Category: 2022-2023

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A Photo-degradable Crosslinker for the Development of Light-responsive Protocell Membranes

Patrick's and Mary's PhD works are now published as a Chem. Eur. J. research article! In this work we developed a novel photo-degradable crosslinker and used it to fabricate protein-polymer microcapsules. We then showed that these protein-polymer microcapsules are capable of light-induced disassembly, could be used for the photo-generation of patterns of synthetic cells, and for the modulation of synthetic cell membrane permeability.

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Protocell Communication Through the Eyes of Synthetic Organic Chemists

Our Concept Article was just published in EurJOC. The article discusses the concept of protocell communication from the point of view of organic chemists. First, it analyses the chemistry at the heart of the protocell communication machineries currently employed, and then it proposed new routes towards protocell communication based on fully synthetic and artificial nanosystems (synzymes). The work was funded by the European Union (ERC StG, PROTOMAT, 101039578).

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Shining Light on Carbon Dots: New Opportunities in Photocatalysis

Our ChemCatChem Concept Article is now published. The article discusses recent advancements in carbon dots-based photocatalysis. We highlight the link between the carbon dots superficial and core composition and their resulting photo-redox abilities. We then give future perspectives on their application in cutting-edge areas. The work was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Giacomo Filippini and Prof. Maurizio Prato at the University of Trieste.

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Towards the design of self-sorting nanomaterials through kinetically directed chemoselective control over interfacial surface chemistry

In this collaborative work with the research group of Prof. Mark S. Workentin at the University of Western Ontario (Canada), we coupled the power of molecular design and chemical synthesis with the world of nanomaterials and developed the first gold nanoparticles capable of reacting with a specific molecule among others, based on carefully tuned reaction kinetics.

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Colloidosomes as a Protocell Model: Engineering Life-Like Behaviour through Organic Chemistry

Colloidosomes are robust, versatile microcapsules that have emerged as promising candidates for protocell models. Read our just published review that highlights the role of organic chemistry in the engineering of colloidosomes with life-like behaviours, such as selective membrane permeability, adhesion, chemical signalling, dynamic multi-compartmentalisation, replication, and predation.

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Automated Analysis of Soft Material Microindentation

Our RSC Soft Matter article is now published. The work describes the validation of a new method for the automated analysis of thousands of indentation curves for the 3D mapping of the mechanical properties of soft materials. The work was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Sebastien Rochat and Prof. Richard Trask at the University of Bristol, and funded by the EU Marie Curie Actions and the UK's EPSRC.

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ERC Starting Grant worth over 2M Euros awarded to the University of Trieste for Pierangelo Gobbo’s project PROTOMAT

The University of Trieste has been awarded its first ERC Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC) as part of the Horizon Europe framework. Pierangelo Gobbo, having worked in various institutions around the world, has chosen the University of Trieste (UniTS) to develop the first fully synthetic cells capable of integrating with living cells and tissues.