Technologies

Organotypic models of ovarian cancer are 3D models containing defined extracellular matrices, such as collagen and fibronectin, ovarian cancer cells with specific genetic/molecular characteristics, and one or more cancer-associated stromal cell types (fibroblasts, mesothelial cells, endothelial cells) to mimic specific metastatic niches of ovarian cancer (omentum, peritoneum, interstitial stroma) and the complex interactions within tumor tissues.

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

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.

Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is regarded as the “gold-standard” method for fluorescence lifetime measurements. However, TCSPC requires using highly sensitive detectors, not suitable for measurements under bright light conditions, thereby making the use impractical in clinical settings. The invention described here solves this problem by synchronizing the fluorescence detection with an external light source.

The Biocrystal Facility, a large multidisciplinary laboratory established at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology (IBPM) of CNR, in collaboration with the Biochemistry Department of Sapienza University aims at supporting the italian scientists and the pharmaceutical companies in the research to find new drug and vaccine against the endemic and epidemic diseases through structure-based drug design.

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 dramatic global health emergency due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic requires new diagnostic devices capable of identifying the presence of virus particles in patient biological samples. In this direction, the development of an innovative low-cost test, which provides the result within a few minutes, which is reproducible and which can reveal the direct presence of even a few viral particles, would be of fundamental importance for the monitoring and containment of the pandemic.

The aim of the present invention is to develop a modular scintigraphic device, with high spatial resolution, capable of creating investigation areas of various shapes and sizes, of compact form and of being used in different types of applications.

The present invention relates to a gamma camera for intracavitary use, which is widely used in the field of radio-guided surgery (intra-operative and laparoscopic and robotic-assisted) for the localisation of lymph nodes and tumours and/or other pathologies. The aim of the present invention is to make available an intraoperative tool able to overcome the drawbacks of the present known art.

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).

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.

We propose a portable chemical analysis system capable of identifying chemical substances at trace concentrations (sub-ppm), even in case of a complex matrix of interfering species.

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.

NIRS is a non-invasive technique for the human brain cortex imaging based on the measurement of the NIR light emitted by suitable optical sources placed on the patient head and backdiffused to the surface after passing through the brain tissues. NIRS monitors the percentage of oxygenated and reduced hemoglobin  in the blood, and it allows the real time functional imaging of the brain cortex also in tomographic mode (Diffuse Optical Tomography - DOT).

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.