Marlene Lúcio

Introduction: Ovarian cancer remains one of the most lethal gynaecological malignancies, with limited clinical progress despite conventional therapeutic advances. Its multifactorial complexity highlights the need for innovative strategies that integrate pharmacological efficacy, sustainability and social responsibility principles. Objectives: This work aims to apply sustainable nanotechnology to ovarian cancer theranostics by converting viticulture byproducts into high-performance nanocarriers, while promoting scientific literacy and supporting a circular economy. Methodology: As an initial step toward green synthesis, nanometric graphene oxide (NGO) was chemically synthesized, characterized, and functionalized. Conjugates with doxorubicin (NGO@DOX) were developed to enable pH-responsive controlled release. In parallel, a citizen science strategy will be implemented, following a co-creation model involving wine growers and rural community members in the characterisation of wine-making bioresidues, the definition of sustainability criteria, and the assessment of the socioeconomic impact of their application as pharmaceutical raw material. Participatory workshops will integrate co-design activities and discussions on sustainability, nanotechnology and oncological health. Results: NGO@DOX exhibited stable drug binding at neutral pH and efficient release under acid conditions, promoting targeted and controlled delivery. NGO showed tunable optical properties suitable for bioimaging and photothermal applications. These findings support future "Green-Graphene" synthesis from Douro vineyard biowaste, conjugated with an antineoplastic drug (paclitaxel) and a chemosensitizer (resveratrol), to develop multifunctional nanoconjugates with synergistic effects. The participatory framework is expected to enhance scientific literacy and sustainable territorial innovation. Conclusion: NGO-based conjugates demonstrate effective drug release and bioimaging potential, supporting the transition toward sustainable synthesis using vineyard waste while promoting health education and resource valorization.

Introduction: Low transungual permeability constitutes one of the main challenges in the topical treatment of nail disorders, limiting the efficacy of pharmaceutical formulations and contributing to high rates of clinical failure. Diseases such as onychomycosis, with high prevalence and a significant impact on quality of life, exemplify this problem. To study and develop strategies that enable overcoming this natural barrier of the human nail, it is essential to have experimental models that accurately reproduce it. However, the stratified organisation of the nail plate, associated with a keratin-rich matrix and a reduced lipid fraction, hinders such reproduction in conventional models, justifying the need to develop and validate more representative biomimetic approaches. The present work aimed to characterise and functionally validate a multilayer biomimetic ungual model based on a nanofibrous structure with lipid deposition, assessing its selective capacity in the transungual permeation of compounds with different physicochemical properties.Methodology: The multilayer nanofibrous structure was produced by sequential electrospinning, combining synthetic polymers and keratin extracted from human hair in order to mimic the dorsal, intermediate, and ventral regions of the nail plate. To reproduce the nail lipid fraction, a biomimetic lipid layer was applied. Functional evaluation was carried out through in vitro permeation assays using Franz diffusion cells, employing caffeine (hydrophilic compound) and terbinafine (lipophilic compound) as model molecules, enabling the determination of permeation flux and permeability coefficients.Results: The results revealed distinct permeation profiles dependent on compound characteristics. A significant reduction in caffeine flux was observed across the multilayer biomimetic ungual model. In contrast, terbinafine exhibited higher permeation through the biomimetic model, suggesting greater affinity for the incorporated lipid fraction. The results appear to reproduce the physiological behaviour of the human nail, supporting the selective capacity of the model for transungual transport of different molecules.Conclusion: It is concluded that the developed multilayer biomimetic ungual model constitutes a promising in vitro experimental platform with strong potential as a representative model for transungual permeation studies. However, the need for further validation is acknowledged, and future studies involving a broader range of compounds will allow the consolidation of its applicability.

Understanding how therapeutic molecules and carbon-based nanomaterials reorganize lipid interfaces is essential for the rational design of functional soft-matter platforms, including lipid-based nanocarriers and biomimetic membrane models. Here, we present an interfacial biophysical study of doxorubicin (DOX), green-synthesized graphene quantum dots (GQDs), and GQD@DOX assemblies in Langmuir monolayers composed of dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide:monoolein (DODAB:MO, 1:2), used as a lipid nanocarrier interfacial model, and PC:SM:CHOL (3:3:4) or PC:SM:PS:CHOL (3:2:1:4), used as simplified healthy- and cancer-mimetic membrane models. Using Langmuir surface-pressure/area isotherms, Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), compression–expansion cycles and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), we show that DOX produces the strongest condensing effect in lipid monolayers, reducing the molecular area to 17 Å2 molecule−1 at 45 mN m−1, compared with approximately 29–31 Å2 molecule−1 for non-functionalized GQD. In contrast, GQD@DOX assemblies exhibited reduced condensation, highlighting steric hindrance and decreased molecular flexibility as relevant structural factors determining interactions with lipid interfaces. Compared with healthy membrane models, which displayed higher elastic compressibility modulus (Cs−1) values, cancer-mimetic monolayers showed lower Cs−1 values, consistent with higher lateral compressibility, reduced packing rigidity and enhanced susceptibility to interfacial perturbation by DOX, GQDs and GQD@DOX assemblies. In situ BAM imaging revealed larger, irregular condensed domains in cancer-model monolayers, whereas healthy model membranes retained more ordered structures. ATR-FTIR analysis suggested distinct surface chemical features in GQDs, including oxygen-bearing groups and possible sulphur-containing moieties, which may contribute to their interfacial interaction profile. These findings provide a surface/interface-level mechanistic basis for the future rational design of lipid-based theranostic systems, while highlighting how nanocarrier and membrane composition modulate molecular packing, lateral compressibility and interfacial morphology.

The barrier function of the skin is primarily determined by its outermost layer, the Stratum Corneum (SC). The SC consists of corneocytes embedded in a lipid matrix composed mainly of ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids in equimolar proportions and is organised in a complex lamellar structure with different periodicities and lateral packings. This matrix provides a diffusion pathway across the SC for bioactive compounds that are administered to the skin. In this regard, and as the skin administration route has grown in popularity, there has been an increase in the use of lipid mixtures that closely resemble the SC lipid matrix, either for a deeper biophysical understanding or for pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes. This review focuses on a systematic analysis of the main outcomes of using lipid mixtures as SC lipid matrix models for pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes. Thus, a methodical evaluation of the main outcomes based on the SC structure is performed, as well as the main recent developments in finding suitable new in vitro tools for permeation testing based on lipid models.