Núria  Aliaga-Alcalde

Núria Aliaga-Alcalde

Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona

Experimental Sciences & Mathematics

In 2003 I finished my PhD at Indiana University (USA) followed by two postdoctoral researches at the Max Planck Institut für Bioanorganische Chemie (MPI, Germany, 2003-2005) and at the University of Leiden (The Netherlands, 2005-2007), respectively. In 2007 I started as ICREA Research Fellow at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry of the University of Barcelona (UB) becoming ICREA Research Professor in September 2012 at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC). I am group leader of the "Nanomaterials and Functional Surfaces" group since 2014 (FunNanoSurf, http://departments.icmab.es/funnanosurf/), which is part of the ICMAB's "Functional Surfaces and Interfaces" Research Unit, and also there, vice-coordinator of Research Line 4, "Tunable and Low-Cost Molecular Electronics". My research focuses on molecular-based materials, their nanostructuring and their applications in bulk, in solution, on surfaces and as active components in electronic devices and as sensors.

Research interests

My work focuses on the relevance of molecular design in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, where multifunctional molecular platforms play key roles, providing homogeneous and tunable units with properties ready to be exploited at the nanoscale (such as sensors, switches, quantum computing materials or electronic elements). My goal is to generate molecules with electronic, magnetic and/or luminescent qualities and methodologies to efficiently attach and organise them on substrates (e.g. surfaces/devices). For this purpose, my group synthesises curcuminoids (CCMoids) and derivatives, which are deposited on graphene, Au and SiO2/Si, among others, analysing their behaviour. Our goal is optimal combinations [CCMoids+substrates] of high efficiency and robustness, low cost, that can lead to flexible and/or printable, biodegradable and easily recyclable/disposable systems, fostering a circular economy and promoting a sustainable management of molecular-based materials and their application.

Selected publications

- Alvarado HL, Limón D, Calpena-Campmany AC, Mallandrich M, Rodríguez-Cid L, Aliaga-Alcalde N, González-Campo A & Pérez-García L 2023, 'Intrinsic Permeation and Anti-Inflammatory Evaluation of Curcumin, Bisdemethoxycurcumin and Bisdemethylcurcumin by a Validated HPLC-UV Method', International Journal Of Molecular Sciences, 24, 7, 6640.

Selected research activities

PI of 1 ERC-PoC, “Launch of a universal sublimation technology for molecular transfer on SUBstrates (101138186, smolSUB)”. 
1 Spanish patent. Application number: P202230143 (Ref. Number: ES1641.1728, already published). European extension in progress. 
Invited talk at the 16th European School of Molecular Nanoscience (ESMolNa2023): "Compilation of studies on curcuminoids on two/three-terminal devices and surfaces".
Invited lecture at the University of Barcelona, associated with the master's degree in organic-inorganic chemistry: "Curcuminoids: effective molecular platforms for the creation of sensors and electronic devices". 
Participation with oral communications on Curcuminoids: III congrés AMIT-CAT-Dones en Nanociència i Nanotecnologia, XXXXIX Reunión Bienal de la Sociedad Española de Química and 2nd Conference on Advanced Materials in Spain. 
Member of a thesis tribunal.
Participation in the biannual S3E Start (Southern European Entrepreneurship Engine 2023 training), which focuses on research teams and technology transfer officers, offering a hands-on training programme to hone their commercial skills and secure early funding for technology development.
Member of ICMAB talent-retention-attraction committee (https://icmab.es/about/organisation/committees/talent-retention-attraction-recruitment).