Request Expert

The expert has been actively designing and developing surface chemistries and coatings that allow a controlled organic/inorganic interfacing of colloidal nanomaterials with biomolecules. Over the past 14 years, projects carried out by the expert have focused on engineering the surface of 2-20 nm nanostructures to specifically target molecules and structures of interest in living cells and animal models. Using multidisciplinary approaches, the expert has carried research projects all the way from the nanomaterial synthesis and development phase to actual biological applications. His work encompasses the wet-chemical synthesis of colloidal nanostructures, the solubilization, stabilization, and biofunctionalization of inorganic nanomaterials using small organic molecules, thin silica shell encapsulation or custom-designed peptides, the development of specific and high affinity bioconjugation strategies, the physical and biochemical characterization of hybrids nanomaterials by spectroscopy, TEM, AFM, FTIR, chromatography or electrophoresis, and the use of these nanomaterials for biological targeting and imaging in living cells and live animals.

In addition to his expertise in nanomaterials interfacing with biomolecules the expert has extensive experience in single molecule detection, ultra-high resolution fluorescence imaging including super-resolution imaging and single particle tracking in living cells and biological tissues. In particular, the expert continuously develops new fluorescent probes and imaging strategies to study biomolecules in their native environment and map cellular structures with nanometer resolution. The expert has firsthand experience in fluorescence microscopy including confocal, stage scanning, TIRF, wide field, and PALM/STORM microsopy, optics, fluorescent probes photophysics, protein engineering, protein expression and purification, protein and DNA bioconjugation, genetic engineering and molecular biology, cell culture, biochemistry of cell membranes, intracellular targeting and delivery techniques, fluorescence quantification diffusion analysis and image treatment.

The expert multidisciplinary research has attracted financial support by the National Institut of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Marie-Curie Actions and the European Molecular Biology organization (EMBO).