Ricerc@Sapienza

The resurgence of interest on natural substances and their progressive affirmation in the market open doors for novel marketed products, with intrinsic original approaches. Evident examples are in the food supplements sector as well as in mix of synthetic drugs and natural substances, as novel drugs. A decisive key role will be played by technology and the capacity of throw novel opportunities out of the normal landscape. As in other fields, most of the future technology developments rely on nanotechnology.

Singly aquated and diaquated species are key intermediates in the mechanism responsible for the antitumor
activity of cisplatin. Aqua complexes [PtX(NH3)2(H2O)]+ (X ¼ Cl, OH), obtained in water by hydrolysis of
cisplatin and of the inactive isomer transplatin, are transferred into the gas-phase by electrospray
ionization. The so-formed ions, cis- and trans-[PtX(NH3)2(H2O)]+, have been allowed to react with
selected ligands, representing platination targets in the biological environment. The reaction kinetics

The paper describes the development of an enrichment method for the analysis of the endogenous phosphopeptides in saliva. The method was based on magnetic solid phase extraction by a magnetic graphitized carbon black-TiO2 composite material and was developed considering different saliva pre-treatments, namely C18 solid phase extraction for purification, direct dilution in loading buffer or acetonitrile precipitation. The method was based on a shotgun proteomics workflow and the enriched peptide mixture was analysed by nanoHPLC and high resolution tandem mass spectrometry.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most largely produced chemical in the world; it is used to make plastics and epoxy resins. The endocrine disruptor potential of BPA is well known, but recent researches suggest a relationship between chronic exposure to BPA, genotoxic activity and epigenetic modifications.

Site-selective C-H functionalization of aliphatic alkyl chains is a longstanding challenge in oxidation catalysis, given the comparable relative reactivity of the different methylenes. A supramolecular, bioinspired approach is described to address this challenge. A Mn complex able to catalyze C(sp 3 )-H hydroxylation with H 2 O 2 is equipped with 18-benzocrown-6 ether receptors that bind ammonium substrates via hydrogen bonding.

In this study we have explored, by means of ab initio molecular dynamics, a subset of three different water/cho+–phe? mixtures. We present both structural and dynamical information of these mixtures as revealed by accurate ab initio computations of the forces acting on the atoms. We highlight the presence of a strong hydrogen bond network between the anions, and the persistence of such interaction even at very high water concentration. Furthermore, we show that the water molecules favour the establishment of hydrogen bond contacts with IL ions, up to 1?:?1.5 IL/water molar ratio.

Zoonoses originating from wildlife represent a significant threat to global health, security and economic growth, and combatting their emergence is a public health priority. However, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying their emergence remains rudimentary. Here we update a global database of emerging infectious disease (EID) events, create a novel measure of reporting effort, and fit boosted regression tree models to analyze the demographic, environmental and biological correlates of their occurrence.

We present a new class of photonic devices in which light is confined in channel waveguides, named LC:PDMS, made of a nematic liquid crystal (LC) core in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) flexible substrates. Monte Carlo techniques have been used to study LC orientation. Homeotropic alignment of LC molecules has been observed without any applied electric field. A theoretical study of LC orientation under an electric field between coplanar gold electrodes deposited by electroplating has been carried.

Pure nickel coatings were directly plated onto steel by using an electroless plating process. The effect of different synthesis strategies on the morphological surface was investigated and the study of growth mechanisms has provided useful information about the surface properties of coating. In this paper, several plating parameters (pH, temperature, solution composition and the ratio between the sample surface area and the volume of solution) were investigated by studying their influence on the plating rate. High thickness (30 μm) coatings were obtained after 2 h of plating at 85 °C.

This work investigates the feasibility of using coffee silverskin (CSS), one of the most abundant coffee waste products, as a reinforcing agent in biopolymer-based composites.