Biotechnological Production and Characterization of Extracellular Melanin by .

Melanins are pigments employed in food, cosmetic, and textile industries, manufactured by extraction from cuttlefishes. Their biotechnological production by Streptomycetes, instead, has been poorly investigated so far. In this paper, for the first time, the strain DSM 40314 was tested as an extracellular melanin producer by investigating the influence of diverse temperatures (26, 28, and 30 °C) and pH values (6.

DNA Antiadhesive Layer for Reusable Plasmonic Sensors: Nanostructure Pitch Effect.

A long-term reusable sensor that provides the opportunity to easily regenerate the active surface and minimize the occurrence of undesired absorption events is an appealing solution that helps to cut down the costs and improve the device performances. Impressive advances have been made in the past years concerning the development of novel cutting-edge sensors, but the reusability can currently represent a challenge. Direct shielding of the sensor surface is not always applicable, because it can impact the device performance.

Monitoring of the copper persistence on plant leaves using pulsed thermography.

Copper-based fungicides are largely used in agriculture in the control of a wide range of plant diseases. Applied on plants, they remain deposited on leaf surfaces and are not absorbed into plant tissues. Because of accumulation problems and their ecotoxicological profiles in the soil, their use needs to be monitored and controlled, also by using modern technologies to better optimize the efficacy rendering minimum the amount of copper per season used.

Plasmonic Metasurfaces for Specific SERS Detection of Shiga Toxins.

The interest in the development of nanoscale plasmonic technologies has dramatically increased in recent years. The photonic properties of plasmonic nanopatterns can be controlled and tuned via their size, shape, or the arrangement of their constituents. In this work, we propose a 2D hybrid metallic polymeric nanostructure based on the octupolar framework with enhanced sensing property.

LSPR immuno-sensing based on iso-Y nanopillars for highly sensitive and specific imidacloprid detection.

Imidacloprid is the most widely used insecticide in agriculture and its intensive use over the last 30 years has caused a global concern due to its potentially toxic effects on the ecosystem. Considering the recent scientific interest in novel simple methods for imidacloprid analysis, we propose a label-free sensitive and specific localised surface plasmon resonance system for the detection of the insecticide based on 2D nanostructured metasurfaces with highly performing plasmonic properties. The specificity of the sensor proposed was achieved by covalent bio-functionalization of the metasurface using a smart and easy one-step procedure mediated by carbon disulphide.

SERS Biosensor Based on Engineered 2D-Aperiodic Nanostructure for In-Situ Detection of Viable Bacterium in Complex Matrix.

is a foodborne pathogen globally affecting both the economy and healthcare. Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) nano-biosensing can be a promising strategy for its detection. We combined high-performance quasi-crystal patterned nanocavities for Raman enhancement with the use of covalently immobilized Tbilisi bacteriophages as high-performing bio-receptors.

Active thermography for real time monitoring of UV-B plant interactions.

Although Ultraviolet-B (UV-B)-plant interactions have been extensively analysed in the past years, many physiological aspects of the complex plant response mechanisms still need to be elucidated. Depending on the energy dose, this part of the electromagnetic spectrum can induce detrimental or beneficial effects in plant and fruit. In the present work, active thermography is used to analyse in real time the response of plants under different doses of artificial UV-B.

Large oncosomes overexpressing integrin alpha-V promote prostate cancer adhesion and invasion via AKT activation.

Background: Molecular markers for prostate cancer (PCa) are required to improve the early definition of patient outcomes. Atypically large extracellular vesicles (EVs), referred as "Large Oncosomes" (LO), have been identified in highly migratory and invasive PCa cells. We recently developed and characterized the DU145R80 subline, selected from parental DU145 cells as resistant to inhibitors of mevalonate pathway.

Dodecagonal plasmonic quasicrystals for phage-based biosensing.

In this work, we fabricate and characterize a novel sensitive two-dimensional surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate made of plasmonic nanocavities in a photonic quasicrystal arrangement characterized by a 12-fold rotational symmetry. Our SERS device is capable of detecting chemisorbed bacteriophages at a femtomolar range. Most importantly, the paper presents for the first time a study on the procedure to functionalize the plasmonic quasicrystal with bacteriophages of the Podoviridae family.

Engineered nanopatterned substrates for high-sensitive localized surface plasmon resonance: an assay on biomacromolecules.

In this paper, we report on novel iso-Y-shaped-nanopillar based photonic crystals (PCs) engineered for plasmonic lab-on-a-chip advanced diagnostics. The iso-Y shaped units are selected on the basis of their plasmonic properties, analyzed numerically and experimentally. We show that by accurately choosing the nanopillar shape, dimensions and their geometrical disposal it is possible to obtain efficient optical 2D structures for biomolecule detection by high-sensitive localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR).