Tissue Biomimetism

Our goal is to engineer biomimetic surfaces to mimic some features of the natural extracellular matrices, notably their biochemical and physical properties. Using these well-controlled surfaces, we study in vitro the cellular processes guiding tissue formation, including cell signaling. Our team has an expertise in glycosaminoglycans (GAG, such as heparan sulfates, hyaluronic acid) and in bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), which are playing a role in a large number of physiological and pathological processes. 
- The first research topic focuses on 2D platforms made of streptavidin to bind heparan sulfate, cell adhesive ligands and BMPs.
- The second research topic focuses on biomimetic films made by the layer-by-layer assembly .
Using several biophysical techniques (QCM, spectroscopic ellipsometry) that are surface-sensitive, we can precisely control the functionalization of the biomimetic surfaces and quantify molecular interactions. 
Funding: Team Fondation Recherche Medicale,  ANR CODECIDE (PI Corinne ALBIGES-RIZO, IAB Grenoble), IDEX IRS (IDEX University Grenoble Alpes), SATT Bioactivecoatings

Adrià Sales (post-doc)
Julius Sefkow-Werner (PhD student)​​​​​​​
Valia Khodr (PhD student)
Elaine Castro (M1 student)