Macroarea : Inorganic chemistry, nanochemistry

Team: Piersandro Pallavcini, Angelo Taglietti, Giacomo Dacarro, Yuri Antonio Diaz Fernandez

ERC Sector: PE5_3 Surface modification, PE5_10 Nanomaterials : nanoparticles, nanotubes, PE5_14 Coordination chemistry, PE5_15 Colloid chemistry

The group’s research activity is focused on synthesis, characterization and functionalization of inorganic nanomaterials like spherical and anisotropic gold and silver nanoparticles, CuS nanoparticles, Prussian Blue nanocubes and coordination compounds. In parallel, the group is active on research topics like molecules and non-nanostructured materials for technological applications in food and health technology. Prepared nanomaterials are studied as colloids, as Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAM) grafted on bulk materials and as polymeric nanocomposites. The main applications of the research are:

  • Antibacterial and antibiofilm materials: development of new antibacterial and antibiofilm materials based on functionalized surfaces grafted with inorganic nanomaterials and coordination compounds. Surfaces can exert an intrinsic effect due to the release of metal ions or a switchable photothermal effect. Inorganic nanomaterials containing polymer films and hydrogels are also studied for the same purpose.
  • Anticounterfeit inks based on inorganic nanomaterials: preparation of inks for inkjet printing containing photothermal nanoparticles. Reading the different photothermal signals of the nanoparticles allows to have information hidden to an optical reading and offers a novel approach for encryption and anti-counterfeiting.
  • SERS sensors based on metal nanoparticles: anisotropic silver and gold nanoparticles are employed for the fabrication of SERS chips for the detection of emerging pollutants and SERS tags for cellular imaging. With a tailored functionalization the nanoobjects can be employed in several analysis and sensor applications, also using microscopy techniques
  • Inorganic nanoparticles and their coating for drug delivery (RNA in particular) with in depth studies of the intrinsic toxicity of the vectors and their interaction with cells.
  • Inorganic polymeric materials based on sol-gel synthesis for the detection and sequestration of nanoparticles from the environment.
  • Compostable and active food packaging: in agreement with EU guidelines that set as a goal the elimination of non-biodegradable plastics and from non-renewable sources, new polymeric materials for food packaging are studied, based on vegetable sources and/or based on recycling food waste. These films can be doped with vegetable origin compounds, organic or inorganic, with antimicrobial and antimould properties, to improve the shelf life of food products. In agreement with EFSA (European Food Safety Agency) regulations the use of nanomaterials in these products is forbidden.

prof. Giberto Chirico, prof. Maddalena Collini (Università di Milano Bicocca)
prof. Patricia Schilardi (Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina)
prof. Franck Denat, prof. Nicolas Sok (Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France)
dr. Claudia Tortiglione (ISASI-CNR, Pozzuoli)
prof. Luigi Zeni (Università Luigi Vanvitelli, Napoli)
prof. Jouko Peltonen (Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland)
prof. Rasmita Raval (University of Liverpool, UK)
Millbo s.p.a.
prof. Fabio Corsi e dr. Carlo Morasso (Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Pavia)
dr. Andrea Mario Giovannozzi (Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica -INRiM, Torino)

- PRIN (Prot. 2017EKCS35) [2020-2022] SUNSET – SUpramolecular and Nanostructured Systems for the analysis of Emerging pollutants through optical Transduction

I. Sorzabal-Bellido, L. Barbieri, A. Beckett, I. Prior, A. Susarrey-Arce, R. Tiggelaar, J. Fothergill,R. Raval, Y.A. Diaz Fernandez
Effect of Local Topography on Cell Division of Staphylococcus spp.
Nanomaterials (2022), 12(4), 683,
(Read the Abstract)

G. Toci,F. Olgiati, P. Pallavicini,Y. A. Diaz Fernandez, L. De Vita, G .Dacarro, P. Grisoli, A. Taglietti
Gold nanostars embedded in PDMS films: A photothermal material for antibacterial applications
Nanomaterials (2021), 11(12), 3252,
(Read the Abstract)

M. Borzenkov, G. Chirico, P. Pallavicini, P. Sperandeo, A. Polissi, G. Dacarro, L. Doveri, M. Collini, L. Sironi, M. Bouzin, L. D’Alfonso
Nanocomposite sprayed films with photo-thermal properties for remote bacteria eradication
Nanomaterials (2020), 10(4), 786,
(Read the Abstract)

F. Talamona, M. Truffi, A. Caldarone, A. Ricciardi, F. Corsi, G.Pellegrini, C. Morasso. A. Taglietti
Stable and scalable SERS tags conjugated with neutravidin for the detection of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) in primary fibroblasts
Nanotechnology (2020) 32(29), 295703
(Read the Abstract)

A. D’Agostino, A.M. Giovannozzi, L. Mandrile, A. Sacco, A.M. Rossi, A. Taglietti
In situ seed-growth synthesis of silver nanoplates on glass for the detection of food contaminants by surface enhanced Raman scattering
Talanta (2020) 216, 120936
(Read the Abstract)

Giuseppe Chirico, Giacomo Dacarro, Colm O’Regan, Jouko Peltonen, Jawad Sarfraz, Angelo Taglietti, Mykola Borzenkov, and Piersandro Pallavicini Photothermally Responsive Inks for Inkjet-Printing Secure Information
Part. Part. Syst. Charact. 2018, 1800095

P. Pallavicini, C. R. Arciola, F. Bertoglio, S. Curtosi, G. Dacarro, A. D’Agostino, F. Ferrari, D. Merli, C. Milanese, S. Rossi, A. Taglietti, M. Tenci, and L. Visai
Silver nanoparticles synthesized and coated with pectin: An ideal compromise for anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm action combined with wound-healing properties
J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 2017, 498, 271-281