Projects per year
Personal profile
Personal profile
Dr. Alessandro Grattoni obtained his bachelors and masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the Politecnico of Torino, Turin, Italy in 2005. During his masters degree thesis, he studied the osmotic pressure of non-ideal solutions though nanoporous membranes. This work produced two publications and two patents. A few months after starting graduate school in Biomedical Engineering at Politecnico of Torino in 2006, Alessandro Grattoni joined Dr. Mauro Ferrari’s research team as a visiting student in the Department of Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. In this new context, he engaged in the study of transport phenomena in silicon nanofluidic devices for drug delivery.
At the beginning of 2007, he began directing one of the four research platforms, the nanochannel Delivery System (nDS) project. Since then he has coordinated the work of his colleagues in the development and validation of nanochannel membranes for long-term administration of therapeutics from implantable capsules. His research focuses on the experimental and phenomenological analysis of concentration-driven transport in nanoconfinement tools and mathematical models of the nanofluidic system. Additionally he analyzes electrokinetic transport in nanochannels for the purpose of modulating the release of therapeutics from reservoirs. In collaboration with NanoMedical Systems Inc. of Austin, TX, Dr. Grattoni is working to translate innovations in nDS technology to clinical applications.
In April 2009 he was awarded the Heinlein Trust Microgravity Award to support diffusion experiments in microgravity conditions on-board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in early 2011. In May 2009 he completed his Ph.D. studies with fifteen peer-reviewed publications and five patent applications. In October 2010, he became an Assistant Member of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and an Interim Co-Chair of the Nanomedicine Program.
Research interests
Dr. Grattoni's research focuses on the development and clinical translation of implantable nanofluidic technologies for drug delivery, molecular sieving and cell transplantation. Silicon-based nanochannel membranes are developed for the controlled delivery of therapeutics by exploiting nanoscale physics, achieving a constant or tunable sustained release of molecules for extended periods of time. Dr. Grattoni’s research relates to the experimental and theoretical analysis of molecular transport at the nanoscale and the in vivo investigation of long term, sustained delivery of therapeutics. Dr. Grattoni's research has received the support of NASA and State of Texas Emerging Technology Funds, as well as from NanoMedical Systems, Inc.
Education/Academic qualification
Mechanical Engineering, MSc, Politecnico di Torino
Biomedical Engineering, PhD, Politecnico di Torino
Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering, Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
External positions
Adjunct Professor, Texas A&M University
Aug 2018 → …
Research Area Keywords
- Nanomedicine
- Immunobiology & Inflammation
- Cancer
- Imaging & Radiology
Free-text keywords
- Nanomedicine
- Nanofluidics
- Drug delivery
- Silicon technologies
- Implantable devices
- Space medicine
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Network
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Ultra-long Acting Transcutaneously Refillable Islatravir Nanofluidic Implant for HIV Pre-Exposure
6/1/22 → 5/31/27
Project: Federal Funding Agencies
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Prevascularized encapsulation platform with local immunosuppression for Islet transplantation
8/1/21 → 7/31/23
Project: Non Profit
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Transforming triple negative breast cancer treatment through intratumoral immunotherapy via nanofluidic drug eluting seed
8/1/20 → 7/31/23
Project: Federal Funding Agencies
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Sustained delivery of a bisphosphonate-prostaglandin analog complex (C3) for the prevention and treatment of osteopenia.
8/15/19 → 10/30/22
Project: Federal Funding Agencies
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A tunable nanofluidic drug delivery platform for in vivo research
4/15/18 → 1/31/23
Project: Federal Funding Agencies
Research output
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Advanced strategies to thwart foreign body response to implantable devices
Capuani, S., Malgir, G., Chua, C. Y. X. & Grattoni, A., 2022, (Accepted/In press) In: Bioengineering and Translational Medicine.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open Access -
Biomedical microdevices: the next phase of highlighting scientific discoveries in the field of micro-nanotechnologies for medicine
Grattoni, A. & Han, A., Mar 2022, In: Biomedical Microdevices. 24, 1, 1.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
Open Access -
Emerging biomaterial-based strategies for personalized therapeutic in situ cancer vaccines
Viswanath, D. I., Liu, H. C., Huston, D. P., Chua, C. Y. X. & Grattoni, A., Jan 2022, In: Biomaterials. 280, 121297.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
1 Scopus citations -
Emerging local immunomodulatory strategies to circumvent systemic immunosuppression in cell transplantation
Campa-Carranza, J. N., Paez-Mayorga, J., Chua, C. Y. X., Nichols, J. & Grattoni, A., May 29 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery. p. 1-16 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Emerging nanotechnologies in cardiovascular medicine
Grattoni, A. & Cooke, J. P., Jan 2022, In: Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine. 39, 102472.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
Prizes
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Award for Excellence in Peer Reviewed Publication
Grattoni, Alessandro (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Career Cornerstone Award
Grattoni, Alessandro (Recipient), 2014
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Decoupling Diffusive Transport Phenomena in Microgravity
Grattoni, Alessandro (Recipient), 2009
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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First Place Poster
Filgueira, Carly S. (Recipient), Igo, S. R. (Recipient), Bruckner, B. A. (Recipient), Ferraro, F. (Recipient), Shah, Dipan J. (Recipient), Estep, J. D. (Recipient) & Grattoni, Alessandro (Recipient), Oct 24 2017
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)