We are delighted for our new publication on Springer Nature Scientific Reports! The work is about new biorganic approaches to functionalize living cells with xeno-functional groups, making them living…platforms! Conversely to classical methods of hazardous organic synthesis or genetics, here we have presented functional decoration of individual living cells using polydopamine, a melanin-like synthetic polymer, bearing phenylboronic units. This aims to decorate the living cell surfaces via a direct ester formation between boronic units and surface glycoproteins. Moreover, these organic coatings grown around living cells are also able to catch soluble biomolecules, exhibiting e huge reactivity and versatility.
Living is better.

For info:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-68932-4

We are pleased to share our latest publication on Wiley Advanced Sustainable Systems! Here for the first time we present an envisaging way to exploit porous biosilica from marine microorganisms. An innovative biorganic approach let us treat microalgae shells as microcontainers for living probiotics. Moreover the use of 2 natural polymers (Shellac from insects and Chitosan from crustaceans) results effective to seal these biobased micro-pills, making them be resistant to gastric passage till an almost complete “opening” in contact with intestinal tract.
Sometimes it’s all a pH matter!

For more info:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adsu.202400384

We’re excited to announce our latest publication on European Journal of Organic Chemistry!
In this study, we present a novel palladium catalyst supported on silk fibroin (Pd/SF), highlighting its versatility in synthetic chemistry. This innovative catalyst effectively promoted Sonogashira coupling reactions between a wide range of aryl iodides and terminal alkynes using Et3N in ethanol under copper-free conditions. Additionally, The Pd/SF-based protocol was then successfully extended to the synthesis of benzofurans through Sonogashira-Cacchi type annulation, demonstrating its potential in organic synthesis.

Read the full text of the article at:
https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.202400632

We are pleased to share our latest publication on ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering!
The development of hybrid organic/inorganic robust biophotoanodes from diatom microalgae are a more sustainable alternative to fully synthetic electrodes. In this work, we demonstrated the suitability of a series of diatom species to act as biophotoconverters, coating the surface of ITO photoanodes in a model BPV cell. Noteworthy, biophotoanodes coated with diatom species are remarkably more resistant to photocurrent extraction and medium-term dehydration, than those from the model green microalga D. tertiolecta, proving themselves promising for the building up of highly desiccation-resistant biophotoanodes for durable BPV devices.

For more info: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c00935

The FarinolaGroup attended ISCH 2024 in Aveiro! Prof. Farinola had a talk on "Direct arylation and cross-dehydrogenative couplings of (hetero)arenes: Sustainable route to organic semiconductors for photovoltaics. Our PhD Student Matteo Martina presented his latest results about Direct Arylation reaction induced by IR during the poster session.

The FarinolaGroup was present at the EuChemS Chemistry Congress in Dublin! Prof. Gianluca Farinola showed the exciting potential of functional biohybrid nanomaterials from diatom microalgae and bacteria recently developed in our group. Our PhD Student Carola Ricciardelli presented her latest research on the application of silk fibroin in catalysis. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet prominent figures in the field.

We are thrilled to announce that Cesar has successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis in Chemical and Molecular Sciences and has officially earned his doctorate. We are incredibly proud of his hard work and dedication to his research as a part of Marie Curie BEEP ITN consortium, and we can't wait to see what he will accomplish in the future.
Congratulations on this outstanding achievement, Cesar!

The FarinolaGroup is present in Boston for participating in the MRS Fall Metting 2023 with four oral communication! Prof. Gianluca Farinola showed all the powerful opportunities of functional biohybrid nanomaterials from diatoms microalgae recently developed in our group!

We warmly welcome our new PhD students Vincenzo Tedeschi, Riccardo Ciciriello and Enrico Scelsi to join our group!

We are pleased to share our latest publication on Journal of the American Chemical Society!
Singlet diradicaloids are emerging as a promising class of molecular materials due to their potential multiple applications in several fields. In this work we reported comprehensive investigation of the photoinduced processes and mechanisms linked to the outstanding luminescence of a novel singlet diradicaloid based on the Thiele hydrocarbon backbone. Its fluorescence arises from the low-lying dark doubly excited zwitterionic state, typically found in diradicaloids, with a mechanism similar to sudden polarization, which typically occurs in olefins.

More info: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c05251

We are thrilled to share our recent publication on Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics!
Silk Fibroin (SF) is an exceptionally versatile biopolymer that can be modified using a wide range of chemical techniques, imparting tailored chemical-physical properties to the material. In this paper, we present a systematic investigation of various methods for grafting long alkyl chains onto SF with the aim of modulating its hydrophobic behavior.

Read the full text of the article at
https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202300145

We are pleased to share our latest publication on Molecular Sciences!
This study investigates the ethanolic extract of dried walnut shells upon hammer milling (HM) and ball milling (BM) grinding processes. This research work provides valuable information that highlights the significance of physical pre-treatments, such as mill grinding, in shaping the composition of extracts, with potential applications in the biorefinery or pharmaceutical industries.

Read the full text of the article at:
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713059

Prof. Farinola represented the Società Chimica Italiana at the IUPAC|CHAINS2023 congress held in The Hague, Netherlands.
This was a world meeting full of very important insights with chemists from both academia and industry, and a very interesting topic was the impact of all disciplines of chemistry on society.


For more info please visit: https://iupac.org/event/iupac-world-chemistry-congress-2023/

We are deeply thankful to the Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, a nationwide Italian newspaper that has recently published a popular article about our work with diatom microalgae.

It is our honour to be able to reach a wider public and introduce them to our work, such as producing new biomaterials based on diatoms biosilica for different applications, ranging from optoelectronics to drug delivery and bioremediation.

We are pleased to share our latest publication on ACS Omega!
In this study, we present the elucidation of the structure of regenerated Silk fibroin (SF) using Lanthanide ions as chaotropic agents. This investigation is carried out using a combination of Raman spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and solid-state NMR techniques.

Read the full text of the article at
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c07149

We’re glad to announce a new publication on ChemBioChem journal!
Living diatoms are promising candidates for the eco-friendly removal of toxic contaminants. Here we demonstrate the stabilization of a diatom biofilm on a glassy surface protruding boronic acid moieties groups thanks to the interaction with vicinal diols of diatoms extracellular polysaccharides. This system, resistant to mechanical stress, has been tested for the removal of metal ions (As, Cr, Cu, Zn, Sn, Pb, Sb) in model-polluted seawater samples.

https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202300284

Join us for two exciting science evenings with Prof. Gianluca Farinola on May 22nd and Dr. Davide Blasi on May 23rd.
Let's come together to celebrate science, knowledge, and the power of curiosity.
We hope to see you there!
For further information, please check here: https://pintofscience.it/events/bari

We are pleased to welcome Abraham Abe, the new Post-Doctoral Researcher of our group. His research activity focuses on the “development of innovative formulations of emulsifiable fluids of low environmental impact” by deriving triglycerides from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste via superfluid extraction.

We are thrilled to announce that Gianfranco has successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis in Chemical and Molecular Sciences and has officially earned his doctorate. We are incredibly proud of his hard work and dedication to his research, and we can't wait to see what he will accomplish in the future.
Congratulations on this outstanding achievement, Gianfranco!

Our latest work on organic chiral materials, performed in collaboration with Lorenzo Di Bari's group of University of Pisa, has been accepted on Chemistry - A European Journal!
We studied the impact of achiral substituents on the chiral supramolecular architectures of diketopyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole–1,2,3-1H-triazole (DPP) dyes. The same chiral DPP motif was decorated with three different achiral substituents on the nitrogen atoms of lactam moiety: the hydrophobic n-octyl alkyl chain, the hydrophilic triethylene glycol (TEG) chain and the thermo-cleavable t-butoxycarbonyl (t-Boc) carbamate group. In spite of identical π-conjugated chromophore and chiral appendage, in aggregated form these three dyes displayed profoundly different optical, chiroptical, electrochemical and thermal features. As the typical enantiopure alkyl chains from natural sources used for this purpose are quite limited, the possibility of modulating chiroptical properties of π-conjugated systems by keeping the same chiral appendage is a very important point.

Read the full text of the article at https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202300291