Cristian A. Strassert
AkadR. – WWU Muenster
Dr. Univ. Buenos Aires
Chemistry – Pharmacy
CeNTech - Physikalisches Institut
Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet Muenster
Heisenbergstrasse 11, D-48149 Muenster
E-Mail: ca.s(at)uni-muenster.de
Tel. (office): +49(0)251-5340-6840
Tel. (lab): +49(0)251-5340-6829
Fax: +49(0)251-5340-6102
Curriculum Vitae (English)
Lebenslauf (Deutsch)
Curriculum Vitae (Castellano)
Background and research interests
- 2006. Doctorate in Organic Chemistry
Topic: Phthalocyanines and photodynamic therapy of cancer - Univ. Buenos Aires - 2007. Licenciate in Chemical Sciences
Specialization in Physical Chemistry - FCEN, Univ. Buenos Aires - 2001. University Degree in Pharmacy
Internship at the Deutsches Hospital in Buenos Aires - FFB, Univ. Buenos Aires - 1996. Bilingual High School Degree
Specialization in Chemistry and Biology - Deutsche Schule Instituto Ballester, Buenos Aires
I’ve always been interested in the correlation between structure and properties of molecules, their synthesis, characterization and biological activity. Therefore, I studied pharmacy and chemistry, and also completed a doctorate in organic chemistry. At that time, my research was mainly focused on the design, synthesis and photophysical investigation of phthalocyanine derivatives with improved photochemical properties and solubilities for the photodynamic therapy (PDT). My interests gradually shifted to photophysics and organometallic chemistry, as well as photoactive nanostructured materials. As a chemist, I like elegant approaches to novel structures; as a pharmacist, I want to find biomedical applications for them.
I joined the Workgroup of Prof. De Cola in July 2007 as a postdoctoral researcher, and I’ve been a senior researcher since May 2009. My current scientific interests range from the design, synthesis and characterization of electroluminescent metal complexes for OLED technology, to the realization of multifunctional nanoarchitectures for (photo)biomedical applications.
Current research
I’m particularly interested in metal complexes that constitute an alternative to Ir(III) complexes for OLEDs, such as Pt(II) triplet emitters with tunable color(s). We have recently discovered that it is possible to reach up to 87% photoluminescence quantum yield in thin polymeric films by judiciously choosing the substituents of novel Pt(II) complexes (manuscript in preparation).
We have developed a new class of trifunctional hybrid nanoparticles that are able to simultaneously target, label and photoinactivate pathogenic, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, using industry-standard dyes and a well-known solid support. These results were published in Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed. as VIP ("Very Important Paper"), and highlighted in Chemistry World News and Nature Chemistry . This publication was also covered by a press release of the University of Muenster, and by the newspaper Westfälische Nachrichten.
Nanotechnology will play a fundamental role in the therapeutic approaches of the future. Multifunctional systems at the nanometric scale should allow selective targeting of pathogens, label them (for diagnostic purposes) and kill them (therapy). It is important to show that such architectures can be rationally designed and realized with a straightforward approach, and that they are able to perform as expected. Light-driven materials are particularly interesting due to the low energies that characterize the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. In addition, the affected area can be selectively addressed with a targeted light source, i.e., optical fibers.
The development of nanomaterials that unify different functions in one structure is crucial for future biomedical applications, combining diagnostic and therapeutic capacities. On the other hand, it is important to keep the chemical approach cheap and simple in order to allow a generalized use and production at industrial scale. Multifunctional arrays can be hardly obtained by means of classical chemical tools. We therefore developed a new concept, i.e., nano-sized materials that unify three functionalities in one structure: a) targeting, b) labeling, and c) killing upon irradiation with harmless red light. For the first time, we have shown that it is possible to functionalize zeolite L in such way that we can label bacteria with a green fluorescence and kill them upon irradiation with red light, despite their antibiotic resistance.
