Ricerc@Sapienza

Nuclear medicine offers several techniques and procedures to image infection, but radiolabelled autologous white blood cells (WBCs) are still the gold standard. These cells are usually labelled with 111In or 99mTc bound to a hydrophobic chelating agent that allows these isotopes to pass through the plasma membrane and enter in the cytoplasm. The most common compound in Europe is HMPAO that efficiently chelates 99mTc. However, up to 20-40% of the complex is released from the cells in the first few hours.

Gab2 is a scaffolding protein, overexpressed in many types of cancers, that plays a key role in the formation of signaling complexes involved in cellular proliferation, migration, and differentiation. The interaction between Gab2 and the C-terminal SH3 domain of the protein Grb2 is crucial for the activation of the proliferation-signaling pathway Ras/Erk, thus representing a potential pharmacological target. In this study, we identified, by virtual screening, seven potential inhibitor molecules that were experimentally tested through kinetic and equilibrium binding experiments.

With a view to characterizing the influence of the electronic structure of the Fe atom on the nature of its bond with dioxygen (O-2) in heme compounds, a study of the UV/Vis action spectra and binding energies of heme-O-2 molecules has been undertaken in the gas phase. The binding reaction of protonated ferrous heme [Fe-II-hemeH](+) with O-2 has been studied in the gas phase by determining the equilibrium of complexed [Fe-II-hemeH(O-2)](+) with uncomplexed protonated heme in an ion trap at controlled temperatures.

Fungal laccases have great potential as biocatalysts oxidizing a variety of aromatic compounds using oxygen as co-substrate. Here, the crystal structure of 7D5 laccase (PDB 6H5Y), developed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and overproduced in Aspergillus oryzae, is compared with that of the wild type produced by basidiomycete PM1 (Coriolopsis sp.), PDB 5ANH. SAXS showed both enzymes form monomers in solution, 7D5 laccase with a more oblate geometric structure due to heavier and more heterogeneous glycosylation.

In this work an experimental and theoretical study on the formation of HSO2 + ion from the SO2 ?++CH4 and SO2 ?++H2O ion–molecule reactions at different temperatures is reported. Tunable synchrotron radiation was used to produce the SO2 ?+ ion in excited ro-vibrational levels of the ionic ground state X2A1 and mass spectrometry was employed to identify the product ions. Calculations in the frame of the density functional theory and variational transition state theory were combined to explore the dynamics of the reactions.

The biological treatment of the aqueous residue produced during poplar wood pyrolysis was investigated. The biological treatment experiments were carried out at two different pH conditions (controlled at 7, uncontrolled) in batch mode at three different temperatures (15 °C, 25 °C and 30 °C) and initial total organic carbon of the water ranging from 800 mg/L to 2800 mg/L. Results show that a substantial removal of organic carbon could be achieved in aerobic conditions after biomass acclimation.

Lead is a highly toxic element and can cause serious illnesses, as a consequence of this, stringent limits have been set for this element, especially regarding drinking water. In this paper, the potential of manganese oxides (MnOx) as adsorbents for the removal of lead (as Pb II) from synthetically contaminated water was investigated. These oxides were recovered from alkaline batteries by a bio-hydrometallurgical process through potassium permanganate (KMnO4) precipitation.

The genusTalaromyceshas gained attention due to its ability to produce pigments with potential industrialapplications in different areas. Prosperous application of fungal pigments has challenges to overcome, like de-veloping a cost-effective bioprocess. Using agroindustrial wastes could provide inexpensive substrates and itcontributes to maximize sustainability. Therefore, this study evaluated the feasibility of using corncob as a low-cost substrate for pigment production byTalaromyces atroroseusGH2. An acid hydrolysis treatment was used torelease sugars from corncob.