Organic Semiconductor-Based Devices and Nanostructures (30th October 2008)
Prof. Franco Cacialli
Metal Oxide Quantum Rods & Dots Structures & Devices: Design, & Electronic Structure (31st October 2008)
Dr. Lionel Vayssieres
Applications of Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Circular Dichroism and SAXS in the conformational studies of lectins (18th July 2008)
Prof. Patricia Targon Campana
Prof. Stefano Marini
Contact details
Professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry,
Faculty of Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome
Office: Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences
Tel: +39 06 72596354
Research Activity
1) Laboratory development and managing.
2) Molecular biology techniques
3) Microbiology techniques.
4) Immunobiosensors for analisys of enviromental pollution and food contaminants.
5) Cellular immunology
6) Immunochemistry
7) Cell culture and monoclonal antibody production
8) Drug design and HTS
9) Activity evaluation of new drugs against parasites.
Recent Publications
[1]. Ciaccio C, Coletta A, De Sanctis G, Marini S., Coletta M. (2008) Cooperativity and allostery in haemoglobin function. IUBMB Life. Feb;60(2):112-23
[2]. Gemma S, Campiani G, Butini S, Kukreja G, Coccone SS, Joshi BP, Persico M, Nacci V, Fiorini I, Novellino E, Fattorusso E, Taglialatela-Scafati O, Savini L, Taramelli D, Basilico N, Parapini S, Morace G, Yardley V, Croft S, Coletta M, Marini S, Fattorusso C. (2008) Clotrimazole scaffold as an innovative pharmacophore towards potent antimalarial agents: design, synthesis, and biological and structure-activity relationship studies. J Med Chem. 2008 Mar 13;51(5):1278-94. Epub 2008 Feb 16.
[3]. Monaco S, Gioia M, Rodriguez J, Fasciglione GF, Di Pierro D, Lupidi G, Krippahl L, Marini S, Coletta M. (2007) Modulation of the proteolytic activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (gelatinase A) on fibrinogen. Biochem J. Mar 15;402(3):503-13.
[4]. Saladino R, Fiani C, Crestini C, Argyropoulos DS, Marini S, Coletta M. (2007) An efficient and stereoselective dearylation of asarinin and sesamin tetrahydrofurofuran lignans to acuminatolide by methyltrioxorhenium/H(2)O(2) and UHP systems. J Nat Prod. Jan;70(1):39-42.
[5]. Gioia M, Monaco S, Fasciglione GF, Coletti A, Modesti A, Marini S, Coletta M. (2007) Characterization of the Mechanisms by which Gelatinase A, Neutrophil Collagenase, and Membrane-Type Metalloproteinase MMP-14 Recognize Collagen I and Enzymatically Process the Two alpha-Chains. J Mol Biol. May 11;368(4):1101-1113. Epub 2007 Mar 2.
Prof. Mauro Maccarrone
Contact details
Full Professor in Biochemistry at the School of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Teramo, Italy.
Visiting Professor at the School of Medicine,
University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Italy.
Tel.: 0861266875
Tel.: 0672596388
Research Activity
Published 207 full papers including 32 review articles (total I.F. ≈ 800), and 43 invited papers in international refereed journals, besides 41 mini-papers and 128 Congress communications on the following main topics:
1. Structure and function of enzymes; 2. Membranes and lipid messengers in programmed cell death (apoptosis) and in neurodegenerative processes; 3. Endocannabinoids; 4. Ultraweak luminescence in biomedicine; 5. Gravitational effects on enzyme reactions.
Recent Publications
[1] Dainese E, Oddi S, Maccarrone M.
Lipid-mediated dimerization of beta(2)-adrenergic receptor reveals important clues for cannabinoid receptors.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2008 May 26.
[2] Battista N, Pasquariello N, Di Tommaso M, Maccarrone M.
Interplay between endocannabinoids, steroids and cytokines in the control of human reproduction.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2008 May;20 Suppl 1:82-9.
[3] Di Marzo V, Maccarrone M.
FAAH and anandamide: is 2-AG really the odd one out?
Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2008 May;29(5):229-233.
[4] Cupini LM, Costa C, Sarchielli P, Bari M, Battista N, Eusebi P, Calabresi P, Maccarrone M.
Degradation of endocannabinoids in chronic migraine and medication overuse headache.
Neurobiol Dis. 2008 May;30(2):186-9.
[5] Battista N, Rapino C, Di Tommaso M, Bari M, Pasquariello N, Maccarrone M.
Regulation of male fertility by the endocannabinoid system.
Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2008 Apr 16;286(1-2 Suppl 1):S17-23.
[6] Kurtuncu M, Battista N, Uz T, D’Agostino A, Dimitrijevic N, Pasquariello N, Manev R, Maccarrone M, Manev H.
Effects of cocaine in 5-lipoxygenase-deficient mice.
J Neural Transm. 2008;115(3):389-95.
Joint Laboratory Tor Vergata University – NAST Centre- Tokyo University
Prof. Laura Fiorucci
Contact details
Professor of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine
University of Rome Tor Vergata
Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome
Office: Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences
Tel: +39 06 72596478
Research Activity
Scientific topics: A. Proteases and inhibitors: mast cell proteases, structural and functional studies, interaction with endogenous inhibitors, search for new inhibitors;. B. Protein folding/unfolding of cytochrome c as probed by limited proteolysis, its interaction with lipids and search for the structural requirements for its pro-apoptotic activity.
Recent Publications
[1] Sinibaldi F, Fiorucci L, Patriarca A, Lauceri R, Ferri T, Coletta M, Santucci R. Insights into Cytochrome c-Cardiolipin Interaction. Role Played by Ionic Strength (2008) Biochemistry. [Epub ahead of print]
[2] Santucci R., Sinibaldi F., Fiorucci L. Protein Folding, Unfolding and Misfolding Role Played by Intermediate States Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry, 2008, 8, 000-000 1
[3]Agueci F., Polticelli F., Sinibaldi F., Piro M.C., Santucci R., Fiorucci L. (2007) Probing the effect of mutations on cytochrome c stability Protein and Peptide Letters, 14, 335-339 ISSN 0929-8665
[4]Sinibaldi F., Mei G., Ponticelli F., Piro M.C., Howes, B.D., Smulevich G., Santucci R., Ascoli F., Fiorucci L. (2005) ATP specifically driver refolding of non native conformations of cytochrome c Protein Science 14: 1049-1058 ISSN 0961-8368
Open Position 3
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Open Position 2
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Publications
PHOTONIC DEVICES BASED ON PATTERNING BY TWO PHOTON INDUCED POLYMERIZATION TECHNIQUE Read more »
NanoSEA 2008 (7th-10th July 2008)
Second International Conference on Nanostructures SElf-Assembly
Connect Research 2008 (8th-9th May 2008)
Final programme of the Conference CONNECT RESEARCH 2008
ISIS- New neutron facility for fast neutron irradiation tests of electronics
Single Event Effect (SEE) Read more »
NAST Centre & Toyota
Nast Centre and Toyota Read more »
Dr Riccardo Polini
Contact details
Office: Department of Chemical Science and Technology
Tel: +39 06 72594414
Fax: +39 06 72594328
Research Activity
RP is Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
RP research activity is mainly focused on the following topics:
• Nucleation and growth processes of polycrystalline and nanocrystalline diamond films deposited onto technologically important substrates by both Hot Filament Chemical Vapour Deposition (HFCVD) and Microwave Plasma Assisted CVD (MW-PACVD);
• Surface modification of cemented carbides for improved adhesion of diamond coatings;
• Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of functional properties of micro- and nano-structured advanced electroceramics for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs);
• Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) of ceramic films;
• Chemical Vapour Infiltration (CVI) of porous Silicon layers with nanostructured sp²-carbon.
• RP has been the leader of several R&D projects funded by Italian SMEs concerning nucleation, growth, adhesion, wear resistance and life of CVD diamond films onto cemented carbide base tools (total funding > 350,000 €).
Active Research Collaborations
• Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, PORTUGAL;
• Laboratoire Capteurs Diamant (CEA-LIST-DETECS – SSTM), Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, Saclay, FRANCE;
• Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films (IST), Braunschweig, GERMANY.
Professional Recognitions
• 2008 – Invited Speaker, 5th International Conference on Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition (HWCVD-5), Cambridge, MA (USA).
• 2008 – Invited Speaker, 2nd International Conference on Advanced NanoMaterials (ANM 2008), Aveiro, Portugal.
• 2007 – “Materials Science and Nanotechnology for Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs)” (invited seminar), Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Portugal.
• 2007 – Organizer and Chair of the “Nanoporous Semiconductor” Symposium, 2nd International Conference on Surfaces, Coatings and Nanostructured Materials (nanoSMat 2007), Algarve, Portugal.
• 2007 – member of the International Organizing Committee of the 2nd International Conference on Surfaces, Coatings and Nanostructured Materials (nanoSMat 2007), Algarve, Portugal.
• 2006 – Visiting Research Scientist at the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Portugal.
• 2006 – “Interlayers for diamond film deposition on hostile substrates” (invited seminar), Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Portugal.
• 2006 – “Diamond CVD: nucleation and early growth stages” (invited seminar), Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique (CEA), Saclay, France
• 2005 – Invited Speaker, International Conference on Surfaces, Coatings and Nanostructured Materials (nanoSMat2005), Aveiro, Portugal.
• 2005 – member of the International Scientific Committee of the International Conference on Surfaces, Coatings and Nanostructured Materials (nanoSMat2005), Aveiro, Portugal.
• 2004 – Visiting Research Scientist at the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Portugal.
• 2001 – Visiting Researcher at the Dept. of Chemistry and Materials, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.
Scientific Publications
RP is the author of more than 70 papers published in peer-reviewed international scientific journals, 2 patents and more than 30 papers in Conference Proceedings. Click here to read the complete list of RP publications.
Other Activities
RP is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering (IJSurfSE).
Teaching Activities
Chemistry of Materials, Faculty of Science;Processing Structure and Properties of Sintered Materials, Faculty of Science.Member of the Teaching Supervising Committee of the Ph.D. Course in Materials for Health, Environment and Energy.
Recent Publications (selected)
[1] R. Polini and M. Barletta: “On the use of CrN/Cr and CrN interlayers in hot filament chemical vapour deposition (HF-CVD) of diamond films onto WC-Co substrates”, Diamond Relat. Mater., 17 (2008) 325-335.
[2] R. Polini, A. Falsetti, E. Traversa, O. Schäf, P. Knauth, “Sol-gel synthesis, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and electrical properties of Co-doped (La,Sr)(Ga,Mg)O3-δ perovskites”, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 27 (2007) 4291-4296.
[3] J. C. Arnault, L. Intiso, S. Saada, S. Delclos, P. Bergonzo, R. Polini, “Effect of 3C-SiC(100) initial surface stoichiometry on bias enhanced diamond nucleation”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90 (2007) 044101.
[4] G. Mattei, V. Valentini, R. Polini, “Chemical Vapour Infiltration of nano-structured carbon in Porous Silicon”, Phys. Stat. Sol. (c), 4 (2007) 2049-2053.
[5] R. Polini, F. Pighetti Mantini, M. Barletta, R. Valle, F. Casadei, “Hot Filament Chemical Vapour Deposition and wear resistance of diamond films on WC-Co substrates coated by PVD-arc deposition technique”, Diamond Relat. Mater., 15 (2006) 1284-1291.
[6] G. Cabral, P. Reis, R. Polini, E. Titus, N. Ali, J.P. Davim, J. Grácio, “Cutting performance of time-modulated chemical vapour deposited diamond coated tool inserts during machining graphite”, Diamond Relat. Mater., 15 (2006) 1753-1758.
[7] R. Polini, “Chemically vapour deposited diamond coatings on cemented tungsten carbides: substrates pretreatments, adhesion and cutting performance”, Thin Solid Films, 515 (2006) 4-13.
[8] S. Licoccia, R. Polini, C. D’ Ottavi, F. Serraino Fiory, M. L. Di Vona, E. Traversa, “A simple and versatile method for the synthesis of functional nanocrystalline oxides”, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 5 (2005) 592-595.
[9] R. Polini, A. Falsetti, E. Traversa, “Sol-gel synthesis and characterization of Co-doped LSGM perovskites”, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 25 (2005) 2593-2598.
[10] J. C. Arnault, G. Schull, R. Polini, M. Mermoux, J. Faerber, “Effects of bias enhanced nucleation hot-filament chemical-vapor deposition parameters on diamond nucleation on iridium”, J. Appl. Phys., 98 (2005) 033521 1-9.
Open Positions 1
POSITION ASSIGNED
Titles of the Research projects
I-UK Initiative in Nanotechnology (14th January 2008)
Workshop on Nanotechnology at VILLA WOLKONSKY Read more »
Pulsed Laser Ablation and Pulsed Laser Depostion
The technique is based on a small turbomolecular pumped vacuum vessel with access for the laser beam (1064, 532, 355 and 266 nm from a Q-switched Quantel Brilliant b laser), an optical port for stereomicroscopic visual inspection of the ablation sample, an electrostatic deflection system to discriminate between ablated neutrals and ions, a manually microtranslated (XYZ) mask holder, and a liquid nitrogen cooled cold finger cryostat. The available setup is reported in Figure 1.
Figure 1 – The Pulsed Laser Depostion (PLD) equipment has the possibility to micrometrically translate the sample or the shadow mask in order to achieve micropatterned depositions, and to ablate biological samples from frozen solutions. Other micro or nanopatterned deposits can be obtained by e-beam lithography (A. Gerardino, CNR-IFN).
The possibility to steer ionized atoms and molecules out of the ablated neutral beam and address ions on a surface along a trajectory at right angle with respect to the ablation direction allows accomplishment of extremely uniform growth at very low growth rates. This has produced recently very uniform and thin metal layers. Figure 2 reports a lithographically fabricated pattern of platinum squares as imaged by SEM (left) and by AFM (right)
Figure 2. SEM image on the left, AFM detail on the right
The Pt layers we obtain by PLD are extremely thin and uniform. In this AFM scan we have an atomically uniform, 9 Angstrom thick layer, while Figure 3 reports a detail of one such square showing the step height and thickness.
The associated histogram reports the height distributions of the topographic image for both the uncoated native silicon oxide on silicon and for the platinum coated part.
Figure 3
We can see that the step height is 9 Angstrom, while the distribution width of the substrate and of the deposition is identical, showing that the Pt coat does not contribute to the substrate roughness. The same apparatus is used for micropatterned metal deposition (Figure 4) and “soft” biomolecule deposition (Figure 5) using microtranslated shadow masks. Furthermore, visual microscopic control of the laser spot on the target allows quick and easy fabrication of micrometric shadow masks (Figure 6). Platinum micropatterned PLDs on Si as imaged by SEM on the left. On the right, selectively coloured luminescence from chromophore tagged antigens reacting with Pulsed Laser Depositions of their specific antibodies (confocal microscopy). Pulsed Nd-YAG laser drilled shadow mask on 100 micron thick stainless steel blade.
Figure 4 Figure 5 
Figure 6