Technologies

Leishmaniasis is a zoonosis caused by the protozoan of the genus Leishmania, which affects both humans and animals through a phlebotomist. After malaria and lymphatic filariasis, leishmaniasis is the third most common disease on a global scale. Leishmania infantum is the species spread in the European continent and the Mediterranean basin. In Italy, from the hilly coastal areas and major islands, the infection has spread to many pre-Alpine areas and northern Italy.

This innovative technology involves the use of a high-affinity, highly specific antibody that targets extracellular domains of connexin hemichannels (Cx26, Cx30, and Cx32). The antibody has been designed to reduce or inhibit the growth of brain tumors, particularly glioblastoma (GBM), and to alleviate the associated epilepsy. By blocking connexin hemichannels, the antibody interferes with pathological ATP release and other signaling mechanisms that contribute to tumor progression and neural hyperexcitability.

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.

C-ImmSim is one of the most advanced computational models of the immune system. The software resorts to (bit or amino acid) strings to represent the “binding site” of cells and molecules. C-ImmSim is an agent-based model that includes the major classes of immune cells of the lymphoid lineage and some of the myeloid lineage. Helper T cells are divided into five phenotypes. B cells and plasma B are also divided into two phenotypes.

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.

The constant demand for more powerful and energy-efficient electronic devices than existing ones is challenging scientists and companies to develop innovative solutions that can address such primary technological needs. Based on a recent scientific discovery made by our team we have developed a technology for superfast and extremely scalable logic and computing circuits with minimal energy losses, which has the potential to become the leading technology in the future world of largescale computing and telecommunication infrastructures.

The platform HistoPlat implies the development and validation of a mathematical algorithm, potentially combinable with an image analysis software, that, through a multiparametric approach including the immunohistochemical analysis of both expression and localization of multiple markers, allows the histopathologist or oncologist to optimize the diagnosis and prognosis, and to predict the clinical response to therapies directed towards validated and/or innovative molecular targets, also taking into account the individual variability of each pati

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.

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.

Integrative omics has posed new challenges in modern precision medicine, particularly in oncology, including i) the identification of new tumor markers for early, precise, and non-invasive diagnostics, and ii) the discovery of innovative molecular targets for therapeutic applications. Our studies on medulloblastoma, a highly malignant childhood tumor, have contributed to identifying RNA molecules that meet these criteria.

Data loggers for environmental data recording  have been commercially available for several years, but their cost often limits their use. The development of low-cost data loggers, with adequate features for the acquisition of environmental and physiological data, to understand the relationships between organisms and the environment, and capable of recording and storing data for long periods of time is essential for their diffusion in the naturalistic field.

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).