Hybrid silica materials from structure to functionality

The sol-gel technique provides a flexible and versatile method for creating hybrid silica matrices suitable for a wide range of applications. To gain a deeper understanding of the effectiveness and influencing factors of these applications, as well as the physicochemical properties of hybrid silica materials, appropriate characterisation techniques are essential. By combining various characterisation methods, valuable insights into the structure of composite materials at the micro- and nanoscale can be obtained. This study emphasises the synthesis, characterisation, and application of various hybrid silica gels created by modifying silica matrices with organic components.

Fabrication of oriented polycrystalline MOF micropatterns and in-situ hydrolytic stability studies

Developing porous materials with oriented pore channels is a significant challenge, crucial for applications in anisotropic functional devices. For metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), controlling orientation and positioning is essential for their integration in microdevices. Heteroepitaxial growth from ceramic templates enables the fabrication of highly oriented Cu-MOFs. We combined this with deep X-ray lithography to create extended, 3D-oriented MOF micropatterns with optical quality and anisotropic response. This presentation highlights our recent progress in heteroepitaxial MOF growth, focusing on patterning and stability studies developed at Elettra Synchrotron with support from CERIC-ERIC.

Cross-talk in Science and nucleic acids

Life and Science proceed upon interactions between people and molecules, respectively. Even the molecule of life, the double helix of DNA, is the results of the pairing of two strands. Still, DNA is highly polymorphic with several structural domains potentially interacting. This occurs at a small subset of nucleic acid and can be time and space controlled by the cellular environment thus suggesting specific cellular functions. Here, we will present how different experimental approaches provided by a network covering different expertise can actually drive a comprehensive understanding of these elements at the molecular level to ultimately modulate a single cellular pathway.

Engineering Lipid Nanoparticles for Efficient Gene Delivery

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have emerged as a promising platform for gene delivery due to their biocompatibility, tunable size, and ability to encapsulate nucleic acids, including mRNA, siRNA, and DNA. However, efficiently delivering large-sized DNA remains a significant challenge, requiring a deeper understanding of LNP structure-activity relationships. This study focuses on the design and validation of multicomponent PEGylated LNPs tailored for gene delivery, engineered with a biomolecular coating composed of DNA and plasma proteins.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of a dual acting SARS-COV-2 proteases inhibitors

COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 pathogen, led to the hardest health-socio-economic disaster in the last century. Despite the tremendous scientific efforts, mainly focused on the development of vaccines, identification of potent and efficient anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics still represents an unmet need. Here, a process of design and synthesis of two series of anti-SARS-CoV-2 peptidomimetics is described. The first effort allowed us to discover a potent MPro-PLPro dual inhibitor with a remarkable in cell activity. The second one, led to a series of MPro-CTSL dual inhibitors, which showed high potency in cell models including against the omicron variant.

Mass Spectrometry based phenomics and application in viral research

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a pivotal analytical technique underpinning the advancement of various ‘‘-omics’’ approaches. It enables the detection and quantification of thousands of proteins and biologically active metabolites from tissues, body fluids, or cell cultures. MS, combined with advanced data processing, is expected to play a crucial role in enhancing our understanding of human diseases. This will likely lead to the discovery of new molecular biomarkers, influencing drug targets and therapeutic strategies. In this contribution, we highlight the key potential in MS platform for life science application such as phenomics, and potential employment in viral research.

PRP@CERIC: the pathogen readiness platform for CERIC-ERIC infrastructure

Pathogen Readiness Platform for CERIC-ERIC upgrade (PRP@CERIC) project, isa visionary initiative, designed to be at the forefront of infectious disease research with the goal to empower the understanding of infectious diseas. PRP@CERIC is funded by the European Union through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), through the fund ” for the creation of an integrated system of research and innovation infrastructures”.
A collaborative team of experts representing eight distinguished research institutions are dedicated to addressing the pressing challenges of emerging human, animal, and plant pathogens.
In this short talk I will give un update of the activities and the status of the infrastructure we are putting in place and our plans for the future sustainability.

Quantum materials and interfaces: topological, two-dimensional, superconducting

The recent results on quantum phenomena that emerge at the interfaces of different quantum materials will be shown and discussed. The heterostructures involving topological, two-dimensional, magnetic and/or superconducting materials are of great interest for post-silicon electronics and quantum computing. The state-of-the-art experimental methods, such as angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, are used for interfaces characterization and searching for novel quantum phases of matter.

Studying low-dimensional antiferromagnets with synchrotron radiation

X-ray magnetic linear and circular dichroism (XMLD and XMCD) spectroscopy and photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) experiments were performed at the PIRX and DEMETER end-stations in Polish synchrotron SOLARIS and at Nanospectroscopy beamline in Elettra (Italy). Magnetic properties of epitaxial CoO(111)/Fe(110) and NiO(111)/Fe(110) bilayers and nanostructures were followed. We find that in both studied cases ferromagnetic (FM) sublayer plays a dominant role and determines the magnetic state of the neighboring antiferromagnet (AFM), however completely different interaction mechanisms are involved.

Making graphene nanoribbons photoluminsecent

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) can be made by bottom-up nanotechnology with atomic precision on stepped Au (788) surfaces. In order to render them useful for applications, we have devised a transfer procedure which preserves the GNR alignment. The photophysics of such samples is characterized by polarized Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. The Raman scattered light and the PL are polarized along the GNR axis. The Raman cross section as a function of excitation energy has distinct excitonic peaks associated with transitions between the one-dimensional parabolic sub-bands. Our findings set the stage for further exploration of the optical properties of GNRs on insulating substrates and in device geometries.

MeV SIMS – new accelerator based technique for analysis of cultural heritage objects

A new IBA technique, MeV SIMS, detects desorbed molecules from near-surface layers of the sample after the impact of heavy ions. It provides information about the molecular composition of the sample (detected masses in the range of 1 – 1500 Da). When connected to the heavy ion microprobe, it can generate two-dimensional images of the sample area with a lateral resolution of several micrometres, providing information about the chemical composition in each part of the image. So far, we have successfully applied MeV SIMS in biology, in cultural heritage and in. This lecture will present recent applications of MeV SIMS technique for analysis of cultural heritage objects.

TEY-XANES spectroscopy as a direct method to probe the composition of altered surface of painting

The study of chemical alteration of pigments in paintings is a challenge task. The process is a surface phenomenon, leading to the formation of degradation compounds of (sub)micrometric sizes within the paint stratigraphy. Thus, it is relevant to explore how SR X-ray methods can be used obtain direct surface elemental speciation information from larger and layered fragments, while minimizing lengthy sample preparation. Here we describes the capabilities of XRF and TEY detection modes XANES spectroscopy to selectively study the surface composition of degraded paints made up of Cr-, Se- and As- pigments. Results obtained at the beamlines BM08, ID21, ID16b and BM23 of ESRF will be presented.

Multi-technique characterisation of Earth’s earliest fossilised traces of life

The earliest traces of life date back more than 3.4 billion years and are a unique part of Earth’s geoheritage, providing key evidence for the origins, evolution and diversification of the biosphere. With CERIC support, we have investigated diverse geological samples spanning billions of years using a range of techniques. We have used TEM, HRTEM, EELS, EPR and STXM to investigate the chemistry and nanostructure of Earth’s earliest fossilised microbial biomass from South Africa and Western Australia, and have studied the 3D morphologies of microbial structures using synchrotron microtomography. More recently, we have used NMR to explore biomolecule preservation throughout the fossil record, comparing modern and ancient samples.

High-Energy Heavy Ion Irradiation of Al2O3, MgO and CaF2

Permanent damage in the target material can be produced by high-energy heavy ion irradiation if the density of deposited energy surpasses a material-dependent threshold value. We report the established threshold values for grazing incidence irradiated Al2O3, MgO and CaF2 that are much lower than expected. By means of atomic force microscopy we found that ion beams with values of 3 MeV O and 5 MeV Si, despite the low density of deposited energy along the ion trajectory, can modify the structure of investigated materials. The obtained results should be relevant for radiation hardness studies because unexpected damage build-up can occur under similar conditions.

The microscopic side of the Environment

In this presentation, some case studies of synchrotron techniques use relevant to the environment will be presented. A first case will regard the exposure of foraminifera, unicellular organisms living in the oceans and forming their shell in few days, to environmental stressors such as metals and plastic. Foraminifera respond to these stresses and can be used as indicator of environmental quality. they can incorporate plastics into their shells in various way, either by biomineralization processes or physical incorporation. However, they also respond to global scale events and pollution by producing less calcium carbonate, thus decreasing the C biogenic reservoir and this is not beneficial to the global Environment. Some other case study based on CERIC opportunity will be presented, and how the gathered data can have a deep implication for the environmental management will be discussed.