Dr. Maria Rosa Katunar

Visiting researcher (INTEMA, National Univ. of Mar del Plata, Argentina)

Supervisor: Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini
Collaborators: Ms Alina Gruenewal, Dr. Rainer Detsch

Prof. Dr. Maria Rosa Katunar is member of the Research Institute of Materials Science and Technology, (INTEMA) and belongs to the National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET) as full time researcher. She is also an associate professor at National University of Mar del Plata, Argentina. During her research stay at the FAU Institute of Biomaterials, Dr. Katunar will evaluate the cellular response to stainless steel 316L substrates which have been superficially modified with a layer of chitosan and coated with nanoparticles of silicon and calcium oxides. The aim of this project is focused if assessing superficial modifications carried out to enhance the biological performance of the metallic materials aiming at providing osseointegration capability. The project is carried out in collaboration with INTEMA (principal investigator: Prof. Josefina Ballarre) and it is funded by the CONICET-Bavarian University Centre for Latin America (BAYLAT) collaboration program. The project follows our successful previous collaboration with Prof. Josefina Ballarre and her team at INTEMA [1].

[1] J. Ballarre, et al., Versatile bioactive and antibacterial coating system based on silica, gentamicin, and chitosan: Improving early stage performance of titanium implants, Surface and Coatings Technology 381 (2020) 125138.