Ilaria Rea

Italian National Research Council | CNR · Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems IMM

Nanoparticle Drug Delivery The encapsulation of nanoparticles in hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose is key to treat colorectal cancer through oral administration. In article 2202672 by Ilaria Rea, Hélder A. Santos, and co‐workers, gelatin‐coated diatomite nanoparticles loaded with galunisertib are functionalized with an anti‐L1‐CAM antibody that target...

In this study, we fabricated three different ZnO tetrapodal nanostructures (ZnO-Ts) by a combustion process and studied their physicochemical properties by different techniques to evaluate their potentiality for label-free biosensing purposes. Then, we explored the chemical reactivity of ZnO-Ts by quantifying the available functional hydroxyl group...

Materials that are able to produce free radicals have gained increasing attention for environmental and biomedical purposes. Free radicals, such as the superoxide anion (O2•−-), act as secondary messengers in many physiological pathways, such as cell survival. Therefore, the production of free radicals over physiological levels has been exploited i...

The oral route is highly desirable for colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment because it allows concentrating the drug in the colon and achieving a localized effect. However, orally administered drugs are often metabolized in the liver, resulting in reduced efficacy and the need for higher doses. Nanoparticle‐based drug delivery systems can be engineere...

Redox‐responsive silica drug delivery systems are synthesized by aeco‐friendly diatomite source to achieve on‐demand release of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) in tumor reducing microenvironment, aiming to inhibit the immune checkpoint programmed cell death 1 receptor/programmed cell death receptor ligand 1 (PD‐1/PD‐L1) in cancer cells. The nanoparticle...

Diatoms are unicellular algae that live in aquatic environments [...]

Plasmonic Transducers In article number 2101425, Bruno Miranda, Carlo Forestiere, and co‐workers report on hydrogel‐based, high‐sensitivity, hybrid plasmonic transducers for monitoring biomolecular interactions. The hydrogel network physically stabilizes gold nanoparticles, which act as biochemical optical transducers both in spectroscopy and fluor...

Current advances in the fabrication of smart nanomaterials and nanostructured surfaces find wide usage in the biomedical field. In this context, nanosensors based on localized surface plasmon resonance exhibit unprecedented optical features that can be exploited to reduce the costs, analytic times, and need for expensive lab equipment. Moreover, th...

A hybrid plasmonic transducer made of a Poly‐(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel and citrate gold nanoparticles detects the biotin‐streptavidin interaction at picomolar (× 10−12 m ) concentrations. The all‐solution fabrication strategy, herein proposed, is large‐scale, easily tunable, and low‐cost; nevertheless, this innovative device is...

In recent years, inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) obtained from diatomite biosilica have been explored in nanomedicine. Diatomite is a material of sedimentary origin formed by the remains of diatom skeletons. Diatomite-based NPs (DNPs) can be easily prepared in a size range between 100 and 400 nm and possess a porous morphology useful for the efficien...

Several species of diatoms, unicellular microalgae which constitute the main component of phytoplankton, are characterized by an impressive photosynthetic efficiency while presenting a noticeable tolerance versus exposure to detrimental UV radiation (UVR). In particular, the growth rate of the araphid diatom Ctenophora pulchella is not significantl...

Inorganic diatomite nanoparticles (DNPs) have gained increasing interest as drug delivery systems due to their porous structure, long half-life, thermal and chemical stability. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) provide DNPs with intriguing optical features that can be engineered and optimized for sensing and drug delivery applications. In this work, we co...

Engineered gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) find application in several fields related to human activities (i.e., food and cosmetic industry or water purification) including medicine, where they are employed for diagnosis, drug delivery and cancer therapy. As for any material/reagent for human use, the safety of AuNPs needs accurate evaluation. AuNPs are...

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) can be produced by well-assessed synthesis methods and can show a high surface area-to-volume ratio, chemical inertness, high electron density, strong optical absorption as well as low toxicity. AuNPs have been conjugated with many different biomolecules for a wide range of biomedical application...

Drug Delivery Systems In article number 2101711, Enza Lonardo, Anna Chiara De Luca, Ilaria Rea, and co‐workers demonstrate the small molecule Galunisertib with anticancer activity loaded inside a hybrid multifunctional nanosystem made of porous biosilica covered by plasmonic gold nanoparticles. The pH‐triggered‐LY release inducing mesenchymal to ep...

The small molecule Galunisertib (LY2157299, LY) shows multiple anticancer activities blocking the transforming growth factor‐β1 receptor, responsible for the epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) by which colorectal cancer (CRC) cells acquire migratory and metastatic capacities. However, frequent dosing of LY can produce highly toxic metabolit...

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and metal-enhanced-fluorescence (MEF)-based optical biosensors exhibit unique properties compared to other sensing devices that can be exploited for the design point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tools [1]. Plasmonic devices exploit the capability of noble-metal nanoparticles of absorbing light at a well-define...

In this paper, different nanostructured semiconductors with advanced properties are explored for the realization of both optical and electrical biosensors for DNA detection. A hybrid sensor constituted by graphene oxide (GO) covalently grafted on a porous silicon (PSi) matrix is realized. A peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe, able to recognize its co...

Over the last 30 years, optical biosensors based on nanostructured materials have obtained increasing interest since they allow the screening of a wide variety of biomolecules with high specificity, low limits of detection, and great sensitivity. Among them, flexible optical platforms have the advantage of adapting to non-planar surfaces, suitable...

Zinc oxide nanowires (ZnONWs) are largely used in biosensing applications due to their large specific surface area, photoluminescence emission and electron mobility. In this work, the surfaces of ZnONWs are modified by covalent bioconjugation of a peptidic nucleic acid (PNA) probe whose sequence is properly chosen to recognize a complementary DNA (...

This review summarizes the leading advancements in porous silicon (PSi) optical-biosensors, achieved over the past five years. The cost-effective fabrication process, the high internal surface area, the tunable pore size, and the photonic properties made the PSi an appealing transducing substrate for biosensing purposes, with applications in differ...

Microneedles (MNs) are an emerging technology in pharmaceutics and biomedicine, and are ready to be commercialized in the world market. However, solid microneedles only allow small doses and time-limited administration rates. Moreover, some well-known and already approved drugs need to be re-formulated when supplied by MNs. Instead, hollow micronee...

A 3D plasmonic sensing platform that combines the properties of citrate gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and poly-(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels is proposed as a nanocomposite hybrid material for biosensing applications, whose optical properties and sensitivity can be tuned by varying the particle mean diameter as also predicted by the Mi...

Nanoscale delivery systems have been investigated for therapy due to their advantages, including the sustained delivery of drugs to cells and reduction of systemic toxicity compared to conventional treatments. However, their application is still hampered by experimental challenges, such as the investigation of the drug release in cells rather than...

Proteins are a class of intriguing biomolecules since they are involved in major biological and vital processes. As a result of their variety and complexity, proteins are widely used in biotechnological applications and they are the most used macromolecules in the biosensing field. Proteins orientation on the transducer's substrate is crucial for b...

Biosensing systems based on microneedles can overcome the stratum corneum of the skin, i. e. the outer natural barrier of the human body, without any pain and detect the target analytes directly in the interstitial fluid. Moreover, microneedle-based devices (MNDs) can combine diagnostic sensing and therapeutic administration of drugs in one single...

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a synthetic DNA mimic that outperforms the properties of traditional oligonucleotides (ONs). On account of its outstanding features, such as remarkable binding affinity towards complementary DNA or RNA as well as high thermal and chemical stability, PNA has been proposed as a valuable alternative to the ON probe in gen...

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a synthetic DNA mimic that outperforms the properties of traditional oligonucleotides (ONs). On account of its outstanding features, such as remarkable binding affinity towards complementary DNA or RNA as well as high thermal and chemical stability, PNA has been proposed as a valuable alternative to the ON probe in gen...

Diclofenac (DCF), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is considered one of the most widespread emerging contaminants. Its incidence in water can favor the growth of drug-resistant bacteria and harm aquatic organisms endangering both the human health and the ecosystem. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on the action of reactive oxygen sp...

Diatoms—unicellular photosynthetic algae—are promising natural sources of nanostructured silica. These microorganisms produce in their membrane approximately a highly ordered porous cell wall called a frustule as protection from environmental stress. Diatom frustules consist of hydrated silica that show peculiar properties including biocompatibilit...

The development of non‐toxic fluorescent agents alternative to heavy metal‐based semiconductor quantum dots represents a relevant topic in biomedical research and in particular in the bioimaging field. Herein, highly luminescent Si‐H terminal microporous silicon nanoparticles with μs‐lived photoemission are chemically modified with a two‐step proce...

The interest in DNA based nanostructures arises from their potential applications in diagnostics and drug delivery and in the development of new hybrid and conducting materials. Guanine-rich oligonucleotides can multimerize forming long and stable supramolecular structures, known as G-wires, based on the G-quadruplex (G4) motif. Herein, we report a...

Hydrogen production by photocatalytic water splitting is one of the most promising sustainable routes to store solar energy in the form of chemical bonds. To obtain significant H2 evolution rates (HERs) a variety of defective TiO2 catalysts were synthesized by means of procedures generally requiring highly energy-consuming treatments, e.g. hydrogen...

Porous materials showing some useful transducing features, i.e., any changes in their physical or chemical properties as a consequence of molecular interaction, are very attractive in the realization of sensors and biosensors. Diatom frustules have been gaining support for biosensors since they are made of nanostructured amorphous silica, but do no...

In this work, the surface of nanostructured fluorine-doped ZnO (nZnO·F) is functionalized with protein A (PrA), and used as a model biomolecule. The chemical procedure is characterized by several analytical techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, water contact angle analysis, and fluorescence microscopy. The surface modification...

Microneedle devices could play the role of a painless door to the human body. These devices enable high performance in both drug delivery and diagnostic analysis. While there has been a strong effort by the healthcare industry and applied research laboratories, the microneedles platform has not yet reached commercial success in the global market. I...

Aptamers are artificial nucleic acid ligands identified and obtained from combinatorial libraries of synthetic nucleic acids through the in vitro process SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment). Aptamers are able to bind an ample range of non-nucleic acid targets with great specificity and affinity. Devices based on aptame...

Mainly designed and realized as a painless alternative to the hypodermic syringe, microneedle‐based devices are currently approaching commercial market placement. The considerable academic and industrial investment in this technology is reflected by a multitude of papers published and patents registered every year, which is also a sign of a field i...

Electrochemical biosensors are used worldwide as analytical tools from laboratory applications to market products. The performance of electrochemical sensing can be boosted by adopting the microneedle (MN) geometry as an innovative configuration of standard electrodes. MNs can be miniaturized, easily functionalized, and properly designed for specif...

Diatomite nanoparticles are considered a valid alternative to the synthetic porous silica ones for nano‐based drug delivery systems. In article number 1800247, Luca De Stefano, Claudia Tortiglione, and co‐workers explore the in vivo toxicity of hybrid diatomite nanovectors (DNPs) in a living model organism, the cnidarian freshwater polyp Hydra. The...

The functional properties of metal oxide semiconductors depend on intrinsic and extrinsic defects. The population of intrinsic defects is strongly affected by the synthesis method and subsequent treatments of the material, while extrinsic defects can originate from suitable doping. Stoichiometric ZrO2 is a nonreducible oxide with a large band gap....

Porous silicon nanoparticles (PSiNPs) are non-toxic photoluminescence imaging agents whose potential for biophotonic applications has been widely reported in recent years. However, this material suffers from intrinsic limitations, due to its chemical instability and rapid photoluminescence extinction on exposure to the physiological environment. In...

Food packaging is not only a simple protective barrier, but a real “active” component, which is expected to preserve food quality, safety and shelf-life. Therefore, the materials used for packaging production should show peculiar features and properties. Specifically, antimicrobial packaging has recently gained great attention with respect to both...

Diatom microalgae are the most outstanding natural source of porous silica. Diatom cell is enclosed in 3-D ordered nanopatterned silica cell wall, called frustule. The unique properties of diatoms frustule, including high specific surface area, thermal stability, biocompatibility, tailorable surface chemistry, make them really promising for biomedi...

Graphene oxide (GO) is a two-dimensional material with peculiar photoluminescence emission and good dispersion in water, that make it an useful platform for the development of label-free optical biosensors. In this study, a GO-porous silicon (PSi) hybrid device is realized using a covalent chemical approach in order to obtain a stable support for b...

Abstract Diatoms can represent the major component of phytoplankton and contribute massively to global primary production in the oceans. Over tens of millions of years they developed an intricate porous silica shell, the frustule, which ensures mechanical protection, sorting of nutrients from harmful agents, and optimization of light harvesting. Se...

Synthetic antibacterial peptides are advanced weapons that scientists design and produce facing current treats due to harmful and mortal pathogens, which could affect humans in everyday life. Recently, many small amino acid sequences, greatly efficient in the antibacterial action, have been reported in the literature. To date, only few synthetic pe...

Diatom microalgae are the most outstanding natural source of porous silica. Diatom cell is enclosed in 3-D ordered nanopatterned silica cell wall, called frustule. The unique properties of diatoms frustule, including high specific surface area, thermal stability, biocompatibility, tailorable surface chemistry, make them really promising for biomedi...

An updated literature survey is provided of the various uses of both macroporous and mesoporous silicon in individual microdevices and complex microsystems. The material has been used (a) as a silicon wafer processing tool wherein it is sacrificial (b) in a passive role where it can provide thermal or electrical isolation and (c) in an active role...

Graphene oxide (GO) is a single-atom-thick and two-dimensional carbon material that has attracted great attention because of its remarkable electronic, mechanical , chemical and thermal properties. GO could be an ideal substrate for the development of label-free optical biosen-sors, however, its weak photoluminescence (PL) strongly limits the use f...

In this work, we employed the Raman microscopy to study the internalization kinetics and spatial distribution of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-diatomite nanoparticles(DNPs) complex in human lung epidermoid carcinoma cell line (H1355) up to 72 h. Raman images are compared with confocal fluorescence microscopy results. The Raman analysis provides tha...

A colorimetric immunosensor based on local surface plasmon resonance by gold nanoparticles is presented, and its application for the detection of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) is demonstrated. The color change of the colloidal solution is produced by nanoparticle aggregation, a process that can be tuned by the presence of the analyte once the nanopa...

The internalization kinetics and intracellular spatial distribution of functionalized diatomite nanoparticles in human lung epidermoid carcinoma cell line have been investigated by confocal fluorescence and Raman microscopy. In this context, Raman imaging due to its non‐destructive, chemically selective and label‐free working principle provides evi...

Diatomite is a fossil material made of amorphous porous silica. In this work, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified diatomite NPs (PEG-DNPs) are decorated with gold NPs (AuNPs) by one-pot liquid-phase synthesis. Nanocomplexes (PEG-DNPs@AuNPs), with an average size of about 450 nm, are characterized by dynamic light scattering, electron microscopy, nit...

The chemical reactivity of as-anodized porous silicon is shown to have an adverse effect on a model drug (Lansoprazole) loaded into the pores. The silicon hydride surfaces can cause unwanted reactions with actives during storage or use. Techniques such as thermal oxidation or surface derivitization can lower the reactivity somewhat, by replacing th...

We report a simple and original method to synthesize gold nanoparticles in which a fungal protein, the hydrophobin Vmh2 from Pleurotus ostreatus, mixed to cetyltetrammonium bromide (CTAB) has been used as additional component in a one-step synthesis, leading to shell-like hybrid protein-metal nanoparticles (NPs). The nanoparticles have been charact...

Natural organisms have always inspired the design and production of innovative materials, which nowadays is a new approach to innovation called biomimetics or biomimicry. Much more uncommon is the attempt to directly use parts of living organisms as technological devices. Butterfly wings, which have been used as optical gas sensors, and diatom micr...

Porous biosilica nanoparticles obtained from diatomites (DNPs) have been recently demonstrated to be non-toxic nanovectors of therapeutic agents in cancer cells. In this work, the internalization kinetics and intracellular spatial distribution of functionalized DNPs incubated with human lung epidermoid carcinoma cell line (H1355) up to 72 h are inv...

Thermodynamics computing of temperature profiles inside and outside plasmonic structures under illumination has been analysed. In particular, the photoinduced temperature increase of a single nanosphere and a single nanorod suspended in water have been investigated by numerical simulations using the COMSOL Multiphysics software. An electromagnetic...

The development of simple, rapid, and low cost methods for early detection, identification, and measurement of multiple biomarkers remains a challenge to improve diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and prognosis of cancer. Biosensing technology, combining the properties of biological systems with functional advanced materials, guarantees rapid, reprod...

Strong local absorption in plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) leads to a temperature increase, according to thermo-optic effect. Recently, the temperature increase in metal NPs has been exploited in nanomedicine science as nanosurgery tool, local thermal assisted drugs delivery systems or in cancer therapy. In these cases, a nanoheater source with a rem...