Collaborative project on Biomedical Materials brings together researchers from Portugal and China

The research project "Biofunctional coatings for cardiovascular interventional devices", presented by researchers Cristina Martins, from the National Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Jian Ji, from Zhejiang University was selected following the Call exploratory projects promoted by the Portugal-China Joint Innovation Center for Advanced Materials.

From April to May 2013, FCT and the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (MOST) received applications for collaborative projects in the areas of Biomedical Materials, Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials, Sustainable Materials and Materials for Energy. Thirteen joint applications were assessed and one project was selected, which will last one year and will receive €100,000 in funding.

The selected project aims to develop a new generation of coatings for devices used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Considered one of the leading causes of death and disability, cardiovascular diseases affect millions of people around the world, with China registering more than 10 million new patients every year. Controlling inflammation caused by mechanical damage during treatment and promoting the healing of blood vessels through the type of coating used, and making it possible to reduce infections caused by the use of catheters through the use of antifungal coatings are some of the issues raised in this project.

The research team for the selected project has already been collaborating for over a decade, starting in 1997 with the "Blood contact materials" project, under the China-Portugal Sci & Tech agreement. The institutions associated with the project also include the companies Zhejiang Zylox Medical Device (China), Matera (Portugal) and IPATIMUP.