Technologies

Aptamers, short structured single-stranded oligonucleotides binding at high affinity to a given target protein, are selected from large combinatorial libraries through repeated cycles of incubation of the library with the target, recovery and amplification of target-bound oligonucleotides (SELEX technology, Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment). SELEX can be applied to select aptamers against a known target protein or against a specific cell phenotype, without any prior knowledge of the specific target, leading to new biomarkers discovery.

Nowadays, to properly design and develop advanced materials capable to preserve for long times their performance under aggressive environments such as power generation plants, renewables, nuclear reactors and electronics of new generation, transport on ground and on space, aeronautics, catalysis, biomedical implants, the optimization of metallurgical processes involved is crucial.

Anthocyanins are antioxidant polyphenolic pigments produced by plants that are widely used in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The technology allows to obtain in a short time potato cell lines in which the production of highly acetylated and highly complex anthocyanins is increased in addition to other antioxidant polyphenolic compounds. The obtained cellular lines have a high production efficiency, comparable to the extraction of berries, but with the advantage of having an on-demand production which is not limited to seasonality.

The technology based on cell or tissue cultures is very useful for the production of bioactive compounds. These molecules, depending on the class they belong to, can be used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. In particular, the developed technology is addressed to the optimization of bioactive compounds in plant cell/tissue cultures having the biosynthetic pathway of the compound of interest.

INCIPIT technology allowed the implementation of a multifunctional, micro-structured and electroconductive therapeutic product to treat patients with myocardial infarction, the leading cause of death for cardiovascular disease.  Current therapies (drugs, bypass, angioplasty) do not restore the functionality of damaged myocardial tissue.

Portable robotic device for bilateral neuromotor rehabilitation. An appropriate mechanical structure and a series of interchangeable accessories suitably designed allow the execution of various motor gestures of the upper limbs, involving different articulations and muscles. The possibility of being used with both limbs contributes to the recovery of motor coordination and facilitates the mechanism of brain plasticity. Some rotary axes the device is equipped with are motorized and sensorized.

The systems simulate, with high reproducibility, the conditions that occur in the different compartments of the gastrointestinal tracts and are promising to accurately mimic the digestive process, with the possibility to evaluate bioaccessibility and bioavailability. Moreover, the systems permit to study the synergic and reciprocal effects between the bioactive compounds characteristic of food and intestinal microbiota.

Plants can compete favorably with traditional expression systems (mammalian cells, yeasts or bacteria) to produce recombinant proteins/peptides of pharmaceutical/industrial/agrifood interest. This technology names “Plant Molecular Farming”. The CNR-IBBA research team offers the study of new strategies for the expression and optimization of recombinant proteins/peptides in plant-based systems (plant tissues, transgenic plants, plant cell culture). Our pipeline is based on the following modules:

The platform allows acquisition of data from commercial and custom sensors. By now, the system has been embedded in a wearable wristband where elastomeric based strain gauge have been integrated to detect fine hand/wrist/arm movements. The platform integrates inertial sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes) to acquire more details about the subject movements. A sensor-fusion algorithm enables advanced movement recognition (gesture, 3D orientation). A machine-learning algorithm is in development to increase the performance of the platform.

Recently, it has been demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy can play a fundamental role in assisting the work of the anatomopathologist by allowing classification of oncological samples with practically 100% accuracy in oncological diagnosis.

The development of an innovative screening platform of natural marine extracts guided by biological assays represents one of the main products developed within the Antitumor Drugs and Vaccines from the SEA (ADViSE) project which aims to provide a new vision in Drug Discovery processes.

The proposed system is based on a high-resolution electrocardiograph in which the electrodes are positioned on maternal abdomen. The acquired signals are processed using a completely unsupervised software for fetal ECG extraction based on independent component analysis, maternal ECG canceling and a quality index optimization. The electrocardiograph is constituted by a light-weight and light-dimension portable unit, which acquires the signals and transmit them to a computer where the analysis software runs.

TNBC affects around 170,000 patients worldwide each year and accounts for 15-20% of breast cancer; compared to other types of breast cancer, TNBC is more aggressive and precocious. Its diagnosis, made difficult by the existence of subtypes with different characteristics, is fundamental to establish prognosis and personalized therapy. Nucleic acid aptamers are highly selective low-molecular-weight molecules, synthesizable at low cost and easily modifiable, capable of binding and detecting tissue markers ("aptahistochemistry”). Our team has iden

This technology is based on an algorithm able to provide the probability of being asthmatic with high accuracy. This probability is based on the evaluation of respiratory function and, specifically, of forced expiratory vital capacity in the first second (FEV₁), in resting conditions, and 20 minutes after administration of a bronchodilator drug.

Polymer development is approaching to a new stage of advancement in which new functionalities especially in combination with conductive polymers and nanomaterials are more effective. In this context the study of new composites is the key to enable the development of disruptive technologies as additive manufacturing. Increasing electrical conductivity open the way to a new class of objects to be prototyped rapidly at low cost with a high level of customization.