NANOSELF Molecular Self-Assembly and Nanomaterials
NanoSelf is a recently created multidisciplinary group led by two Ramón y Cajal researchers: Dr. Criado from the organic area and Dr. Mosquera from the inorganic chemistry area. NanoSelf’s research comprises multiple projects in the fields of supramolecular chemistry, biological chemistry and nanotechnology.
Our main objective is to develop nanostructured materials with biomedical applications. From this point of view, NanoSelf encompasses both projects focused on basic science (research lines 1-3), as well as those more focused on solving certain societal challenges, such as early diagnosis of diseases (research line 4).
Useful info
Research Line 1 - Synthetic recognition units
Molecular recognition plays a fundamental role in biological, medical and industrial applications. The most commonly used recognition tools are natural elements, mainly antibodies, which have many drawbacks, such as poor stability and laborious preparation. At NanoSelf we are developing synthetic recognition units that can emulate the excellent recognition properties of antibodies while overcoming their limitations.
Research Line 2 - Chiral Plasmonic Nanoparticles
Chiral plasmonic nanomaterials are at the forefront of innovative science and could have an enormous impact on a wide variety of fields, from biology to physics to chemistry. At NanoSelf we are interested in developing new methodologies for the colloidal synthesis of chiral plasmonic nanomaterials by using molecular complexes as templates.
Research Line 3 - Chemistry of low dimensional materials
The possibility of chemically modifying low-dimensional structures, e.g., graphene derivatives, carbon nanotubes and other related materials, allows tuning their chemical and physical properties. The application of new properties exponentially improves the fields of action of these nanomaterials. NanoSelf performs basic research, studying a wide variety of functionalization methodologies of low-dimensional structures to implement new functionalities for the design of new materials with useful optical, electronic and/or biomedical properties.
Research Line 4 - Biosensors
Due to their interesting properties, low-dimensional materials (graphene, carbon nanotubes and metal dichalcogenides) are having an enormous impact on the design of biosensors. Their preparation as transducers is also generating interest, particularly as electron transducers in electrochemical devices and field effect transistors. At Nanoself, we develop biosensors based on these nanomaterials to achieve exceptional sensing performance.
- Funcionalización quimioselectiva de biomoléculas mediada por metales. Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2023 (PID2023-146174NA-I00)
- Fe(III) T1 MRI Contrast Agents Based on Hybrid Siderophores/Graphene Oxide Materials (FERRO) (SEM2021‐A5)
- Evaluación del efecto de la quiralidad en la TOXIcidad de los NANOmateriales” (TOXI-NANO) (SEM2021‐A1)
- Supramolecular approaches to regulate biological systems (RYC2019-027842- I)
- Preparation, modification and biomedical applications of carbon-based nanostructures and related materials (RYC2020-030183-I)
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Other information of interest
News
Articles
Chelation-Driven Self-Assembly of Luminescent Magnesium Coordination Cages
- Authors: Ouyang, Nianfeng; Ronson, Tanya K.; Zhu, Huangtianzhi; Sun, Xiang; Mosquera, Jesus; Nitschke, Jonathan R.
- Details: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
- DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6c02366
Decoding the Principles Governing Molecular Cage Precipitation of Aliphatic and Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs)
- Authors: María Pérez-Ferreiro, Alejandro Criado, Jesús Mosquera
- Details: Energy, Environmental and Catalysis Applications, 2026, 18
- DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6c01610
Temperature dependent photoluminescence characteristics in amino-functionalized graphene quantum dots
- Authors: Rajarshi Roy , I. Jénnifer Gómez , Souvik Bhattacharjee , Nilesh Mazumder , Subhajit Saha , Lenka Zajíčková
- Details: Carbon, 2026,
- DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.120979
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