Ricerc@Sapienza

The hippocampus is a vulnerable brain structure susceptible to damage during aging and chronic stress. Repeated exposure to opioids may alter the brain so that it functions normally when the drugs are present, thus, a prolonged withdrawal might lead to homeostatic changes headed for the restoration of the physiological state. Abuse of morphine may lead to Reacting Oxygen Species-induced neurodegeneration and apoptosis. It has been proposed that during morphine withdrawal, stress responses might be responsible, at least in part, for long-term changes of hippocampal plasticity.

4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) is considered to be a strong marker of oxidative stress; the interaction between HNE and cellular proteins leads to the formation of HNE-protein adducts able to alter cellular homeostasis and cause the development of a pathological state. By virtue of its high lipid concentration, oxygen utilization, and the presence of metal ions participating to redox reactions, the brain is highly susceptible to the formation of free radicals and HNE-related compounds. A variety of neuropsychiatric disorders have been associated with elevations of HNE concentration.

Brain fatty acid (FA) metabolism deserves a close attention not only for its energetic aspects but also because FAs and their metabolites/derivatives are able to influence many neural functions, contributing to brain pathologies or representing potential targets for pharmacological and/or nutritional interventions. Glucose is the preferred energy substrate for the brain, whereas the role of FAs is more marginal. In conditions of decreased glucose supply, ketone bodies, mainly formed by FA oxidation, are the alternative main energy source.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a critical component of the outer membrane (OM) of many Gram-negative bacteria. LPS is translocated to the OM by the LPS transport (Lpt) system. In the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the periplasmic Lpt component, LptH, is essential for LPS transport, planktonic and biofilm growth, OM stability and infectivity. LptH has been proposed to oligomerize and form a protein bridge that accommodates LPS during transport.

A study on essential oil fractions of the Western Balkan endemic Sideritis romana L. subsp. purpurea (Tal. ex Benth.) Heywood collected in Montenegro is reported. The 24-h systematic steam distillation extraction procedure was performed. The gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) analysis of the fractions showed ?-elemene and spathulenol as two main constituents, revealing a new chemotype of this plant species.

Steam distillation is known to be the most prevalent method of essential oil extraction. Despite many studies on extraction methods, there is no report about the impact of distillation process duration on the yield and oil quality. A new 24-h steam distillation process for extraction of plant essential oils is presented. For improving the total yield, prolonged and continued isolation was used. A selection of plant species from Lamiaceae and Apiaceae families was subjected to direct steam distillation and essential oils were collected at different times (1, 2, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h).

In this research, we developed a direct-flow surface plasmon resonance (SPR) immunosensor for ampicillin to perform direct, simple, and fast measurements of this important antibiotic. In order to better evaluate the performance, it was compared with a conventional amperometric immunosensor, working with a competitive format with the aim of finding out experimental real advantages and disadvantages of two respective methods.

Voltammetry of microparticles (VMP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques, complemented by SEM-EDX and Raman spectroscopy, were applied to a set of 15 Roman bronze coins and one Tessera from the temple of Magna Mater (Rome, Italy). The archaeological site, dated back be- tween the second half and the end of the 4th century A.D., presented a complicated stratigraphic context.

With the aim of pushing forward the limits of high efficient and ultrafast chiral liquid chromatography, a new Chiral Stationary Phase (CSP) has been prepared by covalently bonding the teicoplanin selector on 2.0 ?m Superficially Porous Particles (SPPs). An already validated bonding protocol, which permits to achieve teicoplanin-based CSPs exhibiting zwitterionic behaviour, has been employed to prepare not only the 2.0 ?m version of the CSP but also two other analogous CSPs based, respectively, on 2.7 ?m SPPs and 1.9 ?m Fully Porous Particles (FPPs).

Capillary methacrylate-based monoliths were prepared for the high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) separation of both small molecules and large biomolecules. An efficient grafting from/to syntheticapproach was adopted introducing a network of activated sites in the inner wall surface using the newsilanization agent (N-trimethoxysilylpropyl)-polyethylenimine.