Technologies

Bivalve mollusc shells are made mainly of CaCO₃ (ca 95%), with a small fraction of organic material. If from these shells this mineral is retrieved, they could become a renewable and sustainable “mine” of a “blue” CaCO₃. Bivalve mollusc shells, also after the removal of the animal flesh, maintain a certain quantity of organic substances, part in the muscle and part in the shell.

The Proof-of-Concept A.L.I.C.E. or "Actuators based on Light sensitive CompositE" aims at the development of innovative materials through 3D/4D printing processes and uses them as actuators in the fields of photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, thermodynamic solar, and other applications such as optical deflectors, optical microvalves, and optical switches.

AIDD is an integrated tool and a radically new way to discovery new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy, Ageing, etc.).

The virtual dynamic docking, carried out in the MOLBD3 lab of the Institute of Biophysics, allows the identification of new drugs through the structural information deriving from the study of target proteins, responsible for some human pathologies. In particular, we screen drugs or small molecules (commercial/own libraries) against known protein sites, surface cavities, surfaces of protein-protein interactions (fixed/rigid hotspots) or structural transition states (dynamic hotspots).

Inert biomedical devices with modular load-bearing function designed with peculiar multi-domain composite microstructures. The reference compositional system is Zirconia-Alumina with a prevailing overall composition of customizable zirconia or alumina. Examples of devices are 3D structures consisting of parts with differentiated functional properties, due to different composition/microstructure/architecture, and further functionalizable ex-post to favor and improve the stabilization of the implantation by newly formed bone in superior quantity and quality.

VisLab laboratory of IMM possesses a latest generation Raman micro-spectroscope equipped for vibrational measurements with high spatial and spectral resolution, at controlled temperature and in fast-imaging. The apparatus can be used to collect information and chemico-physical maps without the need for sample preparation and alteration, therefore for non-destructive studies and in operating conditions.

The Nikon reference centre at IBPM ( www.imagingplatformibpmcnr.it ) is a microscopy platform for high resolution imaging of fixed samples and live cells (time-lapse video recording, both wide field and confocal spinning disk). Multimodal (fluorescence and transmitted light) and multidimensional (in x,y,z, 4 wavelengths, over time) acquisition modes are in place.

22q11.2DS(DGS) deletion syndrome is a rare and phenotypically variable multiorgan syndrome, currently without any cure. Our aim is to develop a standardized approach to formulate pharmacological products useful for clinical trials direct to prevent some serious clinical manifestations of adolescence and adulthood, such as neuropsychiatric and musculoskeletal diseases, or to eliminate or improve cardiovascular defects during embryonic development.

At IFN-CNR, in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano-Department of Physics, we have developed Raman microscopy approaches compatible with the study and characterization of biological and industrial samples. In detail, our facility houses a self-built spontaneous confocal Raman microscope with the following characteristics: two excitation lasers (660nm and 785nm), inverted microscope (Olympus IX-73) and Princeton spectrometer / CCD.

Extracellular vesicles produced by teratocarcinoma cells were isolated and characterized. Functional assays on glioblastoma (GBM) cell cultures showed the inhibitory effect of these vesicles on tumor cell migration, without inducing undesirable effects such as increased cell proliferation or chemotherapy resistance.

The aim of the research group is the creation of 3D models (microorgan/ organoids) constructed using samples obtained from patients, both biopsy samples and samples collected with non-invasive techniques (exhaled breath condensate, induced sputum, blood samples).

This invention comprises an interrogation and readout differential method for chemical sensors based on Surface Plasmon Resonances (SPR). The integration of the SPR sensing unit (chip or other), as intermediate reflecting element of a Fabry-Perot (FP) optical resonator, is the starting point for the application of this method.

We have identified the presence of the poorly characterized precursor proNGF-A in human tissues, deposited its coding nucleotide sequence (GenBank MH358394) and demonstrated its neuroprotective and neurotrophic activity in vitro and in vivo. We inserted mutations into the native molecule, identified through computational analysis, which allow proNGF-A production by eukaryotic expression systems, through a method currently validated on a laboratory scale.

We have identified compounds that show a neuroprotective action in vivo, in models of neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. SMA, Parkinson, Alzheimer, Huntington) in the model organism C. elegans. These compounds consist of: mixtures of 22 natural extracts, 15 natural molecules and 11 synthetic molecules.

Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (SSNMR) is today one of the most powerful techniques for characterizing solid and soft materials and systems. This spectroscopy allows the detailed characterization of structural and dynamic properties over large spatial (0.1-100 nm) and time (10²-10^-11 s) scales. Accessing these properties allows a deep knowledge of a material to be obtained and  its design and optimization to be oriented.