Paula Facal Marina

Paula Facal Marina

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

My professional career as a Chemist spans across over 15 years, applying progressive knowledge of environmental chemistry, nanotechnology and organic synthetic chemistry to contribute to groundbreaking scientific research.
Notable accomplishments include the participation in innovative research projects at the interface between chemistry and biomaterials science to develop innovative solutions to current and emerging biomedical and environmental challenges.

My extensive experience as a chemist includes providing advice on matters such as waste and quality management, food packaging and conservation, identification of chemical hazards and advising on its correct manipulation and storage.

  • Delivery gel lead optimisation: chemical formulation, Carina Biotech - CRC-P2 -patent filed 
  • Development of a thermo-responsive gel formulation for the localised delivery of CAR-T cells for the treatment of solid tumours, Cell Therapy Manufacturing CRC-funded project (P1-10)   
  • Development of functionalised nanoparticles for the detection and in situ treatment of cancer tumours, University of South Australia, 2016 
  • Method for marking magnetic nanoparticles to enhance microwave coatings and other applications, Frinova, University of Vigo, 2012. – translated and commercialised 
  • Different strategies for gold nanoparticles bio functionalisation for bacteria quantification, University of Vigo, 2011-2012.
  • Development of an atmospheric physico chemistry dynamic model for local contamination analysis, 1999
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  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2020 Brewer, K., Gundsambuu, B., Facal Marina, P., Barry, S. C., & Blencowe, A. (2020). Thermoresponsive Poly(ε-Caprolactone)-Poly(Ethylene/Propylene Glycol) Copolymers as Injectable Hydrogels for Cell Therapies.. Polymers, 12(2), 19 pages.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS1 Europe PMC1
    2020 Ayeleru, O., Dlova, S., Akinribide, O., Ntuli, F., Kupolati, W., Facal Marina, P., . . . Olubambi, P. (2020). Challenges of plastic waste generation and management in sub-Saharan Africa: A review. Waste Management, 110, 24-42.
    DOI
    2019 Graham, S., Marina, P., & Blencowe, A. (2019). Thermoresponsive polysaccharides and their thermoreversible physical hydrogel networks. Carbohydrate Polymers, 207, 143-159.
    DOI Scopus24 WoS19 Europe PMC3
    2019 Burzava, A., Forget, A., Harding, F., Cockshell, M., Penko, D., Rouzaud, C., . . . Voelcker, N. (2019). Replica moulded poly(dimethylsiloxane) microwell arrays induce localized endothelial cell immobilization for coculture with pancreatic islets. Biointerphases, 14(1), 9 pages.
    DOI
    2018 Facal Marina, P., Xu, J., Wu, X., & Xu, H. (2018). Thinking outside the box: Placing hydrophilic particles in an oil phase for the formation and stabilization of Pickering emulsions. Chemical Science, 9(21), 4821-4829.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS7 Europe PMC2
    2018 Ozcelik, B., Palmer, J., Ladewig, K., Facal Marina, P., Stevens, G. W., Abberton, K., . . . Qiao, G. G. (2018). Biocompatible Porous Polyester-Ether Hydrogel Scaffolds with Cross-Linker Mediated Biodegradation and Mechanical Properties for Tissue Augmentation.. Polymers, 10(2), 19 pages.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS4 Europe PMC1
    2018 Facal Marina, P., Cheng, C., Sedev, R., Stocco, A., Binks, B., & Wang, D. (2018). Van der Waals Emulsions: Emulsions Stabilized by Surface-Inactive, Hydrophilic Particles via van der Waals Attraction. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 57(30), 9510-9514.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS4
    2018 Facal Marina, P., Delcheva, I., & Beattie, D. (2018). Multi-modal stabilisation of emulsions using a combination of hydrophilic particles and an amino acid. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 538, 765-773.
    DOI Scopus3 WoS3
    2017 Richter, K., Facal, P., Thomas, N., Vandecandelaere, I., Ramezanpour, M., Cooksley, C., . . . Vreugde, S. (2017). Taking the silver bullet colloidal silver particles for the topical treatment of biofilm-related infections. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 9(26), 21631-21638.
    DOI Scopus17 WoS15 Europe PMC4
    2015 Xi, C., Facal, P., Xia, H., & Wang, D. (2015). Directed self-assembly of gold nanoparticles into plasmonic chains. Soft Matter, 11(23), 4562-4571.
    DOI Scopus32 WoS29 Europe PMC10
    1999 Iglesias-Fernández, O., Facal, P., González, M., & Rey, F. (1999). Conductimetric analysis of the interaction of Cu(II) ions and a humic-like natural polyelectrolyte (Laurel, Laurus nobilis) mixture. Analytica Chimica Acta, 401(1-2), 251-255.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS3
    1999 Kaemmerer, M., Guiresse, M., Revel, J., Koetz, P., Facal, P., & Rey, F. (1999). Conductimetric behaviour of humic acids with Cu(II) ions. Analusis, 27(5), 421-423.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS5
    1997 Rey, F., Pérez-Asenjo, M., Machado, A., Facal, P., & Ferreira, M. (1997). Influence of small alcohol concentrations on the conductimetric behaviour of a natural polyelectrolyte (laurel, laurus nobilis). Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 431(1), 77-79.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS4
    1996 Rey, F., Ferreira, M., Facal, P., & Machado, A. (1996). Effect of concentration, pH, and ionic strength on the viscosity of solutions of a soil fulvic acid. Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 74(3), 295-299.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS10
    1995 Rey, F., Pérez-Asenjo, M., Machado, A., Facal, P., Ferreira, M., & Toja, A. (1995). Conductimetric analysis of the ion binding properties of three leaf extracts of chestnut (Castanea sativa), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) and oak (Quercus robur). Talanta, 42(12), 1919-1923.
    DOI Scopus8 WoS9
  • China–Australia Centre for Health Sciences Research (CACHSR) – CHIEF INVESTIGATOR 2018
  • China–Australia Centre for Health Sciences Research (CACHSR) - 2017
  • UniSA Travel Grant – University of South Australia - 2015
  • PhD Scholarship – International President Scholarship – University of South Australia - 2012
  • Research Fellowship Electronic Microscopy – CACTI (Scientific and Technological Research Assistance Centre) – University of Vigo - 2012
  • Masters’ studies Scholarship – Spanish Government – Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports - 2011
  • Research Fellow - Nanotechnology and Surface Analysis - CACTI (Scientific and Technological Research Assistance Centre) – University of Vigo - 2010
  • Post-Graduate Travel Grant – University of Vigo – 1998/2000/2011
  • Becas de Tercer Ciclo (post-graduate grant) – University of Vigo – 1995-1996

Supervision 

Visiting and summer students

High Degree by Research Students (UniSA)

Honours students (First class 2019)

Leadership positions | Course development

Discipline Lead Diploma of Engineering - South Australian Institute of Business and Technology (UniSA)

Course coordination and lecturing

Physics 1,2 and maths and Stats – SAIBT

Tutoring and Laboratory demonstrator

Chemistry (UniSA)

Physical Chemistry University Assistant Lecturer (University of Vigo, Spain)

University teaching – Private

Statistics for Engineers - Centrovigo

High School Teaching

Maths, Physics and Chemistry Teacher (Academia Barreiro)

Maths, Physics and Chemistry Teacher (Colegio Marcote)

Connect With Me
External Profiles