1
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Parrella G, Moury B. A new point mutation in the HC-Pro of potato virus Y is involved in tobacco vein necrosis. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0302692. [PMID: 38722893 PMCID: PMC11081373 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Tobacco vein necrosis (TVN) is a complex phenomenon regulated by different genetic determinants mapped in the HC-Pro protein (amino acids N330, K391 and E410) and in two regions of potato virus Y (PVY) genome, corresponding to the cytoplasmic inclusion (CI) protein and the nuclear inclusion protein a-protease (NIa-Pro), respectively. A new determinant of TVN was discovered in the MK isolate of PVY which, although carried the HC-Pro determinants associated to TVN, did not induce TVN. The HC-Pro open reading frame (ORF) of the necrotic infectious clone PVY N605 was replaced with that of the non-necrotic MK isolate, which differed only by one amino acid at position 392 (T392 instead of I392). The cDNA clone N605_MKHCPro inoculated in tobacco induced only weak mosaics at the systemic level, demostrating that the amino acid at position 392 is a new determinant for TVN. No significant difference in accumulation in tobacco was observed between N605 and N605_MKHCPro. Since phylogenetic analyses showed that the loss of necrosis in tobacco has occurred several times independently during PVY evolution, these repeated evolutions strongly suggest that tobacco necrosis is a costly trait in PVY.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Parrella
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection of The National Research Council (IPSP-CNR), Portici, Italy
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2
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Favaretto G, Rossi MN, Cuollo L, Laffranchi M, Cervelli M, Soriani A, Sozzani S, Santoni A, Antonangeli F. Neutrophil-activating secretome characterizes palbociclib-induced senescence of breast cancer cells. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2024; 73:113. [PMID: 38693312 PMCID: PMC11063017 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-024-03695-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Senescent cells have a profound impact on the surrounding microenvironment through the secretion of numerous bioactive molecules and inflammatory factors. The induction of therapy-induced senescence by anticancer drugs is known, but how senescent tumor cells influence the tumor immune landscape, particularly neutrophil activity, is still unclear. In this study, we investigate the induction of cellular senescence in breast cancer cells and the subsequent immunomodulatory effects on neutrophils using the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib, which is approved for the treatment of breast cancer and is under intense investigation for additional malignancies. Our research demonstrates that palbociclib induces a reversible form of senescence endowed with an inflammatory secretome capable of recruiting and activating neutrophils, in part through the action of interleukin-8 and acute-phase serum amyloid A1. The activation of neutrophils is accompanied by the release of neutrophil extracellular trap and the phagocytic removal of senescent tumor cells. These findings may be relevant for the success of cancer therapy as neutrophils, and neutrophil-driven inflammation can differently affect tumor progression. Our results reveal that neutrophils, as already demonstrated for macrophages and natural killer cells, can be recruited and engaged by senescent tumor cells to participate in their clearance. Understanding the interplay between senescent cells and neutrophils may lead to innovative strategies to cope with chronic or tumor-associated inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Favaretto
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology (IBPM), National Research Council (CNR), c/o Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Lorenzo Cuollo
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mattia Laffranchi
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Alessandra Soriani
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Silvano Sozzani
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
| | - Angela Santoni
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Antonangeli
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology (IBPM), National Research Council (CNR), c/o Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161, Rome, Italy.
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3
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Ranscht A, Rigodanza F, Gobbato T, Crea I, Quadrelli EA, Canivet J, Bonchio M. Combined Covalent and Supramolecular Polymerization to Reinforce Perylenebisimide Photosynthetic "Quantasomes". Chemistry 2024; 30:e202303784. [PMID: 38289975 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202303784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
PSII-inspired quantasomes have emerged as promising artificial photosystems evolving oxygen from water due to their integrated multi-chromophore asset, hierarchical architecture, and efficient light-harvesting capabilities. In this study, we adopt a combined covalent and supramolecular strategy by implementing a poly-styrene backbone that reinforces proximity and pairing between adjacent perylenebisimide (PBI) quantasome units. The covalent fixation of the quantasome network results in a significant enhancement of the photoelectrocatalytic performance on engineered IO-ITO photoanodes, with up to 290 % photocurrent increase (J up to 100 μA cm-2, λ >450 nm, applied bias <1.23 V vs RHE, F.E.O2 >80 %) compared to the non-polymerized analog. Moreover, the direct PBI-quantasome polymerization on the photoanode surface was performed by light irradiation of the radical initiator 2,2'-Azobis(2-methylpropionamidine), improving the photoelectrode robustness under high solar irradiance (>8 suns) and limiting the photocurrent loss (<20 %) at 1.52 V vs RHE compared to the non-polymerized system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alisa Ranscht
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, IRCELYON - UMR 5256, 2 Av. Albert Einstein, 69626, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Francesco Rigodanza
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Thomas Gobbato
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Ilaria Crea
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Elsje Alessandra Quadrelli
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, IRCELYON - UMR 5256, 2 Av. Albert Einstein, 69626, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Jerome Canivet
- Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, IRCELYON - UMR 5256, 2 Av. Albert Einstein, 69626, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Marcella Bonchio
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy
- Interuniversity Consortium on Materials Science and Technology, INSTM UdR Padova and Institute of Membrane Technology, ITM-CNR UoS Padova, Via Marzolo 1 Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy
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4
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Zingoni A, Antonangeli F, Sozzani S, Santoni A, Cippitelli M, Soriani A. The senescence journey in cancer immunoediting. Mol Cancer 2024; 23:68. [PMID: 38561826 PMCID: PMC10983694 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-024-01973-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer progression is continuously controlled by the immune system which can identify and destroy nascent tumor cells or inhibit metastatic spreading. However, the immune system and its deregulated activity in the tumor microenvironment can also promote tumor progression favoring the outgrowth of cancers capable of escaping immune control, in a process termed cancer immunoediting. This process, which has been classified into three phases, i.e. "elimination", "equilibrium" and "escape", is influenced by several cancer- and microenvironment-dependent factors. Senescence is a cellular program primed by cells in response to different pathophysiological stimuli, which is based on long-lasting cell cycle arrest and the secretion of numerous bioactive and inflammatory molecules. Because of this, cellular senescence is a potent immunomodulatory factor promptly recruiting immune cells and actively promoting tissue remodeling. In the context of cancer, these functions can lead to both cancer immunosurveillance and immunosuppression. In this review, the authors will discuss the role of senescence in cancer immunoediting, highlighting its context- and timing-dependent effects on the different three phases, describing how senescent cells promote immune cell recruitment for cancer cell elimination or sustain tumor microenvironment inflammation for immune escape. A potential contribution of senescent cells in cancer dormancy, as a mechanism of therapy resistance and cancer relapse, will be discussed with the final objective to unravel the immunotherapeutic implications of senescence modulation in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Zingoni
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00161, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Antonangeli
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, 00185, Italy
| | - Silvano Sozzani
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00161, Italy
| | - Angela Santoni
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00161, Italy
- IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, 86077, Italy
| | - Marco Cippitelli
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00161, Italy.
| | - Alessandra Soriani
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00161, Italy.
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5
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Stampanoni Bassi M, Gilio L, Buttari F, Dolcetti E, Bruno A, Galifi G, Azzolini F, Borrelli A, Mandolesi G, Gentile A, De Vito F, Musella A, Simonelli I, Centonze D, Iezzi E. Preventive exercise and physical rehabilitation promote long-term potentiation-like plasticity expression in patients with multiple sclerosis. Eur J Neurol 2024; 31:e16071. [PMID: 37754770 DOI: 10.1111/ene.16071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Loss of long-term potentiation (LTP) expression has been associated with a worse disease course in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) and represents a pathophysiological hallmark of progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS). Exercise and physical rehabilitation are the most prominent therapeutic approaches to promote synaptic plasticity. We aimed to explore whether physical exercise is able to improve the expression of LTP-like plasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS In 46 newly diagnosed RR-MS patients, we explored the impact of preventive exercise on LTP-like plasticity as assessed by intermittent theta-burst stimulation. Patients were divided into sedentary or active, based on physical activity performed during the 6 months prior to diagnosis. Furthermore, in 18 patients with PMS, we evaluated the impact of an 8-week inpatient neurorehabilitation program on clinical scores and LTP-like plasticity explored using paired associative stimulation (PAS). Synaptic plasticity expression was compared in patients and healthy subjects. RESULTS Reduced LTP expression was found in RR-MS patients compared with controls. Exercising RR-MS patients showed a greater amount of LTP expression compared with sedentary patients. In PMS patients, LTP expression was reduced compared with controls and increased after 8 weeks of rehabilitation. In this group of patients, LTP magnitude at baseline predicted the improvement in hand dexterity. CONCLUSIONS Both preventive exercise and physical rehabilitation may enhance the expression of LTP-like synaptic plasticity in MS, with potential beneficial effects on disability accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luana Gilio
- IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
- Faculty of Psychology, Uninettuno Telematic International University, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Georgia Mandolesi
- Synaptic Immunopathology Lab, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences and Quality of Life Promotion, University of Roma San Raffaele, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Alessandra Musella
- Synaptic Immunopathology Lab, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences and Quality of Life Promotion, University of Roma San Raffaele, Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Simonelli
- Service of Medical Statistics and Information Technology, Fatebenefratelli Isola Tiberina - Gemelli Isola, Rome, Italy
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy
| | - Diego Centonze
- IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
- Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy
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6
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Martinez-Fernandez L, Improta R. The photophysics of protonated cytidine and hemiprotonated cytidine base pair: A computational study. Photochem Photobiol 2024; 100:314-322. [PMID: 37409732 DOI: 10.1111/php.13832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
We here study the effect that a lowering of the pH has on the excited state processes of cytidine and a cytidine/cytidine pair in solution, by integrating time-dependent density functional theory and CASSCF/CASPT2 calculations, and including solvent by a mixed discrete/continuum model. Our calculations reproduce the effect of protonation at N3 on the steady-state infrared and absorption spectra of a protonated cytidine (CH+ ), and predict that an easily accessible non-radiative deactivation route exists for the spectroscopic state, explaining its sub-ps lifetime. Indeed, an extremely small energy barrier separates the minimum of the lowest energy bright state from a crossing region with the ground electronic state, reached by out-of-plane motion of the hydrogen substituents of the CC double bond, the so-called ethylenic conical intersection typical of cytidine and other pyrimidine bases. This deactivation route is operative for the two bases forming an hemiprotonated cytidine base pair, [CH·C]+ , the building blocks of I-motif secondary structures, whereas interbase processes play a minor role. N3 protonation disfavors instead the nπ* transitions, associated with the long-living components of cytidine photoactivated dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Martinez-Fernandez
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias and Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Sciences (IADCHEM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Excelencia UAM-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Improta
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini (IBB-CNR), Naples, Italy
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7
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Cordero-Lanzac T, Capel Berdiell I, Airi A, Chung SH, Mancuso JL, Redekop EA, Fabris C, Figueroa-Quintero L, Navarro de Miguel JC, Narciso J, Ramos-Fernandez EV, Svelle S, Van Speybroeck V, Ruiz-Martínez J, Bordiga S, Olsbye U. Transitioning from Methanol to Olefins (MTO) toward a Tandem CO 2 Hydrogenation Process: On the Role and Fate of Heteroatoms (Mg, Si) in MAPO-18 Zeotypes. JACS Au 2024; 4:744-759. [PMID: 38425934 PMCID: PMC10900493 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
The tandem CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons over mixed metal oxide/zeolite catalysts (OXZEO) is an efficient way of producing value-added hydrocarbons (platform chemicals and fuels) directly from CO2via methanol intermediate in a single reactor. In this contribution, two MAPO-18 zeotypes (M = Mg, Si) were tested and their performance was compared under methanol-to-olefins (MTO) conditions (350 °C, PCH3OH = 0.04 bar, 6.5 gCH3OH h-1 g-1), methanol/CO/H2 cofeed conditions (350 °C, PCH3OH/PCO/PH2 = 1:7.3:21.7 bar, 2.5 gCH3OH h-1 g-1), and tandem CO2 hydrogenation-to-olefin conditions (350 °C, PCO2/PH2 = 7.5:22.5 bar, 1.4-12.0 gMAPO-18 h molCO2-1). In the latter case, the zeotypes were mixed with a fixed amount of ZnO:ZrO2 catalyst, well-known for the conversion of CO2/H2 to methanol. Focus was set on the methanol conversion activity, product selectivity, and performance stability with time-on-stream. In situ and ex situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), sorption experiments, and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) calculations were performed to correlate material performance with material characteristics. The catalytic tests demonstrated the better performance of MgAPO-18 versus SAPO-18 at MTO conditions, the much superior performance of MgAPO-18 under methanol/CO/H2 cofeeds, and yet the increasingly similar performance of the two materials under tandem conditions upon increasing the zeotype-to-oxide ratio in the tandem catalyst bed. In situ FT-IR measurements coupled with AIMD calculations revealed differences in the MTO initiation mechanism between the two materials. SAPO-18 promoted initial CO2 formation, indicative of a formaldehyde-based decarboxylation mechanism, while CO and ketene were the main constituents of the initiation pool in MgAPO-18, suggesting a decarbonylation mechanism. Under tandem CO2 hydrogenation conditions, the presence of high water concentrations and low methanol partial pressure in the reaction medium led to lower, and increasingly similar, methanol turnover frequencies for the zeotypes. Despite both MAPO-18 zeotypes showing signs of activity loss upon storage due to the interaction of the sites with ambient humidity, they presented a remarkable stability after reaching steady state under tandem reaction conditions and after steaming and regeneration cycles at high temperatures. Water adsorption experiments at room temperature confirmed this observation. The faster activity loss observed in the Mg version is assigned to its harder Mg2+-ion character and the higher concentration of CHA defects in the AEI structure, identified by solid-state NMR and XRD. The low stability of a MgAPO-34 zeotype (CHA structure) upon storage corroborated the relationship between CHA defects and instability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomás Cordero-Lanzac
- Department
of Chemistry, SMN Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Izar Capel Berdiell
- Department
of Chemistry, SMN Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Alessia Airi
- Department
of Chemistry, NIS Center and INSTM Reference Center, University of Turin, Turin 10125, Italy
| | - Sang-Ho Chung
- KAUST
Catalysis Center (KCC), King Abdullah University
of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jenna L. Mancuso
- Center
for Molecular Modeling, Ghent University, Technologiepark 46, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium
| | - Evgeniy A. Redekop
- Department
of Chemistry, SMN Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Claudia Fabris
- Department
of Chemistry, SMN Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Leidy Figueroa-Quintero
- Inorganic
Chemistry Department, Laboratory of Advanced Materials, University Materials Institute of Alicante, University
of Alicante, Apartado 99, Alicante 03080, Spain
| | - Juan C. Navarro de Miguel
- KAUST
Catalysis Center (KCC), King Abdullah University
of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Javier Narciso
- Inorganic
Chemistry Department, Laboratory of Advanced Materials, University Materials Institute of Alicante, University
of Alicante, Apartado 99, Alicante 03080, Spain
| | - Enrique V. Ramos-Fernandez
- Inorganic
Chemistry Department, Laboratory of Advanced Materials, University Materials Institute of Alicante, University
of Alicante, Apartado 99, Alicante 03080, Spain
| | - Stian Svelle
- Department
of Chemistry, SMN Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Javier Ruiz-Martínez
- KAUST
Catalysis Center (KCC), King Abdullah University
of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Silvia Bordiga
- Department
of Chemistry, NIS Center and INSTM Reference Center, University of Turin, Turin 10125, Italy
| | - Unni Olsbye
- Department
of Chemistry, SMN Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, 0371 Oslo, Norway
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Benedet M, Rizzi GA, Gasparotto A, Zeng L, Pagot G, Olsson E, Di Noto V, Maccato C, Barreca D. Efficient photoactivated hydrogen evolution promoted by Cu xO-gCN-TiO 2-Au ( x = 1,2) nanoarchitectures. RSC Adv 2024; 14:7221-7228. [PMID: 38419682 PMCID: PMC10901216 DOI: 10.1039/d4ra00773e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
In this work, we propose an original and potentially scalable synthetic route for the fabrication of CuxO-gCN-TiO2-Au (x = 1,2) nanoarchitectures, based on Cu foam anodization, graphitic carbon nitride liquid-phase deposition, and TiO2/Au sputtering. A thorough chemico-physical characterization by complementary analytical tools revealed the formation of nanoarchitectures featuring an intimate contact between the system components and a high dispersion of gold nanoparticles. Modulation of single component interplay yielded excellent functional performances in photoactivated hydrogen evolution, corresponding to a photocurrent of ≈-5.7 mA cm-2 at 0.0 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). These features, along with the very good service life, represent a cornerstone for the conversion of natural resources, as water and largely available sunlight, into added-value solar fuels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Benedet
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, INSTM 35131 Padova Italy
- CNR-ICMATE, INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Gian Andrea Rizzi
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, INSTM 35131 Padova Italy
- CNR-ICMATE, INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Alberto Gasparotto
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, INSTM 35131 Padova Italy
- CNR-ICMATE, INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Lunjie Zeng
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology 41296 Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Gioele Pagot
- Section of Chemistry for the Technology (ChemTech), Department of Industrial Engineering, Padova University, INSTM 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Eva Olsson
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology 41296 Gothenburg Sweden
| | - Vito Di Noto
- Section of Chemistry for the Technology (ChemTech), Department of Industrial Engineering, Padova University, INSTM 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Chiara Maccato
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, INSTM 35131 Padova Italy
- CNR-ICMATE, INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University 35131 Padova Italy
| | - Davide Barreca
- CNR-ICMATE, INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University 35131 Padova Italy
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9
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Lomuscio M, Abate C, Alberga D, Laghezza A, Corriero N, Colabufo NA, Saviano M, Delre P, Mangiatordi GF. AMALPHI: A Machine Learning Platform for Predicting Drug-Induced PhospholIpidosis. Mol Pharm 2024; 21:864-872. [PMID: 38134445 PMCID: PMC10853961 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Drug-induced phospholipidosis (PLD) involves the accumulation of phospholipids in cells of multiple tissues, particularly within lysosomes, and it is associated with prolonged exposure to druglike compounds, predominantly cationic amphiphilic drugs (CADs). PLD affects a significant portion of drugs currently in development and has recently been proven to be responsible for confounding antiviral data during drug repurposing for SARS-CoV-2. In these scenarios, it has become crucial to identify potential safe drug candidates in advance and distinguish them from those that may lead to false in vitro antiviral activity. In this work, we developed a series of machine learning classifiers with the aim of predicting the PLD-inducing potential of drug candidates. The models were built on a high-quality chemical collection comprising 545 curated small molecules extracted from ChEMBL v30. The most effective model, obtained using the balanced random forest algorithm, achieved high performance, including an AUC value computed in validation as high as 0.90. The model was made freely available through a user-friendly web platform named AMALPHI (https://www.ba.ic.cnr.it/softwareic/amalphiportal/), which can represent a valuable tool for medicinal chemists interested in conducting an early evaluation of PLD inducer potential.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carmen Abate
- CNR—Institute
of Crystallography, Via Amendola 122/o, 70126 Bari, Italy
- Department
of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University
of the Studies of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Via E.Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Domenico Alberga
- CNR—Institute
of Crystallography, Via Amendola 122/o, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Laghezza
- Department
of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University
of the Studies of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Via E.Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Nicola Corriero
- CNR—Institute
of Crystallography, Via Amendola 122/o, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Nicola Antonio Colabufo
- Department
of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University
of the Studies of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Via E.Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Michele Saviano
- CNR—Institute
of Crystallography, Via
Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Pietro Delre
- CNR—Institute
of Crystallography, Via Amendola 122/o, 70126 Bari, Italy
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10
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Gimmelli R, Papoff G, Saccoccia F, Lalli C, Gemma S, Campiani G, Ruberti G. Effects of structurally distinct human HDAC6 and HDAC6/HDAC8 inhibitors against S. mansoni larval and adult worm stages. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2024; 18:e0011992. [PMID: 38416775 PMCID: PMC10927086 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a major neglected parasitic disease that affects more than 240 million people worldwide caused by Platyhelminthes of the genus Schistosoma. The treatment of schistosomiasis relies on the long-term application of a single safe drug, praziquantel (PZQ). Unfortunately, PZQ is very effective on adult parasites and poorly on larval stage and immature juvenile worms; this can partially explain the re-infection in endemic areas where patients are likely to host parasites at different developmental stages concurrently. Moreover, the risk of development of drug resistance because of the widespread use of a single drug in a large population is nowadays a serious threat. Hence, research aimed at identifying novel drugs to be used alone or in combination with PZQ is needed. Schistosomes display morphologically distinct stages during their life cycle and epigenetic mechanisms are known to play important roles in parasite growth, survival, and development. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes, particularly HDAC8, are considered valuable for therapeutic intervention for the treatment of schistosomiasis. Herein, we report the phenotypic screening on both larvae and adult Schistosoma mansoni stages of structurally different HDAC inhibitors selected from the in-house Siena library. All molecules have previously shown inhibition profiles on human HDAC6 and/or HDAC8 enzymes. Among them we identified a quinolone-based HDAC inhibitor, NF2839, that impacts larval and adult parasites as well as egg viability and maturation in vitro. Importantly, this quinolone-based compound also increases histone and tubulin acetylation in S. mansoni parasites, thus representing a leading candidate for the development of new generation anti-Schistosoma chemotherapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Gimmelli
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council (IBBC-CNR), Adriano Buzzati-Traverso Campus, Monterotondo, Rome, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche "A. Rossi Fanelli", Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy
| | - Giuliana Papoff
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council (IBBC-CNR), Adriano Buzzati-Traverso Campus, Monterotondo, Rome, Italy
| | - Fulvio Saccoccia
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council (IBBC-CNR), Adriano Buzzati-Traverso Campus, Monterotondo, Rome, Italy
| | - Cristiana Lalli
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council (IBBC-CNR), Adriano Buzzati-Traverso Campus, Monterotondo, Rome, Italy
| | - Sandra Gemma
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Campiani
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Giovina Ruberti
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council (IBBC-CNR), Adriano Buzzati-Traverso Campus, Monterotondo, Rome, Italy
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11
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Ricciardiello R, Forleo G, Cipolla L, van Winckel G, Marconi C, Nouspikel T, Halazonetis TD, Zgheib O, Sabbioneda S. Homozygous substitution of threonine 191 by proline in polymerase η causes Xeroderma pigmentosum variant. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1117. [PMID: 38212351 PMCID: PMC10784498 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-51120-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
DNA polymerase eta (Polη) is the only translesion synthesis polymerase capable of error-free bypass of UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. A deficiency in Polη function is associated with the human disease Xeroderma pigmentosum variant (XPV). We hereby report the case of a 60-year-old woman known for XPV and carrying a Polη Thr191Pro variant in homozygosity. We further characterize the variant in vitro and in vivo, providing molecular evidence that the substitution abrogates polymerase activity and results in UV sensitivity through deficient damage bypass. This is the first functional molecular characterization of a missense variant of Polη, whose reported pathogenic variants have thus far been loss of function truncation or frameshift mutations. Our work allows the upgrading of Polη Thr191Pro from 'variant of uncertain significance' to 'likely pathogenic mutant', bearing direct impact on molecular diagnosis and genetic counseling. Furthermore, we have established a robust experimental approach that will allow a precise molecular analysis of further missense mutations possibly linked to XPV. Finally, it provides insight into critical Polη residues that may be targeted to develop small molecule inhibitors for cancer therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Ricciardiello
- Istituto di Genetica Molecolare "Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza", CNR, Pavia, Italy
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie 'Lazzaro Spallanzani', Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Giulia Forleo
- Istituto di Genetica Molecolare "Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza", CNR, Pavia, Italy
| | - Lina Cipolla
- Istituto di Genetica Molecolare "Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza", CNR, Pavia, Italy
| | - Geraldine van Winckel
- Division of Medical Genetics, Diagnostics Department, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Caterina Marconi
- Division of Medical Genetics, Diagnostics Department, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Thierry Nouspikel
- Division of Medical Genetics, Diagnostics Department, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Thanos D Halazonetis
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Omar Zgheib
- Division of Medical Genetics, Diagnostics Department, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Simone Sabbioneda
- Istituto di Genetica Molecolare "Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza", CNR, Pavia, Italy.
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12
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Romagosa M, Nieukirk S, Cascão I, Marques TA, Dziak R, Royer JY, O'Brien J, Mellinger DK, Pereira A, Ugalde A, Papale E, Aniceto S, Buscaino G, Rasmussen M, Matias L, Prieto R, Silva MA. Fin whale song evolution in the North Atlantic. eLife 2024; 13:e83750. [PMID: 38192202 PMCID: PMC10776088 DOI: 10.7554/elife.83750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Animal songs can change within and between populations as the result of different evolutionary processes. When these processes include cultural transmission, the social learning of information or behaviours from conspecifics, songs can undergo rapid evolutions because cultural novelties can emerge more frequently than genetic mutations. Understanding these song variations over large temporal and spatial scales can provide insights into the patterns, drivers and limits of song evolution that can ultimately inform on the species' capacity to adapt to rapidly changing acoustic environments. Here, we analysed changes in fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) songs recorded over two decades across the central and eastern North Atlantic Ocean. We document a rapid replacement of song INIs (inter-note intervals) over just four singing seasons, that co-occurred with hybrid songs (with both INIs), and a clear geographic gradient in the occurrence of different song INIs during the transition period. We also found gradual changes in INIs and note frequencies over more than a decade with fin whales adopting song changes. These results provide evidence of vocal learning in fin whales and reveal patterns of song evolution that raise questions on the limits of song variation in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Romagosa
- Institute of Marine Sciences - OKEANOS & Institute of Marine Research - IMAR, University of the AzoresHortaPortugal
| | - Sharon Nieukirk
- Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies, Oregon State UniversityCorvallisUnited States
| | - Irma Cascão
- Institute of Marine Sciences - OKEANOS & Institute of Marine Research - IMAR, University of the AzoresHortaPortugal
| | - Tiago A Marques
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St AndrewsSt AndrewsUnited Kingdom
- Centro de Estatística e Aplicações, Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de LisboaLisboaPortugal
| | - Robert Dziak
- NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Hatfield Marine Science CenterCorvallisUnited States
| | - Jean-Yves Royer
- CNRS - UBO - UBS - Ifremer, IUEM - Lab. Geo-OceanPlouzaneFrance
| | - Joanne O'Brien
- Marine and Freshwater Research Centre (MFRC), Atlantic Technological UniversityGalwayIreland
| | - David K Mellinger
- Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies, Oregon State UniversityCorvallisUnited States
| | - Andreia Pereira
- Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), Universidade de LisboaLisboaPortugal
| | | | - Elena Papale
- Institute for the Study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in the Marine Environment of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IAS)Torretta GranitolaItaly
| | | | - Giuseppa Buscaino
- Institute for the Study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in the Marine Environment of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IAS)Torretta GranitolaItaly
| | | | - Luis Matias
- Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), Universidade de LisboaLisboaPortugal
| | - Rui Prieto
- Institute of Marine Sciences - OKEANOS & Institute of Marine Research - IMAR, University of the AzoresHortaPortugal
| | - Mónica A Silva
- Institute of Marine Sciences - OKEANOS & Institute of Marine Research - IMAR, University of the AzoresHortaPortugal
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13
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Baldwin WJ, Liang X, Klarbring J, Dubajic M, Dell'Angelo D, Sutton C, Caddeo C, Stranks SD, Mattoni A, Walsh A, Csányi G. Dynamic Local Structure in Caesium Lead Iodide: Spatial Correlation and Transient Domains. Small 2024; 20:e2303565. [PMID: 37736694 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202303565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
Metal halide perovskites are multifunctional semiconductors with tunable structures and properties. They are highly dynamic crystals with complex octahedral tilting patterns and strongly anharmonic atomic behavior. In the higher temperature, higher symmetry phases of these materials, several complex structural features are observed. The local structure can differ greatly from the average structure and there is evidence that dynamic 2D structures of correlated octahedral motion form. An understanding of the underlying complex atomistic dynamics is, however, still lacking. In this work, the local structure of the inorganic perovskite CsPbI3 is investigated using a new machine learning force field based on the atomic cluster expansion framework. Through analysis of the temporal and spatial correlation observed during large-scale simulations, it is revealed that the low frequency motion of octahedral tilts implies a double-well effective potential landscape, even well into the cubic phase. Moreover, dynamic local regions of lower symmetry are present within both higher symmetry phases. These regions are planar and the length and timescales of the motion are reported. Finally, the spatial arrangement of these features and their interactions are investigated and visualized, providing a comprehensive picture of local structure in the higher symmetry phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- William J Baldwin
- Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, UK
| | - Xia Liang
- Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Johan Klarbring
- Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, Linköping, SE-581 83, Sweden
| | - Milos Dubajic
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0AS, UK
| | | | - Christopher Sutton
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
| | - Claudia Caddeo
- CNR-IOM, Unitá di Cagliari, Monserrato, Caligari, 09042, Italy
| | - Samuel D Stranks
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0AS, UK
| | | | - Aron Walsh
- Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Gábor Csányi
- Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, UK
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14
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Schillaci M, Zampieri E, Brunetti C, Gori A, Sillo F. Root transcriptomic provides insights on molecular mechanisms involved in the tolerance to water deficit in Pisum sativum inoculated with Pseudomonas sp. Planta 2023; 259:33. [PMID: 38160210 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-023-04310-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
MAIN CONCLUSION Root transcriptomics and biochemical analyses in water-stressed Pisum sativum plants inoculated with Pseudomonas spp. suggested preservation of ABA-related pathway and ROS detoxification, resulting in an improved tolerance to stress. Drought already affects agriculture in large areas of the globe and, due to climate change, these areas are predicted to become increasingly unsuitable for agriculture. For several years, plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have been used to improve legume yields, but many aspects of this interaction are still unclear. To elucidate the mechanisms through which root-associated PGPB can promote plant growth in dry environments, we investigated the response of pea plants inoculated with a potentially beneficial Pseudomonas strain (PK6) and subjected to two different water regimes. Combined biometric, biochemical, and root RNA-seq analyses revealed that PK6 improved pea growth specifically under water deficit, as inoculated plants showed an increased biomass, larger leaves, and longer roots. Abscisic acid (ABA) and proline quantification, together with the transcriptome analysis, suggested that PK6-inoculated plant response to water deficit was more diversified compared to non-inoculated plants, involving alternative metabolic pathways for the detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the preservation of the ABA stress signaling pathway. We suggest that the metabolic response of PK6-inoculated plants was more effective in their adaptation to water deprivation, leading to their improved biometric traits. Besides confirming the positive role that PGPB can have in the growth of a legume crop under adverse conditions, this study offers novel information on the mechanisms regulating plant-bacteria interaction under varying water availability. These mechanisms and the involved genes could be exploited in the future for the development of legume varieties, which can profitably grow in dry climates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martino Schillaci
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council, Strada delle Cacce 73, Turin, Italy
| | - Elisa Zampieri
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council, Strada delle Cacce 73, Turin, Italy
| | - Cecilia Brunetti
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Antonella Gori
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
| | - Fabiano Sillo
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council, Strada delle Cacce 73, Turin, Italy.
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15
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Morra S, Lanzilli M, Grazioso A, Cupo A, Landi S, Nuzzo G, Castiglia D, Gallo C, Manzo E, Fontana A, d’Ippolito G. Potential of Lipid Biosynthesis under Heterotrophy in the Marine Diatom Cyclotella cryptica. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 2023; 11:17607-17615. [PMID: 38130845 PMCID: PMC10731643 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c02542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Despite the theoretical high productivity, microalgae-based oil production is not economically sustainable due to the high cost of photoautotrophic cultures. Heterotrophic growth is a suitable economic alternative to overcoming light dependence and climatic/geographic fluctuations. Here we report data about growth performance, biomass production, and lipid composition of the marine diatom Cyclotella cryptica, chosen as a model strain for biodiesel production in heterothrophy. A repeated-batch process of heterotrophic cultivation has also been investigated to assess the robustness and phenotypic stability. The process consisting of six constant cycle repetitions was carried out for 42 days and led to an average dry biomass production of 1.5 ± 0.1 g L-1 of which 20% lipids composed of 60% triglycerides, 20% phospholipids. and 20% glycolipids. The major fatty acids were C16:0 (∼26%), C16:1 ω-7 (∼57%), and C20:5 ω-3 (∼12%), with a significant reduction in the unsaturated fatty acids in comparison to other microalgae grown in heterotrophy. Fatty acids were differently distributed among the glycerolipid classes, and the lipid composition was used to compare the potential properties of C. cryptica oil with traditional vegetable biofuels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvatore Morra
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Mariamichela Lanzilli
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Angela Grazioso
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
- Department
of Biology, University of Naples “Federico
II”, Via Cinthia, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
| | - Adelaide Cupo
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Simone Landi
- Department
of Biology, University of Naples “Federico
II”, Via Cinthia, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
| | - Genoveffa Nuzzo
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Daniela Castiglia
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Carmela Gallo
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Emiliano Manzo
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Angelo Fontana
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
- Department
of Biology, University of Naples “Federico
II”, Via Cinthia, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
| | - Giuliana d’Ippolito
- National
Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomolecular
Chemistry (ICB), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
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16
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Cristoforetti G, Baffigi F, Batani D, Dudzak R, Fedosejevs R, Filippov ED, Gajdos P, Juha L, Khan M, Koester P, Krus M, Mancelli D, Martynenko AS, Nicolai P, Pikuz SA, Renner O, Tentori A, Volpe L, Woolsey N, Zeraouli G, Gizzi LA. Investigation on the origin of hot electrons in laser plasma interaction at shock ignition intensities. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20681. [PMID: 38001120 PMCID: PMC10673912 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46189-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Shock Ignition is a two-step scheme to reach Inertial Confinement Fusion, where the precompressed fuel capsule is ignited by a strong shock driven by a laser pulse at an intensity in the order of [Formula: see text] W/cm[Formula: see text]. In this report we describe the results of an experiment carried out at PALS laser facility designed to investigate the origin of hot electrons in laser-plasma interaction at intensities and plasma temperatures expected for Shock Ignition. A detailed time- and spectrally-resolved characterization of Stimulated Raman Scattering and Two Plasmon Decay instabilities, as well as of the generated hot electrons, suggest that Stimulated Raman Scattering is the dominant source of hot electrons via the damping of daughter plasma waves. The temperature dependence of laser plasma instabilities was also investigated, enabled by the use of different ablator materials, suggesting that Two Plasmon Decay is damped at earlier times for higher plasma temperatures, accompanied by an earlier ignition of SRS. The identification of the predominant hot electron source and the effect of plasma temperature on laser plasma interaction, here investigated, are extremely useful for developing the mitigation strategies for reducing the impact of hot electrons on the fuel ignition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - F Baffigi
- Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Pisa, Italy
| | - D Batani
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, CEA, CELIA, 33405, Talence, France
| | - R Dudzak
- Institute of Plasma Physics of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Physics of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - P Gajdos
- Institute of Plasma Physics of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - L Juha
- Institute of Physics of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - M Khan
- York Plasma Institute, School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, University of York, York, UK
| | - P Koester
- Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Pisa, Italy
| | - M Krus
- Institute of Plasma Physics of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - D Mancelli
- Institute of Plasma Physics and Lasers, Hellenic Mediterranean University Research Centre, Rethymnon, Greece
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Chania, Greece
| | - A S Martynenko
- JIHT RAS, Moscow, 125412, Russia
- GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Ph Nicolai
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, CEA, CELIA, 33405, Talence, France
| | - S A Pikuz
- JIHT RAS, Moscow, 125412, Russia
- NRNU MEPhI, Moscow, 115409, Russia
| | - O Renner
- Institute of Plasma Physics of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Physics of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
- The Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC, Dolni Brezany, Czech Republic
| | - A Tentori
- Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, CEA, CELIA, 33405, Talence, France
| | - L Volpe
- Centro de Laseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185, Villamayor, Salamanca, Spain
- ETSI Aeronáutica y del Espacio, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - N Woolsey
- York Plasma Institute, School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, University of York, York, UK
| | - G Zeraouli
- Centro de Laseres Pulsados (CLPU), 37185, Villamayor, Salamanca, Spain
| | - L A Gizzi
- Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Pisa, Italy
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17
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Ventura B, Veclani D, Venturini A, Armaroli N, Baroncini M, Ceroni P, Marchini M. Elucidating the Excited State Behavior of Pyridyl Pyridinium Systems via Computational and Transient Absorption Studies of Tetrahedral Multichromophoric Arrays and their Model Compounds. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202301853. [PMID: 37563909 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202301853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
The tetrahedral shape-persistent molecule 14+ , containing four identical pyridyl pyridinium units connected via a sp3 hybridized carbon atom, has been investigated in detail by means of steady-state and time resolved spectroscopy. Remarkable photophysical properties are observed, particularly in comparison with protonated and methylated analogues (1H4 8+ , 1Me4 8+ ), which exhibit substantially shorter excited state lifetimes and lower emission quantum yields. Theoretical studies have rationalized the behavior of the tetrameric molecules relative to the monomers, with DFT and TD-DFT calculations corroborating steady-state (absorption and emission) and transient absorption spectra. The behavior of the monomeric compounds (each consisting in one of the four identical subunits of the tetramers, i. e., 2+ , 2H2+ and 2Me2+ ) considerably differs from that of the tetramers, indicating a strong electronic interaction between the subunits in the tetrameric species, likely promoted by the homoconjugation through the connecting sp3 C atom. 2+ is characterized by a peculiar S1 -S2 excited state inversion, whereas the short-lived emitting S1 state of 2H2+ and 2Me2+ exhibits a partial charge-transfer character, as substantiated by spectro-electrochemical studies. Among the six investigated systems, only 14+ is a sizeable luminophore (Φem =0.15), which is related to the peculiar features of its singlet state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Ventura
- Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISOF-CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
| | - Daniele Veclani
- Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISOF-CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alessandro Venturini
- Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISOF-CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
| | - Nicola Armaroli
- Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISOF-CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
| | - Massimo Baroncini
- CLAN-Center for Light Activated Nanostructures, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISOF-CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-alimentari, Università di Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 50, 40127, Bologna, Italy
| | - Paola Ceroni
- Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician", Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marianna Marchini
- Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician", Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy
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18
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Paterna A, Santonicola P, Di Prima G, Rao E, Raccosta S, Zampi G, Russo C, Moran O, Manno M, Di Schiavi E, Librizzi F, Carrotta R. α S1-Casein-Loaded Proteo-liposomes as Potential Inhibitors in Amyloid Fibrillogenesis: In Vivo Effects on a C. elegans Model of Alzheimer's Disease. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:3894-3904. [PMID: 37847529 PMCID: PMC10623563 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023] Open
Abstract
According to the amyloid hypothesis, in the early phases of Alzheimer's disease (AD), small soluble prefibrillar aggregates of the amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) interact with neuronal membranes, causing neural impairment. Such highly reactive and toxic species form spontaneously and transiently in the amyloid building pathway. A therapeutic strategy consists of the recruitment of these intermediates, thus preventing aberrant interaction with membrane components (lipids and receptors), which in turn may trigger a cascade of cellular disequilibria. Milk αs1-Casein is an intrinsically disordered protein that is able to inhibit Aβ amyloid aggregation in vitro, by sequestering transient species. In order to test αs1-Casein as an inhibitor for the treatment of AD, it needs to be delivered in the place of action. Here, we demonstrate the use of large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) as suitable nanocarriers for αs1-Casein. Proteo-LUVs were prepared and characterized by different biophysical techniques, such as multiangle light scattering, atomic force imaging, and small-angle X-ray scattering; αs1-Casein loading was quantified by a fluorescence assay. We demonstrated on a C. elegans AD model the effectiveness of the proposed delivery strategy in vivo. Proteo-LUVs allow efficient administration of the protein, exerting a positive functional readout at very low doses while avoiding the intrinsic toxicity of αs1-Casein. Proteo-LUVs of αs1-Casein represent an effective proof of concept for the exploitation of partially disordered proteins as a therapeutic strategy in mild AD conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Paterna
- Institute
of Biophysics, National Research Council, Division of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy
| | - Pamela Santonicola
- Institute
of Biosciences and Bioresources, Division of Napoli, Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Napoli, Italy
- Department
of Medicine and Health Sciences, University
of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy
| | - Giulia Di Prima
- Department
of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Estella Rao
- Institute
of Biophysics, National Research Council, Division of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy
| | - Samuele Raccosta
- Institute
of Biophysics, National Research Council, Division of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Zampi
- Institute
of Biosciences and Bioresources, Division of Napoli, Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Claudio Russo
- Department
of Medicine and Health Sciences, University
of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy
- Consorzio
Interuniversitario in Ingegneria e Medicina (COIIM), Via F. De Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, Italy
| | - Oscar Moran
- Institute
of Biophysics, National Research Council, Division of Genova, Via De Marini 6, 16149 Genova, Italy
| | - Mauro Manno
- Institute
of Biophysics, National Research Council, Division of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy
| | - Elia Di Schiavi
- Institute
of Biosciences and Bioresources, Division of Napoli, Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Fabio Librizzi
- Institute
of Biophysics, National Research Council, Division of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy
| | - Rita Carrotta
- Institute
of Biophysics, National Research Council, Division of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy
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19
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Marson F, Zampieri M, Verdone L, Bacalini MG, Ravaioli F, Morandi L, Chiarella SG, Vetriani V, Venditti S, Caserta M, Raffone A, Dotan Ben-Soussan T, Reale A. Quadrato Motor Training (QMT) is associated with DNA methylation changes at DNA repeats: A pilot study. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0293199. [PMID: 37878626 PMCID: PMC10599555 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The control of non-coding repeated DNA by DNA methylation plays an important role in genomic stability, contributing to health and healthy aging. Mind-body practices can elicit psychophysical wellbeing via epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation. However, in this context the effects of movement meditations have rarely been examined. Consequently, the current study investigates the effects of a specifically structured movement meditation, called the Quadrato Motor Training (QMT) on psychophysical wellbeing and on the methylation level of repeated sequences. An 8-week daily QMT program was administered to healthy women aged 40-60 years and compared with a passive control group matched for gender and age. Psychological well-being was assessed within both groups by using self-reporting scales, including the Meaning in Life Questionnaire [MLQ] and Psychological Wellbeing Scale [PWB]). DNA methylation profiles of repeated sequences (ribosomal DNA, LINE-1 and Alu) were determined in saliva samples by deep-sequencing. In contrast to controls, the QMT group exhibited increased Search for Meaning, decreased Presence of Meaning and increased Positive Relations, suggesting that QMT may lessen the automatic patterns of thinking. In the QMT group, we also found site-specific significant methylation variations in ribosomal DNA and LINE-1 repeats, consistent with increased genome stability. Finally, the correlations found between changes in methylation and psychometric indices (MLQ and PWB) suggest that the observed epigenetic and psychological changes are interrelated. Collectively, the current results indicate that QMT may improve psychophysical health trajectories by influencing the DNA methylation of specific repetitive sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Marson
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti, Assisi, Italy
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Zampieri
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Loredana Verdone
- CNR Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Council of Research (CNR), Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Giulia Bacalini
- Brain Aging Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Francesco Ravaioli
- Dep. of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Luca Morandi
- Dep. of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto Delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Salvatore Gaetano Chiarella
- Institute of Sciences and Technologies of Cognition (ISTC), National Council of Research (CNR), Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Valerio Vetriani
- Dept. of Biology and biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Sabrina Venditti
- Dept. of Biology and biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Micaela Caserta
- CNR Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Council of Research (CNR), Rome, Italy
| | - Antonino Raffone
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan
- Research Institute for Neuroscience, Education and Didactics, Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti, Assisi, Italy
| | - Anna Reale
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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20
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Benedet M, Gallo A, Maccato C, Rizzi GA, Barreca D, Lebedev OI, Modin E, McGlynn R, Mariotti D, Gasparotto A. Controllable Anchoring of Graphitic Carbon Nitride on MnO 2 Nanoarchitectures for Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalysis. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023; 15:47368-47380. [PMID: 37769189 PMCID: PMC10571007 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c09363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
The design and fabrication of eco-friendly and cost-effective (photo)electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a key research goal for a proper management of water splitting to address the global energy crisis. In this work, we focus on the preparation of supported MnO2/graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) OER (photo)electrocatalysts by means of a novel preparation strategy. The proposed route consists of the plasma enhanced-chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) of MnO2 nanoarchitectures on porous Ni scaffolds, the anchoring of controllable g-CN amounts by an amenable electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process, and the ultimate thermal treatment in air. The inherent method versatility and flexibility afforded defective MnO2/g-CN nanoarchitectures, featuring a g-CN content and nano-organization tunable as a function of EPD duration and the used carbon nitride precursor. Such a modulation had a direct influence on OER functional performances, which, for the best composite system, corresponded to an overpotential of 430 mV at 10 mA/cm2, a Tafel slope of ≈70 mV/dec, and a turnover frequency of 6.52 × 10-3 s-1, accompanied by a very good time stability. The present outcomes, comparing favorably with previous results on analogous systems, were rationalized on the basis of the formation of type-II MnO2/g-CN heterojunctions, and yield valuable insights into this class of green (photo)electrocatalysts for end uses in solar-to-fuel conversion and water treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Benedet
- Department
of Chemical Sciences, Padova University
and INSTM, 35131 Padova, Italy
- CNR-ICMATE
and INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Andrea Gallo
- Department
of Chemical Sciences, Padova University
and INSTM, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Chiara Maccato
- Department
of Chemical Sciences, Padova University
and INSTM, 35131 Padova, Italy
- CNR-ICMATE
and INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Gian Andrea Rizzi
- Department
of Chemical Sciences, Padova University
and INSTM, 35131 Padova, Italy
- CNR-ICMATE
and INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Davide Barreca
- CNR-ICMATE
and INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Oleg I. Lebedev
- Laboratoire
CRISMAT, UMR 6508 CNRS/ENSICAEN/UCBN, 14050 Caen Cedex 4, France
| | - Evgeny Modin
- CIC
nanoGUNE BRTA, Donostia, 20018 San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Ruairi McGlynn
- School
of Engineering, Ulster University, 2-24 York Street, Belfast BT15 1AP, Northern Ireland
| | - Davide Mariotti
- School
of Engineering, Ulster University, 2-24 York Street, Belfast BT15 1AP, Northern Ireland
| | - Alberto Gasparotto
- Department
of Chemical Sciences, Padova University
and INSTM, 35131 Padova, Italy
- CNR-ICMATE
and INSTM, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, 35131 Padova, Italy
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21
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Morana M, Kaiser W, Chiara R, Albini B, Meggiolaro D, Mosconi E, Galinetto P, De Angelis F, Malavasi L. Origin of Broad Emission Induced by Rigid Aromatic Ditopic Cations in Low-Dimensional Metal Halide Perovskites. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:7860-7868. [PMID: 37638524 PMCID: PMC10494231 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c01872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
The development of broadband emitters based on metal halide perovskites (MHPs) requires the elucidation of structure-emission property correlations. Herein, we report a combined experimental and theoretical study on a series of novel low-dimensional lead chloride perovskites, including ditopic aromatic cations. Synthesized lead chloride perovskites and their bromide analogues show both narrow and broad photoluminescence emission properties as a function of their cation and halide nature. Structural analysis shows a correlation between the rigidity of the ditopic cations and the lead halide octahedral distortions. Density functional theory calculations reveal, in turn, the pivotal role of octahedral distortions in the formation of self-trapped excitons, which are responsible for the insurgence of broad emission and large Stokes shifts together with a contribution of halide vacancies. For the considered MHP series, the use of conventional octahedral distortion parameters allows us to nicely describe the trend of emission properties, thus providing a solid guide for further materials design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Morana
- Department
of Chemistry and INSTM, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 16, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Waldemar Kaiser
- Computational
Laboratory for Hybrid/Organic Photovoltaics (CLHYO), Istituto CNR di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche “Giulio
Natta” (CNR-SCITEC), Perugia 06123, Italy
| | - Rossella Chiara
- Department
of Chemistry and INSTM, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 16, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Benedetta Albini
- Department
of Physics, University of Pavia, Via Bassi 6, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Daniele Meggiolaro
- Computational
Laboratory for Hybrid/Organic Photovoltaics (CLHYO), Istituto CNR di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche “Giulio
Natta” (CNR-SCITEC), Perugia 06123, Italy
| | - Edoardo Mosconi
- Computational
Laboratory for Hybrid/Organic Photovoltaics (CLHYO), Istituto CNR di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche “Giulio
Natta” (CNR-SCITEC), Perugia 06123, Italy
| | - Pietro Galinetto
- Department
of Physics, University of Pavia, Via Bassi 6, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Filippo De Angelis
- Computational
Laboratory for Hybrid/Organic Photovoltaics (CLHYO), Istituto CNR di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche “Giulio
Natta” (CNR-SCITEC), Perugia 06123, Italy
- Department
of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia and INSTM, Perugia 06123, Italy
- SKKU
Institute of Energy Science and Technology (SIEST) Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746, Korea
| | - Lorenzo Malavasi
- Department
of Chemistry and INSTM, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 16, Pavia 27100, Italy
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22
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Morsi RE, Gentili D, Corticelli F, Morandi V, Figoli A, Russo F, Galiano F, Gentilomi GA, Bonvicini F, Manet I, Ventura B. Cellulose acetate membranes loaded with combinations of tetraphenylporphyrin, graphene oxide and Pluronic F-127 as responsive materials with antibacterial photodynamic activity. RSC Adv 2023; 13:26550-26562. [PMID: 37692352 PMCID: PMC10483373 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra04193j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of polymeric fabrics with photoinduced antibacterial activity is important for different emerging applications, ranging from materials for medical and clinical practices to disinfection of objects for public use. In this work we prepared a series of cellulose acetate membranes, by means of phase inversion technique, introducing different additives in the starting polymeric solution. The loading of 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP), a known photosensitizer, was considered to impart antibacterial photodynamic properties to the produced membranes. Besides, the addition of a surfactant (Pluronic F-127) allowed to modify the morphology of the membranes whereas the use of graphene oxide (GO) enabled further photo-activated antibacterial activity. The three additives were tested in various concentrations and in different combinations in order to carefully explore the effects of their mixing on the final photophysical and photodynamic properties. A complete structural/morphologycal characterization of the produced membranes has been performed, together with a detailed photophysical study of the TPP-containing samples, including absorption and emission features, excited state lifetime, singlet oxygen production, and confocal analysis. Their antibacterial activity has been assessed in vitro against S. aureus and E. coli, and the results demonstrated excellent bacterial inactivation for the membranes containing a combination of the three additives, revealing also a non-innocent role of the membrane porous structure in the final antibacterial capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rania E Morsi
- Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI) PO Box 11727 Nasr City Cairo Egypt
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council (CNR) Via P. Gobetti 101 40129 Bologna Italy
| | - Denis Gentili
- Institute of Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), National Research Council (CNR) Via P. Gobetti 101 40129 Bologna Italy
| | - Franco Corticelli
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM), National Research Council (CNR) Via P. Gobetti 101 40129 Bologna Italy
| | - Vittorio Morandi
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM), National Research Council (CNR) Via P. Gobetti 101 40129 Bologna Italy
| | - Alberto Figoli
- Institute on Membrane Technology (ITM), National Research Council (CNR) Via P. Bucci 17/C 87036 Rende (CS) Italy
| | - Francesca Russo
- Institute on Membrane Technology (ITM), National Research Council (CNR) Via P. Bucci 17/C 87036 Rende (CS) Italy
| | - Francesco Galiano
- Institute on Membrane Technology (ITM), National Research Council (CNR) Via P. Bucci 17/C 87036 Rende (CS) Italy
| | - Giovanna Angela Gentilomi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna Via Massarenti 9 40138 Bologna Italy
- Microbiology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna Via Massarenti 9 40138 Bologna Italy
| | - Francesca Bonvicini
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna Via Massarenti 9 40138 Bologna Italy
| | - Ilse Manet
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council (CNR) Via P. Gobetti 101 40129 Bologna Italy
| | - Barbara Ventura
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council (CNR) Via P. Gobetti 101 40129 Bologna Italy
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23
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Sivaccumar JP, Iaccarino E, Oliver A, Cantile M, Olimpieri P, Leonardi A, Ruvo M, Sandomenico A. Production in Bacteria and Characterization of Engineered Humanized Fab Fragment against the Nodal Protein. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:1130. [PMID: 37631045 PMCID: PMC10459755 DOI: 10.3390/ph16081130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Drug development in recent years is increasingly focused on developing personalized treatments based on blocking molecules selective for therapeutic targets specifically present in individual patients. In this perspective, the specificity of therapeutic targets and blocking agents plays a crucial role. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and their surrogates are increasingly used in this context thanks to their ability to bind therapeutic targets and to inhibit their activity or to transport bioactive molecules into the compartments in which the targets are expressed. Small antibody-like molecules, such as Fabs, are often used in certain clinical settings where small size and better tissue penetration are required. In the wake of this research trend, we developed a murine mAb (3D1) neutralizing the activity of Nodal, an oncofetal protein that is attracting an ever-increasing interest as a selective therapeutic target for several cancer types. Here, we report the preparation of a recombinant Fab of 3D1 that has been humanized through a computational approach starting from the sequence of the murine antibody. The Fab has been expressed in bacterial cells (1 mg/L bacterial culture), biochemically characterized in terms of stability and binding properties by circular dichroism and bio-layer interferometry techniques and tested in vitro on Nodal-positive cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jwala P. Sivaccumar
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Via P. Castellino, 111, 80131 Naples, Italy (E.I.)
| | - Emanuela Iaccarino
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Via P. Castellino, 111, 80131 Naples, Italy (E.I.)
| | - Angela Oliver
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Via P. Castellino, 111, 80131 Naples, Italy (E.I.)
- Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | | | | | - Antonio Leonardi
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Naples “Federico II”, via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Menotti Ruvo
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Via P. Castellino, 111, 80131 Naples, Italy (E.I.)
| | - Annamaria Sandomenico
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Via P. Castellino, 111, 80131 Naples, Italy (E.I.)
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24
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Improta R. Shedding Light on the Photophysics and Photochemistry of I-Motifs Using Quantum Mechanical Calculations. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12614. [PMID: 37628797 PMCID: PMC10454157 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241612614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
I-motifs are non-canonical DNA structures formed by intercalated hemiprotonated (CH·C)+ pairs, i.e., formed by a cytosine (C) and a protonated cytosine (CH+), which are currently drawing great attention due to their biological relevance and promising nanotechnological properties. It is important to characterize the processes occurring in I-motifs following irradiation by UV light because they can lead to harmful consequences for genetic code and because optical spectroscopies are the most-used tools to characterize I-motifs. By using time-dependent DFT calculations, we here provide the first comprehensive picture of the photoactivated behavior of the (CH·C)+ core of I-motifs, from absorption to emission, while also considering the possible photochemical reactions. We reproduce and assign their spectral signatures, i.e., infrared, absorption, fluorescence and circular dichroism spectra, disentangling the underlying chemical-physical effects. We show that the main photophysical paths involve C and CH+ bases on adjacent steps and, using this basis, interpret the available time-resolved spectra. We propose that a photodimerization reaction can occur on an excited state with strong C→CH+ charge transfer character and examine some of the possible photoproducts. Based on the results reported, some future perspectives for the study of I-motifs are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Improta
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini (IBB-CNR), Via De Amicis 95, I-80145 Napoli, Italy
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25
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Abatematteo FS, Delre P, Mercurio I, Rezelj VV, Siliqi D, Beaucourt S, Lattanzi G, Colabufo NA, Leopoldo M, Saviano M, Vignuzzi M, Mangiatordi GF, Abate C. A conformational rearrangement of the SARS-CoV-2 host protein sigma-1 is required for antiviral activity: insights from a combined in-silico/in-vitro approach. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12798. [PMID: 37550340 PMCID: PMC10406941 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39662-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of effective drugs to treat coronavirus infections remains a significant challenge for the scientific community. Recent evidence reports on the sigma-1 receptor (S1R) as a key druggable host protein in the SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 interactomes and shows a potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 for the S1R antagonist PB28. To improve PB28 activity, we designed and tested a series of its analogues and identified a compound that is fourfold more potent against SARS-CoV-2 than PB28 itself. Interestingly, we found no direct correlation between S1R affinity and SARS-CoV-2 antiviral activity. Building on this, we employed comparative induced fit docking and molecular dynamics simulations to gain insights into the possible mechanism that occurs when specific ligand-protein interactions take place and that may be responsible for the observed antiviral activity. Our findings offer a possible explanation for the experimental observations, provide insights into the S1R conformational changes upon ligand binding and lay the foundation for the rational design of new S1R ligands with potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and likely other viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Serena Abatematteo
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona, 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Pietro Delre
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto di Cristallografia, Via Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy
| | - Ivan Mercurio
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto di Cristallografia, Via Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Antonio Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - Veronica V Rezelj
- Viral Populations and Pathogenesis Unit, UMR 3569, CNRS, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Dritan Siliqi
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto di Cristallografia, Via Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy
| | - Stephanie Beaucourt
- Viral Populations and Pathogenesis Unit, UMR 3569, CNRS, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Gianluca Lattanzi
- Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123, Povo-Trento, Italy
- TIFPA Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, Via Sommarive 9, 38123, Povo-Trento, Italy
| | - Nicola Antonio Colabufo
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona, 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Marcello Leopoldo
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona, 4, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Michele Saviano
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto di Cristallografia, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy
| | - Marco Vignuzzi
- Viral Populations and Pathogenesis Unit, UMR 3569, CNRS, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
- A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs (A*STAR ID Labs), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 8A Biomedical Grove, Immunos #05-13, Singapore, 138648, Singapore
| | - Giuseppe Felice Mangiatordi
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto di Cristallografia, Via Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy.
| | - Carmen Abate
- Dipartimento di Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona, 4, 70125, Bari, Italy.
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto di Cristallografia, Via Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy.
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26
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Leonetti P, Consiglio A, Arendt D, Golbik RP, Rubino L, Gursinsky T, Behrens SE, Pantaleo V. Exogenous and endogenous dsRNAs perceived by plant Dicer-like 4 protein in the RNAi-depleted cellular context. Cell Mol Biol Lett 2023; 28:64. [PMID: 37550627 PMCID: PMC10405411 DOI: 10.1186/s11658-023-00469-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In plants, RNase III Dicer-like proteins (DCLs) act as sensors of dsRNAs and process them into short 21- to 24-nucleotide (nt) (s)RNAs. Plant DCL4 is involved in the biogenesis of either functional endogenous or exogenous (i.e. viral) short interfering (si)RNAs, thus playing crucial antiviral roles. METHODS In this study we expressed plant DCL4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an RNAi-depleted organism, in which we could highlight the role of dicing as neither Argonautes nor RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is present. We have therefore tested the DCL4 functionality in processing exogenous dsRNA-like substrates, such as a replicase-assisted viral replicon defective-interfering RNA and RNA hairpin substrates, or endogenous antisense transcripts. RESULTS DCL4 was shown to be functional in processing dsRNA-like molecules in vitro and in vivo into 21- and 22-nt sRNAs. Conversely, DCL4 did not efficiently process a replicase-assisted viral replicon in vivo, providing evidence that viral RNAs are not accessible to DCL4 in membranes associated in active replication. Worthy of note, in yeast cells expressing DCL4, 21- and 22-nt sRNAs are associated with endogenous loci. CONCLUSIONS We provide new keys to interpret what was studied so far on antiviral DCL4 in the host system. The results all together confirm the role of sense/antisense RNA-based regulation of gene expression, expanding the sense/antisense atlas of S. cerevisiae. The results described herein show that S. cerevisiae can provide insights into the functionality of plant dicers and extend the S. cerevisiae tool to new biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Leonetti
- Department of Biology, Agricultural and Food Sciences, National Research Council, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Bari Unit, Bari, Italy
| | - Arianna Consiglio
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, National Research Council, Institute for Biomedical Technologies, Bari Unit, Bari, Italy
| | - Dennis Arendt
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Section Microbial Biotechnology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle Saale, Germany
| | - Ralph Peter Golbik
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Section Microbial Biotechnology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle Saale, Germany
| | - Luisa Rubino
- Department of Biology, Agricultural and Food Sciences, National Research Council, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Bari Unit, Bari, Italy
| | - Torsten Gursinsky
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Section Microbial Biotechnology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle Saale, Germany
| | - Sven-Erik Behrens
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Section Microbial Biotechnology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle Saale, Germany
| | - Vitantonio Pantaleo
- Department of Biology, Agricultural and Food Sciences, National Research Council, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Bari Unit, Bari, Italy.
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Degiacomi G, Gianibbi B, Recchia D, Stelitano G, Truglio GI, Marra P, Stamilla A, Makarov V, Chiarelli LR, Manetti F, Pasca MR. CanB, a Druggable Cellular Target in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ACS Omega 2023; 8:25209-25220. [PMID: 37483251 PMCID: PMC10357428 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c02311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Treatment against tuberculosis can lead to the selection of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. To tackle this serious threat, new targets from M. tuberculosis are needed to develop novel effective drugs. In this work, we aimed to provide a possible workflow to validate new targets and inhibitors by combining genetic, in silico, and enzymological approaches. CanB is one of the three M. tuberculosis β-carbonic anhydrases that catalyze the reversible reaction of CO2 hydration to form HCO3- and H+. To this end, we precisely demonstrated that CanB is essential for the survival of the pathogen in vitro by constructing conditional mutants. In addition, to search for CanB inhibitors, conditional canB mutants were also constructed using the Pip-ON system. By molecular docking and minimum inhibitory concentration assays, we selected three molecules that inhibit the growth in vitro of M. tuberculosis wild-type strain and canB conditional mutants, thus implementing a target-to-drug approach. The lead compound also showed a bactericidal activity by the time-killing assay. We further studied the interactions of these molecules with CanB using enzymatic assays and differential scanning fluorimetry thermal shift analysis. In conclusion, the compounds identified by the in silico screening proved to have a high affinity as CanB ligands endowed with antitubercular activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Degiacomi
- Department
of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Beatrice Gianibbi
- Department
of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Deborah Recchia
- Department
of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Giovanni Stelitano
- Department
of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | | | - Paola Marra
- Department
of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Alessandro Stamilla
- Department
of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Vadim Makarov
- Bakh
Institute of Biochemistry, Russian Academy
of Science, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Laurent Robert Chiarelli
- Department
of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Manetti
- Department
of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy
| | - Maria Rosalia Pasca
- Department
of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
- Fondazione
IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia 27100, Italy
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Cioce M, Fumagalli MR, Donzelli S, Goeman F, Canu V, Rutigliano D, Orlandi G, Sacconi A, Pulito C, Palcau AC, Fanciulli M, Morrone A, Diodoro MG, Caricato M, Crescenzi A, Verri M, Fazio VM, Zapperi S, Levrero M, Strano S, Grazi GL, La Porta C, Blandino G. Interrogating colorectal cancer metastasis to liver: a search for clinically viable compounds and mechanistic insights in colorectal cancer Patient Derived Organoids. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2023; 42:170. [PMID: 37460938 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-023-02754-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Approximately 20-50% of patients presenting with localized colorectal cancer progress to stage IV metastatic disease (mCRC) following initial treatment and this is a major prognostic determinant. Here, we have interrogated a heterogeneous set of primary colorectal cancer (CRC), liver CRC metastases and adjacent liver tissue to identify molecular determinants of the colon to liver spreading. Screening Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs for their ability to interfere with an identified colon to liver metastasis signature may help filling an unmet therapeutic need. METHODS RNA sequencing of primary colorectal cancer specimens vs adjacent liver tissue vs synchronous and asynchronous liver metastases. Pathways enrichment analyses. The Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures (LINCS)-based and Connectivity Map (CMAP)-mediated identification of FDA-approved compounds capable to interfere with a 22 gene signature from primary CRC and liver metastases. Testing the identified compounds on CRC-Patient Derived Organoid (PDO) cultures. Microscopy and Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) based analysis of the treated PDOs. RESULTS We have found that liver metastases acquire features of the adjacent liver tissue while partially losing those of the primary tumors they derived from. We have identified a 22-gene signature differentially expressed among primary tumors and metastases and validated in public databases. A pharmacogenomic screening for FDA-approved compounds capable of interfering with this signature has been performed. We have validated some of the identified representative compounds in CRC-Patient Derived Organoid cultures (PDOs) and found that pentoxyfilline and, to a minor extent, dexketoprofen and desloratadine, can variably interfere with number, size and viability of the CRC -PDOs in a patient-specific way. We explored the pentoxifylline mechanism of action and found that pentoxifylline treatment attenuated the 5-FU elicited increase of ALDHhigh cells by attenuating the IL-6 mediated STAT3 (tyr705) phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS Pentoxifylline synergizes with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) in attenuating organoid formation. It does so by interfering with an IL-6-STAT3 axis leading to the emergence of chemoresistant ALDHhigh cell subpopulations in 5-FU treated PDOs. A larger cohort of CRC-PDOs will be required to validate and expand on the findings of this proof-of-concept study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Cioce
- Department of Medicine, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy.
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Rome, Italy.
| | - Maria Rita Fumagalli
- Center for Complexity and Biosystems, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milano, Italy
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Biophysics Institute, Via De Marini 6, 16149, Genoa, Italy
| | - Sara Donzelli
- Translational Oncology Research Unit, Department of Research, Advanced Diagnostic and Technological Innovation, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144, Rome, Italy
| | - Frauke Goeman
- Department of Research, Diagnosis and Innovative Technologies, UOSD SAFU, Translational Research Area, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144, Rome, Italy
| | - Valeria Canu
- Translational Oncology Research Unit, Department of Research, Advanced Diagnostic and Technological Innovation, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Rutigliano
- Department of Medicine, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Translational Oncology Research Unit, Department of Research, Advanced Diagnostic and Technological Innovation, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144, Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Orlandi
- Scientific Direction, IRCCS San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Sacconi
- Clinical Trial Center, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Unit, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudio Pulito
- Translational Oncology Research Unit, Department of Research, Advanced Diagnostic and Technological Innovation, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144, Rome, Italy
| | - Alina Catalina Palcau
- Translational Oncology Research Unit, Department of Research, Advanced Diagnostic and Technological Innovation, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144, Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio Fanciulli
- Department of Research, Diagnosis and Innovative Technologies, UOSD SAFU, Translational Research Area, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144, Rome, Italy
| | - Aldo Morrone
- Scientific Direction, IRCCS San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Diodoro
- Department of Pathology, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Caricato
- Colorectal Surgery Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Crescenzi
- Department of Medicine, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Unit of Endocrine Organs and Neuromuscular Pathology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Verri
- Unit of Endocrine Organs and Neuromuscular Pathology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
| | - Vito Michele Fazio
- Department of Medicine, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Zapperi
- Center for Complexity and Biosystems, Department of Physics, University of Milan, Via Celoria 16, 20133, Milano, Italy
- Istituto Di Chimica Della Materia Condensata E Di Tecnologie Per L'Energia, CNR - Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Via R. Cozzi 53, 20125, Milano, Italy
| | - Massimo Levrero
- Cancer Research Center of Lyon (CRCL), UMR Inserm, CNRS 5286 Mixte CLB, Université de Lyon, 1 (UCBL1), 69003, Lyon, France
| | - Sabrina Strano
- Department of Research, Diagnosis and Innovative Technologies, UOSD SAFU, Translational Research Area, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144, Rome, Italy
| | - Gian Luca Grazi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Hepato-Biliary Pancreatic Surgery, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Caterina La Porta
- Center for Complexity and Biosystems, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milano, Italy
- CNR - Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Istituto Di Biofisica, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Giovanni Blandino
- Translational Oncology Research Unit, Department of Research, Advanced Diagnostic and Technological Innovation, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144, Rome, Italy.
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29
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Papini G, Furini G, Matteucci M, Biemmi V, Casieri V, Di Lascio N, Milano G, Chincoli LR, Faita F, Barile L, Lionetti V. Cardiomyocyte-targeting exosomes from sulforaphane-treated fibroblasts affords cardioprotection in infarcted rats. J Transl Med 2023; 21:313. [PMID: 37161563 PMCID: PMC10169450 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04155-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exosomes (EXOs), tiny extracellular vesicles that facilitate cell-cell communication, are being explored as a heart failure treatment, although the features of the cell source restrict their efficacy. Fibroblasts the most prevalent non-myocyte heart cells, release poor cardioprotective EXOs. A noninvasive method for manufacturing fibroblast-derived exosomes (F-EXOs) that target cardiomyocytes and slow cardiac remodeling is expected. As a cardioprotective isothiocyanate, sulforaphane (SFN)-induced F-EXOs (SFN-F-EXOs) should recapitulate its anti-remodeling properties. METHODS Exosomes from low-dose SFN (3 μM/7 days)-treated NIH/3T3 murine cells were examined for number, size, and protein composition. Fluorescence microscopy, RT-qPCR, and western blot assessed cell size, oxidative stress, AcH4 levels, hypertrophic gene expression, and caspase-3 activation in angiotensin II (AngII)-stressed HL-1 murine cardiomyocytes 12 h-treated with various EXOs. The uptake of fluorescently-labeled EXOs was also measured in cardiomyocytes. The cardiac function of infarcted male Wistar rats intramyocardially injected with different EXOs (1·1012) was examined by echocardiography. Left ventricular infarct size, hypertrophy, and capillary density were measured. RESULTS Sustained treatment of NIH/3T3 with non-toxic SFN concentration significantly enhances the release of CD81 + EXOs rich in TSG101 (Tumor susceptibility gene 101) and Hsp70 (Heat Shock Protein 70), and containing maspin, an endogenous histone deacetylase 1 inhibitor. SFN-F-EXOs counteract angiotensin II (AngII)-induced hypertrophy and apoptosis in murine HL-1 cardiomyocytes enhancing SERCA2a (sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase 2a) levels more effectively than F-EXOs. In stressed cardiomyocytes, SFN-F-EXOs boost AcH4 levels by 30% (p < 0.05) and significantly reduce oxidative stress more than F-EXOs. Fluorescence microscopy showed that mouse cardiomyocytes take in SFN-F-EXOs ~ threefold more than F-EXOs. Compared to vehicle-injected infarcted hearts, SFN-F-EXOs reduce hypertrophy, scar size, and improve contractility. CONCLUSIONS Long-term low-dose SFN treatment of fibroblasts enhances the release of anti-remodeling cardiomyocyte-targeted F-EXOs, which effectively prevent the onset of HF. The proposed method opens a new avenue for large-scale production of cardioprotective exosomes for clinical application using allogeneic fibroblasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaia Papini
- Unit of Translational Critical Care Medicine, Laboratory of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, The Interdisciplinary Research Center "Health Science", Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giulia Furini
- Unit of Translational Critical Care Medicine, Laboratory of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, The Interdisciplinary Research Center "Health Science", Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
- Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, UOSVD, Fondazione Toscana G. Monasterio, Pisa, Italy
| | - Marco Matteucci
- Unit of Translational Critical Care Medicine, Laboratory of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, The Interdisciplinary Research Center "Health Science", Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Vanessa Biemmi
- Cardiovascular Theranostics, Istituto Cardiocentro Ticino, Laboratories for Translational Research, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona, Switzerland
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università Svizzera Italiana, 6900, Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Valentina Casieri
- Unit of Translational Critical Care Medicine, Laboratory of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, The Interdisciplinary Research Center "Health Science", Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Nicole Di Lascio
- Unit of Translational Critical Care Medicine, Laboratory of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, The Interdisciplinary Research Center "Health Science", Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Milano
- Cardiovascular Theranostics, Istituto Cardiocentro Ticino, Laboratories for Translational Research, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Lucia Rosa Chincoli
- Unit of Translational Critical Care Medicine, Laboratory of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, The Interdisciplinary Research Center "Health Science", Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | | | - Lucio Barile
- Unit of Translational Critical Care Medicine, Laboratory of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, The Interdisciplinary Research Center "Health Science", Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
- Cardiovascular Theranostics, Istituto Cardiocentro Ticino, Laboratories for Translational Research, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona, Switzerland
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università Svizzera Italiana, 6900, Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Vincenzo Lionetti
- Unit of Translational Critical Care Medicine, Laboratory of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, The Interdisciplinary Research Center "Health Science", Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
- Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, UOSVD, Fondazione Toscana G. Monasterio, Pisa, Italy.
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30
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Mongelli A, Panunzi S, Nesta M, Gottardi Zamperla M, Atlante S, Barbi V, Mongiardini V, Ferraro F, De Martino S, Cis L, Re A, Maltese S, Bachetti T, La Rovere MT, Martelli F, Pesce M, Nanni S, Massetti M, Pontecorvi A, Farsetti A, Gaetano C. Distinguishable DNA methylation defines a cardiac-specific epigenetic clock. Clin Epigenetics 2023; 15:53. [PMID: 36991505 PMCID: PMC10053964 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-023-01467-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The present study investigates whether epigenetic differences emerge in the heart of patients undergoing cardiac surgery for an aortic valvular replacement (AVR) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). An algorithm is also established to determine how the pathophysiological condition might influence the human biological cardiac age. RESULTS Blood samples and cardiac auricles were collected from patients who underwent cardiac procedures: 94 AVR and 289 CABG. The CpGs from three independent blood-derived biological clocks were selected to design a new blood- and the first cardiac-specific clocks. Specifically, 31 CpGs from six age-related genes, ELOVL2, EDARADD, ITGA2B, ASPA, PDE4C, and FHL2, were used to construct the tissue-tailored clocks. The best-fitting variables were combined to define new cardiac- and blood-tailored clocks validated through neural network analysis and elastic regression. In addition, telomere length (TL) was measured by qPCR. These new methods revealed a similarity between chronological and biological age in the blood and heart; the average TL was significantly higher in the heart than in the blood. In addition, the cardiac clock discriminated well between AVR and CABG and was sensitive to cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and smoking. Moreover, the cardiac-specific clock identified an AVR patient's subgroup whose accelerated bioage correlated with the altered ventricular parameters, including left ventricular diastolic and systolic volume. CONCLUSION This study reports on applying a method to evaluate the cardiac biological age revealing epigenetic features that separate subgroups of AVR and CABG.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Mongelli
- Laboratorio di Epigenetica, Istituti Clinici Scientifici (ICS) Maugeri IRCCS, 27100, Pavia, Italy
- Center for Translational and Experimental Cardiology (CTEC), University of Zurich, 8952, Schlieren, Switzerland
| | - S Panunzi
- National Research Council (CNR)-IASI, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - M Nesta
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - M Gottardi Zamperla
- Laboratorio di Epigenetica, Istituti Clinici Scientifici (ICS) Maugeri IRCCS, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - S Atlante
- Laboratorio di Epigenetica, Istituti Clinici Scientifici (ICS) Maugeri IRCCS, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - V Barbi
- Laboratorio di Epigenetica, Istituti Clinici Scientifici (ICS) Maugeri IRCCS, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - V Mongiardini
- Laboratorio di Epigenetica, Istituti Clinici Scientifici (ICS) Maugeri IRCCS, 27100, Pavia, Italy
- Molecular Medicine, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
| | - F Ferraro
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - S De Martino
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - L Cis
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - A Re
- National Research Council (CNR)-IASI, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - S Maltese
- National Research Council (CNR)-IRIB, 90146, Palermo, Italy
| | - T Bachetti
- Direzione Scientifica Centrale ICS Maugeri IRCCS, Pavia, Italy
| | - M T La Rovere
- Dipartimento di Cardiologia ICS Maugeri and Direzione Scientifica ICS Maugeri Montescano IRCCS, Pavia, Italy
| | - F Martelli
- Molecular Cardiology Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy
| | - M Pesce
- Unità di Ingegneria Tissutale Cardiovascolare, Centro Cardiologico Monzino IRCCS, 20138, Milan, Italy
| | - S Nanni
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168, Rome, Italy
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - M Massetti
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168, Rome, Italy
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - A Pontecorvi
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168, Rome, Italy
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - A Farsetti
- National Research Council (CNR)-IASI, 00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - C Gaetano
- Laboratorio di Epigenetica, Istituti Clinici Scientifici (ICS) Maugeri IRCCS, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
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Padurariu L, Brunengo E, Canu G, Curecheriu LP, Conzatti L, Buscaglia MT, Stagnaro P, Mitoseriu L, Buscaglia V. Role of Microstructures in the Dielectric Properties of PVDF-Based Nanocomposites Containing High-Permittivity Fillers for Energy Storage. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023; 15:13535-13544. [PMID: 36861349 PMCID: PMC10020966 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c23013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Polymer-based nanocomposites containing inorganic ferroelectric inclusions, typically ABO3 perovskites, have emerged as innovative dielectric materials for energy storage and electric insulation, potentially coupling the high breakdown strength (BDS) and easy processing of polymers with the enhancement of dielectric constant provided by the ferroelectric phase. In this paper, experimental data and three-dimensional finite element method (3D FEM) simulations were combined to shed some light on the effect of microstructures on the dielectric properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-BaTiO3 composites. The existence of particle aggregates or touching particles has a strong effect on the effective dielectric constant and determines an increase of the local field in the neck region of the ferroelectric phase with a detrimental effect on the BDS. The distribution of the field and the effective permittivity are very sensitive to the specific microstructure considered. The degradation of the BDS can be overcome by coating the ferroelectric particles with a thin shell of an insulating oxide with a low dielectric constant, such as SiO2 (εr = 4). The local field is highly concentrated on the shell, while the field in the ferroelectric phase is reduced almost to zero and that on the matrix is close to the applied one. The electric field in the matrix becomes less homogeneous with increasing the dielectric constant of the shell material, as happens with TiO2 (εr = 30). These results provide a solid background to explain the enhanced dielectric properties and the superior BDS of composites containing core-shell inclusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leontin Padurariu
- Faculty
of Physics, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Blv. Carol I, nr.11, 700506 Iasi, Romania
| | - Elisabetta Brunengo
- Department
of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University
of Genoa, Via Dodecaneso
31, 16146 Genoa, Italy
- CNR-SCITEC,
Institute of Chemical Sciences and Technologies “Giulio Natta”, National Research Council, Via de Marini 6, 16149 Genoa, Italy
| | - Giovanna Canu
- CNR-ICMATE,
Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry and Technologies for Energy, National Research Council, Via de Marini 6, 16149 Genoa, Italy
| | | | - Lucia Conzatti
- CNR-SCITEC,
Institute of Chemical Sciences and Technologies “Giulio Natta”, National Research Council, Via de Marini 6, 16149 Genoa, Italy
| | - Maria Teresa Buscaglia
- CNR-ICMATE,
Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry and Technologies for Energy, National Research Council, Via de Marini 6, 16149 Genoa, Italy
| | - Paola Stagnaro
- CNR-SCITEC,
Institute of Chemical Sciences and Technologies “Giulio Natta”, National Research Council, Via de Marini 6, 16149 Genoa, Italy
| | - Liliana Mitoseriu
- Faculty
of Physics, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Blv. Carol I, nr.11, 700506 Iasi, Romania
| | - Vincenzo Buscaglia
- CNR-ICMATE,
Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry and Technologies for Energy, National Research Council, Via de Marini 6, 16149 Genoa, Italy
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Fratianni F, Amato G, De Feo V, d'Acierno A, Coppola R, Nazzaro F. Potential therapeutic benefits of unconventional oils: assessment of the potential in vitro biological properties of some Rubiaceae, Cucurbitaceae, and Brassicaceae seed oils. Front Nutr 2023; 10:1171766. [PMID: 37153908 PMCID: PMC10160382 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1171766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Seed oils are versatile in the food sector and for pharmaceutical purposes. In recent years, their biological properties aroused the interest of the scientific world. Materials and methods We studied the composition of fatty acids (FAs) and some in vitro potential therapeutic benefits of five cold-pressed commercial oils obtained from broccoli, coffee, green coffee, pumpkin, and watermelon seeds. In particular, we assayed the antioxidant activity (using diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assays). In addition, through the fatty acid composition, we calculated the atherogenicity index (AI) and thrombogenicity index (TI) to evaluate the potential impact of such oils on cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, we assessed the in vitro anti-inflammatory capacity of the oils (evaluated through their effectiveness in preventing protein degradation, using bovine serum albumin as protein standard) and the ability of the oils to inhibit in vitro activity of three among the essential enzymes, cholinesterases and tyrosinase, involved in the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, we evaluated the capacity of the oils to inhibit the biofilm of some pathogenic bacteria. Results The unsaturated fatty acids greatly predominated in broccoli seed oil (84.3%), with erucic acid as the main constituent (33.1%). Other unsaturated fatty acids were linolenic (20.6%) and linoleic (16.1%) acids. The saturated fatty acids fraction comprised the palmitic (6.8%) and stearic acids (0.2%). Broccoli seed oil showed the best AI (0.080) and TI (0.16) indexes. The oils expressed a good antioxidant ability. Except for the watermelon seed oil, the oils exhibited a generally good in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, with IC50 values not exceeding 8.73 micrograms. Broccoli seed oil and green coffee seed oil showed the best acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity; coffee seed oil and broccoli seed oil were the most effective in inhibiting butyrylcholinesterase (IC50 = 15.7 μg and 20.7 μg, respectively). Pumpkin and green coffee seed oil showed the best inhibitory activity against tyrosinase (IC50 = 2 μg and 2.77 μg, respectively). In several cases, the seed oils inhibited the biofilm formation and the mature biofilm of some gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, with Staphylococcus aureus resulting in the most sensitive strain. Such activity seemed related only in some cases to the capacity of the oils to act on the sessile bacterial cells' metabolism, as indicated by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florinda Fratianni
- Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council of Italy, Avellino, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Amato
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy
| | - Vincenzo De Feo
- Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council of Italy, Avellino, Italy
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy
| | - Antonio d'Acierno
- Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council of Italy, Avellino, Italy
| | - Raffaele Coppola
- Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council of Italy, Avellino, Italy
- Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy
| | - Filomena Nazzaro
- Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council of Italy, Avellino, Italy
- *Correspondence: Filomena Nazzaro
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Paskaleva A, Buchkov K, Galluzzi A, Spassov D, Blagoev B, Ivanov T, Mehandzhiev V, Avramova IA, Terzyiska P, Tzvetkov P, Kovacheva D, Polichetti M. Magneto-Optical and Muliferroic Properties of Transition-Metal (Fe, Co, or Ni)-Doped ZnO Layers Deposited by ALD. ACS Omega 2022; 7:43306-43315. [PMID: 36467919 PMCID: PMC9713891 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c06240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
ZnO doped with transition metals (Co, Fe, or Ni) that have non-compensated electron spins attracts particular interest as it can induce various magnetic phenomena and behaviors. The advanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique makes it possible to obtain very thin layers of doped ZnO with controllable thicknesses and compositions that are compatible with the main microelectronic technologies, which further boosts the interest. The present study provides an extended analysis of the magneto-optical MO Kerr effect and the dielectric properties of (Co, Fe, or Ni)-doped ZnO films prepared by ALD. The structural, magneto-optical, and dielectric properties were considered in relation to the technological details of the ALD process and the corresponding dopant effects. All doped samples show a strong MO Kerr behavior with a substantial magnetization response and very high values of the Kerr polarization angle, especially in the case of ZnO/Fe. In addition, the results give evidence that Fe-doped ZnO also demonstrates a ferroelectric behavior. In this context, the observed rich and versatile physical nature and functionality open up new prospects for the application of these nanostructured materials in advanced electronic, spintronic, and optical devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albena Paskaleva
- Institute
of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko
Chaussee Blvd., Sofia1784, Bulgaria
| | - Krastyo Buchkov
- Institute
of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko
Chaussee Blvd., Sofia1784, Bulgaria
- Institute
of Optical Materials and Technologies, Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str, Bl.109, SofiaBG-1113, Bulgaria
| | - Armando Galluzzi
- Department
of Physics “E.R. Caianiello”, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, Fisciano (SALERNO)I-84084, Italy
- CNR-SPIN
Salerno, via Giovanni
Paolo II, 132, Fisciano (SALERNO)I-84084, Italy
| | - Dencho Spassov
- Institute
of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko
Chaussee Blvd., Sofia1784, Bulgaria
| | - Blagoy Blagoev
- Institute
of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko
Chaussee Blvd., Sofia1784, Bulgaria
| | - Tzvetan Ivanov
- Institute
of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko
Chaussee Blvd., Sofia1784, Bulgaria
| | - Vladimir Mehandzhiev
- Institute
of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko
Chaussee Blvd., Sofia1784, Bulgaria
| | - Ivalina Avramova Avramova
- Institute
of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Bl.10, SofiaBG-1113Bulgaria
| | - Penka Terzyiska
- Institute
of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko
Chaussee Blvd., Sofia1784, Bulgaria
| | - Peter Tzvetkov
- Institute
of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Bl.10, SofiaBG-1113Bulgaria
| | - Daniela Kovacheva
- Institute
of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Bl.10, SofiaBG-1113Bulgaria
| | - Massimiliano Polichetti
- Department
of Physics “E.R. Caianiello”, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, Fisciano (SALERNO)I-84084, Italy
- CNR-SPIN
Salerno, via Giovanni
Paolo II, 132, Fisciano (SALERNO)I-84084, Italy
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34
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Antignano I, D’Acunzo F, Arena D, Casciardi S, Del Giudice A, Gentile F, Pelosi M, Masci G, Gentili P. Influence of Nanoaggregation Routes on the Structure and Thermal Behavior of Multiple-Stimuli-Responsive Micelles from Block Copolymers of Oligo(ethylene glycol) Methacrylate and the Weak Acid [2-(Hydroxyimino)aldehyde]butyl Methacrylate. Langmuir 2022; 38:14371-14386. [PMID: 36346681 PMCID: PMC9686140 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c02515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we compare nanoaggregation driven by pH-induced micellization (PIM) and by the standard solvent displacement (SD) method on a series of pH-, light-, and thermosensitive amphiphilic block copolymers. Specifically, we investigate poly(HIABMA)-b-poly(OEGMA) and poly(HIABMA)-b-poly(DEGMA-r-OEGMA), where HIABMA = [(hydroxyimino)aldehyde]butyl methacrylate, OEGMA = oligo(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate, and DEGMA = di(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate. The weakly acidic HIA group (pKa ≈ 8) imparts stability to micelles at neutral pH, unlike most of the pH-responsive copolymers investigated in the literature. With SD, only some of our copolymers yield polymeric micelles (34-59 nm), and their thermoresponsivity is either poor or altogether absent. In contrast, PIM affords thermoresponsive, smaller micelles (down to 24 nm), regardless of the polymer composition. In some cases, cloud points are remarkably well defined and exhibit limited hysteresis. By combining turbidimetric, dyamic light scattering, and small-angle X-ray scattering measurements, we show that SD yields loose micelles with POEGMA segments partly involved in the formation of the hydrophobic core, whereas PIM yields more compact core-shell micelles with a well-defined PHIABMA core. We conclude that pH-based nanoaggregation provides advantages over block-selective solvation to obtain compact micelles exhibiting well-defined responses to external stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Antignano
- Department
of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185Roma, Italy
| | - Francesca D’Acunzo
- Institute
of Biological Systems (ISB), Italian National Research Council (CNR),
Sezione Meccanismi di Reazione, c/o Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185Roma, Italy
| | - Davide Arena
- Department
of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185Roma, Italy
| | - Stefano Casciardi
- National
Institute for Insurance Against Accidents at Work (INAIL Research),
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Via Fontana Candida 1, 00078Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy
| | | | - Francesca Gentile
- Department
of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185Roma, Italy
| | - Maria Pelosi
- Department
of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185Roma, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Masci
- Department
of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185Roma, Italy
| | - Patrizia Gentili
- Department
of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185Roma, Italy
- Institute
of Biological Systems (ISB), Italian National Research Council (CNR),
Sezione Meccanismi di Reazione, c/o Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185Roma, Italy
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35
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Szulc K, Tacchi S, Hierro-Rodríguez A, Díaz J, Gruszecki P, Graczyk P, Quirós C, Markó D, Martín JI, Vélez M, Schmool DS, Carlotti G, Krawczyk M, Álvarez-Prado LM. Reconfigurable Magnonic Crystals Based on Imprinted Magnetization Textures in Hard and Soft Dipolar-Coupled Bilayers. ACS Nano 2022; 16:14168-14177. [PMID: 36043881 PMCID: PMC9527808 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c04256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Reconfigurable magnetization textures offer control of spin waves with promising properties for future low-power beyond-CMOS systems. However, materials with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) suitable for stable magnetization-texture formation are characterized by high damping, which limits their applicability in magnonic devices. Here, we propose to overcome this limitation by using hybrid structures, i.e., a PMA layer magnetostatically coupled to a low-damping soft ferromagnetic film. We experimentally show that a periodic stripe-domain texture from a PMA layer is imprinted upon the soft layer and induces a nonreciprocal dispersion relation of the spin waves confined to the low-damping film. Moreover, an asymmetric bandgap features the spin-wave band diagram, which is a clear demonstration of collective spin-wave dynamics, a property characteristic for magnonic crystals with broken time-reversal symmetry. The composite character of the hybrid structure allows for stabilization of two magnetic states at remanence, with parallel and antiparallel orientation of net magnetization in hard and soft layers. The states can be switched using a low external magnetic field; therefore, the proposed system obtains an additional functionality of state reconfigurability. This study offers a link between reconfigurable magnetization textures and low-damping spin-wave dynamics, providing an opportunity to create miniaturized, programmable, and energy-efficient signal processing devices operating at high frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krzysztof Szulc
- Institute
of Spintronics and Quantum Information, Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego
2, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
- E-mail:
| | - Silvia Tacchi
- Istituto
Officina dei Materiali del CNR (CNR-IOM), Sede Secondaria di Perugia,
c/o Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università
di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
- E-mail:
| | - Aurelio Hierro-Rodríguez
- Departamento
de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Federico García Lorca no 18, 33007 Oviedo, Spain
- Centro
de Investigación en Nanomateriales y Nanotecnología
(CINN), CSIC-Universidad de Oviedo, 33940 El Entrego, Spain
| | - Javier Díaz
- Departamento
de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Federico García Lorca no 18, 33007 Oviedo, Spain
- Centro
de Investigación en Nanomateriales y Nanotecnología
(CINN), CSIC-Universidad de Oviedo, 33940 El Entrego, Spain
| | - Paweł Gruszecki
- Institute
of Spintronics and Quantum Information, Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego
2, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | - Piotr Graczyk
- Institute
of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań, Poland
| | - Carlos Quirós
- Departamento
de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Federico García Lorca no 18, 33007 Oviedo, Spain
- Centro
de Investigación en Nanomateriales y Nanotecnología
(CINN), CSIC-Universidad de Oviedo, 33940 El Entrego, Spain
| | - Daniel Markó
- Université
Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, CNRS, GEMaC, 78000 Versailles, France
| | - José Ignacio Martín
- Departamento
de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Federico García Lorca no 18, 33007 Oviedo, Spain
- Centro
de Investigación en Nanomateriales y Nanotecnología
(CINN), CSIC-Universidad de Oviedo, 33940 El Entrego, Spain
| | - María Vélez
- Departamento
de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Federico García Lorca no 18, 33007 Oviedo, Spain
- Centro
de Investigación en Nanomateriales y Nanotecnología
(CINN), CSIC-Universidad de Oviedo, 33940 El Entrego, Spain
| | - David S. Schmool
- Université
Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, CNRS, GEMaC, 78000 Versailles, France
| | - Giovanni Carlotti
- Dipartimento
di Fisica e Geologia, Università
di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
| | - Maciej Krawczyk
- Institute
of Spintronics and Quantum Information, Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego
2, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | - Luis Manuel Álvarez-Prado
- Departamento
de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Oviedo, C/Federico García Lorca no 18, 33007 Oviedo, Spain
- Centro
de Investigación en Nanomateriales y Nanotecnología
(CINN), CSIC-Universidad de Oviedo, 33940 El Entrego, Spain
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36
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Titi A, Touzani R, Moliterni A, Giacobbe C, Baldassarre F, Taleb M, Al-Zaqri N, Zarrouk A, Warad I. Ultrasonic Clusterization Process to Prepare [(NNCO) 6Co 4Cl 2] as a Novel Double-Open-Co 4O 6 Cubane Cluster: SXRD Interactions, DFT, Physicochemical, Thermal Behaviors, and Biomimicking of Catecholase Activity. ACS Omega 2022; 7:32949-32958. [PMID: 36157745 PMCID: PMC9494679 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c07032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A novel double-open-cubane (NNCO)6Co4Cl2 cluster with a Co4O6 core was made available under aqua-ultrasonic open atmosphere conditions for the first time. The ultrasonic clusterization of the (3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methanol (NNCOH) ligand with CoCl2·6H2O salts in ethanol yielded a high-purity and high-yield cluster product. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and ultraviolet (UV)-visible techniques were used to elucidate the clusterization process. The double-open-Co4O6 cubane structure of the (NNCO)6Co4Cl2 cluster was solved by synchrotron single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SXRD) and supported by density functional theory (DFT) optimization and thermogravimetric/differential TG (TG/DTG) measurements; moreover, the DFT structural parameters correlated with the ones determined by SXRD. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), Mulliken atomic charge/natural population analysis (MAC/NPA), highest occupied molecular orbital/lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO/LUMO), density of states (DOS), and GRD quantum analyses were computed at the DFT/B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) theory level. The thermal behavior of the cluster was characterized to support the formation of the Co4O6 core as a stable final product. The catalytic property of the (NNCO)6Co4Cl2 cluster was predestined for the oxidation process of 3,5-DTBC diol (3,5-di-tert-butylbenzene-1,2-diol) to 3,5-DTBQ dione (3,5-di-tert-butylcyclohexa-3,5-diene-1,2-dione).
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Affiliation(s)
- Abderrahim Titi
- Laboratory
of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, Mohammed First University, Oujda60000, Morocco
| | - Rachid Touzani
- Laboratory
of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, Mohammed First University, Oujda60000, Morocco
| | - Anna Moliterni
- Institute
of Crystallography, CNR, Via Amendola, 122/O, Bari70126, Italy
| | - Carlotta Giacobbe
- European
Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue Des Martyrs, Grenoble38040, France
| | | | - Mustapha Taleb
- Laboratory
of Engineering, Organometallic, Molecular and Environment (LIMOME),
Faculty of Science, Université Sidi
Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fez30000, Morocco
| | - Nabil Al-Zaqri
- Department
of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud
University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdelkader Zarrouk
- Laboratory
of Materials, Nanotechnology, and Environment, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, P.O. Box 1014, Agdal-Rabat11000, Morocco
| | - Ismail Warad
- Department
of Chemistry, AN-Najah National University, P.O. Box 7, Nablus P400, Palestine
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Philippi F, Rauber D, Palumbo O, Goloviznina K, McDaniel J, Pugh D, Suarez S, Fraenza CC, Padua A, Kay CWM, Welton T. Flexibility is the key to tuning the transport properties of fluorinated imide-based ionic liquids. Chem Sci 2022; 13:9176-9190. [PMID: 36093026 PMCID: PMC9384794 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc03074h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Ionic liquids are becoming increasingly popular for practical applications such as biomass processing and lithium-ion batteries. However, identifying ionic liquids with optimal properties for specific applications by trial and error is extremely inefficient since there are a vast number of potential candidate ions. Here we combine experimental and computational techniques to determine how the interplay of fluorination, flexibility and mass affects the transport properties of ionic liquids with the popular imide anion. We observe that fluorination and flexibility have a large impact on properties such as viscosity, whereas the influence of mass is negligible. Using targeted modifications, we show that conformational flexibility provides a significant contribution to the success of fluorination as a design element. Contrary to conventional wisdom, fluorination by itself is thus not a guarantor for beneficial properties such as low viscosity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederik Philippi
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London White City Campus London W12 0BZ UK
| | - Daniel Rauber
- Department of Chemistry, Saarland University Campus B2.2 Saarbrücken Germany
| | - Oriele Palumbo
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi Piazzale Aldo Moro 5 00185 Rome Italy
| | | | - Jesse McDaniel
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Georgia 30332-0400 USA
| | - David Pugh
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London 7 Trinity Street London SE1 1DB UK
| | - Sophia Suarez
- Department of Physics, Brooklyn College of CUNY Brooklyn New York 11210 USA
| | - Carla C Fraenza
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Hunter College of CUNY New York 10065 USA
| | - Agilio Padua
- Laboratoire de Chimie, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS 69364 Lyon France
| | - Christopher W M Kay
- Department of Chemistry, Saarland University Campus B2.2 Saarbrücken Germany
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London 17-19 Gordon Street London WC1H 0AH UK
| | - Tom Welton
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London White City Campus London W12 0BZ UK
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38
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Zografopoulos DC, Algorri JF, López-Higuera JM, Hernandez-Figueroa HE, Dmitriev V. Quasi-dark resonances with antiferromagnetic order in silicon metasurfaces. Sci Rep 2022; 12:12975. [PMID: 35902597 PMCID: PMC9334282 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16167-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Quasi-dark resonances exhibiting antiferromagnetic order are theoretically investigated in a near-infrared metasurface composed of square slotted rings etched in a thin silicon layer on glass substrate. Access to the quasi-dark mode is achieved by reducing the symmetry of the metasurface according to the findings of a detailed group theory analysis. A thorough finite-element study reveals the key optical properties of the antiferromagnetic order quasi-dark mode, namely resonant wavelengths, quality factors, angular dispersion, and its robustness against optical extinction losses. It is demonstrated that the thickness of the silicon metasurface can adjust the asymmetry degree of the resonant Fano lineshape without affecting substantially its quality factor. Furthermore, tuning of the resonant wavelength can be achieved without significant modification of the Fano lineshape by controlling the angle of incidence of the impinging planewave. Overall, the work presents an all-dielectric, near-infrared metasurface for the excitation of sharp resonances with antiferromagnetic order, which can find use in emerging applications based on this particular configuration of artificial optical magnetism and/or strong field confinement and light-matter interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Zografopoulos
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, 00133, Rome, Italy.
| | - J F Algorri
- Photonics Engineering Group, University of Cantabria, 39005, Santander, Spain
- CIBER-bbn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Valdecilla (IDIVAL), 39011, Santander, Spain
| | - J M López-Higuera
- Photonics Engineering Group, University of Cantabria, 39005, Santander, Spain
- CIBER-bbn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Valdecilla (IDIVAL), 39011, Santander, Spain
| | - H E Hernandez-Figueroa
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, 13083-852, Brazil
| | - V Dmitriev
- Electrical Engineering Department, Federal University of Para, Agencia UFPA, PO Box 8619, Belem, Para, CEP 66075-900, Brazil
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39
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Bellini V, Rusponi S, Kolorenč J, Mahatha SK, Valbuena MA, Persichetti L, Pivetta M, Sorokin BV, Merk D, Reynaud S, Sblendorio D, Stepanow S, Nistor C, Gargiani P, Betto D, Mugarza A, Gambardella P, Brune H, Carbone C, Barla A. Slow Magnetic Relaxation of Dy Adatoms with In-Plane Magnetic Anisotropy on a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas. ACS Nano 2022; 16:11182-11193. [PMID: 35770912 PMCID: PMC9330770 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c04048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
We report on the magnetic properties of Dy atoms adsorbed on the (001) surface of SrTiO3. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism reveals slow relaxation of the Dy magnetization on a time scale of about 800 s at 2.5 K, unusually associated with an easy-plane magnetic anisotropy. We attribute these properties to Dy atoms occupying hollow adsorption sites on the TiO2-terminated surface. Conversely, Ho atoms adsorbed on the same surface show paramagnetic behavior down to 2.5 K. With the help of atomic multiplet simulations and first-principles calculations, we establish that Dy populates also the top-O and bridge sites on the coexisting SrO-terminated surface. A simple magnetization relaxation model predicts these two sites to have an even longer magnetization lifetime than the hollow site. Moreover, the adsorption of Dy on the insulating SrTiO3 crystal leads, regardless of the surface termination, to the formation of a spin-polarized two-dimensional electron gas of Ti 3dxy character, together with an antiferromagnetic Dy-Ti coupling. Our findings support the feasibility of tuning the magnetic properties of the rare-earth atoms by acting on the substrate electronic gas with electric fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerio Bellini
- S3-Istituto
di Nanoscienze-CNR, Via
Campi 213/A, I-41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Stefano Rusponi
- Institute
of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jindřich Kolorenč
- Institute
of Physics (FZU), Czech Academy of Sciences, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182
21 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Sanjoy K. Mahatha
- Istituto
di Struttura della Materia (ISM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
(CNR), I-34149 Trieste, Italy
- School
of
Physics and Materials Science, Thapar Institute
of Engineering and Technology, Patiala 147004, India
| | - Miguel Angel Valbuena
- Catalan
Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST,
Campus UAB, Bellaterra, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain
- Instituto
Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA Nanoscience), E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Luca Persichetti
- Department
of Materials, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
- Dipartimento
di Fisica, Università di Roma “Tor
Vergata”, I-00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Marina Pivetta
- Institute
of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Boris V. Sorokin
- Institute
of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Darius Merk
- Institute
of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sébastien Reynaud
- Institute
of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Dante Sblendorio
- Institute
of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Corneliu Nistor
- Department
of Materials, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Davide Betto
- European
Synchrotron Radiation Facility, F-38043 Grenoble Cedex, France
| | - Aitor Mugarza
- Catalan
Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST,
Campus UAB, Bellaterra, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain
- Institució
Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona E-08010, Spain
| | | | - Harald Brune
- Institute
of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Carlo Carbone
- Istituto
di Struttura della Materia (ISM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
(CNR), I-34149 Trieste, Italy
| | - Alessandro Barla
- Istituto
di Struttura della Materia (ISM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
(CNR), I-34149 Trieste, Italy
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40
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Hassanein K, Cappuccino C, Marchini M, Bandini E, Christian M, Morandi V, Monti F, Maini L, Ventura B. Novel Cu(I)-5-nitropyridine-2-thiol Cluster with NIR Emission: Structural and Photophysical Characterization. J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces 2022; 126:10190-10198. [PMID: 35774291 PMCID: PMC9234981 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c01842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
A novel Cu(I) cluster compound has been synthesized by reacting CuI with the 2,2'-dithiobis(5-nitropyridine) ligand under solvothermal conditions. During the reaction, the original ligand breaks into the 5-nitropyridine-2-thiolate moiety, which acts as the coordinating ligand with both N- and S-sites, leading to a distorted octahedral Cu6S6 cluster. The structure has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and FT-IR analysis, and the photophysical properties have been determined in the solid state by means of steady-state and time-resolved optical techniques. The cluster presents a near-infrared emission showing an unusual temperature dependence: when passing from 77 to 298 K, a blue-shift of the emission band is observed, associated with a decrease in its intensity. Time-dependent-density functional theory calculations suggest that the observed behavior can be ascribed to a complex interplay of excited states, basically in the triplet manifold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khaled Hassanein
- Istituto
per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività (ISOF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna 40129, Italy
| | - Chiara Cappuccino
- Dipartimento
di Chimica “G. Ciamician”, Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, Bologna 40126, Italy
| | - Marianna Marchini
- Dipartimento
di Chimica “G. Ciamician”, Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, Bologna 40126, Italy
| | - Elisa Bandini
- Istituto
per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività (ISOF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna 40129, Italy
| | - Meganne Christian
- Istituto
per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (IMM) Sede di Bologna, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna 40129, Italy
| | - Vittorio Morandi
- Istituto
per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (IMM) Sede di Bologna, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna 40129, Italy
| | - Filippo Monti
- Istituto
per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività (ISOF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna 40129, Italy
| | - Lucia Maini
- Dipartimento
di Chimica “G. Ciamician”, Università di Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, Bologna 40126, Italy
| | - Barbara Ventura
- Istituto
per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività (ISOF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna 40129, Italy
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41
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Verdoliva V, Digilio G, Miletto I, Saviano M, De Luca S. Fluorescence Studies: A9 Peptide, Functionalized with a Fluorogenic Probe, Interacts with Its Receptor Model HER2-DIVMP. ACS Med Chem Lett 2022; 13:807-811. [PMID: 35586438 PMCID: PMC9109265 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.2c00026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
A recently developed synthetic protocol allowed for the functionalization of the active peptide A9 with a fluorogenic probe, which is useful for studying biomolecular interactions. Essentially, a nucleophilic attack on a halo-substituted benzofurazan is selectively performed by a cysteine sulfhydryl group. The process is assisted by the basic catalysis of activated zeolites (4 Å molecular sieves) and promoted by microwave irradiation. Fluorescence studies revealed that a donor-acceptor pair within the peptide sequence was introduced, thus allowing a deeper investigation on the interaction process between the peptide ligand and its receptor fragment. The obtained results allowed us to come full circle for all the currently understood structural determinants that were found to be involved in the binding process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Verdoliva
- Institute
of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National
Research Council, 80134 Naples, Italy
- Institute
of Crystallography, National Research Council, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Digilio
- Department
of Science and Technological Innovation, Università del Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro”, 15121 Alessandria, Italy
| | - Ivana Miletto
- Department
of Science and Technological Innovation, Università del Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro”, 15121 Alessandria, Italy
| | - Michele Saviano
- Institute
of Crystallography, National Research Council, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Stefania De Luca
- Institute
of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National
Research Council, 80134 Naples, Italy
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42
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Palla M, Turrini A, Cristani C, Bonora L, Pellegrini D, Primicerio J, Grassi A, Hilaj F, Giovannetti M, Agnolucci M. Impact of sheep wool residues as soil amendments on olive beneficial symbionts and bacterial diversity. BIORESOUR BIOPROCESS 2022; 9:45. [PMID: 38647844 PMCID: PMC10992544 DOI: 10.1186/s40643-022-00534-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years the use of organic matter soil amendments, such as agricultural by-products, has been implemented with the aim of increasing soil fertility, while minimizing the environmental impact of agriculture. Sheep wool residues (SWR) have shown beneficial effects on plant nutrition and soil properties, while only few works assessed their impact on soil microbial communities. The main aim of this work was to investigate the possible valorization of two SWR types (scoured residues, white wool, WW, and carbonized scoured residues, black wool, BW) as organic soil amendments, in pot-grown olive trees, by evaluating their impact on soil bacterial communities and mycorrhizal symbionts. The two SWR types did not negatively impact on the diversity and composition of soil bacterial communities, as revealed by PCR-denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) of partial 16S rRNA gene, and on the activity of native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), while positively affecting plant growth. Only the highest doses of one SWR type (2% BW) caused a decrease in bacterial diversity and native AMF ability to colonize olive roots. DGGE bands sequencing allowed the identification of the major bacterial taxa. Sequences corresponding to Ohtaekwangia spp., Beta proteobacterium, Blastocatella sp., Ramlibacter monticola and Massilia frigida/rubra, Dongia sp. and Chloroflexi were mainly represented in SWR-amended soils, while those represented by Chryseolinea soli and Acidobacteria were abundant in control soil. Overall, this work showed that SWR may be valorized as organic soil amendments, as soil bacteria and AMF, representing key factors of biological soil fertility, were not negatively affected, while the activity of bacterial genera and species known for their ability to decompose complex compounds was boosted. Further studies will investigate the biodegradation efficiency of the diverse bacterial taxa developing in SWR-amended soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Palla
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alessandra Turrini
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Caterina Cristani
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Laura Bonora
- National Research Council-Institute of BioEconomy (CNR-IBE), via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - David Pellegrini
- National Research Council-Institute of BioEconomy (CNR-IBE), via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Jacopo Primicerio
- National Research Council-Institute of BioEconomy (CNR-IBE), via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Arianna Grassi
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Filip Hilaj
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Manuela Giovannetti
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Monica Agnolucci
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
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43
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Palamà IE, Maiorano G, Di Maria F, Zangoli M, Candini A, Zanelli A, D’Amone S, Fabiano E, Gigli G, Barbarella G. Spontaneous Coassembly of the Protein Terthiophene into Fluorescent Electroactive Microfibers in 2D and 3D Cell Cultures. ACS Omega 2022; 7:12624-12636. [PMID: 35474798 PMCID: PMC9026133 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c06677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Protein-based microfibers are biomaterials of paramount importance in materials science, nanotechnology, and medicine. Here we describe the spontaneous in situ formation and secretion of nanostructured protein microfibers in 2D and 3D cell cultures of 3T3 fibroblasts and B104 neuroblastoma cells upon treatment with a micromolar solution of either unmodified terthiophene or terthiophene modified by mono-oxygenation (thiophene → thiophene S-oxide) or dioxygenation (thiophene → thiophene S,S-dioxide) of the inner ring. We demonstrate via metabolic cytotoxicity tests that modification to the S-oxide leads to a severe drop in cell viability. By contrast, unmodified terthiophene and the respective S,S-dioxide cause no harm to the cells and lead to the formation and secretion of fluorescent and electroactive protein-fluorophore coassembled microfibers with a large aspect ratio, a micrometer-sized length and width, and a nanometer-sized thickness, as monitored in real-time by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). With respect to the microfibers formed by unmodified terthiophene, those formed by the S,S-dioxide display markedly red-shifted fluorescence and an increased n-type character of the material, as shown by macroscopic Kelvin probe in agreement with cyclovoltammetry data. Electrophoretic analyses and Q-TOF mass spectrometry of the isolated microfibers indicate that in all cases the prevalent proteins present are vimentin and histone H4, thus revealing the capability of these fluorophores to selectively coassemble with these proteins. Finally, DFT calculations help to illuminate the fluorophore-fluorophore intermolecular interactions contributing to the formation of the microfibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Elena Palamà
- Nanotechnology Institute (CNR-NANOTEC) and Department of
Mathematics and Physics, University of Salento, Monteroni Street, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Gabriele Maiorano
- Nanotechnology Institute (CNR-NANOTEC) and Department of
Mathematics and Physics, University of Salento, Monteroni Street, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Francesca Di Maria
- CNR-ISOF
and Mediteknology srl Area Ricerca CNR, Piero Gobetti Street 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Mattia Zangoli
- CNR-ISOF
and Mediteknology srl Area Ricerca CNR, Piero Gobetti Street 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Andrea Candini
- CNR-ISOF
and Mediteknology srl Area Ricerca CNR, Piero Gobetti Street 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Alberto Zanelli
- CNR-ISOF
and Mediteknology srl Area Ricerca CNR, Piero Gobetti Street 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefania D’Amone
- Nanotechnology Institute (CNR-NANOTEC) and Department of
Mathematics and Physics, University of Salento, Monteroni Street, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Eduardo Fabiano
- Institute
for Microelectronics and Microsystems (CNR-IMM), Monteroni Street, 73100 Lecce, Italy
- Center
for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, UNILE
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Barsanti Street, 73010 Arnesano, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Gigli
- Nanotechnology Institute (CNR-NANOTEC) and Department of
Mathematics and Physics, University of Salento, Monteroni Street, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Giovanna Barbarella
- CNR-ISOF
and Mediteknology srl Area Ricerca CNR, Piero Gobetti Street 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
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44
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De Bellis P, Maggiolino A, Albano C, De Palo P, Blando F. Ensiling Grape Pomace With and Without Addition of a Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Strain: Effect on Polyphenols and Microbiological Characteristics, in vitro Nutrient Apparent Digestibility, and Gas Emission. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:808293. [PMID: 35280128 PMCID: PMC8907520 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.808293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated the effects of different grape pomace storage techniques on the effectiveness as feed on in vitro ruminant digestion efficiency. Grape pomace from an autochthonous red grape variety (cv Nero di Troia) was used as fresh (GP) or ensiled, both without additives (SIL) and with the addition of a bacterial strain, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 5BG (SIL+). All the different storage treatments were subject to chemical and microbiological evaluation, as well as in vitro digestibility, and gas production. Microbiological data revealed the good quality of grape pomace and silages due to the lactic acid bacteria populations and low presence, or absence, of undesirable microorganisms. The addition of L. plantarum 5BG influenced the chemical characteristics of the silage (SIL+). Ensiling technique deeply changed the polyphenolic composition, reducing anthocyanins, flavonols, and flavanols (condensed tannins precursors), particularly when L. plantarum 5BG was added. Antioxidant capacity was reduced by ensiling, in correlation with the polyphenolic content decrease. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) value of SIL+ was the lowest (P < 0.01) and its total phenol content was lower than SIL (P < 0.01). No statistical differences were observed between GP, SIL, and SIL+ on the antioxidant capacity by TEAC assay (P > 0.05). Ensiling did not affect the grape pomace nutrient profile, except for the reduction in NFC content. Apparent in vitro digestibility showed how ensiling increased dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), and non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC) disappearance (P < 0.01), particularly with the L. plantarum 5BG inoculation. Moreover, SIL+ showed the lowest propionic acid (P < 0.05) and the highest methane (P < 0.01), butyric acid (P < 0.01), and nitrogen (P < 0.05) in vitro production. Ensiling GP resulted in a better in vitro digestibility, particularly if L. plantarum 5BG strain is added, probably due to the reduction of flavanols and their lower microbial activity inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Palmira De Bellis
- Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy
| | - Aristide Maggiolino
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy
- *Correspondence: Aristide Maggiolino
| | - Clara Albano
- Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council (CNR), Lecce, Italy
| | - Pasquale De Palo
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Federica Blando
- Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council (CNR), Lecce, Italy
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45
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Blanco E, Curci PL, Manconi A, Sarli A, Zuluaga DL, Sonnante G. R2R3-MYBs in Durum Wheat: Genome-Wide Identification, Poaceae-Specific Clusters, Expression, and Regulatory Dynamics Under Abiotic Stresses. Front Plant Sci 2022; 13:896945. [PMID: 35795353 PMCID: PMC9252425 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.896945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
MYB transcription factors (TFs) represent one of the biggest TF families in plants, being involved in various specific plant processes, such as responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. The implication of MYB TFs in the tolerance mechanisms to abiotic stress is particularly interesting for crop breeding, since environmental conditions can negatively affect growth and productivity. Wheat is a worldwide-cultivated cereal, and is a major source of plant-based proteins in human food. In particular, durum wheat plays an important role in global food security improvement, since its adaptation to hot and dry conditions constitutes the base for the success of wheat breeding programs in future. In the present study, a genome-wide identification of R2R3-MYB TFs in durum wheat was performed. MYB profile search and phylogenetic analyses based on homology with Arabidopsis and rice MYB TFs led to the identification of 233 R2R3-TdMYB (Triticum durum MYB). Three Poaceae-specific MYB clusters were detected, one of which had never been described before. The expression of eight selected genes under different abiotic stress conditions, revealed that most of them responded especially to salt and drought stress. Finally, gene regulatory network analyses led to the identification of 41 gene targets for three TdR2R3-MYBs that represent novel candidates for functional analyses. This study provides a detailed description of durum wheat R2R3-MYB genes and contributes to a deeper understanding of the molecular response of durum wheat to unfavorable climate conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuela Blanco
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy
- *Correspondence: Emanuela Blanco,
| | - Pasquale Luca Curci
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy
- Pasquale Luca Curci,
| | - Andrea Manconi
- Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Milan, Italy
| | - Adele Sarli
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy
| | - Diana Lucia Zuluaga
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy
| | - Gabriella Sonnante
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy
- Gabriella Sonnante,
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46
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Abstract
Microscopic lasers represent a promising tool for the development of cutting-edge photonic devices thanks to their ability to enhance light-matter interaction at the microscale. In this work, we realize liquid microlasers with tunable emission by exploiting the self-formation of three-dimensional liquid droplets into a polymeric matrix driven by viscoelastic dewetting. We design a flexible device to be used as a smart photonic label which is detachable and reusable on various types of substrates such as paper or fabric. The innovative lasing emission mechanism proposed here is based on whispering gallery mode emission coupled to random lasing, the latter prompted by the inclusion of dielectric compounds into the active gain medium. The wide possibility of modulating the emission wavelength of the microlasers by acting on different parameters, such as the cavity size, type and volume fraction of the dielectrics, and gain medium, offers a multitude of spectroscopic encoding schemes for the realization of photonic barcodes and labels to be employed in anticounterfeiting applications and multiplexed bioassays.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Capocefalo
- CNR
ISC, Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi, c/o Università Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - E. Quintiero
- CNR
NANOTEC, Istituto di Nanotecnologia, c/o Università Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - C. Conti
- CNR
ISC, Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi, c/o Università Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - N. Ghofraniha
- CNR
ISC, Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi, c/o Università Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - I. Viola
- CNR
NANOTEC, Istituto di Nanotecnologia, c/o Università Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
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47
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Leonardi C, Toscano V, Genovese C, Mosselmans JFW, Ngwenya BT, Raccuia SA. Evaluation of cadmium and arsenic effects on wild and cultivated cardoon genotypes selected for metal phytoremediation and bioenergy purposes. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021; 28:55102-55115. [PMID: 34128170 PMCID: PMC8494702 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-14705-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Cynara cardunculus L. is a multipurpose crop, characterized by high production of biomass suitable for energy purposes and green chemistry. Taking advantage of its already demonstrated ability to grow in polluted environments that characterize many world marginal lands, the aim of this work was to investigate the response of different cardoon genotypes to exposure to cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) pollution, in order to use this crop for rehabilitation of contaminated sites and its biomass for energy production. In this study, seeds of two wild cardoon accessions harvested in rural and industrial Sicilian areas and of a selected line of domestic cardoon were used, and the grown plants were spiked with As and Cd, alone or in combination, at two different concentrations (500 and 2000 μM) and monitored for 45 days. The growth parameters showed that all the plants survived until the end of experiment, with growth stimulation in the presence of low concentrations of As and Cd, relative to metal-free controls. Biomass production was mostly allocated in the roots in As treatment and in the shoots in Cd treatment. Cd EXAFS analysis showed that tolerance to high concentrations of both metals was likely linked to complexation of Cd with oxygen-containing ligands, possibly organic acids, in both root and leaf biomass with differences in behaviour among genotypes. Under As+Cd contamination, the ability of the plants to translocate As to aboveground system increased also showing that, for both metal(loid)s, there were significant differences between genotypes studied. Moreover, the results showed that Cynara cardunculus var. sylvestris collected in an industrial area is the genotype that, among those studied, had the best phytoextraction capability for each metal(loid).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Leonardi
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, via Androne, 81, 95124, Catania, Italy.
- National Research Council, Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems in the Mediterranean, Via Empedocle, 58, 95128, Catania, Italy.
| | - Valeria Toscano
- National Research Council, Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems in the Mediterranean, Via Empedocle, 58, 95128, Catania, Italy
| | - Claudia Genovese
- National Research Council, Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems in the Mediterranean, Via Empedocle, 58, 95128, Catania, Italy
| | | | | | - Salvatore Antonino Raccuia
- National Research Council, Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems in the Mediterranean, Via Empedocle, 58, 95128, Catania, Italy
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48
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Operamolla A, Mazzuca C, Capodieci L, Di Benedetto F, Severini L, Titubante M, Martinelli A, Castelvetro V, Micheli L. Toward a Reversible Consolidation of Paper Materials Using Cellulose Nanocrystals. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:44972-44982. [PMID: 34519207 PMCID: PMC8461603 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c15330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
An innovative consolidation strategy for degraded paper is presented based on the reversible application of cellulose nanocrystals as sustainable fillers to reinforce mechanical properties and resistance to further degradation. The compatibility and efficacy of the proposed consolidation treatment are assessed first on pure cellulose paper, used as a model, by reliable techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, tensile tests, X-ray powder diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, evidencing the influence of the surface functionalization of nanocellulose on the consolidation and protection effects. Then, the consolidation technique is applied to real aged paper samples from Breviarium romanum ad usum Fratrum Minorum S.P. (1738), demonstrating the promising potential of the suggested approach. Amperometric measurements, carried out with a smart electrochemical tool developed in our laboratory, demonstrate the reversibility of the proposed treatment by removal of the nanocrystalline cellulose from the paper surface with a suitable cleaning hydrogel. This completely new feature of the consolidation treatment proposed here satisfies a pivotal requisite in cultural heritage conservation because the methodological requirement for the ″reversibility″ of any conservation measure is a fundamental goal for restorers. A paper artifact, in fact, is subject to a number of natural and man-made hazards, inducing continuous degradation. With time, monitoring and consolidation actions need to be often performed to ensure conservation, and this tends to modify the status quo and compromise the artifact integrity. Removable treatments can potentially avoid erosion of the artifact integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Operamolla
- Dipartimento
di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università
di Pisa, via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudia Mazzuca
- Dipartimento
di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università
degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, I-00133 Rome, Italy
- Unità
CSGI (Consorzio Interuniversitario per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a grande
Interfase) di Roma, Via
della Ricerca Scientifica, I-00173 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Capodieci
- Laboratory
for Functional Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Applications
(SSPT-PROMAS-MATAS), ENEA − Italian National Agency for New
Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, S.S. 7 Appia km 706, I-72100 Brindisi, Italy
| | - Francesca Di Benedetto
- Laboratory
for Functional Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Applications
(SSPT-PROMAS-MATAS), ENEA − Italian National Agency for New
Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, S.S. 7 Appia km 706, I-72100 Brindisi, Italy
| | - Leonardo Severini
- Dipartimento
di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università
degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, I-00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Mattia Titubante
- Dipartimento
di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università
degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, I-00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Martinelli
- Dipartimento
di Chimica, Università degli Studi
di Roma ″Sapienza″, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Valter Castelvetro
- Dipartimento
di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università
di Pisa, via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, I-56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Laura Micheli
- Dipartimento
di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università
degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, I-00133 Rome, Italy
- Unità
CSGI (Consorzio Interuniversitario per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a grande
Interfase) di Roma, Via
della Ricerca Scientifica, I-00173 Rome, Italy
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49
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Abstract
The global epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and steatohepatitis (NASH) and the high prevalence among individuals with type 2 diabetes has attracted the attention of clinicians specialising in liver disorders. Many drugs are in the pipeline for the treatment of NAFLD/NASH, and several glucose-lowering drugs are now being tested specifically for the treatment of liver disease. Among these are nuclear hormone receptor agonists (e.g. peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists, farnesoid X receptor agonists and liver X receptor agonists), fibroblast growth factor-19 and -21, single, dual or triple incretins, sodium-glucose cotransporter inhibitors, drugs that modulate lipid or other metabolic pathways (e.g. inhibitors of fatty acid synthase, diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1, acetyl-CoA carboxylase and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type-1) or drugs that target the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier. We have reviewed the metabolic effects of these drugs in relation to improvement of diabetic hyperglycaemia and fatty liver disease, as well as peripheral metabolism and insulin resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amalia Gastaldelli
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council-CNR, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Norbert Stefan
- Department of Internal Medicine IV, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- Institute of Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich, Tübingen, Germany.
- German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany.
| | - Hans-Ulrich Häring
- Department of Internal Medicine IV, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Institute of Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich, Tübingen, Germany
- German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany
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50
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Pasquini D, Gori A, Ferrini F, Brunetti C. An Improvement of SPME-Based Sampling Technique to Collect Volatile Organic Compounds from Quercus ilex at the Environmental Level. Metabolites 2021; 11:388. [PMID: 34198607 PMCID: PMC8232123 DOI: 10.3390/metabo11060388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) include many chemical compounds emitted by plants into the atmosphere. These compounds have a great effect on biosphere-atmosphere interactions and may affect the concentration of atmospheric pollutants, with further consequences on human health and forest ecosystems. Novel methods to measure and determine BVOCs in the atmosphere are of compelling importance considering the ongoing climate changes. In this study, we developed a fast and easy-to-handle analytical methodology to sample these compounds in field experiments using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers at the atmospheric level. An improvement of BVOCs adsorption from SPME fibers was obtained by coupling the fibers with fans to create a dynamic sampling system. This innovative technique was tested sampling Q. ilex BVOCs in field conditions in comparison with the conventional static SPME sampling technique. The results showed a great potential of this dynamic sampling system to collect BVOCs at the atmosphere level, improving the efficiency and sensitivity of SPME fibers. Indeed, our novel device was able to reduce the sampling time, increase the amount of BVOCs collected through the fibers and add information regarding the emissions of these compounds at the environmental level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalila Pasquini
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; (A.G.); (F.F.); (C.B.)
- National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Antonella Gori
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; (A.G.); (F.F.); (C.B.)
- National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Francesco Ferrini
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; (A.G.); (F.F.); (C.B.)
- National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- VALUE Laboratory on Green, Health & Wellbeing, University of Florence and the Italian Horticultural Society, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Cecilia Brunetti
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; (A.G.); (F.F.); (C.B.)
- National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
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