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Our Research


At the Biointerface Lab we strive to understand and control phenomena occurring at the interface between synthetic materials and biological molecules. We have three main areas of focus: biomineralization, i.e. the formation of minerals in living organisms, both physiological and pathological, implant-tissue integration, and drug delivery. An emerging aspect of our research is the exploration of the intersection between science and art. Explore more details below!

Physiological Calcification

HA
Bone and teeth are two examples of tissues where physiological biomineralization happens: a calcium-phosphate based mineral, hydroxyapatite, forms on a collagen matrix, stengthens these tissues and provides a crucial reservoir of calcium and phosphate ions. We have several projects related to improving bone and tooth mineralization, through hydrogels (Example 1, Example 2) and scaffolds (Example) for bone tissue engineering or through the development of new toothpastes and other oral care formulations. We often include bioactive glasses (Example) in our solutions; the surface of these glasses transforms into a layer that mimics physiological hydroxyapatite when immersed in body fluids.

Pathololgical Calcification

HA
Calcium phosphate minerals like what we have in bones and teeth can also form on tissues that are normally soft, such as heart valves and arteries. These are examples of pathological calcifications; they can lead to several health problems, including heart failure. In our group we characterize pathological calcifications in animals (Example) and humans (Example), create hydrogel-based models (Example 1, Example 2, Example 3) of the physiological environments where calcifications form, develop new methods for detect them at early stages, and, ideally, dissolve them.

Implant/tissue integration

HA
Most implants fail because they do not integrate well enough with surrounding tissues; this leads to fibrous encapsulation, or in the worst cases, infections. With our surface-focused approach, we modify the surface of materials currently used as dental or orthopedic implants (polymeric (Example 1, Example 2) or metallic (Example 1, Example 2)) with functional groups (Example) or proteins (Example) that enhance both hard and soft tissue integration.

Drug delivery

HA
Efficient deliver of a drug implies the design of a carrier that can lead the drug to the desired location, deliver it gradually and within a desired timeframe, ideally on-demand depending on internal (eg change in pH) or external (eg light) stimuli. In our group we work on different aspects of drug delivery: we design bioactive glasses (Example) that release therapeutic ions at the desired rate and promote tissue regeneration; we encapsulate drugs inside nanoparticles that target specific tissues (for example, pathological calcifications), and release them as they degrade, or as light (Example) shines on them.

Science/art intersection

HA
The scientific and artistic inquiry share several common features, most prominently curiosity, observation, inspiration from nature, and creativity. We are working side by side with a group of designers from the faculty of fine arts at Concordia university to explore new avenues of research in the field of graphene-based stimuli responsive materials. The project leverages our deep expertise in graphene material development (Example 1, Example 2, Example 3) for both tissue engineering (Example 1, Example 2) and filtration (Example 1, Example 2), and the expertise of the Concordia group in designing large scale responsive materials in artistic installations and beyond. (Example video science-art intersection)

Our Team


Students trained in our group gain a multidisciplinary skillset in chemistry, biology, and materials science and engineering. Past lab members are now successfully employed in academia or industry, or pursue advanced degrees.

Marta Cerruti

Team leader
Marta Cerruti
Marta received her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Torino in 2004, where she studied bioactive glasses for bone regeneration. After her Ph.D., she worked as a post-doctoral fellow at North Carolina State University for 2 years, and then at UC Berkley for another 2 years. She was hired as an assistant professor in the Department of Mining and Materials Engineering at McGill University in September 2009 and has been since then promoted to full professor in January 2022. She is the co-director of the McGill Institute for Advanced Msterials, and Associate Member of the Faculty of Dentistry and the Department of Bioengineering. She has received several significant awards, like being Canada Research Chair in Bio-synthetic Interfaces, member of the College of New Artists, Scholars and Scientists of the Royal Society, and member of the World Economic Forum as one of the Young Scientists. She was president of the Canadian Chapter of the Controlled Release Society in 2019-2021 and is currently president-elect of the Canadian Biomaterials Society. Her main interests are understanding and controlling surface phenomena, especially at the interface between synthetic materials and biological molecules. Currently she teaches MIME317 (Analytical and Characterization Techniques), MIME515 ((Bio)material Surface Analysis and Modification) and MIME 568 (Topics in Advanced Materials). She is strongly involved in outreach, as well as in the improvement of the safety culture and equity at McGill University.
Office: 2M020, Wong Building                                Phone: 514.398.5496                                    Email


Yiwen Chen

            Postdoctoral Student

Gabriele
                          Capilli
Yiwen comes from Liaoning Province, northeast of China. She received her B.Eng. (2014) and M.Eng. (2017) degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Science and Technology Beijing. During her study in USTB, she focused on the research of carbon dioxide responsive materials, including highly sensitive microgels and emulsions. After that, Yiwen joined Professor Cerruti’s group as a PhD student to explore the bio-application of graphene. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, singing, writing Chinese calligraphy, and watching movies.



Capucine Guyot

            Postdoctoral Student

Gabriele
                          Capilli
Capucine was born in Paris, France, where she studied Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. She moved to Lyon at 18 years old to study Engineering Sciences, where she graduated from a B.Sc. in Physical and Chemical Engineering at “Ecole Centrale de Lyon”, and a M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials in University of Lyon. She arrived in Montréal in spring 2016 to work as a trainee in Pr. Sophie Lerouge’s lab (Laboratory of Endovascular Biomaterials, École de Technologie Supérieure), where she studied the effect of hydrogenocarbonate concentration on chitosan hydrogels for drug delivery and cell therapy, as a requirement to complete her Master’s degree. During her Ph.D. in Pr. Lerouge’s team, cosupervised by Pr. Cerruti, she studies the modification of chitosan by catechol groups in order to enhance mucoadhesion properties of the hydrogels. After her Ph.D. she joined the Biointerface Lab as a postdoctoral student. Besides chemistry, she also likes reading, drinking coffee, making and eating pastry, and listening to rap music.



Vivienne Tam

            Ph.D. Student

Gabriele
                          Capilli
Vivienne calls Waterloo, Ontario, home, though she was born in Singapore and completed her bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering with a minor in Neuroscience at Princeton University, NJ. During her study there, she became interested in drug delivery to the brain, especially theranostic solutions. Her thesis project developed super paramagnetic iron oxide theranostic nanoparticles for MRI imaging and targeted drug delivery to the brain. She has also completed research internships at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, working on layer-by-layer nanoparticles, as well as liposomes, for anti-fibrotic treatment following glaucoma filtration surgeries. Then, she spent two years in Fuzhou, China, at a special needs foster home teaching and developing its creative arts program. She is now back in Canada as a Masters/PhD student working on creating upconversion nanoparticles for on-demand drug release upon NIR irradiation, and other biomedical applications, like bioimaging and biosensing. In her free time, she volunteers at an art co-operative, cooks experimentally with various cuisines and camps out at cafes where she writes and does all things creative.


Tao Song

            Ph.D. Student

Gabriele
                              Capilli
Tao was born and grew up in China. He received his B.Eng. (2017) in Tongji University. As an undergraduate student, he spent two years concentrating on self-assembly nanoparticles with antibacterial activities and antibacterial composite hydrogel. After graduation, he started his business with other cofounders in Beijing, providing programming and unmanned aerial vehicle classes and training for teenagers. In January 2019, Tao joined in Professor Cerruti’s group as a PhD student to study inhibitors of vascular calcification and its drug delivery system. In the weekend, he likes playing basketball.




Kirklann Lau

            Ph.D. Student

Gabriele Capilli
Kirklann was born and raised in California. He completed his undergraduate degree in general engineering at Harvey Mudd College in 2016. While there, he worked on designing hardware for TEMs, researching perovskite supercapacitors, and developing graphene composites. Upon graduating, he lived in Boston for two years working on resin development at a 3D printing company, and then on targeted drug delivery at a gut microbiome company. He then joined Dr. Cerruti’s lab in 2018 as a Masters/PhD student focused on blood vessel mineralization research. Beyond scientific pursuits, he enjoys playing and producing music as well as birdwatching.


Raphaela Allgayer

            Ph.D. Student

Gabriele
                                                          Capilli
Raphaela was born and raised in Munich, Germany. She received her B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in 2016. In 2020, she graduated with a M.Eng. in Chemical Engineering from McGill University and a M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from TUM with a focus on Nanotechnology. Raphaela joined Prof. Cerruti’s group in 2020 to pursue her Ph.D. With her interdisciplinary background, she studies the sex- and anamnesis-related differences in mineral composition, morphology and deposition in aortic valve calcification. In her free time, Raphaela enjoys outdoor sports, particularly (mountain) biking and downhill skiing, traveling and photography.



Ahmed Saad

            Ph.D. Student

Gabriele
                                                          Capilli
Ahmed was born and raised in Egypt. In 2018, he received his B. Sc. degree in Nano Science from Zewail University of Science and technology. He then joined Professor Cerruti's lab as a MSc. student during which he investigated surface modifications of dental implants to improve their integration with soft tissues. He graduated his MSc. in 2020 and decided to continue at Professor Cerruti's lab for his Ph.D starting in 2021. Now, Ahmed's research focuses on improving the attachmnet of percutaneous implants to skin tissues to reduce infections. In his free time, Ahmed enjoys playing soccer and reading.




Chisom Akunna

            Ph.D. Student

Gabriele
                                                          Capilli
Chisom was born and raised in Nigeria. She received her B.Eng. (2018) at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources. She joined Prof Cerruti’s lab as a Ph.D.1 student in January 2021 to learn and focus on the use of synthetic polymers and inorganic materials to treat infections after implants. Outside academics, she enjoys cooking, being a mother and watching movies.




Nima Zakeri

            Ph.D. Student

Gabriele
                                                          Capilli
Nima was born and raised in Kurdistan, Iran. He moved to Tehran to study for his bachelor's in biomaterials engineering at the Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran’s polytechnic) in 2015. During his undergraduate studies, he got interested in hydrogels and tissue engineering, and for his bachelor's thesis, he worked on oxygen delivery to liver cells through their symbiosis with encapsulated microalgae. He also got a minor in polymer science during this time . In 2019, he continued his Master's at the same university and in the same program while focusing his research on metal oxide-based breath sensors. In 2021, he joined Professor Cerruti’s lab as a PhD student to study stimuli-responsive graphene oxide systems. Aside from academics, he enjoys playing guitar, listening to jazz music, walking, hiking, and playing tennis.



Mingrui Guo

            Master's Student

Gabriele
                                                          Capilli
Mingrui was born and raised in China. She graduated from Bioengineering at McGill University in 2021. Her undergraduate study was focused on cell mechanics, and she worked at Prof. Tufenkji’s lab as part of McGill’s Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE). Mingrui joined Prof. Cerruti’s lab in May, 2021 to study the use of upconverting nanoparticles as biosensors. Prior to coming to Canada, she lived in Singapore for four years. Mingrui is a fan of reading and especially enjoys Japanese literature. She also likes jogging and listening to music.



Adi Orlov

            Undergraduate Student

Gabriele
                                                          Capilli
Adi was born in Israel but has lived much of his life in Montreal. He is currently completing his undergraduate studies in Bioengineering at McGill. Adi joined the lab in April 2022 through the SURE program and, under the supervision of Raphaela, is working on understanding sex-related differences in cardiovascular calcification.






Christopher Augustin Coluni

            Undergraduate Student

Gabriele
                                                          Capilli
Christopher was born and raised in Montreal. He is currently completing his undergraduate studies in Bioengineering at the University of McGill. Christopher joined the lab at the beginning of April 2023 through SURE, where he worked under the supervision of Ahmed Saad, and is currently working on the fabrication of mineralised collagen gels for use as an implant coating for PEEK dental prosthesis devices.




Jingyi Liang

            Undergraduate Student

Gabriele
                                                          Capilli
Jingyi Liang was born in Tangshan, northeast of China. After her experience from McGill SURE program and COOP program, she found her research interest in biomedical field and joined Professor Cerruti’s lab in her third year of Materials Engineering in September 2023. She worked on inhibitors of vascular calcification and its drug delivery system, under the supervision of Tao. In her leisure time, she likes having city tours and exploring new things.

Our Publications


Click on the images to learn more or view a full list of publications from our group!



We recently had our first exhibition at Concordia 4th Space to showcase the results of 2 years of work together on our project on responsive graphene membranes. Please check out the documentary video that filmmaker Jacob Landry made about the project!

Press


We are excited about sharing our research with the general public!

For a full timeline of media coverage of our research click here!

June 15, 2023

Women in Engineering Materials Feature

Our article "Glass, Ceramic, Polymeric, and Composite Scaffolds with Multiscale Porosity for Bone Tissue Engineering" is one of 30 articles published between 2020 and 2023 highlighted in the virtual issue Celebrating Excellence in Advanced Engineering Materials.

September 13, 2022

Radio Interview "Producing Hydrogen from Seawater"

Our work on graphene oxide scaffolds as electrodes for hydrogen evolution from seawater was discussed in a Radia Canada live interview and featured in articles on the CLS website and in the McGill Newsroom.

May 17, 2022

Radio Interview "New Approach to Rebuild Bone Tissue"

Our work on graphene scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration was featured in a Radio-Canada interview and on the McGill University and Canadian Light Source news websites.

Our instruments


The biointerface lab is equipped with state-of-the-art spectrometers, sepcifically designed for the analysis of sample surfaces and interfaces. We also have a setup for the synthesis of nano-microparticles in highly controlled conditions. If you are interested in acessing any of these instruments, please contact us.

Confocal Raman/fluorescence microscope

Senterra

We have a fantastic Bruker Senterra confocal Raman microscope equipped with 3 lasers (785, 633 and 532 nm), which allows us to analyze a vast range of samples, including biological samples. A special hardware feature removes fluorescence background at 785 nm. Sample maps with ~1 micron resolution can be obtained with a computer controlled sample stage, and polarizers and analyzers allow us to take polarized spectra. Additionally, we can measure fluorescence maps using the Olympus optical microscope installed on the instrument. The connection with the MultiRAM allows us to measure spectra with excitation wavelength of 1064 nm, too.

NIR FT-Raman spectrometer

MultiRAM

The Bruker MultiRAM spectrometer is a stand-alone FT-Raman spectrometer with excitation wavelength of 1064 nm. We have connected this instrument to the Senterra microscope via a fiber optic, thus achieving the rare possibility of collecting FT-Raman spectra inside a confocal microscope.

IR spectrometer

Tensor

We have a Bruker Tensor 27 IR spectrometer, equipped with both a DTGS and an MCT detector. Several attachments allow us to perform measures specifically at interfaces: multi-pass attenuated total reflectance (ATR), with which we can take spectra of samples in water; diamond single-pass ATR, with which we can analyze surface layers; grazing-angle ATR (GATR), the best technique to analyze self-assembled monolayers; and a diffuse reflectance (DRIFT) cell.

Tabletop SEM

Electrospinning

The tabletop FlexSEM 1000 SEM (Hitachi) allows us to take high resolution SEM images in secondary and backscattered electron modes, both in high vacuum or variable pressure mode. An EDS detector allows us to also measure surface composition of the materials we analyze.

Ne200 electrospinning machine

FlexSEM

Our electrospinning machine can produce nanofibers of various polymers.

News


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