Max Planck

The group is structured around three main research lines that interact with one another, as follows.

Nano-engineered probes-based biosensors.

This research line is devoted to the design, fabrication, characterization and validation of new advanced functional material-based biosensors and devices to be exploited as alternatives to standard laboratory instrumentation for clinical diagnosis.

Diagnostic tests and devices based on biosensors are made by integration of platforms built by the established screen- and the emerging inkjet printing and paper-based technologies, with a variety of micro and nanowires, particles and aggregates coupled to novel bioreceptors. Biosensors are highly selective, sensitive, fast and easy to operate to allow for the development of simple, inexpensive and POC testing systems.

Biotechnology nano-tools for host-pathogen interaction studies.

It is focused on the use of different nano-bioengineered systems to study glycobiology (sugar-mediated interactions) of IDs and host-pathogen interactions, not only for pathogen biosensing and diagnosis but also for in vivo targeted therapeutics and vaccination.

Nano-bioengineered assemblies for disease intervention.

It is aimed to develop new drug-peptide and drug-viral protein conjugates, antimicrobial nanocarriers, vesicles and vehicles, etc. engineered as theranostic agents with potential for targeted drug delivery, photodynamic-, chemo-, thermo- and gene-therapeutics of IDs and cell labeling.