Profesores e Investigadores

Departamentos

Curriculum Vitae

María Jesús Morán Plata
Investigador/Técnico

Centro

E.S. CC. Experimentales y Tecnología

Departamento

Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica

Área

Química Inorgánica

Grupo de investigación

Grupo de investigación de alto rendimiento en Complejos Metálicos y Materiales Nanoestructurados con Aplicaciones Biológicas y Catalíticas de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Contacto

mariajesus.moran@urjc.es
Presentación

  • María Jesús Morán Plata (1993, Cáceres) received her B. Sc. in Chemistry and her Master in Green and Sustainable Chemistry in the University of Extremadura (Department of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry - July 2016) . Later on, she moved to Scotland for 2 months within the program Erasmus + to the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), under the supervision of Dr. Callum McHugh. Her activity there was focused on the synthesis and the systematic engineering of crystalline and thin film architectures, typically based upon diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) chemistry, as promising fluorescent dyes for bioimaging applications, as well as components of materials for use in organic electronics.

    She completed her Ph.D. in February 2020 in the Department of Drug Science and Technology at the University of Turin (Italy), under the supervision of Giancarlo Cravotto. During her Ph.D., she developed various hydrogenation strategies using hydrogen transfer (TH) catalyzed by copper nanoparticles for the synthesis of valuable molecules, using both conventional and unconventional energy sources. Her Ph.D. was funded by the European Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network COSMIC (ETN, Grant No 721290). This Ph.D. program was characterized by effective mobility: 5 months at KU Leuven (Belgium), 1 month at a company in Belgium (MEAM Test Center), and 3 months in Lyon at ARKEMA. During these stays, she scaled up the catalysis previously developed in the laboratory from milligram to gram scale, working with flow reactors. 

    In July 2021, she started a one-year postdoctoral research contract within the ARTIBLED-H2020-FETOPEN project at the University of Turin (Italy), in the Department of Organic Chemistry, in Claudia Barolo's group. This project focused on the development of artificial fluorescent proteins for biological LEDs. Additionally, she worked on the synthesis and characterization of organic dyes as near-infrared (NIR) photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC).

    In September 2021, she had the opportunity to return to Spain after obtaining an MSCA-IF in San Sebastian (DIPC), in Luca Salassa's group. DELCAT - Catalysis toward platinum substrates for drug delivery - focused on the development of catalytic biomaterials and metallo-flavin-based catalysts for use in drug release and organic catalysis. Since the conclusion of the MSCA-IF fellowship at the end of 2023, she assumed the role of postdoctoral fellow within the same research group, where she continued her ongoing research while exploring new synthetic approaches grounded in dual flavin-metal catalysis. Additionally, she spearheaded a project focused on developing innovative metal-based antiviral/anticancer compounds, resulting in an european patent application within a few months (Nº EP23383336) (submitted).

    In January 2025, she was awarded the "Ayuda de Atracción de Talento Investigador: César Nombela" grant, which allows her to establish an independent research line at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos as part of the COMET-NANO group. Here, the new research line will be mainly focused on developing innovative tools that enhance the creation of photoactivatable metal-based anticancer agents for boosting targeted photo-induced therapy.

Docencia y asignaturas impartidas en el curso actual

  • Grado

    PLAN ASIGNATURA
    (2342) GRADO EN INGENIERIA ELECTRONICA INDUSTRIAL Y AUTOMATICA (MOSTOLES)ESTRUCTURA DE COMPONENTES ELECTRONICOS
    (2140) GRADO EN INGENIERIA EN ORGANIZACION INDUSTRIAL (VICALVARO)QUIMICA II
    (2362) GRADO EN NANOCIENCIA Y NANOTECNOLOGIA (MOSTOLES)QUIMICA INORGANICA Y ORGANOMETALICA
Listado de proyectos (Últimos 10 años)
Códigos de investigador
Información adicional
  • 1. Alloxazine-Based Ligands and Their Ruthenium Complexes as NADH Oxidation Catalysts and G4 Binders, M. J. Moran Plata, L. Marretta, L. Gaztelumendi, G. E. Pieslinger, R. R. Carballo, E. Rezabal, G. Barone, V. Martínez-Martínez, A. Terenzi, L Salassa, Inorganic Chemistry, 2024, 63, 16362-16373, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02314  

    2.    Chemoenzymatic oxidation of diols catalyzed by co-immobilized flavins and dehydrogenases, S. F. Castillo Pacheco, M. J. Moran*, J. I. Santos, L. Salassa and F. López-Gallego, ChemCatChem, e202300140, 2023, https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-05pvx       

    3. Quatsomes loaded with squaraine dye as an effective photo-sensitizer for Photodynamic Therapy,     N. Bordignon, M. Köber, G. Chinigò, C. Pontremoli, E. Sansone, G. Vargas-Nadal, M. J. Moran Plata, A. Fiorio Pla, N. Barbero, J. Morla-Folch, N. Ventosa, Pharmaceutics, 2023, 15, 902, https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15030902      

    4. Photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy: Structure-activity analysis of cyanine dyes through Design of Experiments,     C. Pontremoli , G. Chinigo, S. Galliano, M.J. Moran Plata, D.M. Dereje, E. Sansone, A. Gilardino, C. Barolo, A. Fiorio Pla, S. Visentin, N. Barbero, Dyes and Pigments, 2023, 210, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dyepig.2022.111047

    5. Unconventional and sustainable syntheses of polymethine dyes. Critical overview and perspectives within the framework of the twelve principles of green chemistry,     A. Antenucci, S. Nejrotti, M. J. Moran Plata, N. Mariotti, N. Barbero, EurJOC, 2022, e202200943, doi: 10.1002/ejoc.202200943     

    6. Squaraine dyes as fluorescent turn-on probes for mucins: a step toward specificity, C. Butnarasu, C. Pontremoli, M. J. Moran Plata, N. Barbero, S. Visentin, Photochem. Photobiol., 2023, 99, 562-569, doi: 10.1111/php.13722        

    7. Copper-catalyzed continuous-flow transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes to anilines: a scalable and reliable protocol, M. J. Moran, K. Martina, M. Manzoli, M. Trukan, S. Kuhn, T. Van Gerven, G. Cravotto, Org. Process Res. Dev, 2023,     doi: 10.1021/acs.oprd.3c00144        

    8. Polymethine dyes for PDT: recent advances and perspectives to drive future applications, D. M. Dereje, C. Pontremoli, M. J. Moran, S. Visentin, N. Barbero, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2022, doi: /10.1007/s43630-022-00175-6

    9. Copper(0) nanoparticles catalyzed Z-Selective Transfer Semihydrogenation of Internal Alkynes, M. J. Moran, K. Martina, V. Bieliunas, F. Baricco, S. Tagliapietra, G. Berlier, W. M. De Borggraeve, G. Cravotto, Adv. Synth. Catal., 2021, 363, 2850-2860 doi: 10.1002/adsc.202100126        
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