Prof Brust obtained his first degree in Chemistry from Hamburg University. He then moved to Liverpool (UK) as a PhD student to carry out research under the supervision of Prof. David J.  Schiffrin. During this period, he developed a method for the preparation of gold nanoparticles, which is nowadays widely known as the Brust-Schiffrin-Method and is of significant importance in this field of science. After receiving his PhD degree in 1995, Mathias moved on to carry out postdoctoral research in nanoscale electrochemistry, first at the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and then at the University of Texas at Austin (USA), where he worked in the well-known electrochemistry group of Prof. Allen J. Bard. At the end of 1997 he returned to Liverpool, initially for a further postdoctoral position, and from autumn 1998 as an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow and Lecturer. He was promoted to Reader in 2004 and to a personal Chair (full Professor) in 2006.

Prof Brust current research interests include both fundamental and applied biomedical aspects of the interactions of nanoparticles with living organisms.