Denis Garoli

Denis Garoli
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Denis verified their affiliation via an institutional email.
Verified
Denis verified their affiliation via an institutional email.
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia | UNIMO · Department of Engineering Sciences and Methods

Professor
Currently coordinating 3 EU projects (dna-fairylights.eu; dynamo-nanopores.eu; 3d-bricks.eu)

About

235
Publications
57,590
Reads
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3,609
Citations
Introduction
Denis Garoli is Associate Professor at the University of Modena, and Senior Researcher at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy. His research interests are in the field of DNA nanotechnology, plasmonics, biosensing, and single-molecule detection. In these areas, he was awarded about 12 millions by the European Commission, with the projects ProseQo and DNA-Fairylights (FET-Open), 3D-BRICKS (Pathfinder-Open), DYNAMO (MSCA DN). He holds a PhD (Space Science) and 2 masters (physics and biotech)
Additional affiliations
January 2024 - present
China Jiliang University
Position
  • Visiting Professor
Description
  • Visiting professor and supervisor of Phd Students.
September 2014 - present
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
Position
  • Researcher
Description
  • Team leader and coordinator of the EU grants : FET-Open "DNA-Fairylights" and Marie-Curie DN "DYNAMO"
May 2009 - April 2014
Veneto Nanotech
Position
  • Senior Researcher
Education
September 2009 - September 2011
University of Padua
Field of study
  • Biotechnology
January 2006 - March 2009
University of Padua
Field of study
  • Space Science
October 1998 - December 2003
University of Padua
Field of study
  • Physics

Publications

Publications (235)
Article
Full-text available
Gating is a fundamental process in ion channels configured to open and close in response to specific stimuli such as voltage across cell membranes thereby enabling the excitability of neurons. Here we report on voltage-gated solid-state nanopores by electrically tunable chemical reactions. We demonstrate repetitive precipitation and dissolution of...
Article
Full-text available
Dynamic surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is nowadays one of the most interesting applications of SERS, in particular for single molecule studies. In fact, it enables the study of real-time processes at the molecular level. This review summarizes the latest developments in dynamic SERS techniques and their applications, focusing on new ins...
Preprint
Full-text available
Shaping the structure of light with flat optical devices has driven significant advancements in our fundamental understanding of light and light-matter interactions, and enabled a broad range of applications, from image processing and microscopy to optical communication, quantum information processing, and the manipulation of microparticles. Yet, p...
Preprint
Full-text available
Layered two-dimensional (2D) materials have revolutionized how we approach light-matter interactions, offering unprecedented optical and electronic properties with the potential for vertical heterostructures and manipulation of spin-valley degrees of freedom. The discovery of moiré physics in twisted heterostructures has further unlocked new possib...
Preprint
Full-text available
The compositional asymmetry of Janus micro- and nanoparticles gives unprecedented opportunities to manipulate such composite particles with different stimuli to achieve enhanced optical, magnetic and photothermal responses, which can be exploited for sensing, phototherapy, and nanoscale robotic applications. This perspective overviews recent advanc...
Preprint
Full-text available
Emulsions are ubiquitous in everyday life and find applications in various industries. Optical tweezers (OTs) have emerged as the preferred method for studying emulsion dynamics. In this review, we first introduce the theory of optical trapping and emulsion stability. We then survey applications in the manipulation of emulsions, stability mechanism...
Preprint
Full-text available
Dry synthesis is a highly versatile method for the fabrication of nanoporous metal films, since it enables easy and reproducible deposition of single or multi-layer(s) of nanostructured materials that can find intriguing applications in plasmonics, photochemistry and photocatalysis, to name a few. Here, we extend the use of this methodology to the...
Preprint
Full-text available
Dynamic surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is nowadays one of the most interesting applications of SERS, in particular for single molecule studies. In fact, it enables the study of real-time processes at the molecular level. This review summarizes the latest developments in dynamic SERS techniques and their applications, focusing on new ins...
Article
Full-text available
Solid‐state nanopore gating inspired by biological ion channels is gaining increasing traction due to a large range of applications in biosensing and drug delivery. Integration of stimuli‐responsive molecules such as poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) inside nanopores can enable temperature‐dependent gating, which so far has only been demonstrate...
Article
Full-text available
Mismatched base-pairs in DNA are the basis of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), one of the major issues in genetic diseases. However, the changes of physical and chemical properties of DNA caused by single-site mismatches are often influenced by the sequence and the structural flexibility of the whole duplex, resulting in a challenge of direct...
Article
Full-text available
Currently, there is a high interest in novel plasmonic platforms and materials able to extend their applicability into the ultraviolet (UV) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In the UV it is possible to explore the spectral properties of biomolecules that have only a small cross-section in the visible spectral range. However, most plasmonic me...
Article
Solid-state nanopores are a key platform for single-molecule detection and analysis, which allows property engineering by controlling size, shape, and chemical functionalization. However, approaches that rely on polymers that have limits with respect to hard- and robustness, durability, and refractive index, and nanopores made of oxides with high d...
Article
Nanotechnology has revolutionized the fabrication of hybrid species with tailored functionalities. A milestone in this field is the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) conjugation of nanoparticles, introduced almost 30 years ago, which typically exploits the affinity between thiol groups and metallic surfaces. Over the last decades, developments in colloid...
Article
Nanofluidic channels in a membrane represent a promising avenue for harnessing blue energy from salinity gradients, relying on permselectivity as a pivotal characteristic crucial for inducing electricity through diffusive ion transport. Surface charge emerges as a central player in the osmotic energy conversion process, emphasizing the critical sig...
Article
Full-text available
Multilayered metal-dielectric nanostructures display both a strong plasmonic behavior and hyperbolic optical dispersion. The latter is responsible for the appearance of two separated radiative and nonradiative channels in the extinction spectrum of these structures. This unique property can open plenty of opportunities toward the development of mul...
Preprint
Solid-state nanopore gating inspired by biological ion channels is gaining increasing traction due to a large range of applications in biosensing and drug delivery. Integration of stimuli-responsive molecules such as poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) inside nanopores can enable temperature-dependent gating, which so far has only been demonstrate...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
We study ultrafast charge and spin dynamics in magnetoplasmonic Au-Ni nanostructures. Experiments reveal modification of the ultrafast magnetization dynamics time induced by a strong plasmonic response, and the results are supported by numerical modelling.
Preprint
Nanopore sensing is a key technology for single-molecule detection and analysis. Solid-state nanopores have emerged as a versatile platform, since their fabrication allows to engineer their properties by controlling size, shape, and chemical functionalization. However, lithography-based fabrication approaches for non-planar nanopores-on-chip rely o...
Article
Full-text available
Nanoporous metals are a class of nanostructured materials finding extensive applications in multiple fields thanks to their unique properties attributed to their high surface area and interconnected nanoscale ligaments. They can be prepared following different strategies, but the deposition of an arbitrary pure porous metal is still challenging. Re...
Preprint
There is a high current interest for novel plasmonic platforms and materials able to extend their applicability into the ultraviolet (UV) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In the UV it is possible to explore spectral properties of biomolecules with small cross section in the visible spectral range. However, most used metals in plasmonics have...
Preprint
Full-text available
Multilayered metal-dielectric nanostructures display both strong plasmonic behavior and hyperbolic optical dispersion. The latter is responsible for the appearance of two separated radiative and non-radiative channels in the extinction spectrum of these structures. This unique property can open a wealth of opportunities towards the development of m...
Preprint
Ionic Current Rectification (ICR) can appear in nanopores, causing a diode-like behavior that originates from different efficiency of ion transport through the pore channel with respect to the applied voltage bias polarity. This effect is particularly interesting for nanopores with a short channel length, that is smaller than 500 nm, because then t...
Preprint
Nanotechnology has revolutionized the fabrication of hybrid species with tailored functionalities. A milestone in this field is the DNA conjugation of nanoparticles, introduced almost 30 years ago, which typically exploits the affinity between thiol groups and metallic surfaces. Over the last decades, developments in colloidal research have enabled...
Preprint
Nanoporous metals are a class of nanostructured materials finding extensive applications in multiple fields thanks to their unique properties attributed to their high surface area and interconnected nanoscale ligaments. They can be prepared following different strategies, but the deposition of an arbitrary pure porous metal is still challenging. Re...
Article
Permselectivity is a fundamental property of ion channels that enables one-way flow of specific cations oranions through cell membranes. Although energy dissipation phenomena in these ion channels involvingthermoelectricity have been thoroughly investigated, heat transport for these channels at the nanoscale re-mains relatively unexplored. Here we...
Article
Aptamer-based sensing of small molecules such as dopamine and serotonin in the brain, requires characterization of the specific aptamer sequences in solutions mimicking the in vivo environment with physiological ionic concentrations. In particular, divalent cations (Mg2+ and Ca2+) present in brain fluid, have been shown to affect the conformational...
Preprint
Full-text available
Aptamer-based sensing of small molecules such as dopamine and serotonin in the brain, requires characterization of the specific aptamer sequences in solutions mimicking the in vivo environment with physiological ionic concentrations. In particular, divalent cations (Mg2+ and Ca2+) present in brain fluid, have been shown to affect the conformational...
Article
Full-text available
This paper presents a study for the realization of a space mission which employs nanosatellites driven by an external laser source impinging on an optimized lightsail, as a valuable technology to launch swarms of spacecrafts into the Solar System. Nanosatellites propelled by laser can be useful for heliosphere exploration and for planetary observat...
Article
Aptamers that undergo conformational changes upon small-molecule recognition have been shown to gate the ionic flux through nanopores by rearranging charge density within the aptamer-occluded orifice. However, mechanistic insight into such systems where biomolecular interactions are confined in nanoscale spaces, is limited. To understand the fundam...
Preprint
Full-text available
Aptamer-based sensing of small molecules such as dopamine and serotonin in the brain, requires characterization of the specific aptamer sequences in solutions mimicking the in vivo environment with physiological ionic concentrations. In particular, divalent cations (Mg2+ and Ca2+) present in brain fluid, have been shown to affect the conformational...
Article
Full-text available
In the past 20 years, we have reached a broad understanding of many light-driven phenomena in nanoscale systems. The temporal dynamics of the excited states are instead quite challenging to explore, and, at the same time, crucial to study for understanding the origin of fundamental physical and chemical processes. In this review, we examine the cur...
Article
Full-text available
Plasmonic solid‐state nanopores with tunable hole diameters can be prepared via a photocatalytic effect resulting from the enhanced electromagnetic (EM) field inside a metallic ring on top of a dielectric nanotube. Under white light illumination, the plasmon‐enhanced EM‐field induces a site‐selective metal nucleation and growth within the ring. Thi...
Preprint
Full-text available
Aptamers that undergo conformational changes upon small-molecule recognition have been shown to gate the ionic flux through nanopores by rearranging charge density within the aptamer-occluded orifice. However, mechanistic insight into such systems where biomolecular interactions are confined in nanoscale spaces, is limited. To shed light on the fun...
Preprint
Full-text available
We show that plasmonic solid-state nanopores with tunable hole diameter can be prepared via a photocatalytic effect resulting from the enhanced electromagnetic field inside a metallic ring prepared on top of a dielectric nanotube. Under white light illumination, the maximum field intensity in these nanorings induces a site selective metal nucleatio...
Article
DNA swingarms enable the efficient and reliable translocation of multiple optical elements along a shared DNA origami track. Andreas Peil and co‐workers present in their Research Article (DOI: 10.1002/anie.202213992) that the dynamic rearrangement of AuNPs with large leaps in space can be facilitated by swinging motion, which is substantiated by di...
Article
DNA swingarms enable the efficient and reliable translocation of multiple optical elements along a shared DNA origami track. Na Liu et al. demonstrate in their Research Article (DOI: 10.1002/ange.202213992) that the dynamic rearrangement of AuNPs with large leaps in space can be facilitated by swinging motion, which is substantiated by distinct opt...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
We report a process for fabricating sub-10 nm nanopores via photocatalysis caused by electromagnetic field enhancement in plasmonic structures, which immersed in metallic salt solutions triggers hotspots for metallic deposition causing pore diameter shrinkage.
Article
Full-text available
Control over multiple optical elements that can be dynamically rearranged to yield substantial three‐dimensional structural transformations is of great importance to realize reconfigurable plasmonic nanoarchitectures with sensitive and distinct optical feedback. In this work, we demonstrate a transformable plasmonic helix system, in which multiple...
Preprint
Full-text available
In the past twenty years, we have reached a broad understanding of many light-driven phenomena in nanoscale systems. The temporal dynamics of the excited states are instead quite challenging to explore, and, at the same time, crucial to study for understanding the origin of fundamental physical and chemical processes. In this review we examine the...
Article
Control over multiple optical elements that can be dynamically rearranged to yield substantial three‐dimensional structural transformations is of great importance to realize reconfigurable plasmonic nanoarchitectures with sensitive and distinct optical feedback. In this work, we demonstrate a transformable plasmonic helix system, in which multiple...
Article
With the total amount of worldwide data skyrocketing, the global data storage demand is predicted to grow to 1.75×10 14 GB by 2025. Traditional storage methods have difficulties keeping pace, given that current storage media have a maximum density of 10 3 GB/mm 3. As such, the data production will far exceed the capacity of currently available stor...
Preprint
Full-text available
This paper presents a study for the realization of a space mission which employs nanosatellites driven by an external laser source impinging on an optimized lightsail, as a valuable technology to launch swarms of spacecrafts into the Solar System. Nanosatellites propelled by laser can be useful for the heliosphere exploration and for planetary obse...
Article
Aptamers are chemically synthesized single-stranded DNA or RNA oligonucleotides nowadays widely used in sensors and nanoscale devices as highly sensitive biorecognition elements. With proper design, aptamers are able to bind to a specific target molecule with high selectivity. To date, the systematic evolution of ligand by exponential enrichment (S...
Preprint
With the total amount of worldwide data skyrocketing, the global data storage demand is predicted to grow to 1.75×10 14 GB by 2025. Traditional storage methods have difficulties keeping pace, given that current storage media have a maximum density of 10 3 GB/mm 3. As such, the data production will far exceed the capacity of currently available stor...
Conference Paper
The SERS-based detection of DNA and protein sequences with single nucleotide or amino acid sensitivity still represent a huge challenge. Recently, a new method based on the trapping of a gold nanoparticle in a plasmonic nanohole has been demonstrated. The plasmonic platform obtained by the combination of a nanoparticle trapped inside a nanopore ena...
Article
Full-text available
A lightsail accelerated via directed energy is a candidate technology to send a probe into the deep space in a time period compatible with human life. The light emitted by a ground-based large-aperture phased laser array is directed onto the lightsail to produce a thrust by transferring the momentum of the incident photons. Here we demonstrate that...
Article
Full-text available
Numerous efforts have been undertaken to develop rectifying antennas operating at high frequencies, especially dedicated to light harvesting and photodetection applications. However, the development of efficient high frequency rectifying antennas has been a major technological challenge both due to a lack of comprehension of the underlying physics...
Article
The fabrication of nanopores with a matched pore size, and the existence of multiple interferents make the reproducible detection of small-sized molecules by means of solid-state nanopores still challenging. A useful method to solve these problems is based on the detection of large DNA nanostructures related to the existence of small-sized targets....
Article
Nanopore sequencing is currently a widely used technology for single-molecule DNA detection and analysis. Although the error rate is still too high to enable diagnostic applications, biological nanopores have demonstrated to be able to read the sequence of single DNA molecule, and massive efforts are now on-going to exploit the same technology for...
Article
Nowadays, there is a high demand for sensitive and selective real-time analytical methods suitable for a wide range of applications, from personalized tele-medicine, drug discovery, food safety, and quality control, to defense, security, as well as environmental monitoring. Biosensors are analytical devices able to detect biochemical analytes (e.g....
Article
Full-text available
Layered architectures for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are the standard approach for solution-processable materials such as metal-halide perovskites. Upon designing the composition and thicknesses of the layers forming the LED, the primary focus is typically on the optimization of charge injection and balance. However, this approach only considers...
Preprint
Nanopore sequencing is currently a widely used technology for single-molecule DNA detection and analysis. Although the error rate is still too high to enable diagnostic applications, biological nanopores have demonstrated to be able to read the sequence of a long DNA molecule, and massive efforts are now ongoing to exploit the same technology for d...
Preprint
Full-text available
A lightsail accelerated via directed energy is a candidate technology to send a probe into the deep space in a time period compatible with human life. The light emitted by a ground-based large-aperture phased laser array is directed onto the lightsail to produce a thrust by transferring the momentum of the incident photons. To achieve high efficien...
Article
The fabrication of nanopore with matched pore size, and the existence of multi interferents make the reproducible detection of small-sized molecules by means of solid-state nanopore still challenging. A useful method to solve these problems is based on the detection of large DNA nanostructure related to the existence of small-sized target. In parti...
Presentation
Full-text available
A bottom-up and top-down nanofabrication method to build nanopore arrays of organic and inorganic substrates taking advantage of a biological protein scaffold, resulting in a hybrid device with plasmonic behavior affecting its fluorescence properties.
Article
Full-text available
Extreme confinement of electromagnetic waves and mechanical displacement fields to nanometer dimensions through plasmonic nanostructures offers unprecedented opportunities for greatly enhanced interaction strength, increased bandwidth, lower power consumption, chip-scale fabrication and efficient actuation of mechanical systems at the nanoscale. Co...
Poster
Full-text available
Advances in biochemistry have shed light on proteins that defy the dogma "one sequence, one structure, one function", i.e., chameleonic proteins, intrinsically disordered proteins, metamorphic proteins and morpheeins. These biomolecules fold into multiple secondary and tertiary structures and as morpheeins self-assemble into several quaternary comp...
Preprint
Full-text available
Extreme confinement of electromagnetic waves and mechanical displacement fields to nanometer dimensions through plasmonic nanostructures offers unprecedented opportunities for greatly enhanced interaction strength, increased bandwidth, lower power consumption, chip-scale fabrication and efficient actuation of mechanical systems at the nanoscale. Co...
Article
Full-text available
The phenomenon of coupling between light and surface plasmon polaritons requires specific momentum matching conditions. In the case of a single scattering object on a metallic surface, such as a nanoparticle or a nanohole, the coupling between a broadband effect, i.e., scattering, and a discrete one, such as surface plasmon excitation, leads to Fan...
Article
Plasmonic nanopores are extensively investigated as single molecules detectors. The main limitations in plasmonic nanopore technology are the too fast translocation velocity of the molecule through the pore and the consequent very short analysis times, as well as the possible instabilities due to local heating. An interesting approach to enable lon...
Preprint
The phenomenon of coupling between light and surface plasmon polaritons requires spe-cific momentum matching conditions. In the case of a single scattering object on a metallic surface, like a nanoparticle or a nanohole, the coupling between a broadband effect, i.e. scattering, and a discrete one such as surface plasmon excitation, leads to Fano-li...
Conference Paper
The field of plasmonics has the potential to enable unique applications in the different wavelength ranges, from the ultraviolet to the visible and the infrared. The choice of plasmonic material and how this material is nanostructured have significant implications for the ultimate performance of any plasmonic device. Nanoporous metals (NPMs) (such...
Article
Thanks to its negative surface charge and high swelling behavior, montmorillonite (MMT) has been widely used to design hybrid materials for applications in metal ion adsorption, drug delivery, or antibacterial substrates. The changes in photophysical and photochemical properties observed when fluorophores interact with MMT make these hybrid materia...
Article
The field of plasmonics is capable of enabling interesting applications in the different wavelength ranges, spanning from the ultraviolet up to the infrared. The choice of plasmonic material and how the material is nanostructured have significant implications for ultimate performance of any plasmonic device. Artificially designed nanoporous metals...
Article
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is probably the most commonly heard word of the last 12 months. The outbreak of this virus (SARS-CoV-2) is strongly comp