Marta Cerruti

My research focuses on material surfaces, and specifically biomaterials. When a material is implanted, its surface is the first region that gets in contact with the body; what adsorbs on it within the first minutes determines the implant’s fate. My group studies these interfacial phenomena with spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, and we modify material surfaces to improve how they integrate with surrounding tissues. I very much like to study how the minerals that make up hard tissues in our body deposit on both natural and synthetic material surfaces, both in physiological tissues such as bones and teeth and in pathological situations such as cardiovascular calcification. I also work on drug delivery. My students know how to modify the surface of a drug carrier so that it targets a specific location or adheres strongly to a tissue. We also work on deploying drugs on-demand, when the patient needs them. Lastly, a significant portion of my research is on graphene-based materials, which fit well my approach due to their huge surface area. My group has fabricated graphene-based materials with highly controlled architecture, for applications ranging from bone tissue engineering to water splitting.