Francesca Cavalieri

Francesca Cavalieri
University of Rome Tor Vergata | UNIROMA2 · Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche

M Sc Industrial Chemistry/ PhD Physical Chemistry

About

155
Publications
23,482
Reads
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Introduction
Dr Cavalieri has an expertise in the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured materials based on biomacromolecules (polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids). Cavalieri's research group conduct research into the development of new bionanomaterials for gene and drug delivery, application of advanced super-resolution microscopy techniques to investigate the intracellular trafficking of nanoparticles and the ultrasonic synthesis of nanoparticles and nanodrugs.
Additional affiliations
November 2002 - June 2015
University of Rome Tor Vergata
Position
  • Professor (Assistant)
Description
  • Subjects: Polymer Science, Experimental Physical Chemistry
June 2015 - present
University of Melbourne
Position
  • Future Fellow
November 2002 - June 2015
University of Rome Tor Vergata
Position
  • Professor (Assistant)

Publications

Publications (155)
Article
Full-text available
The extracellular matrix (ECM)—and its mechanobiology—regulates key cellular functions that drive tumor growth and development. Accordingly, mechanotherapy is emerging as an effective approach to treat fibrotic diseases such as cancer. Through restoring the ECM to healthy‐like conditions, this treatment aims to improve tissue perfusion, facilitatin...
Preprint
Full-text available
This study aimed to develop a novel nanotechnological slow-release drug delivery platform based on hyaluronic acid Microsponge (MSP) for the subcutaneous administration of methotrexate (MTX) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by joint inflammation and damage, while MTX is a common disease...
Article
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Nanoparticle‐mediated intracellular delivery of oligonucleotides is a complex phenomenon that depends on the architecture and the intracellular trafficking of the engineered nanoparticles. Unravelling the molecular arrangements of oligonucleotides within the nanoparticles as well as their intracellular behavior are essential for designing effective...
Article
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The application of lipid‐based nanoparticles for COVID‐19 vaccines and transthyretin‐mediated amyloidosis treatment have highlighted their potential for translation to cancer therapy. However, their use in delivering drugs to solid tumors is limited by ineffective targeting, heterogeneous organ distribution, systemic inflammatory responses, and ins...
Article
Full-text available
Interactions between living cells and nanoparticles are extensively studied to enhance the delivery of therapeutics. Nanoparticles size, shape, stiffness, and surface charge are regarded as the main features able to control the fate of cell‐nanoparticle interactions. However, the clinical translation of nanotherapies has so far been limited, and th...
Article
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The quest for biocompatible drug-delivery devices that could be able to open new administration routes is at the frontier of biomedical research. In this contribution, porous polysaccharide-based microsponges based on crosslinked alginate polymers were developed and characterized by optical spectroscopy and nanoscopic microscopy techniques. We show...
Article
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A facile sonochemical method to fabricate magnetic tryptophan-iron oxide hybrid nanoparticles was established in this study. First, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) of an average size of 5 nm were synthesised using hydrothermal processes, followed by surface modification using tryptophan to improve their colloidal stability. Then...
Article
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Ultrasound-based engineering of carrier-free nanodrugs by supramolecular self-assembly has recently emerged as an innovative and environmentally friendly synthetic approach. By applying high-frequency sound waves (490 kHz) in aqueous solutions, the transformation of small chemotherapeutic and antibiotic drug molecules into carrier-free nanodrugs wi...
Article
Insulin Delivery In article number 2210392, Christoph E. Hagemeyer, Francesca Cavalieri, and co-workers report how biodegradable and charge-switchable phytoglycogen nanoparticles with glucose-sensitive phenylboronic acid groups and amine moieties can be engineered to form nanocomplexes with insulin for its rapid and efficient glucose-responsive del...
Article
Full-text available
Glucose‐responsive insulin‐delivery platforms that are sensitive to dynamic glucose concentration fluctuations and provide both rapid and prolonged insulin release have great potential to control hyperglycemia and avoid hypoglycemia diabetes. Here, biodegradable and charge‐switchable phytoglycogen nanoparticles capable of glucose‐stimulated insulin...
Preprint
Full-text available
Interactions between living cells and nanoparticles have been extensively studied to enhance the delivery of therapeutics. Nanoparticles size, shape, stiffness and surface charge have been regarded as the main features able to control the fate of cell-nanoparticle interactions. However, the clinical translation of nanotherapies has so far been limi...
Article
Full-text available
DNA‐based materials have attracted interest due to the tunable structure and encoded biological functionality of nucleic acids. A simple and general approach to synthesize DNA‐based materials with fine control over morphology and bioactivity is important to expand their applications. Here, we report the synthesis of DNA‐based particles via the supr...
Article
DNA‐based materials have attracted interest due to the tunable structure and encoded biological functionality of nucleic acids. A simple and general approach to synthesize DNA‐based materials with fine control over morphology and bioactivity is important to expand their applications. Here, we report the synthesis of DNA‐based particles via the supr...
Article
Cardiac pathologies are characterized by intense remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that eventually leads to heart failure. Cardiomyocytes respond to the ensuing biomechanical stress by reexpressing fetal contractile proteins via transcriptional and posttranscriptional processes, such as alternative splicing (AS). Here, we demonstrate tha...
Article
Full-text available
Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide; hence there is an increasing focus on developing physiologically relevant in vitro cardiovascular tissue models suitable for studying personalized medicine and pre-clinical tests. Despite recent advances, models that reproduce both tissue complexity and maturation are still limite...
Article
Full-text available
Nisin, a peptide used as a natural food preservative, is employed in this work for the development of a novel nanocarrier system. Stable and uniform nisin-shelled nanoemulsions (NSNE) with a diameter of 100±20nm were successfully prepared using 20 kHz flow-through ultrasonication technique. The NSNE showed limited toxicity, high bactericidal activi...
Article
Glycogen–nucleic acid constructs i.e., glycoplexes are emerging promising platforms for the alteration of gene expression and transcription. Understanding the interaction of glycoplexes with human blood components, such as serum proteins and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), is important to overcome immune cell activation and control biod...
Article
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Transforming small-molecule antibiotics into carrier-free nanoantibiotics represents an opportunity for developing new multifunctional therapeutic agents. In this study, we demonstrate that acoustic cavitation produced by high-frequency ultrasound transforms the antibiotic doxycycline into carrier-free nanobiotics. Upon sonication for 1 h at 10-15...
Article
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We report on the fabrication of lysozyme microspheres (LyMs) incorporated with gold nanorods (NRs) as a distinctive approach for the encapsulation and release of an anticancer drug, 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU). LyMs with an average size of 4.0±1.0 µm were prepared by a sonochemical method and characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transm...
Preprint
Full-text available
Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide; hence there is an increasing focus on developing physiologically relevant in vitro cardiovascular tissue models suitable for studying personalized medicine and pre-clinical tests. Despite recent advances, models that reproduce both tissue complexity and maturation are still limite...
Article
Engineered nanoparticles for the encapsulation of bioactive agents hold promise to improve disease diagnosis, prevention and therapy. To advance this field and enable clinical translation, the rational design of nanoparticles with controlled functionalities and a robust understanding of nanoparticle-cell interactions in the complex biological milie...
Article
Full-text available
Reconfiguring the structure and selectivity of existing chemotherapeutics represents an opportunity for developing novel tumor‐selective drugs. Here; we demonstrate; as a proof‐of‐concept; the use of high‐frequency sound waves to transform the non‐selective anthracycline doxorubicin into a tumor selective drug molecule. The transformed drug self‐ag...
Article
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Recently, several studies have indicated an increased interest in the scientific community regarding the application of Cannabis sativa plants, and their extracts, for medicinal purposes. This plant of enormous medicinal potential has been legalised in an increasing number of countries globally. Due to the recent changes in therapeutic and recreati...
Article
Real-time detection and nanoscale imaging of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 ribonucleic acid (HIV-1 RNA) in latently infected cells that persist in people living with HIV-1 on antiretroviral therapy in blood and tissue may reveal new insights needed to cure HIV-1 infection. Herein, we develop a strategy combining DNA nanotechnology and super-r...
Article
The biological properties of therapeutic peptides, such as their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, are correlated with their structure and aggregation properties. Herein, we studied the aggregation properties of a therapeutic peptide (CIGB-814), currently in phase 2 clinical trial, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis over a wide range of...
Preprint
Full-text available
Cardiac pathologies are characterized by intense remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that eventually leads to heart failure. Cardiomyocytes respond to the ensuing biomechanical stress by re-expressing fetal contractile proteins via transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes, like alternative splicing (AS). Here, we demonstrate that...
Article
Full-text available
Ultrasonically synthesized core-shell microcapsules can be made of synthetic polymers or natural biopolymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides, and have found applications in food, drug delivery and cosmetics. This study reports on the ultrasonic synthesis of microcapsules using unmodified (natural) and biodegradable glycogen nanoparticles deri...
Article
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The development of simple, green, reproducible, and scalable approaches for synthesizing nanoparticles from biomolecules is important to advance nanomaterials towards therapeutic applications. Microreactors generated by high frequency ultrasound provide a one pot-platform to alter the physiochemical properties and stability of various types of biom...
Article
Synthetic therapeutic peptides (STP) are intensively studied as new-generation drugs, characterized by high purity, biocompatibility, selectivity and stereochemical control. However, most of the studies are focussed on the bioactivity of STP without considering how the formulation actually used for therapy administration could alter the physico-che...
Article
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Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) combined with calcineurin-NFAT (CN-NFAT) inhibitors are being tested as a treatment for graft versus host disease (GvHD). The immunosuppressive properties of MSCs seem beneficial; however, their response during fungal infection, which is an important cause of mortality in GvHD patients, is unknown. We report that MS...
Article
Three different proteinaceous biopolymers, namely, egg white protein (EWP), soy protein isolate (SPI) and corn protein isolate (CPI) were used as protective shell materials to encapsulate micronutrients via an ultrasonic encapsulation technique. It was found that the physicochemical properties of the three protein-based matrices, including surface/...
Article
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We report the microencapsulation of oil soluble vitamins (A, D and E) using a one pot ultrasonic process using raw egg white proteins as a shell material. Green tea catechin/iron complex coating method was further developed to impart UV filtering property to the microcapsules in order to protect the encapsulated nutrients from photodegradation. The...
Article
Gene silencing induced by RNAi represents a promising antiviral development strategy. This review will summarise the current state of RNAi therapeutics for treating acute and chronic human virus infections. The gene silencing pathways exploited by RNAi therapeutics will be described and include both classic RNAi, inducing cytoplasmic mRNA degradati...
Article
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Engineering reactive and functional nanostructured surfaces is important for enhancing the sensitivity and versatility of biosensors and microreactors. For example, the assembly of hybrid inorganic–organic porous microparticles on surfaces may provide a catalytic microenvironment for a wide range of reactions. Herein, the synthesis of catalytically...
Article
Full-text available
High-frequency ultrasound treatment is found to be a one-pot green technique to produce peptide-based nanostructures by ultrasound assisted self-assembly of oligopeptides. [Arg-Phe]4 octapeptides, consisting of alternating arginine (Arg/R) and phenylalanine (Phe/F) sequences, were subjected to 430 kHz ultrasound in aqueous solution in the absence o...
Article
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There is a need for effective vaccine delivery systems and vaccine adjuvants without extraneous excipients that can compromise or minimize their efficacy. Vaccine adjuvants cytosine–phosphate–guanosine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODNs) can effectively activate immune responses to secrete cytokines. However, CpG ODNs are not stable in serum due to en...
Article
Bio-sourced nanoparticles have a range of desirable properties for therapeutic applications, including biodegradability and low immunogenicity. Glycogen, a natural polysaccharide nanoparticle, has garnered much interest as a component of advanced therapeutic materials. However, functionalizing glycogen for use as a therapeutic material typically in...
Article
Neurodegenerative diseases are generally characterized by a progressive loss of neuronal subpopulations, with no available cure to date. One of the main reasons for the limited clinical outcomes of new drug formulations is the lack of appropriate in vitro human cell models for research and validation. Stem cell technologies provide an opportunity t...
Article
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DNA nanodevices have been developed as platforms for the manipulation of gene expression, delivery of molecular payloads, and detection of various molecular targets within cells and in other complex biological settings. Despite efforts to translate DNA nanodevices from the test tube (in vitro) to living cells, their intracellular trafficking and fu...
Article
Nanodrugs represent novel solutions to reshuffle repurposed drugs for cancer therapy. They might offer different therapeutic options by combining targeted drug delivery and imaging in unique platforms. Such nanomaterials are deemed to overcome the limitations of currently available treatments, ultimately improving patients' life quality. However, d...
Article
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Different polysaccharides—namely dextran, carboxymethyl dextran, alginate, and hyaluronic acid—were compared for the synthesis of nanoporous microsponges particles (NMPs) obtained from a one-pot self-precipitation/cross-linking process. The morphologies and sizes of the NMPs were evaluated comparatively with respect to polymer-to-polymer and cross-...
Article
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The research for heart therapies is challenged by the limited intrinsic regenerative capacity of the adult heart. Moreover, it has been hampered by the poor results obtained by tissue engineering and regenerative medicine attempts at generating functional beating constructs able to integrate with the host tissue. For this reason, organ transplantat...
Article
Multifunctional and biodegradable nanostructured hybrid interfaces based on biopolymers are potentially useful in many applications in catalysis, bioanalytical sensing and nanomedicine. Herein, we report the engineering of multifunctional hybrid films by assembling adhesive biological nanoparticles composed of lipoate-conjugated phytoglycogen (L-PG...
Article
A simple, one-pot high frequency ultrasonication (490 kHz) methodology to convert hydrophobic and amphipathic amino acids into nanostructures was investigated. The approach involved the oxidative coupling of aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine and tryptophan) in aqueous solutions to form high molecular weight dimers and oligomers. The role of cavit...
Article
The dissipative self-assembly processes were recently exploited to assemble synthetic materials into supramolecular structures. In most cases, chemical fuel or light driven self-assembly of synthetic molecules were reported. Herein, experimental and computational approaches were used to unveil the role of acoustic cavitation in the formation of sup...
Article
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The manipulation of interfacial properties has broad implications for the development of high‐performance coatings. Metal–phenolic networks (MPNs) are an emerging class of responsive, adherent materials. Herein, host–guest chemistry is integrated with MPNs to modulate their surface chemistry and interfacial properties. Macrocyclic cyclodextrins (ho...
Article
Full-text available
Biological nanoparticles found in living systems possess distinct molecular architectures and diverse functions. Glycogen is a unique biological polysaccharide nanoparticle fabricated by nature through a bottom‐up approach. The biocatalytic synthesis of glycogen has evolved over time to form a nanometer‐sized dendrimer‐like structure (20–150 nm) wi...
Article
The intracellular delivery of functional nanoparticles (NPs) and the release of therapeutic payloads at a target site are central issues for biomedical applications. However, the endosomal entrapment of NPs typically results in the degradation of active cargo, leading to poor therapeutic outcomes. Current advances to promote the endosomal escape of...
Article
Gut vernetzt: Die Synthese phenolischer Wirtbausteine aus makrocyclischen Wirtringen und koordinierenden Phenolfunktionen ermöglicht den raschen Aufbau adhärierender konformer Metall‐Phenolnetzwerk‐Beschichtungen auf unterschiedlichen Substraten mit modularen und einstellbaren Grenzflächeneigenschaften mithilfe von Wirt‐Gast‐Chemie. Abstract The m...
Article
Engineering functional nanoparticles (NPs) with low nonspecific interactions and a high specific targeting property is highly desired for improved drug delivery. Herein, we report a targeted poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based chemotherapy system synthesized via a catalyst-free sono-polymerization process for drug delivery. The polymerization process...
Article
Full-text available
Front Cover: In article number 1900085 by Wendel A. Alves and co‐workers, the self‐assembly properties of peptide nanomaterials in relation to their design and composition are surveyed. It is emphasized how environmental conditions can influence the morphology of peptide nanostructures, and how this dependence can be suitably exploited for the desi...
Article
This feature article provides a review of recent work on the synthesis of biopolymer-shelled microbubbles using various techniques with a particular focus on ultrasonic methodology that offers advantages over other conventional methods for tuning their physical and functional properties. A detailed discussion on the role of surface chemistry in fab...
Article
Self‐assembled structures obtained from organic molecules have shown great potential for applications in a wide range of domains. In this context, short peptides prove to be a particularly versatile class of organic building blocks for self‐assembled materials. These species afford the biocompatibility and polymorphic richness typical of proteins w...
Article
The intracellular delivery of nucleic acids and proteins remains a key challenge in the development of biologic therapeutics. In gene therapy, the inefficient delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to the cytosol by lipoplexes or polyplexes is often ascribed to the entrapment and degradation of siRNA payload in the endosomal compartments. A poss...
Article
Nanostructured materials have great potential as platforms for analytical assays and catalytic reactions. Herein, we report the synthesis of electrocatalytically active cobalt phosphate nanostructures (CPNs) using a simple, low-cost, and scalable preparation method. The electrocatalytic properties of the CPNs toward the electrooxidation of glucose...
Article
One‐pot synthesis of polymeric nanostructures, by using ultrasound without adding initiators and surfactants, is a straightforward approach that has attracted significant attention in polymer science. In this study, the ultrasonic polymerization technique is employed to synthesize poly(ethylene glycol) based nanoparticles with a hydrophobic core an...
Chapter
Six synthesis techniques using ultrasound and acoustic bubbles are introduced. As a technique using chemical effects of acoustic bubbles which comprise high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, (1) a pyrolysis technique (pyrolysis of a volatile metal precursor in organic solvent) and (2) a reduction technique (reduction of metal precursor in w...
Chapter
The ultrasonic crosslinking of biomacromolecules and biomolecules can be exploited to fabricate micro-nanodevices. In particular, biologically relevant molecules and macromolecules are desirable building blocks for engineering biomaterials. Ultrasonic synthesis, modification, and assembly of biomolecules and biomacromolecules enable the tuning of s...
Chapter
During acoustic cavitation which comprises sequence of nucleation, growth, and collapse of bubbles, physical effects due to shockwaves, micro-jets, strong micro-stirring, etc. are produced. In addition, when bubbles were adiabatically collapsed, the temperature and pressure in collapsing bubbles attained extreme high temperature and high pressure w...
Article
Interfacial self-assembly is a powerful organizational force for fabricating functional nanomaterials, including nanocarriers, for imaging and drug delivery. Herein, the interfacial self-assembly of pH-responsive metal– phenolic networks (MPNs) on the liquid–liquid interface of oil-in-water emulsions is reported. Oleic acid emulsions of 100–250 nm...
Article
Full-text available
We investigated the effect of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the aggregation of a CFF (C=cysteine; F=phenylalanine) tripeptide (derived from Aβ peptide) in aqueous medium. Special attention was dedicated to the role of AuNPs as inducers and inhibitors during nucleation kinetics and the structure of the resulting scaffolds was carefully investigated....