Life Sciences
The Life Sciences team of the E. Amaldi is active in the design, development and characterisation of tools that have real potential in terms of technology transfer in the field of life sciences, obviously not neglecting innovative research as a key driver to ensure the advancement of scientific expertise.
With this in mind, it promotes participation in research projects by responding to regional, national and international calls for proposals, aggregating both academic and industrial partners and coordinating the relevant consortium.
The Foundation’s Life Sciences sector has also set up a Working Group at the Italian Space Agency on issues of spin in towards space, in conjunction with the Agency’s Technology Transfer Unit.
The team is engaged in the modelling, development and characterisation of bioresorbable structures (scaffolds) for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and in the definition of innovative sensors for clinical diagnostics. Specifically in the field of bone tissue engineering, it has developed an innovative random biomimetic scaffold that reproduces the microarchitecture of trabecular bone under healthy and pathological conditions.
How does the department work?
Tissue engineering represents an area of frontier research, since scaffolds made according to the criteria of this interdisciplinary approach enable the regeneration of new functional tissue, following trauma or pathology, by temporarily reproducing the natural microenvironment as closely as possible.
This introduces the possibility of guiding the formation of the biological matrix to promote complete physiological recovery. To this end, various methods, such as electrospinning and 3D printing, are employed in the Life Sciences sector to ensure that the final structure meets specific requirements to be assessed within the network of collaborations, established and coordinated by the team itself as an integral part of its activities.
The Life Sciences sector of the E. Amaldi is also developing robust expertise in the field of protection against ionising radiation. Specifically, the synergy of a team of experts in the functionalisation and processing of biomaterials and in additive manufacturing techniques has led to the study and development of possible prototypes for shielding against ionising radiation, initially conceived for use on Earth, e.g. for radiation protection in the biomedical field, to be subsequently readapted for different types of radiation, such as those present in space, as possible lightweight shields for the protection of astronauts and electronic components.
Referring to the sensor industry, the synergistic combination of nanomaterials and biotechnology has allowed the development of highly selective and highly sensitive detection devices for oncology applications. Being able to measure extremely low concentrations of pathological markers means having an instrument that can provide a valuable contribution in terms of early diagnosis.
A similar result can be achieved by appropriately functionalizing the measuring substrate and analyzing it by means of Raman spectroscopy in SERS mode (Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy) which allows to amplify by several orders of magnitude signals related to the analyte of interest. Still in the field of sensors in the SERS approach, the Department has activated various collaborations aimed at creating specific measuring devices for applications in the pharmacological and agri-food fields.
The existing activities and those planned as next guidelines are made possible thanks to the integration of different professional profiles that draw on the fields of biomedical engineering, materials science and chemistry.
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