Research Interests

• Tissue Engineering (bone, cartilage, dental, cardiovascular, skin)
• In vitro and in vivo biocompatibility evaluation of biomaterials, scaffolds and nanoparticles
• Development of osteoinductive and osteoconductive biomaterials and scaffolds
• Investigation of the osteogenic potential of implantable biomaterials and drugs
• Functionalization of biomaterials with growth factors
• Biomechanics
• 3D printing technologies
• Development of protein immobilization techniques on biomaterials surfaces
• Adsorption and desorption studies of proteins on biomaterials surfaces

Short Curriculum Vitae

Maria Chatzinikolaidou received her B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Essen, Germany and her doctoral degree in Biochemistry from the same university in 2004. Her PhD work focused on the immobilization and release kinetics of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) from metal implant surfaces, under the supervision of Prof. H.P. Jennissen. From 2004 to 2006 she was a post-doctoral associate at the University Medical School of Essen working on the development of novel bioactive dental and bone implants. From 2006 to 2008 she was a post-doctoral fellow supported by the EU ENTER program at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at FORTH (Prof. Electra Gizeli), performing research on biosensing protein and cell interactions with titanium surfaces. From 2007 to 2010 she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Crete teaching courses on Biological Materials and Composite Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. In 2010 she was appointed Assistant Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Crete (tenured 2014; promoted to Associate Professor 2019; promoted to Professor 2024). She served as Chair of the 28th Annual Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) held in Athens (2017), and Program Chair of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) EU Conference held in Rhodes (2019). She is a Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE, elected 2020) of the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUS-BSE), International Fellow of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (FTERM, elected 2023), and Fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (FIAMBE, elected 2024). In 2023 she has been elected European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS) Ambassador for Greece. In 2024 she has been elected member of the Steering Committee of the International College of Fellows of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (ICF-BSE) for the term 2024-2028.

Selected Recent Publications

• Parkatzidis, K, Chatzinikolaidou, M, Kaliva, M, Bakopoulou, A, Farsari, M, Vamvakaki, M. "Multiphoton 3D Printing of Biopolymer-Based Hydrogels", ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING -, – (2019).
• Bousnaki Maria, Bakopoulou Athina, Papadogianni Danai, Barkoula Nektaria-Marianthi, Alpantaki Kalliopi, Kritis Aristidis, Chatzinikolaidou M, Koidis Petros. Fibro/chondrogenic differentiation of dental stem cells into chitosan/alginate scaffolds towards temporomandibular joint disc regeneration. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN MEDICINE 29: 97, 2018.
• Bakopoulou, A, Georgopoulou, Α, Grivas, I, Bekiari, C, Prymak, O, Loza, Κ, Epple, M, Papadopoulos, GC, Koidis, P, Chatzinikolaidou, Μ "Dental pulp stem cells in chitosan/gelatin scaffolds for enhanced orofacial bone regeneration", Dental Materials –, – (2018).
• Georgopoulou, A, Papadogiannis, F, Batsali, A, Marakis, J, Alpantaki, K, Eliopoulos, AG, Pontikoglou, C, Chatzinikolaidou, M. "Chitosan/gelatin scaffolds support bone regeneration", JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN MEDICINE 29, 59 (2018).
• Georgopoulou A, Kaliva M, Vamvakaki M, Chatzinikolaidou M. "Osteogenic Potential of Pre-Osteoblastic Cells on a Chitosan-graft-Polycaprolactone Copolymer", Materials, 11(4), 490 (2018).
• Skandalis, N, Dimopoulou, A, Georgopoulou, A, Gallios, N, Papadopoulos, D, Tsipas, D, Theologidis, I, Michailidis, N, Chatzinikolaidou, M. "The Effect of Silver Nanoparticles Size, Produced Using Plant Extract from Arbutus unedo, on Their Antibacterial Efficacy", NANOMATERIALS 7, 178 (2017).
• Papadimitriou, L, Kaliva, M, Vamvakaki, M, Chatzinikolaidou, M. "Immunomodulatory Potential of Chitosan-graf t-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) Copolymers toward the Polarization of Bone-Marrow-Derived Macrophages", ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 3, 1341-1349 (2017).
• Maria Chatzinikolaidou, Charalampos Pontikoglou Konstantina Terzaki, Maria Kaliva, Athanasia Kalyva, Eleni Papadaki, Maria Vamvakaki, Maria Farsari "Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) immobilized on laser-fabricated 3D scaffolds enhance osteogenesis", Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 149(1), 233-242 (2017).
• Hadjicharalambous C, Alexaki VI, Alpantaki K, Chatzinikolaidou M "Effects of NSAIDs on the osteogenic differentiation of human adipose tissue-derived stromal cells", J. Pharm. Pharmacol., -, (2016).
• Chatzinikolaidou M "Cell spheroids: the new frontiers in in vitro models for cancer drug validation", Drug Discovery Today, -, (2016).
• Hadjicharalambous C., Kozlova D., Sokolova V., Epple M., Chatzinikolaidou M. "Calcium phosphate nanoparticles carrying BMP-7 plasmid DNA induce an osteogenic response in MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts", J. Biomed. Mater. Res. A, 103(12), 3834-3842 (2015).
• Hadjicharalambous Chrystalleni, Prymak Oleg, Loza Kateryna, Buyakov Ales, Kulkov Sergei, Chatzinikolaidou Maria, "Effect of porosity of alumina and zirconia ceramics towards pre-osteoblast response", Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol., 3, 175 (2015).
• Hadjicharalambous C, Mygdali E, Prymak O, Buyakov A, Kulkov S, Chatzinikolaidou M "Proliferation and osteogenic response of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblastic cells on porous zirconia ceramics stabilized with magnesia or yttria", J Biomed Mater Res Part A 103(11), 3612-3624, (2015).
• Chrystalleni Hadjicharalambous, Ales Buyakov, Svetlana Buyakova, Sergey Kulkov and Maria Chatzinikolaidou "Porous alumina, zirconia and alumina/zirconia for bone repair: fabrication, mechanical and in vitro biological response", Biomed Mater 10, 025012, (2015).
• Maria Chatzinikolaidou, Sima Rekstyte, Paulius Danilevicius, Charalampos Pontikoglou, Helen Papadaki, Maria Farsari, Maria Vamvakaki "Adhesion and growth of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on precise-geometry 3D organic­inorganic composite scaffolds for bone repair" Materials Science and Engineering C 48, 301-309, (2015).
• Chatzinikolaidou M, Kaliva M, Batsali A, Pontikoglou C, Vamvakaki M, "Wharton's Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cell Response on Chitosan-graft-poly (ε-caprolactone) Copolymer for Myocardium Tissue Engineering." Curr. Pharm. Des. 20(12), 2030-2039, (2014).