Two research projects from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), including an iMATUS initiative, have been recognized with the prestigious 2025 Galician Technology Transfer Awards, granted by the Royal Galician Academy of Sciences (RAGC). These awards, which are supported by the Galician Innovation Agency, recognize applied research and success stories in knowledge transfer.
The winning projects, which will each receive €5,000, will be presented at an event on June 11 at the Pazo de San Roque in Santiago de Compostela. A total of 80 proposals were nominated for these awards.
The world’s lightest material: A milestone with the iMATUS seal
The “Francisco Guitián Ojea” award for applied research went to the project led by Carlos García and part of the predoctoral research of María Carracedo. This project focuses on the sustainable production of sterile porous materials for biomedical applications.
The researchers explain that these materials, known as aerogels, are an emerging technology with extraordinary properties. “They stand out for their high porosity, their ultralight weight—they break the Guinness World Record for the lightest material in the world—and their high specific surface area,” they note. Although their best-known application is as thermal insulation in buildings, electric car batteries, and technical textiles, their unique properties open up new opportunities in sectors such as cosmetics, food, “and, most especially, biomedicine.”
Carlos García emphasizes the difficulty posed by sterilizing these materials for biomedical purposes due to their complex nanostructure. However, they have managed, for the first time, to produce these materials sterilely. This breakthrough is crucial, as it opens the door to their biomedical use in applications such as bone implants, pulmonary drug delivery, and wound treatment.
This is a promising and viable industrial solution, both technologically and economically, allowing for reduced production times and costs. The unique and eco-efficient invention has already been patented and recognized with several international innovation awards. It is currently undergoing technological valorization in collaboration with Galician companies for its transfer to different uses.
This work is the result of more than ten years of collaboration between three USC research groups, belonging to the Faculty of Pharmacy, the Materials Institute (iMATUS), the Aquatic Environment Institute for Global Health (iARCUS), and the Singular Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS).