The INFN-LNF present and future accelerator-based light facilities.

The INFN-Frascati National Laboratory (LNF) is nowadays running a 0.51 GeV electron-positron collider, DA NE, that also represents the synchrotron radiation source of the beamlines of the DA NE-Light facility. Not being DA NE dedicated to synchrotron radiations activities, the DA NE-Light facility can use it mainly in parasitic mode.

Characterization of a Poly-4-Vinylpyridine-Supported CuPd Bimetallic Catalyst for Sonogashira Coupling Reactions.

CuPd bimetallic solvated metal atoms (SMA) synthesized by metal vapor synthesis (MVS) technique and supported on poly-4-vinylpyridine (PVPy) resin, showed significantly higher catalytic activity in Sonogashira-type carbon-carbon coupling reactions than the corresponding monometallic Cu and Pd systems as well as their physical mixture. The analysis of the bimetallic catalyst combining transmission electron microscopy techniques and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy revealed the presence of small Pd nanoparticles (d =2.5 nm) while the analysis of the X-ray absorption data, at the Cu K-edge suggests the formation of thin and incomplete Cu oxide layers around the Pd-rich cores.

X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies of the adducts formed between cytotoxic gold compounds and two major serum proteins.

Gold metallodrugs form a class of promising antiproliferative agents showing a high propensity to react with proteins. We exploit here X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) methods [both X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS)] to gain insight into the nature of the adducts formed between three representative gold(I, III) metallodrugs (i.e.

Thermal dependent anharmonicity effects on gold bulk studied by extended x-ray-absorption fine structure.

The structural parameters of the first five coordination shells of an Au bulk obtained from high accuracy L(3)-edge extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra in the temperature range 20-300 K are reported. Good agreement with previously reported studies is found. The effective second and third order force constants evaluated using EXAFS data are compatible with those calculated from phonon dispersion curves.

Exploiting soft and hard X-ray absorption spectroscopy to characterize metallodrug/protein interactions: the binding of [trans-RuCl4(Im)(dimethylsulfoxide)][ImH] (Im = imidazole) to bovine serum albumin.

The reaction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with [ trans-RuCl 4(Im)(dimethylsulfoxide)][ImH] (Im = imidazole) (NAMI-A), an experimental ruthenium(III) anticancer drug, and the formation of the respective NAMI-A/BSA adduct were investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at the sulfur and chlorine K-edges and at the ruthenium K- and L 3-edges. Ruthenium K and L 3-edge spectra proved unambiguously that the ruthenium center remains in the oxidation state +3 after protein binding. Comparative analysis of the chlorine K-edge XAS spectra of NAMI-A and NAMI-A/BSA, revealed that the chlorine environment is greatly perturbed upon protein binding.