27 documents found, page 1 of 3
Sustainable shear wave elastography medical phantoms: waste-based fibrous struc...
Santos, Ana Isabel Zão; Rocha, Sofia Gomes; Fernandes, Nuno Alexandre Tavares Campos; Alves, Diana Isabel Sousa; Ferreira, Diana P.Tissue-mimicking phantoms that accurately replicate human tissue are crucial for validating and optimizing elastography systems and developing new treatment methods. The use of waste-based fibrous structures has the dual benefits of waste reduction and economic viability, mitigating the environmental consequences associated with the textile industry and, thus, posing a particularly interesting avenue of researc...
Electrospun fibrous architectures for localized delivery of photosensitizers in...
Gomes, Cátia V.; Costa, Sofia Maria Soares; Oliveira, João Maria Silva; Calhelha, Ricardo C.; Lourenço, Leandro M. O.; Fangueiro, RaúlPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising localized strategy for the treatment of cervical cancer, ranking as the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. The integration of photosensitizers (PSs) in localized drug delivery systems (DDSs), particularly in electrospun nanofibers, holds tremendous potential to overcome the drawbacks of their systemic administration. Exploring multilayer fibrous architectu...
Chitosan/PCL electrospun membranes for textile wastewater treatment
Sousa, Rui P. C. L.; Nogueira, Ana Catarina Fernandes; Martínez-Rico, Óscar; Araújo, Joana Carolina Carvalho; Costa, Sofia Maria SoaresThe textile industry is one of the largest contributors to water pollution worldwide. 20% of the global water pollution is caused by dyeing and finishing textile wastewaters, containing high concentrations of dyes, surfactants, salts, and other persistent organic pollutants. Among these, synthetic dyes pose a major environmental threat due to their complex aromatic structures and low biodegradability. Conventio...
Microalgae-powered sustainable textile dyeing and functionalization
Rocha, Verónica Patrícia Moreira; Costa, Sofia Maria Soares; Böttcher, Rita Barros; Fangueiro, Raúl; Ferreira, Diana P.The textile industry is under increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact, standing out as one of the largest contributors to global pollution. Conventional dyeing and finishing/functionalization processes are highly resource-intensive and depend on hazardous chemicals, contributing to water contamination and waste generation (1). In response, new policies and the growing consumer demands and concerns for ...
Finishing of natural-based textiles using microalgae
Rocha, Verónica Patrícia Moreira; Pontes, Vasco Filipe Ferreira; Böttcher, Rita Barros; Costa, Sofia Maria Soares; Fangueiro, Raúl; Ferreira, Diana P.[Excert] Introduction: The application of natural-based textiles combined with algae-based solutions represents a promising and sustainable strategy. Marine algae pose promising potential as natural alternatives for textile dyeing and functionalization, contributing to the development of more sustainable textile solutions. Microalgae are a sustainable and versatile source of valuable bioactive compounds that ha...
An innovative solution for post-consumer footwear waste: Nonwoven fibrous struc...
Alves, Diana Isabel Sousa; Guimarães, Renato Filipe Costa Rodrigues; Costa, Sofia Maria Soares; Fernandes, Nuno Alexandre Tavares CamposWith 23.4 billion pairs made and 22 billion discarded in 2023, post-consumer footwear waste is a major environmental challenge, demanding a shift toward circular economy practices. In this work, post-consumer footwear waste is repurposed into thermal/acoustic insulation materials for building construction, producing four needle-punched nonwovens (two of them compressed) composed of a post-consumer leather (30%)...
Repurposing algae feedstock for nanofibers production: green approach towards e...
Costa, Sofia Maria Soares; Fangueiro, Raúl; Ferreira, Diana P.; Rocha, Verónica Patrícia Moreira; Costa, Isabel Maria Ferreira; Assunção, JoanaThis work aimed the extraction of sodium alginate (SA) and bioactive compounds from algae, and the subsequently, production and functionalization of nanofibers by electrospinning using the extracted materials. SA extraction was performed employing green processes and characterized by ATR-FTIR, XRD and TGA. The extracted bioactive compounds displayed antioxidant activity by ABTS method. The optimization process ...
Development of algae-based formulations for functionalizing and dyeing textiles
Böttcher, Rita Barros; Ferreira, Diana P.; Fangueiro, Raúl; Costa, Isabel Maria Ferreira; Costa, Sofia Maria SoaresThis research aims to replace synthetic dyes and finishing agents in the textile industry with sustainable resources by extracting ulvan from the green macroalga Ulva using eco-friendly methods, including citric acid, ultrasound, microwave, and enzymes. The extracted ulvan will be characterized by ATR-FTIR, TGA, and XRD, and its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties will be evaluated. Formulations containing...
PAN/CA-based electrospun membranes for air filtration and active microorganism ...
Rocha, Joana M.; Sousa, Rui P. C. L.; Araújo, Joana Carolina Carvalho; Costa, Sofia Maria Soares; Antunes, Wilson; Rocha, Verónica Patrícia MoreiraDesigned to efficiently remove particulates and degrade microorganisms, active filtration membranes enhance filtration efficiency while minimizing pressure drop and maintaining airflow. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened demand for high-efficiency facemasks, driving the pursuit of new materials with enhanced filtration, multifunctionality, and biodegradability. Among fabrication methods, electrospinning stand...
Algae-inspired nanofibers: electrospinning of seaweed compounds for advanced fi...
Costa, Sofia Maria Soares; Pontes, Vasco Filipe Ferreira; Rocha, Verónica Patrícia Moreira; Assunção, Joana; Costa, Isabel Maria Ferreira[Excerpt] Electrospinning has attracted increasing attention due to their exceptional versatility, performance, customization and scalability, offering great potential for various areas. Electrospun membranes exhibit outstanding characteristics, like large surface area-to-volume ratio, high porosity with interconnectivity, flexibility, ability to incorporate and release several bioactive agents, vast surface fu...