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With open facilities, the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) annually welcomes about 1200 Brazilian and foreign researchers, committed to more than 400 studies that result in approximately 200 articles published in scientific journals. Check out below some of the many investigations that have benefited from LNLS facilities.

February 23rd, 2024

Brazilian researchers use Sirius facilities to investigate biophysical processes related to prions

Research published in the journal Science Advances by Brazilian researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) used the Cateretê beamline at Sirius to investigate the biophysical mechanisms that cause the aggregation of proteins known as prions.

November 17th, 2023

Article published in Communications Materials presents significant findings and discusses the possibilities offered by this technique combined with synchrotron light sources

Porous materials play key roles in a variety of contexts, from transporting water and nutrients in biological systems to storing oil and water in reservoirs of rock. And synthetic polymer membranes are essential to separation processes, as in the case of chromatography.

July 21st, 2023

The research used diamond anvil cells (DAC) together with synchrotron light to investigate superconductors under extreme pressures

Superconductivity was first identified in 1911 by the physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, and is still a significant focus of research in the field of condensed matter physics.

April 26th, 2023

Review article was highlighted in the Applied Physics Reviews journal and explains how computed micro- and nanotomography can be used in fourth-generation synchrotrons like Sirius

Fourth-generation synchrotron light sources like Sirius expand the capacities of x-ray micro- and nanotomography to new levels. A review article written by a team of researchers from the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) and the Federal University of ABC and published in Applied Physics Reviews describes recent developments in x-ray computed tomography associated with synchrotron light and artificial intelligence. 

April 26th, 2023

Researchers at USP in São Carlos combined cutting-edge technologies and demonstrated that a molecule targeted by medications behaves differently than previously theorized.

A group of researchers from the University of São Paulo in São Carlos has just presented their findings from research indicating a new understanding of the maturation process and how inhibitors act upon the Mpro protein, an essential component in the life cycle of the Sars-CoV-2 virus and the target of various efforts to develop medications to treat Covid-19.
Network of interactions between metabolites

April 11th, 2023

Paper published at Science Magazine investigates unexpected molecular interactions that affect cell function and could cause disease

Cells conduct a series of interconnected biochemical reactions to obtain energy and respond to infections and different stressors. These reactions comprise what are known as metabolic pathways, which interact in complex networks and regulate various cellular processes. Understanding how these networks interconnect and work to regulate cellular processes is a challenge, because this signaling often depends on interactions between proteins and small molecules known as metabolites that involve low-affinity molecular bonds which are extremely difficult to identify. 

March 31st, 2023

Review article was highlighted in Chemical Reviews magazine

Originally published by CINE (Center for Innovation on New Energies)   A body of recent research is accelerating the development of perovskite solar cells. These studies monitored, in real time and in detail, the changes that occur in perovskite films during processes that influence their early degradation – one of the main obstacles to the commercialization of this emerging photovoltaic technology.

February 24th, 2023

Experiment carried out on Sirius shed light on reaction fundamental to the production of hydrogen fuel

This text was originally published in Pesquisa FAPESP magazine in January 2023   A recent experiment at Sirius, the Brazilian synchrotron light source at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue 269) showed how a certain biological catalyst can more efficiently split water molecules (H2O) using electrolysis. This reaction, an electrochemical process that uses electricity to break down water into the elements that comprise it, is very significant because it produces not only oxygen but also hydrogen, considered the fuel of the future by many specialists because it does not emit any polluting gases when it is utilized (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue 314).

October 26th, 2022

The first scientific paper published with data obtained at the EMA beamline studied the relationship between skutterudite’s superconducting properties and the distance between their atoms.

In Brazil, about 7.5% of the electricity produced is lost in transmission and distribution. This happens because the materials that make up these systems are not perfect electrical conductors and dissipate part of the energy, for example, in the form of heat. Similarly, even though electric cars are much more efficient than combustion-engine vehicles, they can still lose up to 15 percent of their energy during the charging process.

July 5th, 2022

Researchers from CNPEM and collaborators demonstrate the potential of naturally abundant and low-cost minerals for application in nanodevices

The earth's crust consists mostly of minerals called silicates, rocks composed mainly of the chemical elements silicon (Si) and oxygen (O). This is the case of feldspar, whose erosion gives rise to clays; and quartz, the main component of sand, among others. Extremely abundant, silicates are used not only in the production of construction materials, glass, and ceramics, but also in agriculture, and in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, chemical, and petrochemical industries.