Laura Polito

The research activity is mainly focused on the synthesis and functionalization of inorganic nanoparticles (metal-based and oxides) and to their exploitation in biomedical fields. In particular, we develop nanoparticles able to act as smart nano-probe for biomedical imaging. Moreover, the surface functionalization with proper biomolecules (especially oligosaccharides) afford the design of nano-platforms able to enhance and prompt the biological activity of the native molecules (multivalent effect). A hot topic of the research lab is the design of microfluidic systems to produce, with reliable and reproducible protocols, nanoparticles characterized by tuned morphologies. In this contest, we develop microfluidic process to produce hybrid nanosystems constituted by gold and titania with exciting application both in catalysis as in nanomedicine. The nanomaterials are fully characterized by optical techniques and electronic microscopy.

2000 Master degree in Chemistry ( University of Genova)
2002 Research Fellow at University of Milano (UNIMI)
2006 PhD in Chemical Science (UNIMI) Thesis Title: ”Synthesis of heparin-like fragments involved in molecular recognition phenomena”
2009 Temporary researcher at CNR-ISTM, Milan developing a project focused on “Synthesis, functionalization and characterization of nanoparticles with magnetich and photoluminescent properties for biomedical applications”
2011- Permanent position as researcher at CNR-ISTM; since 2019 CNR-SCITEC