Technologies

Mirrors for space applications, besides featuring suitable optical properties, should be light, resistant to mechanical stresses, and unsensitive to light-shadow thermal cycling. The standard optical materials easily fulfill optical and thermal requirements, but are fragile, and the mirrors must be thick (typically 1/6 of the diameter). For this reason they are heavy, and the only available solution is to lighten them, by removing material from the back side, still preserving the necessary mechanical robustness and optical quality.

In our recent publication we identified a group of  bladder cancer-specific ncRNA, called T-UCRs that are the most up-regulated in bladder cancer patient samples compared with normal bladder urothelium.

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).

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.

WembraneX is an Italian start-up born with the ambition to make a significant contribution to UN Sustainable Goal 6 - Ensure Access to Clean Water and Sanitation for all by 2030.

An innovative approach for the treatment of diabetic and venous ulcers, characterized by a difficult healing process and therefore at potential risk of infection and therefore of hospitalization and amputation of the limb, is represented by the local administration of "bioactive" factors through the use of synthetic and/or biological matrices that allow a gradual and controlled release in order to obtain a better and faster healing.

Chemical solution deposition of metal-organic precursors have favoured the research and development of thin films of simple and complex oxides such as Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, and Al2O3, up to their industrial application in pyroelectric and capacitor devices. Deposition methods used are spin-on and dip-coating. The advantages of the techniques are:

(i) low cost of equipment and chemicals

(ii) large area deposition

(iii) low crystallisation temperatures

The object of the technology is the development of a transferable methodology from the laboratory scale to the pilot scale to be validated in the industrial setting for the treatment of basic waste of natural polymers of agro-food or manufacturing industry.

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.

Recently, nanoparticles and nanovesicles have been investigated as potential approaches for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, in the Biotech sector an increasingly deeper penetration of new treatment models and biological drugs based on cellular, subcellular and vesicle therapies is expected. The patent is based on the production of Myelin-based nanoVesicles (MyVes) produced by microfluidics, starting from myelin extracted from brain tissue. These vesicles find two major fields of applications as potential drugs or as supplements/nutraceuticals.

Therapeutic strategies targeting cell cycle in cancer have in general failed in the clinic since the drugs have lacked the therapeutic index required to achieve a robust response against cancer cells with little or no cytotoxic effect on normal cells. NEK6 kinase, which is implicated in cell cycle control, has recently emerged as an attractive target for the development of novel anticancer drugs with enhanced therapeutic index.

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.

Optical backplane for interconnection between boards of a high-capacity ICT apparatus, data-center, server and the related automatic assembly method. The solution is based on optical connections between boards with an optimized layout on a support with mechanical constraints that involve controlled deformations of commercial optical fibers with standardized connectors. The entire interconnection circuit is divided into N independent circuits, each of which makes the connections between all the boards (Full-Mesh).

The metasurface optomechanical modulator is a device designed to modulate the amplitude, phase and polarization of a beam of electromagnetic radiation, independently, or simultaneously, according to prescribed paths in the parameter space (for example, as regards polarization, paths on the Poincaré sphere). The concept of our device can be applied to the entire spectrum of electromagnetic waves: from radio frequency, to microwaves (GHz), to millimeter waves (THz), to far and near infrared radiation, and to visible light.

Filamentous bacteriophages for size, in vivo biodistribution and easiness of engineering, are considered as natural nanoparticles. The developed technology allows the construction of bio-nanoparticles based on filamentous bacteriophages delivering proteic antigens and immunomodulating lipids. Thanks to the high content of hydrophobic residues, phage capsid proteins have high binding affinity to lipids, allowing the conjugation of immunostimulating lipids.