Colloidal Multifunctional Inorganic Nanoparticles (MuFIN)
Scientic Supervisor / Contact Person
Name and Surname
Helena Gavilan
ORCID (link)
Researcher ID (link)
Localization & Research Area
Faculty / Institute
Faculty of Chemical Science
Department
Physical Chemistry
Research Area
Chemistry (CHE), Physics (PHY)
MSCA & ERC experience
Research group / research team hosted any MSCA fellow?
No
Research group / research team have any ERC beneficiaries?
No
Research Team & Research Topic
Website of the Research team / Research Group / Department
Brief description of the Research Team / Research Group / Department
The Department of Physical Chemistry at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) is a prominent division within the School of Chemical Sciences. The Department comprises a diverse team of faculty members, researchers, and administrative staff dedicated to advancing the field of physical chemistry through education and research.
The department's research activities are organized into several specialized groups, each focusing on distinct areas within physical chemistry, engaging experimental and theoretical studies, computational modeling, and developing new materials and technologies. Their work contributes significantly to advancements in areas such as sustainable chemistry, nanotechnology, biophysics, biomedicine, and materials science.
In particular, the research interests of Dr. H. Gavilán include the design and characterization of nanostructured materials, colloids and assemblies; with a particular focus on the development of nanomaterials with magnetic nature for biomedical applications. She currently supervises 1 PhD student and 1 Bachelor's degree student. Dr. H. Gavilán is a Ramón y Cajal Research Fellow with a Tenure Track position in the Physical Chemistry Department at UCM. She is involved in 1 national project (AMULET, Proyecto de Generación de Conocimiento 2023, as PI, 2024-2027) and 2 international projects (1 COST Action project, NexMPI, as MC member and WG Leader, 2024-2028; and 1 Una Europa Seed Funding Project, DREAM-Nano, as PI, 2025). She has access to laboratories for colloidal synthesis of nanomaterials, organic chemistry, structural and colloidal characterization, microscope set ups, electron microscopy facilities, to the UCM magnetometry unit and many other characterization techniques; and has an inductive magnetometer (AC Hyster). Dr. H. Gavilán has an extensive network of national and international collaborations in the frame of material science and nanotechnology.
The department's research activities are organized into several specialized groups, each focusing on distinct areas within physical chemistry, engaging experimental and theoretical studies, computational modeling, and developing new materials and technologies. Their work contributes significantly to advancements in areas such as sustainable chemistry, nanotechnology, biophysics, biomedicine, and materials science.
In particular, the research interests of Dr. H. Gavilán include the design and characterization of nanostructured materials, colloids and assemblies; with a particular focus on the development of nanomaterials with magnetic nature for biomedical applications. She currently supervises 1 PhD student and 1 Bachelor's degree student. Dr. H. Gavilán is a Ramón y Cajal Research Fellow with a Tenure Track position in the Physical Chemistry Department at UCM. She is involved in 1 national project (AMULET, Proyecto de Generación de Conocimiento 2023, as PI, 2024-2027) and 2 international projects (1 COST Action project, NexMPI, as MC member and WG Leader, 2024-2028; and 1 Una Europa Seed Funding Project, DREAM-Nano, as PI, 2025). She has access to laboratories for colloidal synthesis of nanomaterials, organic chemistry, structural and colloidal characterization, microscope set ups, electron microscopy facilities, to the UCM magnetometry unit and many other characterization techniques; and has an inductive magnetometer (AC Hyster). Dr. H. Gavilán has an extensive network of national and international collaborations in the frame of material science and nanotechnology.
Research lines / projects proposed
Smart materials are gaining importance as they can perform multiple tasks, delivering a superior synergic system-level efficiency. The increasing interest in these materials is driven by scientific curiosity on the one hand and the vast technological opportunities on the other hand. In particular, multifunctional Inorganic Nanoparticles (MFNPs) are smart heterostructures that are usually composed by a heterogeneous inorganic core and a coating that adds stability and further functionalities. The responsiveness of their physical-chemical properties to external stimuli (electric/magnetic fields) or environmental changes (temperature, pH...) have made them widely used in biomedical research fields.
Typical MFNPs comprise at least two domains: for instance, one with optical properties (absorbs and scatters light and may enhance the electromagnetic field) and other with magnetic ones. These opto-magnetic MFNPs find applications in sensing, catalysis, and nanomedicine, as they are able to move in the presence of external magnetic field gradients or focused laser beam, generate heat locally and remotely due to an applied alternating magnetic field (AMFs) or laser, and get their surface engineered with coaters (e.g., polymers, biomolecules…).
In this project we pursue to obtain MFNPs and their controlled assemblies with benchmark heat generation under external magnetic fields or luminous irradiation. We have special interest in smart strategies to achieve the full potential of the MFNP in real situations (viscous and complex biological media), and in combining various experimental and theoretical tools (computational modeling of MFNPs and their assemblies).
Typical MFNPs comprise at least two domains: for instance, one with optical properties (absorbs and scatters light and may enhance the electromagnetic field) and other with magnetic ones. These opto-magnetic MFNPs find applications in sensing, catalysis, and nanomedicine, as they are able to move in the presence of external magnetic field gradients or focused laser beam, generate heat locally and remotely due to an applied alternating magnetic field (AMFs) or laser, and get their surface engineered with coaters (e.g., polymers, biomolecules…).
In this project we pursue to obtain MFNPs and their controlled assemblies with benchmark heat generation under external magnetic fields or luminous irradiation. We have special interest in smart strategies to achieve the full potential of the MFNP in real situations (viscous and complex biological media), and in combining various experimental and theoretical tools (computational modeling of MFNPs and their assemblies).
Key words
Application requirements
Professional Experience & Documents
The candidates must submit: (1) motivation letter, (2) curriculum vitae, (3) list of publications, and (4) 1-page summary of the specific project they would like to perform.
One Page Proposal
You can attach the 'One Page Proposal' to enhance the attractiveness of your application. Supervisors usually appreciate it. Please take into account your background and the information provided in Research Team & Research Topic section to fill in it.
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