Agustin S Picco

• PhD
• Researcher at National University of La Plata

Silica-binding peptides (SBPs) are increasingly recognized as versatile tools for various applications spanning biosensing, biocatalysis, and environmental remediation. This review explores the interaction between these peptides and silica surfaces, offering insights into how variables such as surface silanol density, peptide sequence and compositi...

Safe implementation of nanotechnology-based products in biomedical applications necessitates an extensive understanding of the (bio)transformations that nanoparticles undergo in living organisms. The long-term fate in the body is a crucial...

X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) is an underexplored synchrotron-based technique for dynamic in situ nano-bio interface investigations, which overcomes the limitations of conventional techniques in complex biological fluids. This study highlights XPCS as a powerful tool to distinguish phenomena like protein corona and nanoparticle aggre...

In biological systems, nanoparticles interact with biomolecules, which may undergo protein corona formation that can result in noncontrolled aggregation. Therefore, comprehending the behavior and evolution of nanoparticles in the presence of biological fluids is paramount in nanomedicine. However, traditional lab-based colloid methods characterize...

Anisotropic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are renowned for their unique properties – including localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and adjustable optical responses to light exposure – that enable the conversion of light into heat and make them a promising tool in cancer therapy. Nonetheless, their tendency to aggregate and consequently lose the...

An exploration on surface properties and the colloidal stability of silica nanoparticles functionalized with short sulfobetaine zwitterion.

Self-assembled nanostructures such as those formed by peptide amphiphiles (PAs) are of great interest in biological and pharmacological applications. Herein, a simple and widely applicable chemical modification, a urea motif, was included in the PA’s molecular structure to stabilize the nanostructures by virtue of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Sin...

We studied ionic transport properties of UiO-66 metal-organic framework-modified solid-state nanochannels (MOF@SSNs) embedded in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) membranes, focusing on the effect of calcium ions from chloride salt (CaCl2) acting...

Nanoparticles (NPs) with functional cores are gaining research interest due to their advanced architecture. However, exposed reactive groups on NP surfaces can lead to material side reactions and biomedical tissue damage. NPs with multi-hierarchical morphologies can be synthesized by various methods; however, controlling the size and position of th...

We develop a molecular thermodynamic theory to study the interaction of some proteins with a charge regulating silica-like surface under a wide range of conditions, including pH, salt concentration and protein concentration. Proteins are modeled using their three dimensional structure from crystallographic data and the average experimental pKa of a...

Hydrogen bonding plays a critical role in the self-assembly of peptide amphiphiles (PAs). Herein, we studied the effect of replacing the amide linkage between the peptide and lipid portions of the PA with a urea group, which possesses an additional hydrogen bond donor. We prepared three PAs with the peptide sequence Phe-Phe-Glu-Glu (FFEE): two are...

Protein corona formation and nanoparticles' aggregation have been heavily discussed over the last years since the lack of fine-mapping of these two combined effects has hindered the targeted delivery evolution and the personalized nanomedicine development. We present a multi-technique approach that combines Dynamic Light and Small-Angle X-ray Scatt...

Protein corona formation and nanoparticle aggregation have been heavily discussed over the last years since the lack of fine-mapping of these two combined effects has hindered the targeted delivery evolution and the personalized nanomedicine development. We present a multi-technique approach that combines Dynamic Light and Small-Angle X-ray Scatter...

This review shows the most common and promising strategies to generate colloidally stable silica nanoparticles (NPs) in simulated biological fluids and sheds light on the latest advances in producing degradable silica-based structures. Silica NPs can be synthesized in a wide variety of morphologies, porosity levels, and sizes. This versatility make...

We hereby report on the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of ZIF-8 MOF synthesis when performed using methanolic solutions of precursors and 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) acting as a chemical modifying agent. MPA is of great interest as it allows us to gain control over the surface chemistry, shape, and size of colloidal porous nanounits formed. I...

In the last years, nanoferrites have gained much attention in the fields of bio- and nanomedicine due to their diverse potential applications in magnetic hyperthermia and targeted drug delivery for cancer treatment, as well as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging, among others. These materials are relatively easy to synthesize at low cost...

Freeze-drying of nanoparticle suspensions is capable of generating stable nanoformulations with improved storage times and easier transportation. Nonetheless, nanoparticle aggregation is likely induced during freeze-drying, which reduces its redispersibility upon reconstitution and leads to undesirable effects such as non-specific toxicity and impa...

In the last decades, nanoscience had a spectacular evolution providing new, versatile engineered nanomaterials and nanotools with a plethora of applications in very diverse fields ranging from energy storage to medicine. Among the palette of nanomaterials, magnetic nanoparticles (in particular iron oxide-based) present unique physicochemical proper...

Silica nanoparticles present an enormous potential as controlled drug delivery systems with high selectivity towards diseased cells. This application is directly related to the phenomenon of protein corona, characterized by the spontaneous adsorption of proteins on the nanoparticle surface, which is not fully understood. Here, we report an investig...

Aim: To study freeze-drying of silica nanoparticles (SiO2NPs) in order to find suitable conditions to produce lyophilized powders with no aggregation after resuspension and storage. Methods: SiO2NPs were synthesized using a Stöber-based procedure, and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and nitrogen adsorption...

Nanoparticles' surface properties can be used as triggers to regulate or even enhance biological response and generate tailored structures to substitute conventional antibiotics. Here, silica nanoparticles surface was duly tuned in order to increase the water-insoluble drug load (curcumin) and improve the antibacterial activity. Our main motivation...

Self-organized metallo-supramolecular heterostructures have potential applications that include molecular electronics, photovoltaics, and magnetic devices, among other examples. The main challenge that scientists typically face when designing advanced supramolecular materials is to achieve structurally defined assemblies by resolving conflicting de...

Abstract The supramacromolecular structure of core-shell amphiphilic macromolecules (CAMs) with Hyperbranched Polyethyleneimine (HPEI) cores and fatty acid chain shells (HPEI-Cn) for different chain lengths was investigated both, in colloidal suspension, solid phase and at the air-water interface using Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), Wide Angl...

In this work, the microenvironment of the core of different unimicelles of hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (HPEI) capped with different aliphatic chains (stearate, palmitate, and laurate) dissolved in toluene has been investigated. To achieve this goal we have used 1-methyl-8-oxyquinolinium betaine (QB) as a molecular probe due to its solvatochromi...

Water-soluble gold(I) N-heterocyclic carbene complexes were synthesized and characterized using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAFS) in combination with traditional analytical techniques such as NMR, mass spectrometry, and UV-vis spectroscopy. XANES and EXAFS regions are sensitive to coordination number, ligand electronic structure, and distance ar...

We report the thermoreversible formation of superstructural assemblies of unimolecular micelles in solution displaying negative thermal expansion behaviour.