Luís Cruz graduated with a Chemistry degree in 2004, received a MSc in Chemistry in 2006, and obtained his PhD in Chemistry in 2010 from the University of Porto (Portugal). He is currently a Principal Researcher in the Food Quality and Technology Group of the Associate Laboratory of Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE).
His research interests are related to the chemistry of natural anthocyanins and related flavylium dyes, which include chemical/enzymatic synthesis, physical-chemical characterization, and the development of advanced stimuli-responsive polyphenol-based biomaterials toward sensing, cosmetics, food packaging, energy and biomedical applications.
Highlighted publications
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Cruz, L.; Basílio, N.; Mateus, N.; de Freitas, V.; Pina, F. Natural and Synthetic Flavylium-Based Dyes: The Chemistry Behind the Color. Chem. Rev. 2022, 122, 1416-1481.
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Cruz, L.; Mateus, N.; de Freitas, V. Ph-Regulated Interaction Modes between Cyanidin-3-Glucoside and Phenylboronic Acid-Modified Alginate. Carbohydr. Polym. 2022, 280, 119029.
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Gomes, V.; Bermudez, R.; Mateus, N.; Guedes, A.; Lorenzo, J. M.; de Freitas, V.; Cruz, L. Foodsmartag: An Innovative Dynamic Labeling System Based on Pyranoflavylium-Based Colorimetric Films for Real-Time Monitoring of Food Freshness. Food Hydrocoll. 2023, 143, 108914.
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Cunha, M.; de Freitas, V.; Borges, J.; Mano, J. F.; Rodrigues, J. M. M.; Cruz, L. Acidochromic Free-Standing Multilayered Chitosan-Pyranoflavylium/Alginate Membranes toward Food Smart Packaging Applications. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2024, 6, 6820-6830.
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Pires, A. S.; Droguett Muñoz, K.; de Freitas, V.; Basílio, N.; Cruz, L. Host–Guest Chemosensor Ensembles Based on Water-Soluble Sulfonated Calix[N]Arenes and a Pyranoflavylium Dye for the Optical Detection of Biogenic Amines. J. Agric. Food. Chem. 2024, 72, 3719-3729.