seminars of the Master in Biotechnology and Bioengineering and the Doctoral Program in Bioengineering. The conference will be given by Prof. Gladys Mínguez Vega, Professor of Optics at the Universitat Jaume I, and is organized by Prof. María del Mar Sánchez López, Professor of Applied Physics and researcher at the Institute of Bioengineering of the UMH.

Prof. Gladys Mínguez Vega focuses her research in the field of nanoparticle fabrication with pulsed lasers, the study of their fundamental properties and applications in the energy and biomedical fields, such as the fabrication of fluorescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) for bioimaging, the development of fluorescent biosensors or the synthesis of graphene oxide decorated with metal nanoparticles for the fabrication of SERS-based sensors. The results obtained in this line have led to a Marie-Curie IF GLUCOTEAR grant and a European patent in the technique for the fabrication of CQDs; as well as its incorporation to the European project “Nanouptake” (COST Action CA15119).

Prof. Gladys Mínguez Vega has published 68 papers, has 2 patents and an h-index of 20.

Brief description of the talk.

“This seminar will address the process of synthesizing nanomaterials with pulsed lasers. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the technique, as well as different fabrication processes. Among the attractions of this method is its ability to produce nanoparticles of high purity and of a wide variety of materials, thanks to which it is promoting significant advances in the research and development of biomedical tools. Of all the possible applications, throughout the exhibition we will present some in which the optics group of the Universitat Jaume I (GROC-UJI) is participating, the manufacture of optical sensors, the development of fluorescent markers in bioimaging and obtaining biocidal nanoagents.”

Awards and recognitions

In 2020, the international journal ACS Omega, selected Dr. Mínguez Vega as one of the 50 women of reference in the leadership of women scientists.
She has participated in 22 competitive calls with a total of more than 2 M€, being the PI of 7 of them. First woman professor in the Department of Physics of the UJI (the only one so far) in its more than 30 years of history.

Other information of interest

Dr. Mínguez Vega also carries out outreach activities to promote the role of women in science and technology, and to bring her research to the public through her professional Twitter account @MinguezVega.