Matthew Libera (mlibera)

Matthew Libera

Professor

Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science

Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Burchard 010
(201) 216-5259
(201) 216-8306
Website

Research

Polymeric biomaterials;
Hydrogels and microgels;
Biomaterials-associated infection;
(cryo-) Electron microscopy;
Electron-beam lithography.

General Information

Matthew Libera joined the Stevens Faculty in November 1989. His research interests center on hydrogels and other polymeric biomaterials with applications primarily to the design and development of bacteria-resistant surfaces. He is Director of the Stevens Laboratory for MultiScale Imaging (LMSI) and is a leader in the application of advanced (cryo) electron microscopy. He founded the biennial Stevens Conference on Bacteria-Material Interactions, the 7th of which occurred in June 2025. He earned a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering at Lafayette College and an ScD in Materials Science at MIT. Prior to Stevens, Libera worked briefly at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, CA developing data-storage materials. At Stevens Libera has held an array of Faculty-leadership positions, including serving as a Faculty-elected member of the Stevens Board of Trustees. He also served for five years as the Associate Dean for Graduate Academics and Research within the Stevens School of Engineering and Science.

Experience

1989-present, Professor Stevens Institute of Technology;
2021-2022, Visiting Professor, University of Rhode Island;
2013-2018, Associate Dean of Engineering and Science;
1992- present, Director, Laboratory for Multiscale Imaging;
1996-1997, Visiting Scientist, Hoescht-Celanese Corporation, Summit, NJ;
1988-1989, Visiting Scientist; IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA;
1987-1988, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, MIT, Cambridge, MA.

Institutional Service

  • Athletics Department Recruiting - Faculty Liaison Member
  • Faculty Search Committee Chair
  • Schaefer School Committee on Promotion and Tenure Member

Honors and Awards

Morton Professorship for Excellence in Teaching 2010-2011;
Master of Engr, Honorus Causa, Stevens Inst of Tech, 2003;
Jess N. Davis Award for Exemplary Research, 1998;
Alexander Humphreys Award for Outstanding Teaching, 1997.

Patents and Inventions

M. Libera, Surface Differentially Adhesive to Bacteria and Eukaryotic Cells, U.S. Patent 8,093,009;

X. Dai, S.A.E. Marras, and M. Libera, Gel-Tethered Molecular Beacons, US 9,340,831 B2, 2016.

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Guo, Y.; Yin, Z.; Wang, H.; Paren, B.; Wasik, P.; Ji, J.; Nangia, S.; Gill, N.; Sauer, K.; Davies, D.; Marques, C. N.; Libera, M. (2026). The Complexation Properties of Self-Defensive Microgel-Modified Antimicrobial Surfaces. ACS Applied Bio Materials (4 ed., vol. 9, pp. 2079-2088).
    https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsabm.5c02096.
  2. Wu, X.; Zhang, T.; Libera, M. (2024). Controlling the roll-to-helix transformation in electron-beam-patterned gel-based micro-ribbons. Soft Matter (39 ed., vol. 20, pp. 7946-7956).
  3. Wu, X.; Teng, F.; Firlar, E.; Zhang, T.; Libera, M. (2024). Elasto-plastic effects on shape-shifting electron-beam-patterned gel-based micro-helices. Materials Horizons (14 ed., vol. 11, pp. 3427-3436). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/d4mh00208c.
  4. Zhao, W.; Lin, J.; Nielsen, J.; Sorensen, K.; Wadurkar, A.; Ji, J.; Barron, A.; Nangia, S.; Libera, M. (2024). Supramolecular Peptoid Structure Strengthens Complexation with Polyacrylic Acid Microgels. Biomacromolecules (2 ed., vol. 25, pp. 1274-1281). ACS.
  5. Hickok, N. J.; Li, B.; Oral, E.; Zaat, S. A.; Armbruster, D. A.; Atkins, G. J.; Chen, A. F.; Coraça‐Huber, D. C.; Dai, T.; Greenfield, E. M.; Kasinath, R.; Libera, M.; Marques, C. N.; Moriarty, T. F.; Scott Phillips, K.; Raghuraman, K.; Ren, D.; Rimondini, L.; Saeed, K.; Schaer, T. P.; Schwarz, E. M.; Spiegel, C.; Stoodley, P.; Truong, V. K.; Tsang, S. J.; Wildemann, B.; Zelmer, A. R.; Zinkernagel, A. S. (2024). The 2023 Orthopedic Research Society's international consensus meeting on musculoskeletal infection: Summary from the in vitro section. Journal of Orthopaedic Research (3 ed., vol. 42, pp. 512-517). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.25774.
  6. Zhao, W.; Wang, H.; Xiao, X.; De Stefano, L.; Katz, J.; Lin, J. S.; Barron, A. E.; Schaer, T. P.; Wang, H.; Libera, M. (2022). Peptoid‐Loaded Microgels Self‐Defensively Inhibit Staphylococcal Colonization of Titanium in a Model of Operating‐Room Contamination. Advanced Materials Interfaces (31 ed., vol. 9). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202201662.
  7. Zhao, W.; Wang, H.; Xiao, X.; De Stefano, L.; Katz, J.; Lin, J. S.; Barron, A. E.; Schaer, T. P.; Wang, H.; Libera, M. (2022). Peptoid‐Loaded Microgels Self‐Defensively Inhibit Staphylococcal Colonization of Titanium in a Model of Operating‐Room Contamination. Advanced Materials Interfaces (31 ed., vol. 9). Wiley.
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/admi.202201662.
  8. Xiao, X.; Ji, J.; Wang, H.; Nangia, S.; Wang, H.; Libera, M. (2022). Self-Defensive Antimicrobial Surfaces Using Polymyxin-Loaded Poly(styrene sulfonate) Microgels. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering (11 ed., vol. 8, pp. 4827-4837). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.2c00783.
  9. Zhao, W.; Libera, M.; Prysak, M.; Katz, J.; De Stefano, L. (2022). An in vitro model of microbial contamination in the operating room. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research B: Applied Biomaterials.
  10. Xiao, X.; Ji, J.; Zhao, W.; Nangia, S.; Libera, M. (2022). Salt Destabilization of Cationic Colistin Complexation within Polyanionic Microgels. Macromolecules (5 ed., vol. 55, pp. 1736-1746). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.1c02157.
  11. Liang, J.; Xiao, X.; Chou, T.; Libera, M. (2021). Analytical Cryo-Scanning Electron Microscopy of Hydrated Polymers and Microgels. Accounts of Chemical Research (10 ed., vol. 54, pp. 2386-2396). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00109.
  12. Teng, F.; Wu, X.; Libera, M. (2020). Chemical Orthogonality in Surface-Patterned Poly(ethylene glycol) Microgels. Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids (35 ed., vol. 36, pp. 10622-10627).
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85090508125&doi=10.1021%2facs.langmuir.0c02172&partnerID=40&md5=ee666eb00dd704cb71e9b562c2089aa6.
  13. Xiao, X.; Zhao, W.; Liang, J.; Sauer, K.; Libera, M. (2020). Self-defensive antimicrobial biomaterial surfaces. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces (vol. 192, pp. 110989). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.110989.
  14. Wu, X.; Teng, F.; Libera, M. (2019). Functional Changes during Electron-Beam Lithography of Biotinylated Poly(ethylene glycol) Thin Films. ACS Macro Letters (10 ed., vol. 8, pp. 1252-1256).
  15. Yablon, D.; Libera, M. (2019). Microscopy 101: Scanning Probes or Scanning Electrons: A Practical Guide to Select a Method for Nanoscale Characterization. Microscopy Today (6 ed., vol. 27, pp. 32-38). Oxford University Press (OUP).
    https://doi.org/10.1017/s1551929519001044.
  16. Liang, J.; Xiao, X.; Chou, T.; Libera, M. (2019). Counterion Exchange in Peptide-Complexed Core–Shell Microgels. Langmuir (29 ed., vol. 35, pp. 9521-9528). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b01058.
  17. Liang, J.; Wang, H.; Libera, M. (2019). Biomaterial surfaces self-defensive against bacteria by contact transfer of antimicrobials. Biomaterials (vol. 204, pp. 25-35). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2019.03.006.
  18. Teng, F.; Libera, M. (2018). Microlens Enhancement of Surface-Tethered Molecular Beacons. Langmuir (49 ed., vol. 34, pp. 14969-14974). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b02204.
  19. Ma, Y.; Teng, F.; Libera, M. (2018). Solid-Phase Nucleic Acid Sequence-Based Amplification and Length-Scale Effects during RNA Amplification. Analytical Chemistry (11 ed., vol. 90, pp. 6532-6539). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.8b00058.
  20. Gu, J.; Valdevit, A.; Chou, T.; Libera, M. (2017). Substrate effects on cell-envelope deformation during early-stage Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation. Soft Matter (16 ed., vol. 13, pp. 2967-2976). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/c6sm02815b.
  21. Liang, J.; Teng, F.; Chou, T.; Libera, M. (2017). Measuring microgel swell ratio by cryo-SEM. Polymer (vol. 116, pp. 1-4). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2017.03.050.
  22. Ma, Y.; Libera, M. (2016). Molecular Crowding Effects on Microgel-Tethered Oligonucleotide Probes. Langmuir (25 ed., vol. 32, pp. 6551-6558). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b01518.
  23. Firlar, E.; Libera, M.; Ilarslan, H.; Misra, M. (2015). Corneodesmosomal Water Content in Frozen-Hydrated Porcine Skin. Journal of Investigative Dermatology (6 ed., vol. 135, pp. 1689-1691). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1038/jid.2015.31.
  24. da Silva Domingues, J. F.; Roest, S.; Wang, Y.; van der Mei, H. C.; Libera, M.; van Kooten, T. G.; Busscher, H. J. (2015). Macrophage phagocytic activity toward adhering staphylococci on cationic and patterned hydrogel coatings versus common biomaterials. Acta Biomaterialia (vol. 18, pp. 1-8). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2015.02.028.
  25. Dai, X.; Libera, M. (2014). Dip-pen microarraying of molecular beacon probes on microgel thin-film substrates. The Analyst (21 ed., vol. 139, pp. 5568-5575). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/c4an01220h.
  26. Wu, Y.; Liang, J.; Wang, Q.; Libera, M. (2014). Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Microgel-Modified Biomaterials Surfaces. MRS Proceedings (vol. 1622, pp. 1-6). Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    https://doi.org/10.1557/opl.2014.399.
  27. Wu, Y.; Liang, J.; Rensing, K.; Chou, T.; Libera, M. (2014). Extracellular Matrix Reorganization during Cryo Preparation for Scanning Electron Microscope Imaging of Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms. Microscopy and Microanalysis (5 ed., vol. 20, pp. 1348-1355). Oxford University Press (OUP).
    https://doi.org/10.1017/s143192761401277x.
  28. Wang, Y.; da Silva Domingues, J. F.; Subbiahdoss, G.; van der Mei, H. C.; Busscher, H. J.; Libera, M. (2014). Conditions of lateral surface confinement that promote tissue-cell integration and inhibit biofilm growth. Biomaterials (21 ed., vol. 35, pp. 5446-5452). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.03.057.
  29. Wang, Q.; Libera, M. (2014). Microgel-modified surfaces enhance short-term osteoblast response. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces (vol. 118, pp. 202-209). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2014.04.002.
  30. Wang, Y.; Firlar, E.; Dai, X.; Libera, M. (2013). Poly(ethylene glycol) as a biointeractive electron‐beam resist. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics (21 ed., vol. 51, pp. 1543-1554). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/polb.23367.
  31. Wang, Q.; Yu, X.; Libera, M. (2013). Reducing Bacterial Colonization of 3‐D Nanofiber Cell Scaffolds by Hierarchical Assembly of Microgels and an Antimicrobial Peptide. Advanced Healthcare Materials (5 ed., vol. 2, pp. 687-691). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201200306.
  32. Compagnoni, A.; Sharma, V.; Bao, Y.; Libera, M.; Sukhishvili, S.; Bidinger, P.; Bioglio, L.; Bonelli, E. (2013). BioScape: A Modeling and Simulation Language for Bacteria-Materials Interactions. Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science (vol. 293, pp. 35-49). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcs.2013.02.017.
  33. Wang, Q.; Uzunoglu, E.; Wu, Y.; Libera, M. (2012). Self-Assembled Poly(ethylene glycol)-co-Acrylic Acid Microgels to Inhibit Bacterial Colonization of Synthetic Surfaces. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (5 ed., vol. 4, pp. 2498-2506). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/am300197m.
  34. Wang, Y.; Subbiahdoss, G.; Swartjes, J.; van der Mei, H. C.; Busscher, H. J.; Libera, M. (2011). Length‐Scale Mediated Differential Adhesion of Mammalian Cells and Microbes. Advanced Functional Materials (20 ed., vol. 21, pp. 3916-3923). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201100659.
  35. Wang, J.; Zhu, Y.; Bawa, H. K.; Ng, G.; Wu, Y.; Libera, M.; van der Mei, H.; Busscher, H.; Yu, X. (2011). Oxygen-Generating Nanofiber Cell Scaffolds with Antimicrobial Properties. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (1 ed., vol. 3, pp. 67-73). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/am100862h.
  36. Pavlukhina, S.; Lu, Y.; Patimetha, A.; Libera, M.; Sukhishvili, S. (2010). Polymer Multilayers with pH-Triggered Release of Antibacterial Agents. Biomacromolecules (12 ed., vol. 11, pp. 3448-3456). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/bm100975w.
  37. Yakovlev, S.; Misra, M.; Shi, S.; Firlar, E.; Libera, M. (2010). Quantitative nanoscale water mapping in frozen-hydrated skin by low-loss electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Ultramicroscopy (7 ed., vol. 110, pp. 866-876). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2010.03.014.
  38. Sengonul, M.; Sousa, A.; Libera, M. (2009). Selective adsorption of surface-modified ferritin on a phase-separated polymer blend. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces (1 ed., vol. 73, pp. 152-155). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2009.05.004.
  39. Krsko, P.; Kaplan, J. B.; Libera, M. (2009). Spatially controlled bacterial adhesion using surface-patterned poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels. Acta Biomaterialia (2 ed., vol. 5, pp. 589-596). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2008.08.025.
  40. Yakovlev, S.; Libera, M. (2008). Dose-limited spectroscopic imaging of soft materials by low-loss EELS in the scanning transmission electron microscope. Micron (6 ed., vol. 39, pp. 734-740). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micron.2007.10.019.
  41. Sousa, A.; Sengonul, M.; Latour, R.; Kohn, J.; Libera, M. (2006). Selective Protein Adsorption on a Phase-Separated Solvent-Cast Polymer Blend. Langmuir (14 ed., vol. 22, pp. 6286-6292). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/la053081r.
  42. Kim, G.; Sousa, A.; Meyers, D.; Shope, M.; Libera, M. (2006). Diffuse Polymer Interfaces in Lobed Nanoemulsions Preserved in Aqueous Media. Journal of the American Chemical Society (20 ed., vol. 128, pp. 6570-6571). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ja061377t.
  43. Sousa, A.; Aitouchen, A.; Libera, M. (2006). Water mapping in hydrated soft materials. Ultramicroscopy (2 ed., vol. 106, pp. 130-145). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2005.06.059.
  44. Krsko, P.; Libera, M. (2005). Biointeractive hydrogels. Materials Today (12 ed., vol. 8, pp. 36-44). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/s1369-7021(05)71223-2.
  45. Kozlovskaya, V.; Yakovlev, S.; Libera, M.; Sukhishvili, S. A. (2005). Surface Priming and the Self-Assembly of Hydrogen-Bonded Multilayer Capsules and Films. Macromolecules (11 ed., vol. 38, pp. 4828-4836). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma0501895.
  46. Hong, Y.; Krsko, P.; Libera, M. (2004). Protein Surface Patterning Using Nanoscale PEG Hydrogels. Langmuir (25 ed., vol. 20, pp. 11123-11126). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/la048651m.
  47. Kozlovskaya, V.; Ok, S.; Sousa, A.; Libera, M.; Sukhishvili, S. A. (2003). Hydrogen-Bonded Polymer Capsules Formed by Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembly. Macromolecules (23 ed., vol. 36, pp. 8590-8592). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma035084l.
  48. Siangchaew, K.; Libera, M. (1999). Measurement of Interfacial Width in a Poly(styrene)/Poly(2-vinylpyridine) Homopolymer Blend by Spatially Resolved Inelastic Electron Scattering. Macromolecules (9 ed., vol. 32, pp. 3051-3056). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma9816261.
  49. Kim, G.; Libera, M. (1998). Kinetic Constraints on the Development of Surface Microstructure in SBS Thin Films. Macromolecules (8 ed., vol. 31, pp. 2670-2672). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma9714070.
  50. Yang, Z.; Du, H.; Libera, M.; Singer, I. L. (1995). Effects of implantation temperature on the structure, composition, and oxidation resistance of aluminum-implanted SiC. Journal of Materials Research (6 ed., vol. 10, pp. 1441-1447). Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.1995.1441.
  51. Du, H.; Libera, M.; Yang, Z.; Lai, P.; Jacobson, D. C.; Wang, Y. C.; Davis, R. F. (1993). Effect of self-implantation on structure and oxidation behavior of single crystal β-SiC. Applied Physics Letters (4 ed., vol. 62, pp. 423-425). AIP Publishing.
    https://doi.org/10.1063/1.108922.
  52. Libera, M.; Chen, M. (1990). Multilayered Thin-Film Materials for Phase-Change Erasable Storage. MRS Bulletin (4 ed., vol. 15, pp. 40-45). Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    https://doi.org/10.1557/s0883769400059947.