Visiting Graduate Student – MIT Portugal Program
Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room: E18-524
Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
Phone: (617) 258-8037
Email: claudiacv23@gmail.com
Education
PhD candidate in BioEngineering Systems (MIT Portugal Program, since 2015)
M.Sc. Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal (2014)
Research Interests
Development of a sustainable bioprocess for the production of novel xylooligosaccharides and their potential application.
Research Description
The growing demand of novel food products for well-being and age related issues has attracted global attention on prebiotics. Xylooligosaccarides (XOS) are the only nutraceuticals that can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass. Indeed, XOS can be produced from agricultural crop residues, which is encouraging to the food ingredient industries, as these raw materials are inexpensive, abundant and renewable in nature. XOS beneficial effects include, besides the selective growth stimulation of beneficial gut microflora, enhanced mineral absorption, cholesterol lowering, glucose homeostasis, pathogen exclusion, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic activities, among others. The precursor for XOS is xylan. This polysaccharide accounts for 25 to 50% of the dry mass of lignocellulosic-based agriculture residues. The microbial or enzymatic conversion of xylan into value-added useful products, as XOS, holds a great promise for the use of a variety of residues. The goal of my research is to develop a sustainable bioprocess by exploring the use of agro-industrial residues for the production of novel XOS and to evaluate their effect on the probiotics viability under simulated gastric conditions.
Publications
Ferraz, A. I., Amorim, C., Tavares, T., Teixeira, J. A. “Chromium (III) biosorption onto spent grains residual from brewing industry: equilibrium, kinetics and column studies.” (2017) International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology pp:1-12.