CURRICULUM VITAE

 

 

 

First name: ALESSANDRO

Surname: BERTUCCI 

Nationality: Italian

Birthplace: Parma, Italy

Date of birth: 26/04/1987

Email: alessandro.bertucci@nemo.unipr.it, bertucci@unistra.fr

 

 

PRESENT STATUS

Period: Jan.2012 – now    

Institutes University of Parma, Italy – University of Strasbourg, Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (ISIS)

Status: Ph.D. Student in Chemical Sciences 

Supervisors: Prof. R. Corradini, Prof. L. De Cola

 

ACADEMIC EDUCATION

Period: Oct. 2009 – Oct. 2011

Institute: University of Parma, Italy

Level Classification: Laurea Magistrale in Chimica ( Master Degree in Chemistry)

Thesis: “Development of sample treatment methods and use of linear ion trap MS analyzer for the quantitative analysis of proteins in red wine”

Supervisors: Prof.ssa M. Careri, Dott.ssa L. Elviri

Final Score: 110/110 cum laude

 

Period: Oct. 2006 – Sept. 2009

Instiute: University of Parma, Italy

Level Classification: Laurea in Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche (Bachelor Degree in Chemical Science and Technology)

Thesis: “Determination of release kinetics and evaluation of the matrix effect in polymer films loaded with cisPt”

Supervisor: Prof. C. Mucchino

Final Score: 110/110 cum laude

Bio-functionalized nanomaterials

 

My actual research topic in De Cola’s group is about the development of novel bio-functionalized nanomaterials and nanocarriers for cell imaging and drug delivery.

Zeolite-L are synthetic, porous, crystalline aluminosilicate with cylindrical shape and hexagonal symmetry with channels running along the c-axis of the crystals. One very interesting feature related to zeolite-L is the possibility to create multifunctional nanomaterials, exploiting both internal channel filling and surface modification.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are very efficient oligonucleotide mimics for the recognition of DNA or RNA, which are based on a polyamide chain on which DNA nucleobases are linked through a two-atom spacer. These molecules are very interesting as probes since they have very high affinity for DNA, high specificity of interaction and, most important for biological applications, high stability to chemical or enzymatic degradation.

Peptide nucleic acids as specific probes can be used to develop novel PNA-modified zeolites to create hybrid nanomaterials combining the host properties of the material with the relevant biological and chemical features of PNA strands.

At the same time, properly modified zeolites-L are supposed to be well suited to interact also with DNA sequences, so that new systems with unique properties at the interface between inorganic material and biomolecules could be developed.

Full characterization of these hybrid materials and studies about their properties in solution and in in-vitro experiments are actually the main part of my research work.