Ildefonso Marin Montesinos

Assistant Researcher

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Department

  • Chemistry
  • 15.3.20

Research

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Latest News

Scientic Interests

Methodology

  • Methodology in solid-state NMR and Magic-Angle Spinning Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (MAS-DNP) techniques
  • Developing of protocols  and novel radicals for MAS-DNP
  • Dipolar recoupling techniques by symmetry-based pulse sequences
  • Other characterization techniques: Neutron scattering and reflectometry, QCMd, AFM, ellipsometry, XRD, FT-IR, Langmuir-Blodgett isotherms, volumetric adsorption analysis, thermogravimetric analysis.
  • Sample preparation of lipidic samples: Langmuir-Blodgett film formation and liposome formation techniques

Materials

  • Characterization of materials for gas capture applications
  • Characterization of materials for application in catalysis
  • Novel materials from different waste for gas adsorption
  • Novel Materials for CO2 adsorption/conversion

Biology

  • Protein-Ligand interactions
  • Interaction site structure in protein-ligand binding
  • Characterization and study of membrane associated processes and biomolecules
  • Antimicrobial peptides
  • MAS-DNP and NMR characterization of biological systems
  • Structural study of the interaction interfaces of adaptor proteins involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME)
  • CME and its implications in degenerative diseases

Short CV

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

I obtained my BSc. in Chemistry at the Universidad de Sevilla in 2001. By October 2003, I started a PhD funded by an EPSRC Grant in the development of recoupling methods in Solid-State NMR for biomolecules in the group of Malcolm H. Levitt (University of Southampton). RESEARCH CAREER In November 2007, I joined the group of Ulrich Günther (University of Birmingham) as post-doc, where I entered in contact for the first time with the Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) technique. In 2010, I obtained the Beatriu de Pinós and Juan de La Cierva grants to work at the Biomolecular NMR Laboratory with Miquel Pons (IRB-Barcelona and the Universitat de Barcelona). In this lab, I started building my network of collaborators, further strengthening my knowledge of DNP and protein-ligand interactions. From 2015-2018, I was awarded a Labex ARCANE Postdoctoral Fellowship in the laboratory of Gaël de Paëpe and Sabine Hediger (CEA-Grenoble and Université Grenoble-Alpes). This position allowed me to further improve my knowledge of DNP by working in the study of carbohydrate-protein interaction by Magic-Angle-Spinning DNP (MAS-DNP) solid-state NMR in lectins. In 2019, I joined CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials as a researcher to work in the team of Luis Mafra using NMR and MAS-DNP for the characterization of porous materials and biomaterials with multiple applications such as gas separation/capture and catalysis. Additionally, I am establishing my own independent research line on structural biology with two main projects (see below).

CURRENT RESEARCH LINES

a) Biochemistry/Biology:

  1. Study interaction interfaces in clathrin-mediated endocytosis using complementary characterization techniques (solid-state NMR, neutron reflectometry, QCMD)
  2. Study the interaction of antimicrobial peptides with mimetic membranes
  3. Brewer spent yeast glucan structural characterization and its role on receptor recognition

b) Porous materials for CO2 capture:

  1. Amine-modified silicas
  2. Valorization of industrial bioresidues
  3. Covalent Organic Frameworks
  4. Periodic mesoporous organo-silicas
  5. Polysaccharide-derived solid CO2
  6. Lithium silicate sorbents. Different studies are performed for the characterization of these materials for CO2 capture. Amongst others, adsorption isotherms, NMR/DNP experiments for speciation and quantification, degradation under different conditions of humidity and temperature and recyclability assays.

c) NMR/DNP methodological developments:

  1. 3D-printing of NMR probe components.
  2. New radicals and sample formulation for MAS-DNP in porous materials and lipid membranes.

Research group

Team Specko: http://specko.web.ua.pt

 

Ongoing Supervisions

Ana Teresa Abreu Poças

PhD Student

Andrea Chacón Calderón

PhD Student

Daniel António Cunha Pereira

PhD Student

Márcio Miguel da Silva Soares

PhD Student

Tiago Fernando Teixeira Morais

PhD Student

Vítor J. Martins

PhD Student

Publications

Enhancing CO2 Capture Via Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of the CALF-20 Metal–Organic Framework

Daniel Pereira, Mariana Sardo, Ricardo Vieira, Ildefonso Marín-Montesinos, Luís Mafra*
2025, Inorganic Chemistry, 67, 7.

Combined thermodynamic and time-resolved structural analysis of interactions between AP2 and biomimetic plasma membranes provides insights into clathrin-mediated endocytosis

Armando Maestro, Nathan R. Zaccai, J.F. Gonzalez-Martinez, P. Sanchez-Puga, J. Tajuelo, M. A. Rubio, Andreas Santamaria, J. Carrascosa-Tejedor, D. Pereira, I. Marín-Montesinos, P. Gutfreund, Richard Campbell, J. Kotar, Bernard T. Kelly, Pietro Cicuta, David J. Owen
2025, Communications Biology .

Crystallinity-Enhanced CO2 Adsorption by Sodium Poly(Heptazine Imide) Frameworks

Pedro Ouro, Álvaro Cuevas, Johannes Liessem, Dariusz Mitoraj, Radim Beranek, Eva Díaz, Salvador Ordóñez, Ildefonso Marin-Montesinos, Daniel Pereira, Mariana Sardo, Igor Krivtsov, Luís Mafra, and Marina Ilkaeva
2025, ChemSusChem.

Structural molecular details of the endocytic adaptor protein CALM upon binding with phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate-containing model membranes

Andreas Santamaria, Daniel Pereira, Nisha Pawar, Bernard T. Kelly, Javier Carrascosa-Tejedor, Mariana Sardo, Luís Mafra, Giovanna Fragneto, David J. Owen*, Ildefonso Marín-Montesinos*, Eduardo Guzmán, Nathan R. Zaccai* and Armando Maestro*
2025, Communications Chemistry, 8.

Covalent connectivity of glycogen in brewer's spent yeast cell walls revealed by enzymatic approaches and dynamic nuclear polarization NMR

Bastos, R; Marín-Montesinos, I; Ferreira, SS; Mentink-Vigier, F; Sardo, M; Mafra, L; Coimbra, MA; Coelho, E
2024, CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS, 324.
ISBN: 1879-1344

Unravelling the structure of CO2 in silica adsorbents: an NMR and computational perspective

Sardo, M; Morais, T; Soares, M; Vieira, R; Ilkaeva, M; Lourenço, MAO; Marín-Montesinos, I; Mafra, L
2024, CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS, 60, 30, 4015-4035.
ISBN: 1364-548X

Valorization of Crab Shells as Potential Sorbent Materials for CO2 Capture

Pereira, D; Ilkaeva, M; Vicente, F; Vieira, R; Sardo, M; Lourenço, MAO; Silvestre, A; Marin-Montesinos, I; Mafra, L
2024, ACS OMEGA, 9, 16, 17956-17965.

Detection of helical water flows in sub-nanometer channels

Zelenovskii, P; Soares, M; Bornes, C; Marin-Montesinos, I; Sardo, M; Kopyl, S; Kholkin, A; Mafra, L; Figueiredo, F
2024, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 15, 1.
ISBN: 2041-1723

Engineering phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate model membranes enriched in endocytic cargo: A neutron reflectometry, AFM and QCM-D structural study

Pereiraa, D; Santamaria, A; Pawar, N; Carrascosa-Tejedor, J; Sardo, M; Mafra, L; Guzmán, E; Owen, DJ; Zaccai, NR; Maestro, A; Marín-Montesinos, I
2023, COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES, 227.

One-Shot Resin 3D-Printed Stators for Low-Cost Fabrication of Magic-Angle Spinning NMR Probeheads

Pereira, D; Sardo, M; Marín-Montesinos, I; Mafra, L
2023, ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, 95, 27, 10384-10389.

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