The search for new vaccines and new anticancer drugs from marine sources (ADViSE) aims to provide a new perspective of innovation in drug discovery processes for the fight against oncological diseases [lung cancer, melanoma and multiple myeloma] through both development of models of anticancer vaccines based on a new molecular adjuvant called SULFAVANT (synthetic sulfoglycolipid inspired by natural molecules from marine micro-organisms), of which preclinical development is already at an advanced ...

On February 2016 the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry (CNR) and AutismAid signed a collaboration agreement for the realization of divulgation and formation activities concerning biomolecular chemistry, aimed to support the social inclusion of children with autism. AutismAid is a not-for-profit association of parents and volunteers committed to defending the rights of autistic people. The Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry is committed to chemical study of biological systems and processes to ...

AMICA (Analysis of the oral microbiome during hormonal cycle and its alterations in menopausal women) is a project proposed by young ICB-CNR women researchers, directed by Dr. Fabiana Piscitelli, which aims to analyze and characterize the women salivary microbiome in function of changes in hormone levels (FSH, LH, progesterone and estradiol) during menstruation and menopause. For this reason, it is enlisting women volunteers of childbearing age and menopause between 25-70 years. Two are the main ...

Nanotechnology applied to medicine is the new frontier of drug therapy that aims to create personalized, safer and more effective treatments. Nano-structured systems that can facilitate the penetration, the site-specific transport and controlled release of a drug, improving efficiency and reducing the unwanted side effects, could have evolutionary implications for pharmacotherapy. This explains the great interest of the academic and industrial research in drug delivery nanotechnology. This ...

"Spice of life": polyphenol curcumin by-products may act on Parkinson's relates protein aggregation. Paolo Ruzza, ICB-CNR Parkinson's disease (PD) belongs to the group of protein misfolding diseases and it is characterized by the progressive degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons from the substantia nigra of the brain. Among the biochemical mechanisms proposed for the pathogenesis of PD, our attention has been focused on the intracellular accumulation and aggregation of misfolded proteins, in ...

"Metabolic Profiling": a new strategy for the study of metabolic diseases. Debora Paris, ICB-CNR Metabolomics describes the chemical profile of an organism in terms of metabolites, which are the end products of all chemical reactions of metabolism. The metabolic profile can be defined as a 'fingerprint' as it characterizes the biochemical phenotype of a biological system as a whole, by taking a snapshot of the overall metabolic levels. The study of the alterations induced by a disease, for ...

A ruthenium catalyst for the efficient production of hydrogen from methanol. Elisabetta Alberico, ICB-CNR Hydrogen is an ideal fuel as its combustion releases energy and water as the sole by-product. Its widespread use would allow to successfully tackle several issues, the increasing demand for energy, the pollution and green-house gases arising from the use of fossil fuels. However, mainly because of its physical and chemical properties, hydrogen is not an ideal energy vector: it is a flammable ...

New natural-like agrochemicals and fungicides for agrofood application Giovanna Delogu, ICB-CNR The new chemistry has a key role to play in maintaining and improving the quality of life, such as protection of the environment and development of sustainable synthetic techniques to solve environmental problems and to produce compounds selective and active at low concentration, with decreasing toxicity and side effects to humans, animals and vegetation. Chemical challenger includes the discovery ...