Tag Archives: Published paper

New paper has been accepted and published online

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As part of the bachelor’s thesis of the former student—and now Biotechnology Engineer—Isaac Peña-Romero, we analyzed polyphenols in strawberry leaves using both high-field NMR (750 MHz, Bruker) and benchtop NMR (60 MHz, Magritek). The findings validate the application of low-field NMR for profiling such compounds. Notably, the study highlights the potential of Fragaria × ananassa cultivars Marisol and Festival as promising sources of bioactive polyphenols.

This research was supported by Ley del Cemento N°9829 at Tecnológico de Costa Rica (TEC). It involved the collaboration of Prof. Fabián Villalta-Romero and Prof. Karla Salas-Arias from the Biotechnology Research Center at TEC, as well as Dr. Karla Ramírez-Gualito from Universidad Anáhuac, Mexico. This work is part of a broader initiative uniting research groups committed to democratizing access to NMR technology in Costa Rica and across the region.

The study was published in Pure and Applied Chemistry, the official journal of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), published by Walter de Gruyter. The journal is currently ranked Q3 in the Chemistry/Multidisciplinary category (Journal Citation Reports).

We warmly invite all interested readers to access and explore our publication. If you are unable to download the manuscript, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Link: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/pac-2025-0475/html

New paper has been accepted and published online

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As part of an undergraduate research program funded by the Vicerrectoría de Investigación at Tecnológico de Costa Rica (TEC) and supported by the Centro de Investigación en Protección Ambiental (CIPA), our group is thrilled to announce the acceptance of a research paper in the journal Gels.

This study represents the work of Tatiana Alpízar-Rojas, a Materials Science Engineering student at TEC, who synthesized and characterized a hydrophobic silica aerogel as a carrier for a plastic degrading enzyme. Using a combination of advanced techniques—such as FT-IR, TEM, nitrogen sorption experiments, and 13C, 29Si, and hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR—the team demonstrated how the LCC ICCG enzyme can be successfully encapsulated within the aerogel. The findings show great potential for future environmental applications, particularly on microplastic pollution issues.

This research is the result of an excellent collaboration with Prof. Erik Castellón from the School of Chemistry at Universidad de Costa Rica and the group of Prof. Jörg Matysik from the Institut für Analytische Chemie at Universität Leipzig. Special thanks go to CIPA and the School of Chemistry at TEC for their invaluable support.

Gels is an open-access journal from MDPI, ranked in Q1 for polymer science, and we warmly invite anyone interested to access and explore our publication.

Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/2/92

New paper has been accepted and published online

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With the support of the Centro de Investigación y de Servicios Químicos y Microbiológicos (CEQIATEC) from the School of Chemistry at Tecnológico de Costa Rica, a comprehensive review has been accepted and published online in the national journal Tecnología en Marcha. The paper is written in Spanish to reach a national audience

This review marks the first historical account of NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) development in Costa Rica, following extensive bibliographic research and interviews with former NMR users. The review is divided into four sections:

1. Introduction: A brief overview of the fundamentals of NMR.
2. Historical Equipment Overview: A detailed citation and technical explanation of all NMR devices installed and used in Costa Rica.
3. Scientific Contributions: A summary of all papers and scientific work conducted in the country since the installation of the first NMR magnet.
4. Current State and Future Prospects: An analysis of the current state of NMR in Costa Rica, along with a list of potential applications aimed at expanding NMR use with innovative perspectives.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the student Andrés Borloz-Chinchilla for his hard work and patience during the design, preparation and writing of the review.

On this link you can download and read the paper. Please reach the authors if you have any comment and/or suggestion regarding the information presented on the paper.

    New paper has been accepted and published online

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    Thanks to the collaboration with the groups of Prof. Jörg Matysik and Prof. Dirk Enke, at the Universität Leipzig, the work done by my student, Juan Diego Barboza-Carmona, has been accepted and published online in the Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology (Springer).

    An integral overview of the porous structure of hydrophobic acid and base-catalyzed sodium silicate-based aerogels was done by using hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR spectroscopy, together with other classical characterization techniques.

    View of a water droplet over the synthesized aerogel surface. The hydrophobicity of the sample is quite characteristic.

    On this link you will find the paper. If you (or your institution) do not have access to the journal, please feel free to write me.