Sensors and model membranes

Development of new bio-physical techniques for the evaluation of chemical mode of action on model membranes

Detection and identification of pollutants is essential for safety and quality assessment. Polydiacetylenes (PDA) are conjugated polymers that have been extensively studied as a sensor matrix, because of their color (blue-to-red) and fluorescence (none-to-fluorescent) changes in response to environmental cues. We detected distinctive colorimetric and spectroscopic transformations, corresponding to purple, red, and yellow PDA phases specifically induced by different ionic liquids, surfactant and other chemical classes. Color changes are induced by substances and the chromatic transformations are correlated to the analyte structures, properties and concentration. We designed and synthesized new derivatives of tricosadyinoic acid(TR), which were employed for color analysis of surfactants and also organic constituents in painting materials. Quantitative analysis revealed that the colorimetric transitions were dictated by the interactions between the diacetylene headgroups and the tested compounds. These researches are the outcomes of successful collaboration between our group and Prof. Jelinek laboratories (Ben Gurion university, Israel) triggered in 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

Selected publications: 

  1. Alexander Trachtenberg, Orit Malka, Kaviya Parambath Kootery, Stella Beglaryan, Danilo Malferrari, Paola Galletti, Silvia Prati, Rocco Mazzeo, Emilio Tagliavini, Raz Jelinek, New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 9054-9059
  2. Danilo Malferrari, Stella Beglaryan, Paola Galletti, Margarita Ritenberg, Kaviya P. Kootery, Roman Volinsky, Sofiya Kolusheva, Raz Jelinek, Emilio Tagliavini, Chimica e l'Industria, 2015, 97(1), 38-43.
  3. Paola Galletti, Danilo Malferrari, Chiara Samorì, Giorgio Sartor, Emilio Tagliavini, Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 2015, 125, 142-150.
  4. Kaviya Parambath Kootery, Hao Jiang, Sofiya Kolusheva, T. P. Vinod, Margarita Ritenberg, Leila Zeiri, Roman Volinsky, Danilo Malferrari, Paola Galletti, Emilio Tagliavini and Raz Jelinek, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2014, 6 (11), 8613–8620
  5. Noga Gal, Danilo Malferrari, Sofyia Kolusheva, Paola Galletti, Emilio Tagliavini, Raz Jelinek, Biochimica Biophysica Acta, 2012, 1818, 2967–2974.
  6. Chiara Samorì, Danilo Malferrari, Paola Valbonesi, Adele Montecavalli, Fabio Moretti, Paola Galletti, Giorgio Sartor, Emilio Tagliavini, Elena Fabbri, Andrea Pasteris, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2010, 73, 1456 -1464.