Raquel Rodrigues is a Marie Curie Individual Fellow at INL, with a secondment at Harvard Medical School (Brigham Women’s Hospital, USA), with the project BrainChip4Med, and a scientific associate at CMEMS/U.Minho with an individual CEEC for junior researcher granted by FCT. She obtained her PhD from the University of Porto in 2018, winning the Fraunhofer Best Portuguese PhD Thesis competition in Biomedical Engineering. She has been enrolled in 12 R&D projects, 3 as PI and 1 co-PI, published 28 papers in specialized international journals, 6 book chapters, 4 papers in conference proceedings, 2 cover articles and 1 WO Patent. She has experience in the multidisciplinary field of biotechnology, nanomedicine, microfluidics, biosensors and organ-on-a-chip, acquired at highly recognised institutions, namely Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (Fulbright Research Grant) and NASA Ames Research Centre (International Internship).
EDUCATION
2018 - PhD, Chemical and Biological Engineering (Faculty of Engineering/ Chemical Department, University of Porto, Portugal)
2012 - MSc, Biomedical Technology (Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Portugal)
2007 - BSc, Biotechnological Engineering (Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Portugal)
Recent advances and perspectives of MicroNeedles for biomedical applications Renata Faria Maia, Pedro Machado, Raquel O. Rodrigues, Vera Faustino, Helmut Schütte, Stefan Gassmann, Rui A. Lima, Graça Minas Biophysical Reviews, 2025 Microneedles (MN) technology has emerged as a transformative tool within the biomedical field, offering innovative solutions to challenges in drug delivery, diagnostics, and therapeutic applications. This review article provides an in-depth exploration of the diverse perspectives and applications of MNs, shedding light on their pivotal role in shaping the future of biomedical research and clinical practice. It begins by elucidating the fundamental principles of MNs: design, fabrication techniques, and materials, highlighting their capacity for minimally invasive access to the skin and underlying tissues. These attributes have driven advancements in transdermal drug delivery, facilitating precise and controlled administration of therapeutics, vaccines, and biologics, thus improving patient compliance and treatment outcomes. Furthermore, this review investigates the growing range of applications for MNs, including biomarker extraction, interstitial fluid (ISF) analysis, and continuous glucose monitoring. MNs enable real-time and minimally invasive monitoring of biochemical markers and have the potential to revolutionize disease diagnostics, personalized medicine, and wellness monitoring. Their compatibility with microfluidic systems further enhances their potential for point-of-care testing. This review serves as a comprehensive guide, highlighting the breadth of opportunities and challenges in leveraging MNs to improve healthcare outcomes and emphasizing the need for continued research and development in this dynamic field.
A Proof-of-Concept Study Aiming for the Integration of an Optical Biosensor in Advanced Microfluidic Devices for Alzheimer’s Disease Studies Margarida O. Correia, Paulo Sousa, Raquel O. Rodrigues, Graça Minas Applied Sciences Switzerland, 2025 Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, is marked by the abnormal production of amyloid-beta (Aβ) fibrils, a key biomarker for diagnosis and illness monitoring. Advanced microfluidic devices, such as brain-on-a-chip (BoC), are innovative preclinical tools with the potential to revolutionize AD early diagnosis and treatment. However, existing BoCs face limitations, including challenges in biosensing integration, limited sensitivity, and automation. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of integrating fluorescence-based detection of Aβ fibrils within microfluidic platforms, improving efficiency and precision in biomarker analysis, while also reducing sample volume requirements, with potential application in BoC. The fluorescent probe CRANAD-2, known for its in vivo specificity and strong fluorescence response to Aβ fibrils, was first characterized in a macroscale system to establish baseline performance. These results were used to guide subsequence microfluidic experiments, reducing sample volume while maintaining analytical reliability. The study revealed consistent fluorescence responses and a strong linear relationship between Aβ concentration and fluorescence intensity in both setups. This proof-of-concept study shows, for the first time, the potential of integrating optical biosensing into microfluidic devices for Aβ detection, offering a new technological tool for advancing AD studies.
Carbon Dots as a Fluorescent Nanosystem for Crossing the Blood–Brain Barrier with Plausible Application in Neurological Diseases Catarina Araújo, Raquel O. Rodrigues, Manuel Bañobre-López, Adrián M. T. Silva, Rui S. Ribeiro Pharmaceutics, 2025 Background/Objectives: The development of effective therapies for brain disorders is highly correlated with the ability of drugs or nanosystems to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which has been limited. Recently, carbon dots (CDs) have been receiving attention to be used as BBB-crossing theranostic agents due to their inherent advantages, such as low size, excellent biocompatibility, high quantum yield (QY), tunable fluorescence, high drug loading, and relatively easy synthesis at low cost. The aim of this study was to design CDs with precisely controlled fluorescence properties for advanced bioimaging and an in-depth assessment of BBB permeability. Methods: CDs were synthesized using a microwave-assisted approach, optimized through microwaves’ irradiation time, and employing citric acid, urea, and sodium fluoride as precursors. The optimized sample was labeled as NF-CD. Results: A comprehensive physicochemical, photoluminescence, and biological characterization revealed the ability of NF-CD to diffuse across a neuromimetic-BBB model, mainly due to their small size (average diameter of 4.0 ± 1.1 nm), exhibiting excitation-dependent fluorescence in the blue and green wavelengths, high biocompatibility and QY, and exceptional photostability. Conclusions: Owing to the exceptional fluorescence characteristics and biological compatibility, NF-CD presents promising opportunities in theranostic applications, particularly in brain-targeted bioimaging, nanocarrier-based drug and immunotherapy delivery, early-stage diagnostics, and personalized medicine. NF-CD’s ability to cross the BBB further underscores the relevance of pioneering nanomaterial-based strategies for neurological disorder diagnostics and precision-targeted therapeutic interventions. Overall, this research contributes to the broader field of nanotechnology-driven biomedical advancements, fostering innovations in neurological diagnostics and therapeutic delivery systems.
Computational and experimental advances in liver-on-a-chip technology for cancer research: a systematic review Violeta Carvalho, Mariana Ferreira, Raquel O. Rodrigues, Senhorinha F. C. F. Teixeira, Rui A. Lima Biophysical Reviews, 2025 The integration of numerical simulations with Liver-on-a-Chip (LoC) technology offers an innovative approach for studying liver physiology and pathology, especially in the context of liver cancer. Numerical simulations facilitate the optimization of microfluidic devices’ design and deepen the understanding of fluid flow and mass transfer. However, despite significant advancements, challenges such as replicating the full complexity of the liver microenvironment and scaling up for high-throughput screening persist. This systematic review explores the current advancements in LoC devices, with a particular emphasis on their combined use of numerical simulations and experimental studies in liver cancer research. A comprehensive search across multiple databases, including ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, Scopus, Springer Link, Web of Science, and PubMed, was conducted to gather relevant literature. Our findings indicate that the combination of both techniques in this field is still rare, resulting in a final selection of 13 original research papers. This review underscores the importance of continued interdisciplinary research to refine these technologies and enhance their application in personalized medicine and cancer therapy. By consolidating existing studies, this review aims to highlight key advancements, identify current challenges, and propose future directions for this rapidly evolving field.
Optical Sensor System to Monitor the pH of Circulating Media on Biomimetic Microsystems Fernando L. B. Mendes, Inês Miranda, Raquel O. Rodrigues, Gabriel M. Ferreira, Helmut Schütte, Stefan Gassmann, Rui A. Lima, Paulo Soua, Graça Minas Proceedings 2025 9th International Young Engineers Forum on Electrical and Computer Engineering Yef Ece 2025, 2025 The pH is a physiological parameter of great importance in biomedical research. For example, during cell growth process, pH is usually lowered due to the acidic metabolites released by the cells. This decrease on the pH value can affect biological processes and, consequently, affect the accuracy of the research. To monitor the pH changes along cell engineering experiments, it is, usually, used the cell culture media along with a colorimetric pH indicator. However, this does not give a clear quantitative pH value, it outputs only an indication of pH ranges. To overcome this limitation, especially for biomimetic microsystems, where homeostasis has to be secured for long periods of time, an optical sensor that quantifies the pH values, through optical transmittance reading, was developed with features that allows integration. It was successful integrated in a microfluidic device comprising a pH-detecting microchamber of only <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$1\ mm\ x\ 1\ mm$</tex> (depth x width), showing the potentiality of this sensing technology to be integrated with a broad bioplatforms used for biomedical research. Overall, the integrated beam-splitter setup allowed to obtain a sensor with a 2 mm optical path, in a 1 mm microchamber, outputting a 8.5%/pH sensitivity.
Brain-on-a-chip: an emerging platform for studying the nanotechnology-biology interface for neurodegenerative disorders Raquel O. Rodrigues, Su-Ryon Shin, Manuel Bañobre-López Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 2024 Neurological disorders have for a long time been a global challenge dismissed by drug companies, especially due to the low efficiency of most therapeutic compounds to cross the brain capillary wall, that forms the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and reach the brain. This has boosted an incessant search for novel carriers and methodologies to drive these compounds throughout the BBB. However, it remains a challenge to artificially mimic the physiology and function of the human BBB, allowing a reliable, reproducible and throughput screening of these rapidly growing technologies and nanoformulations (NFs). To surpass these challenges, brain-on-a-chip (BoC) - advanced microphysiological platforms that emulate key features of the brain composition and functionality, with the potential to emulate pathophysiological signatures of neurological disorders, are emerging as a microfluidic tool to screen new brain-targeting drugs, investigate neuropathogenesis and reach personalized medicine. In this review, the advance of BoC as a bioengineered screening tool of new brain-targeting drugs and NFs, enabling to decipher the intricate nanotechnology-biology interface is discussed. Firstly, the main challenges to model the brain are outlined, then, examples of BoC platforms to recapitulate the neurodegenerative diseases and screen NFs are summarized, emphasizing the current most promising nanotechnological-based drug delivery strategies and lastly, the integration of high-throughput screening biosensing systems as possible cutting-edge technologies for an end-use perspective is discussed as future perspective.
Advancing Blood–Brain Barrier-on-a-Chip Models Through Numerical Simulations Violeta Carvalho, Raquel O. Rodrigues, Su Ryon Shin, Rui Lima, Senhorinha F. C. F. Teixeira Biochip Journal, 2024 Researchers have placed engineered or natural tissues within microfluidic chips originating the so-called organ-on-a-chip (OoC) devices. With this technology, organ models can be subjected to phenomena that replicate the complex in vivo biological environment. Furthermore, the OoC devices constitute a more valuable, cost-effective and ethical option when compared to assays performed in animal models for disease research and drug discovery. However, there are still many challenges in replicating some organs/diseases in vitro such as the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB), given its complexity and structure. Despite the difficulties, many efforts have been made to develop improved in vitro BBB-on-a-chip models to investigate several neurological disorders. In the present review, a summary of the progress made in the development of BBB-on-a-chip is provided focusing on the importance of using numerical simulations for obtaining improved models and better planning the experimental assays. In addition, the future perspectives and current challenges are provided.
PDMS porous microneedles used as engineered tool in advanced microfluidic devices and their proof-of-concept for biomarker detection Renata Maia, Paulo Sousa, Vânia Pinto, Delfim Soares, Rui Lima, Graça Minas, Raquel O. Rodrigues Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024 The advancement of organ-on-a-chip (OoC), as end-use preclinical tool, has been slackened with the technological and engineering challenges that in-situ real-time monitoring of physicochemical and biological parameters still represent. In this study, the envisioned solution to surpass this challenge is the integration of a microneedle (MN) patch into a microfluidic device to collect cell culture media directly from the organ chamber and drive it to a module envisioned to contain the biosensing system for real-time monitoring. For that, porous MNs (PMNs) were fabricated using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) bulk material, casted with one of two materials, one organic and one inorganic, which were explored to create micropores after removal processes. The developed PMN arrays were characterized regarding their mechanical, wettability, permeability and porosity properties. Then, the selected PMN patch, with the best combined properties to serve as media collector was integrated into a proof-of-concept microfluidic system and the system validated through albumin optical absorption analysis. The findings of this study highlight the potential to use PMN patches in advanced microfluidic platforms to simplify the integration of biosensor systems, and thus, with high potential of applicability in biomedical research and preclinical diagnostic tools.
Simulation and experimental validation of a microfluidic device Violeta Carvalho, Inês M. Gonçalves, Nelson Rodrigues, Paulo Sousa, Vânia Pinto, Graça Minas, Raquel O. Rodrigues, Senhorinha Teixeira, Rui A. Lima ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition Proceedings Imece, 2023
COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF OXYGEN TRANSPORT IN A LIVER-ON-A-CHIP PLATFORM Proceedings of the Thermal and Fluids Engineering Summer Conference, 2022
STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT GEOMETRIES OF AN ORGAN-ON-A-CHIP Violeta Carvalho, Nelson Rodrigues, Raquel O. Rodrigues, José C. Teixeira, João Miranda, Rui A. Lima, Senhorinha Teixeira ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition Proceedings Imece, 2022
Motion of rigid particles flowing in a microfluidic device with a pronounced stenosis: Trajectories and deformation index 11th World Congress on Computational Mechanics Wccm 2014 5th European Conference on Computational Mechanics Eccm 2014 and 6th European Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics Ecfd 2014, 2014
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Flow assessment and analysis of oxygen transport in an organ-on-chip platform V Carvalho, N Rodrigues, R Rodrigues, S Teixeira, R Lima Recent Advances in Hemodynamics and Blood Mimetics, 397-408 , 2026 2026
Numerical assessment of the hydrogel physical properties’ effect on oxygen gradients in an organ-on-a-chip biosystem V Carvalho, N Rodrigues, P Sousa, V Pinto, CS Rodrigues, SR Shin, ... Experimental and Computational Multiphase Flow 7 (3), 258-269 , 2025 2025
Optical Sensor System to Monitor the pH of Circulating Media on Biomimetic Microsystems FLB Mendes, I Miranda, RO Rodrigues, GM Ferreira, H Schütte, ... 2025 9th International Young Engineers Forum on Electrical and Computer … , 2025 2025
Recent advances and perspectives of MicroNeedles for biomedical applications RF Maia, P Machado, RO Rodrigues, V Faustino, H Schütte, S Gassmann, ... Biophysical reviews 17 (3), 909-928 , 2025 2025 Citations: 28
Carbon Dots as a Fluorescent Nanosystem for Crossing the Blood–Brain Barrier with Plausible Application in Neurological Diseases C Araújo, RO Rodrigues, M Bañobre-López, AMT Silva, RS Ribeiro Pharmaceutics 17 (4), 477 , 2025 2025 Citations: 9
A Proof-of-Concept Study Aiming for the Integration of an Optical Biosensor in Advanced Microfluidic Devices for Alzheimer’s Disease Studies MO Correia, P Sousa, RO Rodrigues, G Minas Applied Sciences 15 (7), 3837 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Computational and experimental advances in liver-on-a-chip technology for cancer research: a systematic review V Carvalho, M Ferreira, RO Rodrigues, SFCF Teixeira, RA Lima Biophysical Reviews 17 (1), 151-167 , 2025 2025 Citations: 7
Advancing blood–brain barrier-on-a-chip models through numerical simulations V Carvalho, RO Rodrigues, SR Shin, R Lima, SFCF Teixeira BioChip Journal 18 (4), 546-565 , 2024 2024 Citations: 15
Brain-on-a-chip: An emerging platform for studying the nanotechnology-biology interface for neurodegenerative disorders RO Rodrigues, SR Shin, M Bañobre-López Journal of Nanobiotechnology 22 (1), 573 , 2024 2024 Citations: 43
Multiorgan-on-a-chip device with integrated microbiosensors, methods and uses thereof GMH MINAS, RO RODRIGUES, PJT DE SOUSA, RAMM DE LIMA, ... US Patent App. 18/546,016 , 2024 2024 Citations: 1
PDMS porous microneedles used as engineered tool in advanced microfluidic devices and their proof-of-concept for biomarker detection R Maia, P Sousa, V Pinto, D Soares, R Lima, G Minas, RO Rodrigues Chemical Engineering Journal 485, 149725 , 2024 2024 Citations: 19
Development of carbon dots as fluorescence probes for bioimaging C Araújo, RO Rodrigues, RS Ribeiro, AMT Silva IJUP-University of Porto's Youth Research Meeting , 2024 2024
Numerical evaluation and experimental validation of fluid flow behavior within an organ-on-a-chip model V Carvalho, IM Gonçalves, N Rodrigues, P Sousa, V Pinto, G Minas, ... Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine 243, 107883 , 2024 2024 Citations: 33
Disease-on-a-chip: from point-of-care to personalized medicine A Cruz, E Fernandes, RO Rodrigues, SO Catarino, D Pinho Frontiers in Pharmacology 14, 1344379 , 2023 2023 Citations: 2
Simulation and Experimental Validation of a Microfluidic Device V Carvalho, IM Gonçalves, N Rodrigues, P Sousa, V Pinto, G Minas, ... ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition 87622 … , 2023 2023 Citations: 2
Optimization of the Flow Parameters for a Liver Organ-on-a-Chip Computational Model E Pinto, V Carvalho, N Rodrigues, RO Rodrigues, RA Lima, S Teixeira ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition 87622 … , 2023 2023 Citations: 6
Development and Characterization of Porous PDMS Microneedles R Maia, P Sousa, V Pinto, R Lima, G Minas, RO Rodrigues 2023 IEEE 7th Portuguese Meeting on Bioengineering (ENBENG), 44-47 , 2023 2023 Citations: 2
Computational simulations of oxygen transport in an organ-on-a-chip V Carvalho, N Rodrigues, R Rodrigues, R Lima, S Teixeira Seminar on Computational Fluid Dynamics Applications in Biomedical … , 2023 2023
Development of pH-sensitive magnetoliposomes containing shape anisotropic nanoparticles for potential application in combined cancer therapy ARF Pacheco, BD Cardoso, A Pires, AM Pereira, JP Araújo, VM Carvalho, ... Nanomaterials 13 (6), 1051 , 2023 2023 Citations: 16
Microneedles in advanced microfluidic systems: A systematic review throughout lab and organ-on-a-chip applications R Maia, V Carvalho, R Lima, G Minas, RO Rodrigues Pharmaceutics 15 (3), 792 , 2023 2023 Citations: 27
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Blood cells separation and sorting techniques of passive microfluidic devices: From fabrication to applications SO Catarino, RO Rodrigues, D Pinho, JM Miranda, G Minas, R Lima Micromachines 10 (9), 593 , 2019 2019 Citations: 172
A heart‐breast cancer‐on‐a‐chip platform for disease modeling and monitoring of cardiotoxicity induced by cancer chemotherapy J Lee, S Mehrotra, E Zare‐Eelanjegh, RO Rodrigues, A Akbarinejad, ... Small 17 (15), 2004258 , 2021 2021 Citations: 167
3D printing techniques and their applications to organ-on-a-chip platforms: a systematic review V Carvalho, I Goncalves, T Lage, RO Rodrigues, G Minas, SFCF Teixeira, ... Sensors 21 (9), 3304 , 2021 2021 Citations: 162
Organ‐on‐a‐chip: A preclinical microfluidic platform for the progress of nanomedicine RO Rodrigues, PC Sousa, J Gaspar, M Bañobre‐López, R Lima, G Minas Small 16 (51), 2003517 , 2020 2020 Citations: 151
Deformation of red blood cells, air bubbles, and droplets in microfluidic devices: Flow visualizations and measurements D Bento, RO Rodrigues, V Faustino, D Pinho, CS Fernandes, AI Pereira, ... Micromachines 9 (4), 151 , 2018 2018 Citations: 120
Recent advances on the thermal properties and applications of nanofluids: From nanomedicine to renewable energies RR Souza, IM Gonçalves, RO Rodrigues, G Minas, JM Miranda, ... Applied Thermal Engineering 201, 117725 , 2022 2022 Citations: 112
A simple microfluidic device for the deformability assessment of blood cells in a continuous flow RO Rodrigues, D Pinho, V Faustino, R Lima Biomedical microdevices 17 (6), 108 , 2015 2015 Citations: 85
A microfluidic deformability assessment of pathological red blood cells flowing in a hyperbolic converging microchannel V Faustino, RO Rodrigues, D Pinho, E Costa, A Santos-Silva, V Miranda, ... Micromachines 10 (10), 645 , 2019 2019 Citations: 83
Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation: A systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis D Caldeira, A Nunes-Ferreira, R Rodrigues, E Vicente, FJ Pinto, ... Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 81, 209-214 , 2019 2019 Citations: 83
Organ-on-a-chip platforms for drug screening and delivery in tumor cells: a systematic review IM Goncalves, V Carvalho, RO Rodrigues, D Pinho, SFCF Teixeira, ... Cancers 14 (4), 935 , 2022 2022 Citations: 81
Multifunctional graphene-based magnetic nanocarriers for combined hyperthermia and dual stimuli-responsive drug delivery RO Rodrigues, G Baldi, S Doumett, L Garcia-Hevia, J Gallo, ... Materials Science and Engineering: C 93, 206-217 , 2018 2018 Citations: 81
A rapid and low-cost nonlithographic method to fabricate biomedical microdevices for blood flow analysis E Pinto, V Faustino, RO Rodrigues, D Pinho, V Garcia, JM Miranda, ... Micromachines 6 (1), 121-135 , 2014 2014 Citations: 76
Polymer microfluidic devices: an overview of fabrication methods RO Rodrigues, R Lima, HT Gomes, AMT Silva U. Porto Journal of Engineering 1 (1), 67-79 , 2015 2015 Citations: 74
Recent trends of biomaterials and biosensors for organ-on-chip platforms IM Gonçalves, RO Rodrigues, AS Moita, T Hori, H Kaji, RA Lima, G Minas Bioprinting 26, e00202 , 2022 2022 Citations: 67
Computational simulations in advanced microfluidic devices: A review V Carvalho, RO Rodrigues, RA Lima, S Teixeira Micromachines 12 (10), 1149 , 2021 2021 Citations: 64
Haemocompatibility of iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized for theranostic applications: A high-sensitivity microfluidic tool RO Rodrigues, M Banobre-Lopez, J Gallo, PB Tavares, AMT Silva, ... Journal of Nanoparticle Research 18 (7), 194 , 2016 2016 Citations: 64
Hybrid magnetic graphitic nanocomposites towards catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of the liquid effluent from a mechanical biological treatment plant for municipal solid waste RS Ribeiro, RO Rodrigues, AMT Silva, PB Tavares, AMC Carvalho, ... Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 219, 645-657 , 2017 2017 Citations: 50
Red blood cells radial dispersion in blood flowing through microchannels: The role of temperature D Pinho, RO Rodrigues, V Faustino, T Yaginuma, J Exposto, R Lima Journal of biomechanics 49 (11), 2293-2298 , 2016 2016 Citations: 50
Low cost microfluidic device for partial cell separation: Micromilling approach R Lopes, RO Rodrigues, D Pinho, V Garcia, H Schütte, R Lima, ... 2015 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), 3347-3350 , 2015 2015 Citations: 48
In vitro blood flow and cell-free layer in hyperbolic microchannels: Visualizations and measurements RO Rodrigues, R Lopes, D Pinho, AI Pereira, V Garcia, S Gassmann, ... BioChip Journal 10 (1), 9-15 , 2016 2016 Citations: 44
