- Development of chemiluminescent enzyme assays,
immunoassays and gene probe assays, for the quantitative analysis
of molecules of interest in the medical, alimentary and
environmental fields.
- Development of new portable devices for multiplexed detection
based on chemiluminescence and using microfabrication technology
and microfluidics
- Development of ultrasensitive immunohistochemistry and in
situ hybridization techniques with luminescent detection for the
simultaneous quantitative localization of proteins and/or nucleic
acid sequences in cells or tissue sections
- Application of detection techniques based on
chemiluminescence measurements to field-flow fractionation (FFF)
and development of hybrid FFF systems employing antigen-antibody
interactions.
- Development of methods based on the electronic nose technology
for the characterization of natural products and cosmetics, based
on their olfactive fingerprint.
- Development of chemiluminescent immunoassays and gene
probe assays, for the quantitative analysis of molecules of
interest in the medical, alimentary and environmental
fields. Recently, chemiluminescence enzyme
immunoassays were developed for the quantification of: (1)
tauroursodeoxycholic acid in oral fluid for diagnostic purposes;
(2) estradiol, estrone and estriol in wastewater samples;
(3) the protein Cry1Ab in maize samples in order to detect the
presence of geneticallay modified Bt maize;
(4) aflatoxin M1 in milk samples; (5) zeranol,
trenbolone and nortestosterone in bovine urine. PCR-ELISA assays in
innovative microtiter plate formats were developed for detection
and genotyping of Papillomavirus in biological samples.
- Development of new portable devices for multiplexed detection
based on chemiluminescence and using microfabrication technology
and microfluidics. A simple and versatile analytical device has
been realized employing a cooled ultrasensitive portable CCD camera
in a contact imaging configuration. The device is suitable
for point-of-care applications and it is designed to
perform, even simultaneously, different types of bioassays. A
miniaturized multiplex biosensor exploiting a microfluidic
oligonucleotide array and chemiluminescence (CL) lensless imaging
detection has been developed for parvovirus B19 genotyping. Lateral
flow immunoassays (LFIA) with chemiluminescence were developed for
detecting: (1) fumonisin B1 in maize flour samples; (2) explosive
traces in environmental samples.
- Development of new silica nanoparticles loaded with
thermochemiluminescent compounds. These nanoparticles appear to be
very promising for their implementation in lab-on-chip devices,
since the trigger of the chemical luminescent signal does not
require the addition of reagents and it is triggered simply by the
application of a thermal shock through integrated microheaters.
- Development of ultrasensitive immunohistochemistry and in
situ hybridization techniques with luminescent detection for the
simultaneous quantitative localization of proteins and/or nucleic
acid sequences in cells or tissue sections. Methods combining
luminescent IHC and ISH were developed for the co-localization of
the melanocitic marker HMB-45 and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in
melanoma tissue sections and for the co-localization of the protein
p16INK4a (also its quantification) and HPV DNA in uterine
cervix lesions; a chemiluminescent method for the localization and
quantification of Parvovirus B19 nucleic acids in infected cells
employing peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes was developed.
Recently, quantitative methodologies exploiting ultrasensitive
chemiluminescence detection of 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU)
have been developed: a CL microscope imaging assay to evaluate BrdU
labelling at single-cell level and a CL dot-blot assay to measure
the amounts of DNA produced in the course of an in vitro infection
of proliferating cells.
- Application of detection techniques based on
chemiluminescence measurements to field-flow fractionation (FFF)
and development of hybrid FFF systems employing antigen-antibody
interactions. A method for automated preparation of plasma
from whole blood and on-line quantification of alkaline phosphatase
activity in plasma by chemiluminescence detection has been
developed to proof the possibility to exploit FFF for biological
sample pre-analytical treatment in point-of-care testing
devices. FFF has been coupled to electronic nose detection to
allow pathogen bacteria detection in milk samples and
differentiation between live and dead bacterial cells. A method for
increasing the selectivity of gravitational FFF in cell sorting has
been developed by modifying the channel accumulation wall with
antibodies, able to selectively slow down the elution of specific
cells.
- Development of methods based on the electronic nose technology
for the characterization of natural products and cosmetics, based
on their olfactive fingerprint. We developed e-nose-based methods
for: (1) the characterization of green tea based on regional
origin and state of conservation; (2) characterization of
aromatherapy creams based on the type and amount of essential
oil and on the state of conservation.
- Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (13C/12C IRMS) for
the development of new “breath tests” for rapid non invasive
diagnosis of liver and gastrointestinal diseases. Breath tests
were employed for monitoring the motilities and functionalities of
the gastrointestinal system in human space mission simulations
Mars500.
