Samuel Sánchez

Samuel Sánchez

Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya

Engineering Sciences

Samuel (PhD Chemistry, UAB, 2008) is Group Leader at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and since 2019 Deputy Director. In 2009, he worked at NIMS, Japan, from 2010-2013 he was Group Leader at the Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, IFW Dresden, Germany. From 2013-2018 he was Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart. He received several awards: Guinness World Record® 2010 and 2017 for smallest jet engine;  IFW-IIN Research Prize 2011 for outstanding scientist; ERC Starting Grant 2012 “Lab-in-a-tube and Nanorobotic Biosensors”, ERC Proof-of Concept 2016 (Microcleaners) and 2018 (Lab-in-a-patch);  MIT TR35 as “Innovator of the year U35” Spain 2014; Princess of Girona Scientific Research Award 2015; "Joven Relevante" Award by the Círculo Ecuestre de Barcelona and National Research Award for Young Talent from the Catalan Foundation of Research and Innovation (FCRi) in 2016.


Research interests

Samuel Sánchez is leader of the “Smart Nano-Bio-Devices” group, working in the multidisciplinary field of Nanosciences with interest in self-powered micro- and nano-systems, small-scaled robots, integrated and flexible nano-(bio)-sensors, active drug delivery systems and 3D (Bio) Printed Soft Robotics. Sánchez’s group has been consolidated as one of the leading groups in catalytic nano-motors from fundamental aspects to various proof-of-concept applications. Currently, the main research lines in the group are: 1. Nanofabrication of self-powered micro- and nanorobots using nanotechnology and new fabrication tools for biomedicine and environmental applications. 2. 3D Printing and 3D BioPrinting for soft robotics and biomedical engineering. 3. Fabrication of ultracompact and flexible devices for biosensing. 4. Physics of active colloids near surfaces.

Selected publications

– Arqué X, Romero-Rivera A, Feixas F, Patiño T, Osuna S & Sánchez S 2019, ‘Intrinsic enzymatic properties modulate the self-propulsion of micromotors‘, Nature Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 2826.

– Patino T, Porchetta A, Jannasch A, Lladó A, Stumpp T, Schäffer E, Ricci F & Sánchez S 2019, ‘Self-Sensing Enzyme-Powered Micromotors Equipped with pH-Responsive DNA Nanoswitches‘, Nano Letters, vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 3440 – 3447.

– Wang L, Hortelão AC, Huang X & Sánchez S 2019, ‘Lipase-Powered Mesoporous Silica Nanomotors for Triglyceride Degradation‘, Angewandte Chemie-international Edition, vol. 58, no. 24, pp. 7992-7996.

– Palacios LS, Katuri J, Pagonabarraga I & Sánchez S  2019, ‘Guidance of active particles at liquid-liquid interfaces near surfaces‘, Soft Matter, vol. 15,  no. 32, pp. 6581-6588.

– Xu D, Wang Y, Liang C, You Y, Sanchez S & Ma X 2019, ‘Self-Propelled Micro/Nanomotors for On-Demand Biomedical Cargo Transportation‘, Small, 1902464.

– Llopis-Lorente A, Garcií-Fernández A, Murillo-Cremaes N, Hortelão AC, Patinño T, Villalonga R, Sancenón F, Martínez-Máñer R & Sánchez S 2019, ‘Enzyme-Powered Gated Mesoporous Silica Nanomotors for On-Command Intracellular Payload Delivery‘, Acs Nano, vol. 13, no. 10, pp. 12171-12183.

– Horteläo AC, Carrascosa R, Murillo-Cremaes N, Patiño T & Sánchez S 2019, ‘Targeting 3D bladder cancer spheroids with urease-powered nanomotors‘, ACS Nano, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 429 – 439.

– Mestre R, Patiño T, Barceló X, Anand S, Pérez-Jiménez A & Sánchez S 2019, ‘Force Modulation and Adaptability of 3D-Bioprinted Biological Actuators Based on Skeletal Muscle Tissue‘, Advanced Materials Technologies, vol.4, no. 2, pp.

Selected research activities

Deputy Director of IBEC

15+ scientific invited talks, seminars and outreach, 20+ appearances in the media

ERC-PoC, CaixaImpulse, 2 private agreements, 1 patent

3 Best Poster Awards, 1 best talk

Organizing commitee in 2 conferences