ABOUT ME
I obtained my PhD in Chemistry in 2005 from the "Politehnica" University Bucharest (UPB), Romania. I then carried out several postdoctoral stays at the University of the Basque Country, Spain (2006-2008) and at the
University of Twente, The Netherlands (2009-2013). In 2013 I joined the Institute of Nanoscience of Aragón (University of Zaragoza, Spain) as a Marie Curie COFUND ARAID-EU researcher. In 2015 I was awarded a Marie-Sklodowska-Curie fellowship at the Institute of Materials Science of Aragón (ICMA, joint research centre CSIC-University of Zaragoza), followed by a Ramón y Cajal grant (2017-2022) that allowed me to establish as an independent researcher.
My main current research interest is the development of bioorthogonal click chemistry reactions for nanotechnology applications. I proposed the pioneering use of bioorthogonal click chemistry as a tool for the covalent immobilization of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) on the surface of living cells with the aim to investigate sub-lethal magnetic hyperthermia in cellular systems. My research addresses two fundamental questions in the field of cellular magnetic hyperthermia: 1) how the subcellular localization of MNPs affects their heating behaviour when compared to MNPs in solution, 2) how MNPs immobilization and sub-lethal magnetic hyperthermia can affect subcellular signalling pathways and the biophysics of cell membranes. Answering these questions will allow for a better control of the fluidity and permeability properties of cellular membranes under the stimulus of magnetic hyperthermia and can enable new biological applications (such as intracellular delivery of drugs, cell transfection, etc.).
Other research topics:
- Development of multifunctional nanoplatforms based on magnetic nanoparticles.
- Liposomes as cell membrane models.
- Biodistribution & biodegradation of magnetic nanoparticles.
- Development of new scalable methods for the production of magnetic nanoparticles for hyperthermia applications.
- Advanced electron microscopy techniques for characterization of nanomaterials.
Research topics
Magnetic nanoparticle synthesis and biofunctionalisation
We use different synthetic approaches to prepare magnetic nanoparticles (thermal decomposition, co-precipitation, microwave-assisted polyol synthesis). We decorate these nanoparticles with different (bio)molecules to impart colloidal stability and functionality.
Bioorthogonal chemistry
We develop bioorthogonal
click strategies for attaching MNPs to living cell membranes. In our approach, artificial receptors (azide groups) are introduced in a controlled, dose-dependent fashion on the cell membrane glycans and glycoproteins via metabolic glycoengineering. The azide groups are then targeted with cyclooctynyl-modified MNPs via strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC).
Magnetic hyperthemia
MNPs have the ability of producing heat when exposed to an alternating magnetic field (AMF), a process known as magnetic hyperthermia (MH). We investigate the use of MH as an adjuvant oncological therapy for pancreatic cancer in combination with chemotherapy, as well as its less explored application to cell membrane hyperfluidization,