SISSI-Bio Research
A brief introduction
SISSI-Bio has been primarily conceived and consistently upgraded over the years for providing state of the art tools and expertise in the field of Life Sciences, a reserach area very topical and in constant evolution. Up to 2020, the majority of the SISSI-Bio users, both considering IR synchrotron radiation and off-line, belonged to the Life Science domain; in the recent years, thanks also to the latest instrumental upgrades, a notable spiking of experiments in ecology and environmental sciences, soft and green materials, biochemstry and biophysics, cultural heritage and paleo-archeological fields has been recorded.
In the following, we provide a concise overview of the most representative experiments carried out at SISSI-Bio, and related references. The complete list of SISSI-Bio publications may be found at the google scholar SISSI-Bio webpage.
Life Sciences at SISSI-Bio
The potentialities of infrared vibrational techniques in Life Science are constantly increasing and evolving, in terms of dedicated instrumentation, sampling approaches and analytical tools. Infrared bio-spectroscopy relies on the ability of the technique to probe the vibrational modes of both small and large biomolecules, and to translate the chemical details contained in an IR spectrum into information useful for purposes such as disease screening, diagnosis, prognosis and many others. Infrared hyperspectral histology and cytology are nowadays gold standard in the field of Life Science research.
IR Hyperspectral HistologyThe diagnosis and study of many diseases relies nowadays on histopathology, an optical microscopy approach where the analysis of the patient biopsies, colored by staining, is made by the pathologists. The demand for more objective and quantitative tools for tumor grading, for example, boosted the field of infrared hyperspectral histology. As a matter of fact, infrared analysis provides qualitative and quantitative indications on the tissue’s composition in terms of macromolecular constituents, variations on the phenotype, and on events such as protein fibrillation and aggregation, cellular apoptosis, lipid peroxidation etc.
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Cancer research, ultrarare diseases, human and animal fertility, toxic effects of ingested nanoparticles on animal model's tissues are among the areas of interest of SISSI-Bio user community. Some exemplative papers are listed below.
DOIs: 10.1039/C8AN01387J, 10.1002/jbio.201960071, |
IR Hyperspectral CitologyInfrared radiation is not damaging for biological matter and therefore IR microscopy may be a valuable tool for label-free single-cell analysis, avoiding additional labeling or staining of the sample. The core application of IR Hyperspectral Cytology is phenotyping, i.e. the evaluation of the variations of the spectral features upon different stimuli, either chemical, physical or genetic. Explicative examples of IR cytology capabilities exploited at SISSI-Bio are the investigation of the biochemical changes associated with glioma stem cell differentiation, prion infection, platelets cryo-preservation protocols, drug administration, X-ray and gamma ray irradiation and many others. |
In the field of IR Hyperspectral cytology, SISSI-Bio pioneered the exploitation of microfabrication technologies for the realization of both static and dynamic bio-compatible microfluidic devices for live cell analysis, dynamic experiments and correlative studies. Some exemplative papers on applications and devices are listed below.
Retrieve articles
DOIs: 10.1016/j.bpc.2015.09.005, 10.1021/cn1000952, 10.1080/09537104.2023.2281943, 10.1039/C8AN00602D, 10.1038/srep10250, 10.1039/c3an00318c, 10.1039/C4AN00317A, 10.1021/ac5040659, 10.1039/C3LC50878A, 10.1039/d1lc00440a |
Biochemistry and Biophysics
Biochemistry and Biophysics are fields of sciences intimately related, devoted to the study of the chemical and physical principles of biological systems and processes, both considering physiological conditions and non-natural ones. Infrared vibrational analysis is an integral part of multi-technique and theoretical investigations aiming at understanding biomolecular interactions and the organizational principles on multiple scales from molecules to organisms.
BiochemistryIR vibrational analysis is well-known to be sensitive to secondary structure of bio-macromolecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids. This capability is maximized by Surface Enhanced Infrared Reflection Absorption (SEIRA) microscopy, a sampling technique that exploits plasmonic substrates, able to greatly enhance the IR performances in terms of the limit of detection and ability to work in physiological conditions. At SISSI-Bio, SEIRA microscopy has been exploited for the investigation of the subtle conformational changes affecting the secondary structure of proteins of medical relevance, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) upon binding with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor Lapatinib and the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, mPro, upon interaction with dimerization inhibitors. |
IR microscopy plays also a key role in the validation of structure-function relationship paradigm in complex heteregogenous systems, such as loaded proteins in solid supports for biocatalysis or Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs), adsorbed proteins on nanomaterials, such as nano-fibers and nanotubes, for better understanding their toxicity or potential applications as drug-delivery system. The nanoresolved capabilities of IR s-SNOM greatly boosted this field of research. Retrieve articles
DOIs: 10.1039/d0nr09200b, 10.1016/j.saa.2024.124772, 10.1039/D2CY01949C, 10.1021/jacs.8b10302, 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38966, 10.1039/d4cp02232g |
Biophysics
Biophysics is incorporated into many diverse areas of biology, such as nanomedicine. The design and development of efficient and biocompatible vectors for drug delivery is among the topics investigated at SISSI-Bio, as well as self-assembling peptides and extracellular vesicles. During the last years, an effort has been devoted to widen the biophysical research from Mid-IR to Far-IR, aiming to bridge structure and dynamics of biosystems, better understanding the role played by the solvent. |
Through the study of the structural modification of water networks it has been possible to study the way these materials interact with aqueous environment at their interface deepening their structure-function paradigm.
Retrieve articles DOIs: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b03173, 10.1016/j.saa.2024.124939, 10.1021/acsnano.4c05857 |
GeoScience
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Earth science or Geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. Infrared spectroscopy serves as a powerful analytical tool in geoscience, offering detailed insights into molecular structures and chemical bonds crucial for understanding Earth's complex processes. In biomineralization studies, it helps reveal how organisms precipitate minerals, allowing researchers to track the formation of shells, bones, and other biogenic structures through characteristic vibrational signatures of carbonate and phosphate groups and biological molecules. |
Similarly in the field of pollution research, this technique proves invaluable for identifying and characterizing different microplastics types in environmental samples, or for evaluating the effects of the exposure to toxic molecules, like nicotine or DEHP, in marine microorganisms. Figure on the left: Polystyrene traces in teh digestive tract of Antartica collembolons, from the paper: Plastics everywhere: first evidence of polystyrene fragments inside the common Antarctic collembolan Cryptopygus antarcticus, by E. Bergami et al., Biology Letters, 2020;16(6):20200093
Retrieve articles DOIs: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116912, 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.08.031, 10.1038/s41598-023-34003-3, 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0093, 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114487, |
Cultural Heritage
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IR spectroscopy, microscopy and imaging play a pivotal role in the field of Cultural Heritage science. Thanks to its non-desctructive and non-invasive nature, this technique enables the chemical characterization of a wide range of organic and inorganic materials that constitute archaeological and artistic artifacts, ensuring their preservation while providing insights into their manufacturing processes and ongoing degradation. A perfect example of SISSI-Bio capabilities includes the non-invasive analyses performed on an ancient Neanderthal piece of jewerly (130,000 years BP), and on organic residues from lithic tools and grinding stones dated back to 45,000-40,000 years ago. These studies have expanded our unerstanding of symbolic behaviour, hunting technologies and food processing habits among our Paleolithic ancestors. |
Chemical analyses on ceramic and bronze vessels contents have shed light on ancient Egyptian rituals and ink production during the Roman period. Furthermore, by exploting the lateral resolution achievable through IR nanospectroscopy, researchers have revealed secrets of Stradivari's craftsmanship, enabling them to monitor the state of preservation of his valuable violins and to plan the most suitable conservation strategies.
Retrieve articles DOIs: 10.1038/s41598-020-62938-4, 10.1038/s41559-019-0990-3, 10.1038/s41598-023-46970-8, 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c02965 |
