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Filipe Natalio ERC

Filipe Natalio, leader of the Material Farming Laboratory at UCIBIO-NOVA FCT, was distinguished with a European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept grant with the project BIODENIM: “Bio-Engineered Dyeing Innovations for Sustainable Cotton Textiles”. This is the researcher’s third ERC Grant, ensuring continuous funding from the European Research Council for his work in utilizing biological systems and chemical synthesis to develop innovative materials that promote sustainability in the textile industry. 

 

The BIODENIM project will be funded with €150,000  "to develop and implement a novel eco-friendly textile dyeing method that combines the design of genetically engineered colored proteins with a non-toxic, zero-waste innovative application methodology, eliminating toxic waste and pollution and significantly reducing water consumption.”, explains Filipe Natalio, Portuguese researcher that has recently integrated UCIBIO and established the new Research Lab Material Farming at NOVA FCT. 

 

The solutions developed by Filipe Natalio include new pigments that enable the direct dyeing of cotton fibers and the cultivation of cotton with the desired color "embedded" directly into the fibers, such as blue, similar to the color of jeans, or special features like hydrophobic properties that repel water absorption. 

 

The researcher emphasizes that this approach enables a more sustainable future for the textile sector, in which Portugal holds a leading position in the European market. The processes developed do not involve genetic manipulation or the creation of genetically modified cotton plants and offer improved dye durability that does not fade with washing. 

 

This pioneering idea, unique at a global level, has attracted the attention of the European Union, having already received funding from two European Research Council (ERC) Grants – an ERC Consolidator Grant worth €2 million for the project BIOMATFAB and an ERC Proof of Concept Grant worth €150,000 for the project HYDROCOLTON. Filipe Natalio has now received another ERC Proof of Concept Grant of €150,000 to develop the BIODENIM project. 

  

The awarded researcher explains that “the EU is quite strict regarding genetically modified plants and organisms, limiting the development of technologies and innovation at a time when science relies on these technologies. Our innovative solutions respect biology and are based on our understanding of how cotton fibers form”. 

 

Solution Through Sugar Molecules 

Filipe Natalio’s team developed this novel solution using sugar molecules. The cotton fibers in a t-shirt are cells that form a "blanket" of cellulose as they grow. Cellulose, a polymer used in many products we use daily, is composed of identical units, like LEGO bricks made of sugar, creating a form of "cotton candy." After understanding this process, the scientists designed and synthesized sugar molecules to supply to cotton plants. The result was cotton dyed with these sugar molecules, whose colors remained intact. 

“Leveraging biological systems is one of humanity's last frontiers. However, the complexity of these organisms has hindered the use of biochemistry in material production,” explains Filipe Natalio. “This approach demonstrates that it is possible to modify a plant’s properties, particularly cotton, without genetic modifications, and that research at the interface of chemistry and plant biochemistry plays a fundamental role in creating sustainable solutions for the industry.” 

 

These solutions will foster the creation of a unique ecosystem of synergies in Portugal, linking fundamental research to industry and to a market receptive to such innovations. 

In the future, Filipe Natalio and his team will continue their research at UCIBIO - NOVA FCT, working to optimize this method and scale the process to a pilot level with national and international industry partners. 

 

About Filipe Natalio 

Filipe Natalio graduated in Chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon and completed a Master’s degree at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands in 2004. He earned his Ph.D. at the Medical University of Mainz, Germany, under the prestigious Marie Curie Fellowship. During this period, he was also a visiting researcher in Italy and China, further expanding his international scientific training. 

  In 2013, he began his research on combining synthetic chemistry and plant biology at the University of Halle-Saale, Germany. In 2017, he joined the Weizmann Institute of Science, where he continued to pursue innovative research in this field. He has now returned to Portugal to lead pioneering projects at NOVA FCT as part of the UCIBIO research unit. 

 

Filipe in the lab

 

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Filipe Natálio vai ao mar procurar a cor azul para tornar a roupa mais sustentável, Público