122 research outputs found
Riace, o dell’accoglienza. Una esperienza di “ospitalità diffusa” nella Locride
No full textAnalisi urbana. Il saggio descrive un progetto di recupero sociale e urbano legato all’accoglienza dei richiedenti asilo e dei profughi sbarcati sulle coste ioniche. Il contributo è parte dei risultati della ricerca PRIN 2005-2008, “Cambiamenti del paesaggio costiero e sviluppo turistico sostenibile”, coord. naz. Annalisa Calcagno Maniglio, resp. unità di ricerca fiorentina Giorgio Pizziolo
Synthesis and characterization of gold/iron oxide hybrid nanoparticles for multiple biomedical applications
No full textLuminescent graphene quantum dots from oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes
No full textFluorescent nano-graphene quantum dots (GQD) were isolated from oxidized carbon nanotube suspension with the aid of cysteamine. The oxidized GQD were thiol functionalized with cysteamine in presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide as coupling agent. The GQD chemistry and morphology were characterized by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The thiolated graphene quantum dots exhibit an intense luminescence (quantum yield around 10%) in the visible range with an excitation wavelength-dependent fluorescence
Infezioni genitali nelle portatrici di dispositivi intrauterini.
No full textvol. I n.2, Nov - Dic 197
Non-Specific Responsive Nanogels and Plasmonics to Design MathMaterial Sensing Interfaces: The Case of a Solvent Sensor
No full textThe combination of non-specific deformable nanogels and plasmonic optical probes provides an innovative solution for specific sensing using a generalistic recognition layer. Soft polyacrylamide nanogels that lack specific selectivity but are characterized by responsive behavior, i.e., shrinking and swelling dependent on the surrounding environment, were grafted to a gold plasmonic D-shaped plastic optical fiber (POF) probe. The nanogel–POF cyclically challenged with water or alcoholic solutions optically reported the reversible solvent-to-phase transitions of the nanomaterial, embodying a primary optical switch. Additionally, the non-specific nanogel–POF interface exhibited more degrees of freedom through which specific sensing was enabled. The real-time monitoring of the refractive index variations due to the time-related volume-to-phase transition effects of the nanogels enabled us to determine the environment’s characteristics and broadly classify solvents. Hence the nanogel–POF interface was a descriptor of mathematical functions for substance identification and classification processes. These results epitomize the concept of responsive non-specific nanomaterials to perform a multiparametric description of the environment, offering a specific set of features for the processing stage and particularly suitable for machine and deep learning. Thus, soft MathMaterial interfaces provide the ground to devise devices suitable for the next generation of smart intelligent sensing processes
Theranostic Gold-Magnetite Hybrid Nanoparticles for MRI-guided Radiosensitization
No full textThe main limitation of drug-enhanced radiotherapy concerns the difficulty to evaluate the
effectiveness of cancer targeting after drug administration hindering the standardization of
therapies based on current radiosensitizing compounds. The challenge regards the development
of systems able to combine imaging and radiotherapy enhancement in order to perform highly
reliable cancer theragnosis. For these reasons, gold-magnetite hybrid nanoparticles (H-NPs) are
proposed as innovative theranostic nanotools for imaging-guided radiosensitization in cancer
treatment. In this work we propose a novel method for the synthesis of hydrophilic and
superparamagnetic Tween20-stabilized gold-magnetite H-NPs. Morphology and chemical
composition of nanoparticles were assessed by transmission electron microscopy, x-ray
diffraction analysis and ion-coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Colloidal stability
and magnetic properties of nanoparticles were determined by dynamic light scattering and
magnetometry. The potentialities of H-NPs for magnetic resonance imaging were studied using a
human 4T-MRI scanner. Nanoparticles were proven to induce concentration-dependent contrast
enhancement in T2*-weighted MR-images. The cytotoxicity, the cellular uptake and the
radiosensitization activity of H-NPs were investigated in human osteosarcoma MG63 cell
cultures and murine 3T3 fibroblasts, using specific bioassays and laser scanning confocal
microscopy. H-NPs did not exhibit significant toxicity and were demonstrated to be internalized
by cells. A significant x-ray enhancement at specific H-NPs exposure concentrations was
evidenced on MG63 cell line
Molecular connectivity methods for the characterization of surface energetics of polymers
No full textMolecular connectivity methods for the characterization of surface energetics of liquids and polymers
No full textIn the topological approach to structure–property relationships, the molecular structure is described in terms of appropriate weighted graphs to which suitable topological parameters, usually known as molecular connectivity indices, can be associated. Molecular connectivity indices are here applied to the prediction of surface free energy and Good–van Oss–Chaudhury acid–base components of organic compounds. To this aim, some quantitative structure–property relationships (QSPRs) are determined, involving both topological indices and group indicator variables of the customary functional group theory. The semiempirical models obtained to appear satisfactory and show significant advantages with respect to the models based on the purely functional group approach
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