Technologies

A biosensor based on magnetic microspheres functionalized with a DNA-aptamer was developed for the specific biomonitoring of biological contaminants (mycotoxins) in urine.

The development of genome editing tools has revolutionized the way we think and deal with genetics. The use of Cas9 or its variants allows modifications of specific sites in the human genome by inducing deletions and insertions in a more or less controlled way. In recent years, a new class of tools for genome editing has emerged: the base editors (BE), which result from the fusion of a modified Cas9, which serves to direct the BE to the target, and an active deaminase acting on the DNA, which mediates the C> T or A> G editing.

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.

The technology we participate to develop, called "Zinc-Finger Artificial Transcription Factors (ZF-ATFs)", allows to design, realize and select artificial genes coding for proteins capable of recognizing and binding "potentially" any DNA sequence. We used ZF-ATF technology to reprogram the expression of "beneficial" genes capable of efficiently counteracting the negative effect of mutated genes related to rare diseases.

The present invention relates to the biomedical sector of the treatment of lung diseases and related symptoms. In particular, the present invention provides compositions and methods based on the use of selected polymeric biomaterials, in combination with stem cells and/or their secretome, capable of synergistically improving the development, regeneration and repair of chronic lung injuries and related symptoms.

The proposed technology is based on the micro-fabrication of electrodes in order to generate surface acoustic waves (SAW) with well-defined frequencies, on piezoelectric substrates. The operating principle of a surface acoustic wave sensor is linked to the variation of the characteristics of the acoustic wave that propagates on the device (e.g. wave velocity on the substrate, etc.) caused by the interaction with the environment (e.g. interaction of an analyte on the surface of the device, deformation of the substrate, etc.).

Digital Eye is an innovative, rapid and high-precision intelligent computer vision system for the non-destructive and contactless evaluation of quality and shelf-life of whole or fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. It integrates advanced vision and artificial intelligence technologies to estimate parameters useful to evaluate the quality of fruit and vegetables, during both the harvesting phase and the cold chain.

The insertion of executable programs within QR codes is a new enabling technology for many application contexts in everyday life. Every time Internet access is unavailable, QR code usage is limited to reading the data it contains without any possibility of interaction.

Method for extracting, with high yield, phycobiliproteins from cyanobacterial and/or algal biomass, obtaining aqueous extracts characterized by high concentration of pigments (4-5 mg/mL)  and a purity, at least equal to food/cosmetic grade (P≥2).

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.

The herein described technology aims at the development of a platform of injectable hydrogels for application as drug carriers for localized delivery or in the regenerative medicine field. The use of ad-hoc synthesized poly(ether urethane)s (PEUs) as hydrogel forming materials is a common property which characterizes all the systems belonging to this platform.

We propose a compact innovative spectroscopy system operating in the UV range. In the actual version, designed for gas, it exhibits: an aluminium tubular optical chamber (length can be adjusted; currently is 20 cm); a cheap commercial UV LED; a SiC visible blind UV detector designed and manufactured at the CNR-IMM facilities. The team developed also the electronic chain for wireless remote real time read out; while able to deal with pA current levels, it uses very cheap components and construction technology.

The procedure enables the fabrication of nanocomposite membranes filled with suitable amounts of exfoliated bidimensional crystals. These are obtained with an advanced wet-jet milling technique, which provides desired thickness and lateral size of nanofillers through the pulverization and colloidal homogenization of bulk nanomaterials. The bidimensional crystals are dispersed in fluids and suitably delivered inside polymeric matrixes exhibiting a singular morphology.

The proposal concerns the development of the G.A.T.CD4 (Gliadin-activated CD4+ T cells) method which allows, in peripheral blood, the identification of CD4+ T lymphocytes reactive to toxic peptides of gliadin, the main gluten protein of cereals.