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INSTITTUT CATALÀ D’INVESTIGACIÓ QUÍMICA (ICIQ-CERCA)

Expertise: The researchers from the Palomares group are using their expertise on nanoparticles to explore different types of inhalable luminescent particles to assess their potential. Ultimately, this will allow the consortium to pinpoint the optimal particle to trigger the therapeutic reaction that will treat lung infections.

ICIQ is a non-profit research organization, the 2004 creation of which was promoted by the Catalan Government with support from the EU and industrial partners including Repsol and Bayer. Named a “Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence” by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness in 2013, it employs 340 people: 83% are researchers and more than 30% of international origin. Its mission is to boost the competitiveness of the chemical industry in Southern Europe through innovation and technical improvement.

ICIQ houses 19 research groups in supramolecular chemistry, catalysis, molecular photovoltaics and computational modelling. It has been granted funding for 38 H2020 projects, coordinates 25 national funded projects, has taken part in more than 60 industrial research projects with world-leading companies and filed 157 patents.

ICIQ contributes its expertise in the synthesis of nanomaterials with optical and semiconductor properties as well as organic and inorganic synthetic chemistry. It also provides access to state-of-the-art spectroscopic, structural, analytical and computational equipment to investigate the systems under study, among others.

For more information, visit http://www.iciq.org/

Emilio Palomares

Prof. Emilio Palomares is Professor at ICREA (Catalan Institute for Research & Advanced Studies) and ICIQ Group Leader. His interests focus on materials for energy production and bio-applications (electron transfer processes, photovoltaic applications and nanoscience). His group obtained an international patent in 2014 for the use of luminescence nanocrystals in Dual Core Quantum Dots for Highly Quantitative Ratiometric Detection of Trypsin Activity in Cystic Fibrosis Patients.

He has published over 230 papers, participated in 7 EU-funded research projects, 8 national research projects and 8 industry research projects under the Marie Curie European Fellowship (2002), Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (2003), ERC Starting Grant (2009) and ERC Proof of Concept Grant (2015). His awards include the Roscoe Medal (2004), Young Chemist Research Award from the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (2006) and the INNOVA Award from the SusChem Spanish technology platform for Sustainable Chemistry (2010).

María Méndez

Dr. María Méndez became a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Palomares’ research group following a period as a COFUND postdoctoral researcher on the ICIQ-IPMP programme. She has extensive experience in the fabrication of nanoparticles with luminescent properties and is co-author of 10 peer-reviewed publications.