Carmen Cristina Piras

Carmen Cristina Piras
Johnson & Johnson | J&J · Janssen Research and Development, LLC

PhD - Material Chemistry

About

26
Publications
11,559
Reads
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970
Citations
Introduction
In 2012 I graduated in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies at the University of Cagliari (Italy) and then pursued a PhD in Supramolecular Hydrogels at the University of Kent. After a Postdoc at KU Leuven (Belgium) focusing on rheology modifiers, I moved to York (UK) for a second Postdoc on spatio-temporally controlled multicomponent hydrogels for stem cell tissue engineering. After 4 years of stimulating research at York, I have joined Janssen R&D, where I work as a Formulation Scientist.
Additional affiliations
February 2022 - April 2024
Johnson & Johnson
Position
  • Material Scientist
January 2018 - December 2021
University of York
Position
  • PostDoc Position
September 2016 - December 2017
KU Leuven
Position
  • PostDoc Position
Education
February 2013 - July 2016
University of Kent | Medway School of Pharmacy
Field of study
  • Materials Chemistry
October 2006 - April 2012
University of Cagliari
Field of study
  • Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies

Publications

Publications (26)
Article
Full-text available
With the goal of imposing shape and structure on supramolecular gels, we combine a low‐molecular‐weight gelator (LMWG) with the polymer gelator (PG) calcium alginate in a hybrid hydrogel. By imposing thermal and temporal control of the orthogonal gelation methods, the system either forms an extended interpenetrating network or core–shell‐structured...
Article
Full-text available
3D-Bioprinting has seen a rapid expansion in the last few years, with an increasing number of reported bioinks. Alginate is a natural biopolymer that forms hydrogels by ionic cross-linking with calcium ions. Due to its biocompatibility and ease of gelation, it is an ideal ingredient for bioinks. This review focuses on recent advances on bioink form...
Article
Full-text available
We report the preparation of hybrid self-assembled microgel beads by combining the low molecular weight gelator (LMWG) DBS-CONHNH2 and the natural polysaccharide calcium alginate polymer gelator (PG). Microgel formulations based on LMWGs are extremely rare due to the fragility of the self-assembled networks and the difficulty of retaining any impos...
Article
Full-text available
This paper reports simple strategies to fabricate self-assembled artificial tubular and filamentous systems from a low molecular weight gelator (LMWG). In the first strategy, tubular ‘core–shell’ gel structures based on the dibenzylidenesorbitol-based LMWG DBS-CONHNH2 were made in combination with the polymer gelator (PG) calcium alginate. In the s...
Article
Full-text available
Hydrogels with spatio-temporally controlled properties are appealing materials for biological and pharmaceutical applications. We make use of mild acidification protocols to fabricate hybrid gels using calcium alginate in the presence of a pre-formed thermally-triggered gel based on a low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) 1,3:2:4-di(4-acylhydrazide)-...
Article
Full-text available
This paper reports hybrid gels combining a low‐molecular‐weight gelator (LMWG) and a photoinitiated crosslinked polymer gel (PG). The presence of the PG enhanced the stiffness and strength of the gel. The gels were loaded with heparin, and in the hybrid gel, the interpenetrated LMWG and PG networks somewhat restricted its release. In terms of stem...
Article
Full-text available
The N-fluorenyl-9-methyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-protected amino acids have shown high antimicrobial application potential, among which the phenylalanine derivative (Fmoc-F) is the most well-known representative. However, the activity spectrum of Fmoc-F is restricted to Gram-positive bacteria only. The demand for efficient antimicrobial materials expande...
Article
Full-text available
The increase in demand for Pd and its low abundance pose a significant threat to its future availability, rendering research into more sustainable Pd-based technologies essential. Herein, we report Pd scavenging mechanically robust hybrid gel beads composed of agarose, a polymer gelator (PG), and an active low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) based...
Article
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Two different low-molecular-weight gelators have been simultaneously 3D-printed by wet-spinning as filaments, which combine the properties of the two gelators in synergistic ways.
Article
Full-text available
We report hybrid hydrogels that combine gellan gum (GG) polymer gelator (PG) with a low-molecular weight gelator (LMWG) based on 1,3:2,4-dibenzylidene sorbitol (DBS). We fabricate these gels into beads using a heat–cool cycle to set the LMWG gel and then using different calcium sources (CaCl2 and CaCO3) to subsequently crosslink the gellan gum. In...
Article
Full-text available
A transient organo-gelation system with spatiotemporal dynamic properties is described. Here, the solvent actively controls a complex set of equilibria that underpin the dynamic assembly event. The observed metastability is...
Article
Full-text available
Hybrid gel beads based on combining a low‐molecular‐weight gelator (LMWG) with a polymer gelator (PG) demonstrate an enhanced ability to self‐propel in water, with the LMWG playing an active role. Hybrid gel beads were loaded with ethanol and shown to move in water owing to the Marangoni effect changes in surface tension caused by the expulsion of...
Article
Full-text available
This article describes the fabrication of new pH‐responsive hybrid gel beads combining the polymer gelator calcium alginate with two different low‐molecular‐weight gelators (LMWGs) based on 1,3 : 2,4‐dibenzylidene‐d‐sorbitol: pH‐responsive DBS‐COOH and thermally responsive DBS‐CONHNH2, thus clearly demonstrating that different classes of LMWG can b...
Article
Full-text available
To achieve spatial resolution of a multi-component gel, a double diffusion approach is used which enables the precise programming of self-assembled patterned domains with well-defined shapes and sizes. The low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs) used in this study are pH-responsive DBS-CO2H and thermally-responsive DBS-CONHNH2 (both based on 1,3:2,4-...
Article
Full-text available
The dynamic assembly of a pH-responsive low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) within the pre-formed matrix of a second LMWG has been achieved via diffusion of an acid from a reservoir cut into the gel. Self-assembly of the acid-triggered LMWG as it converts from micellar aggregates at basic pH into gel nanofibers at lower pH values can be both spatia...
Article
Herein we report a facile approach to prepare low DS microfibrillated cellulose acetoacetates and esters. All the reactions were performed directly in cellulose slurries without the need of solvent evaporation, which can cause hornification, and without damaging the fibres. The products obtained display the inserted functionalities while retaining...
Article
Full-text available
This Full Paper reports the formation of silver (Ag) NPs within spatially resolved two‐component hydrogel beads, which combine a low‐molecular‐weight gelator (LMWG) DBS‐CONHNH2 and a polymer gelator (PG) calcium alginate. The AgNPs are formed through in situ reduction of AgI, with the resulting nanoparticle‐loaded gels being characterised in detail...
Article
Full-text available
As well known, cellulose fibers, defibrillated/activated in different degrees or even chemically modified, can be employed as additives in matrixes of different nature with the aim of modulating some properties such as the mechanical resistance, rheological behavior or hydrophobicity of the product. Consequently, there is an increasing interest in...
Article
Full-text available
Weiche Schale, weicher Kern: Die Kombination von supramolekularen Gel‐Kügelchen und Alginat kann genutzt werden, um katalytische, aus Gelatoren mit niedrigem Molekulargewicht zusammengesetzte Gele in sphärische Kern‐Schale‐Strukturen zu zwingen. Das System entfernt unerwünschtes PdII und reduziert es in situ zu katalytisch aktiven Pd⁰‐Nanopartikeln...
Article
Full-text available
A two‐component self‐sorting hydrogel based on acylhydrazide and carboxylic acid derivatives of 1,3:2,4‐dibenzylidene‐d‐sorbitol (DBS‐CONHNH2 and DBS‐COOH) is reported. A heating–cooling cycle induces the self‐assembly of DBS‐CONHNH2, followed by the self‐assembly of DBS‐COOH induced by decreasing pH. Although the networks are formed sequentially,...
Article
Full-text available
Ball milling is a simple, fast, cost-effective green technology with enormous potential. One of the most interesting applications of this technology in the field of cellulose is the preparation and the chemical modification of cellulose nanocrystals and nanofibers. Although a number of studies have been reported in literature, the potential of this...
Article
Full-text available
Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy has been used extensively for the investigation of the conformation and configuration of chiral molecules, but its use for evaluating the mode of self‐assembly in soft materials has been limited. Herein, we report a protocol for the study of such materials by electronic CD spectroscopy using commercial/benchtop...
Article
3D bioprinting is a new developing technology with lots of promise in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Being biocompatible, biodegradable, renewable and cost-effective, cellulosic nanomaterials have recently captured the attention of researchers due to their applicability as inks for 3D bioprinting. Although a number of cellulose-based...
Poster
Full-text available
Prize-winning poster presented at the 16th International Conference on Chiroptical Spectroscopy (CD2017) in Rennes, France (11th-15th June 2017)
Article
Full-text available
For successful nanomedicine, it is important that the unique, size-dependent physico-chemical properties of the nanomaterial remain predictably constant during both the storage and the manipulation of the material. Here a novel approach to preserve the colloidal stability and degradation of NPs is described. The concept is simple: (a) a solution of...
Poster
Full-text available
We have prepared 28 novel low molecular weight carbohydrate-based compounds which gel a range of solvents, with 12 of these gelling water via a thermal trigger. In this poster, we present circular dichroism (CD) investigations of hydrogels formed by four of these compounds, using both electronic and synchrotron radiation CD techniques.

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