Ricerc@Sapienza

The purpose of this study was to use geometric morphometrics (GMM), a technique suitable for the study of complex anatomical objects, to investigate spinal cord injury (SCI). Eight individuals with SCIs who underwent radiologic evaluation of their lumbar column in a lateral seated position prior to recruitment were included in the study. Each individual was assessed with rasterstereography using the Formetric 4D, and the results were compared with an X-ray of the column analysed through two-dimensional landmark-based GMM.

The cell division cycle 25 phosphatases (CDC25A, B, and C; E.C. 3.1.3.48) are key regulator of the cell cycle in human cells. Their aberrant expression has been associated with the insurgence and development of various types of cancer, and with a poor clinical prognosis. Therefore, CDC25 phosphatases are a valuable target for the development of small molecule inhibitors of therapeutic relevance. Here, we used an integrated strategy mixing organic chemistry with biological investigation and molecular modeling to study novel quinonoid derivatives as CDC25 inhibitors.

The presence of fluorous tails in room-temperature ionic liquids imparts new properties to their already rich spectrum of appealing features. The interest towards this class of compounds that are of ionic nature with melting point less than 25 °C is accordingly growing; in particular, compounds bearing relatively long fluorous tails have begun to be considered. In this invited presentation, we show recent results arising from the systematic study of structural properties of a series of fluorinated room temperature ionic liquids, with growing fluorous chain length.

The nanostructural organisation of mixtures of the ionic liquid (butylammonium butanoate) and water at several mole fractions of water has been investigated using small and wide angle X-ray scattering (S-WAXS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The presence of a first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) in the pure ionic liquid has been observed, experimentally and theoretically, suggesting the possibility of segregation of domains of different polarity in the system.

The thiadiazole scaffold is an important core moiety in a variety of clinical drug candidates targeting a range of diseases. For example, the 2,4,5-substituted 1,3,4-thiadiazole scaffold is present in a lead compound and at least two clinical candidates targeting the human motor protein Eg5, against neoplastic diseases.