The unique potential of neutrons to study molecules in confinement

Data de Início: 
quinta-feira, 13 Junho, 2019 - 16:00
Palestrante: 
Profa. Dra. Heloisa Nunes Bordallo
Local: 
Auditório Abrahão de Moraes do IFUSP

Profa. Dra. Heloisa Nunes Bordallo

Dia: 13.06.2019

Horário: 16h00

Local: Auditório Abrahão de Moraes - IFUSP

ENTRADA FRANCA

O COLÓQUIO SERÁ MINISTRADO EM PORTUGUÊS

 

Neutron science is the science of everyday life, providing a microscopic view of the materials we rely on daily. Neutrons, similarly to X-rays, penetrate matter. However, unlike X-rays, neutrons interact with matter in a different manner, thus allowing the identification of elements with very low molecular weight, including hydrogen. While X-rays allow the characterization of the microstructure of materials, neutron imaging provides information on proton distribution within this structure. For this reason, both X-rays and neutron imaging, complemented by neutron spectroscopy, which brings information about hydrogen mobility, can contribute for better understanding of complex structures.

In this talk I will discuss on this promising approach by presenting a couple of specific examples. The first is related to the investigation of the highly intricate pore structure of dental cements [i] and the second to a recent study of the encapsulation of the HBsAg protein, used in the Hepatitis B vaccine, into the SBA-15 adjuvant.[ii] Finally I will give a brief overview in how solid-state techniques can in general be used in studying encapsulation process and release of drugs.[iii],[iv],[v]




Sobre a Palestrante: Heloisa N. Bordallo studied Physics at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she also obtained a MSc degree. She did her PhD at the Université Montpellier II, Montpellier, France, investigating the physics of incommensurate ferroelectric materials using Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction. 

Since her first postdoctoral appointment, at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA, her main research interest have shifted to the use of neutron scattering in a variety of systems, ranging from the dynamics of H-bonds in small biological molecules to water and molecular drugs in confinement to magnetic and magneto-optical materials.

She has held positions at Argonne National Laboratory, USA, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Germany and at the Institute Laue-Langevin, France.

At the Niels Bohr Institute, where she arrived in 2011, she is the leader of the Dynamics studies by Neutron Scattering group in the Neutrons and X-rays section. There her work focuses on the interplay between structure, dynamics and function in hydrogenous materials using a combination of inelastic neutron scattering and imaging techniques. She has a joint appointment with the European Spallation Source and is the scientific leader of the backscattering instrument project, MIRACLES. The spectrometer was recently approved for construction and will be built at ESS in collaboration with ESS-Bilbao in Spain.

She is the author of more than 115 scientific articles and has close collaborations with researchers from Europe, USA, Australia and Brazil.

 

transmissão via IPTV

 

Desenvolvido por IFUSP