The main scientific activity of this group focuses on the study of cosmetic and textile application of vehicles, able to encapsulate active principles. These lipid structures, such as liposomes, microspheres, etc., modulate the penetration of the actives in the different substrates. The effectiveness of the topical application on skin or hair to improve the hydration and skin barrier function, lipid peroxidation, etc. is evaluated.

Plasma Chemistry Group research is focused on the study and technological applications of plasma (4th state of the matter). Plasma state is the most common state of the matter found in universe. However, plasma can be man-made generated by the application of an electrical discharge in gases at both low and atmospheric pressure. Therefore, plasma can be considered as an ionized gas composed of molecules, excited atoms, free radicals, metaestable particles, electrons, ions and by electromagnetic radiations coming from deexcitation of these particles.

Our research primarily focusses on the engineering of enzymes by directed evolution and hybrid/semi-rational design for a wide range of biotechnological purposes; the development of high-throughput biomolecular screening tools and genetic methods for library construction and exploration, as well as synthetic biology studies for environmental and energy applications. IP: Miguel Alcalde (maicalde@icp.csic.es). Website: www.miguelalcaldelab.eu

The general aim of our research is to determine the role of several protein phosphatases in the repair of a DNA lession, and their importance in the mantenance of genome stability.

Astronomical observations, computational modelling and laboratory experiments of the physics and chemistry in interstellar and circumstellar media. Development of superconducting detectors, spectroscopic tools for data cube analysis and molecular spectroscopy line catalogues for the detection of new chemical species in Space. This is a multidisciplinary group providing a strong connection between Astrophysics, Chemical Physics, Experimental Astrochemistry, Materials Science and astronomical instrumentation for ground and space observatories.

Our aim is the R&D of new drugs for the treatment of neurological and infectious diseases. We are a multidisciplinary research group (chemistry, pharmacy and biology) with experience on molecular modelling and chemoinformatics, organic synthesis, biological screening, ADMETox properties optimization and business management. Our projects increase the knowledge on innovative targets with clear therapeutic potential for rare diseases such as ALS and higly pathogenic viral infections (Ebola, SARS-CoV-2) that allow the discovery of new drug candidates for their treatment.

The BIONANOSURF Group's research focuses on all the stages involved in the design, development, characterization, testing, validation and transfer of nanotechnologies for the diagnosis and treatment of various pathologies. Specifically, our research is mainly divided into 4 lines of research: therapeutic nanoconjugates and drug delivery systems; Magnetic Nanoactuators for Enzyme Activation and Membrane Receptors; Calorimetric nanobiosensors and Quality management in the development of Nanotechnology.

During their life cycle, fungi are able to change their morphology in response to environmental conditions. Our group is interested in the modifications that affect to a plant pathogen fungi during its infection cycle, and mainly the role of protein glycosylation in this process.

The goal of our research is to better understand the molecular mechanisms of depression and of new fast-acting antidepressant treatments (deep brain stimulation [DBS], ketamine, subunit selective NMDA receptor antagonists). We use animal models of this disorder to identify the ways in which long-term exposure to stress changes the brain to lead to depression-like syndromes. In this regard, we also study in detail the role of the projections from the prefrontal cortex to the monoaminergic nuclei of the brainstem in the pathophysiology of depression and its pharmacological treatment.

Our research interests lie at the interface between Chemistry and Biology. We apply Molecular Modeling and Computational Chemistry to the understanding of ligand-receptor interactions and molecular recognition processes in innate immunity relevant for the design of drugs and biological probes.