Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso

Our lab carries out cross-disciplinary research dissecting the properties of cell walls and their function in cell-to-cell communication. We characterized (and developed molecular probes for) a beta-1,3 glucan polymer present in plants, algae, fungi and bacterial cell wall and found applications in the development of bio-inspired materials (hydrogels) that could be used in drug delivery or tissue engineering. Molecular probes could be applied in diagnostics and targeted treatment of infections.