OPERATED BY REI
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Infrastructures designed to investigate, develop and apply ionizing radiation technologies were installed in 2008 in the framework of a FCT project (REEQ/996/BIO/2005). Presently they are part of the ionizing radiation facilities laboratory (IRIS), and are managed by the Radiation, Elements and Isotopes Research Group (GREI).
Both internal and external users have available an experimental Cobalt-60 irradiation facility with a sample rotation device to achieve uniform dose distribution at sample position, and a Linear Particle Accelerator (LINAC), delivering electron beams or photon beams, with electron energies of 8 MeV to 12 MeV, and X-ray energies ranging from 4 MeV up to 10 MeV.
The LINAC resumed recently operation after a two year shut-down, due to a serious malfunction that required replacement of key components.
Fotos of the 60Co irradiator, and of the sample positioning and rotation equipment. This last has surperimposed a plot of the dose distribution at a reference height, as a function of the distance to the entrance of the iradiation camera.
Fotos of the working area of IRIS, of the entrance of the LINAC shielding labyrinth and of a detail of the electronics of the LINAC.
The irradiation work at IRIS benefits from the local expertise and equipment available at the Clean Areas Technological Tests Laboratory (LETAL).
António Falcão 
219946151 / 219946370
Pedro Santos 219946090 / 219946370
The Laboratory of Macromolecular Materials is a C2TN multidisciplinary infrastructure managed by the Group of Radiations, Elements and Isotopes (GREI). It is dedicated to the preparation, functionalization and characterization of macromolecular materials (polymers and hybrid materials) processed by ionizing radiation techniques.
It comprises 6 rooms with the following logistic configuration:
LM3-1: Preparation of Macromolecular Materials
LM3-2: Mechanical and Structural Characterization
LM3-3: Thermal Analysis and FTIR Spectrophotometry
LM3-LEB: Testing Laboratory for Biomaterials
The laboratory is devoted to the development of new macromolecular materials for biomedical and environment applications as well as the conservation and preservation of heritage artefacts.
The laboratory integrates state of the art equipment for the manipulation and characterization of macromolecular materials, and includes the following
DSC - Differential Scanning Calorimetry
TGA - Thermogravimetric Analysis
FTIR - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry
PALS - Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectrometry
Universal Mechanical Analysis
Viscometry
Bioactivity assays
Cell viability assays
Luís M. Ferreira
Tritium Dating Laboratory is dedicated to the evaluation of the tritium content in precipitation, groundwater and surface water samples. These determinations are being used in Water Resources studies (protection and management), particularly in the characterization of hydrogeological environments and in pollution studies, in the framework of research projects, international collaborations and services.
The laboratory is equipped with:
- Tritium enrichment unit
- Liquid Scintillation Counter (Packard TriCarb 2000 CC//LL)
The Liquid Scintillation Counting (LSC) is the method applied in the detection and quantification of tritium concentrations in the water samples. Prior to the counting process, the samples are enriched in tritium by an electrolysis procedure to improve the overall detection limit.
Tritium Dating Unit: electrolyse units; tritium enrichment unit and LSC (Packard TriCarb 2000 CC/LL)
Paula Carreira 219946179
Radiocarbon dating is an analytical technique developed by Willard Libby in the late 1940s that allows the absolute dating of samples containing carbon, such as charcoal, wood, bone or shells. Nowadays it remains a fundamental method in scientific research involving quite different fields such as Archaeology, Archaeometry, Palaeoceanography, Quaternary Geology, Isotope Hydrology and Palaeoenvironmental Studies.
Benzene Synthesis Line
The Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory now installed at C2TN was inaugurated in 1986 and continues to be a unique facility in Portugal. The Laboratory comprises the Sample Pretreatment Laboratory, the Benzene Synthesis Line and a Liquid Scintillation Spectrometer (Packard Tri-Carb 2770 TR/SL) that measures the amount of beta radiation emitted by the sample. This research facility has been involved in several Research Projects and provides technical services to Universities, Public and Private Institutions in the above mentioned investigation areas.
The Light Isotope Laboratory performs the determinations of the 18O/16O, 15N/14N, 13C/12C and 2H/1H in liquid, solid and gas samples. This methodology is being applied in Water Resources studies (protection and management), Palaeohydrology, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoceanography, Environmental Geochemistry and Archaeometry, either in the framework of financed research projects or services to the scientific community and municipalities. Research is mainly based in the understanding of the natural abundance variations of the light element isotopes in Nature. Interpretation is made by comparison with international standards and with regional isotopic variations.
The laboratory is equipped with:
- Sample preparation Laboratory
- Laser spectroscopy LGR – 24d
- Mass Spectrometer Geo SerCon 20-20
- Elemental Analyzer EA – SerCon
Laser Spectroscopy LGR – 24d is dedicated to the determination of δ18O and δ2H in water samples,mainly in the investigation of hydrogeological problems, such as, groundwater salinization mechanisms, identification and quantification of the degree of mixing between hydrological systems, definition of recharge areas, dynamic characterization of hydrological systems and characterization of palaeoenvironments by isotopic signals encoded within the water samples.
Photos of the Laser Sp – 24d; isotopic results applied in Water Resources protection and management.
The Mass spectrometer Geo SerCon 20-20 allows the determination of δ18O, δ15N and δ13C in a wide variety of samples: sediments, soils, water, biota.
The use of δ15N together with δ13C (water and sediments) allows the identification of anthropogenic activities in the environment, i.e., intensive land use for agriculture, disposal of organic wastes, identification of nitrates origin in aquifer systems for example.
Determination of C, N and δ13C allows the assessment of the origin of organic matter deposited in coastal environments related to palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, anthropogenic impacts, sea level and climatic changes.
Photos of the Mass spectrometer Geo SerCon 20-20; field work campaigns and sampling preparation.
Paula Carreira 219946179
Maria de Fátima Araújo 219946204
