ECLipse Brochure is now online
Download our brochure to know more about ECLIPSE goals, our technology and all the research teams involved in this challenging project.
ECLIPSE participated in the The 8th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress in Lisbon
On August 28-September 1, 2022 ECLIPSE participated in the The 8th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress in Lisbon. The coordinator of the Project, Prof. Luca Prodi from University of Bologna, joined the conference as invited lecturer in the theme “Spectroscopy and Perspectives in Analytical Chemistry / Advances in Physical Chemistry”, with a presentation entitled: “Dye Doped Silica Nanoparticles as Photoactive Organized Systems for Nanomedicine”.
In the same section, Prof. Giovanni Valenti from University of Bologna held an oral presentation on “New insights into the mechanism of coreactant electrogenerated chemiluminescence facilitating enhanced bioanalytical performance”.
Prof. Frank Biederman, partner from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), gave a speech on “Towards Supramolecular Systems for Small-Molecule Diagnostics in Biofluids“.
The congress had amongst its organizers Prof. Luisa de Cola from University of Milan, as head of the Scientific Committee.
ECLIPSE Kick-off Meeting
ECLIPSE Kick-off Meeting was held in Bologna (Italy) last 3-4 May 2022, hosted by the University of Bologna in the charming and recently restored Palazzo Malvezzi (Sala Armi and Sala Feste).
The Kick-Off Meeting brought together all members of the consortium and it has provided an opportunity for an update on the main objective of the project and the launching of initial actions.
The key point have been set, the Consortium is ready to achieve the project goals.
Luisa De Cola and Luca Prodi will attend the EuChemS2022 Conference
Luisa De Cola and Luca Prodi (lecture IL.G2.1) will attend the EuChemS2022 Conference in Lisbon (August 28-September 1)
Luca Prodi will attend at the 5th International Caparica Conference on Chromogenic and Emissive Materials 2022
Luca Prodi will attend at the 5th International Caparica Conference on Chromogenic and Emissive Materials 2022; Caparica, Portugal, July 4-8, giving a lecture on “Silica Nanoparticles as Photoactive Organized Systems for Nanomedicine”
Advanced photodynamic therapy with an engineered M13 phage targeting EGFR
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a potential synergistic approach to chemotherapy for treating ovarian cancer, the most lethal gynecologic malignancy. Here we used M13 bacteriophage as a targeted vector for the efficient photodynamic killing of SKOV3 and COV362 cells. The M13 phage was refactored (M13r) to display an EGFR binding peptide in its tip that is frequently overexpressed in ovarian cancer. The refactored phage was conjugated with chlorin e6 (Ce6), one of the most widely used photosensitizers (M13r-Ce6). The new platform, upon irradiation, generated ROS by type I mechanism and showed activity in killing SKOV3 and COV362 cells even at concentrations in which Ce6 alone was ineffective. A microscopy analysis demonstrated an enhanced cellular uptake of M13r-Ce6 compared to free Ce6 and its mitochondrial localization. Western blot analysis revealed significant downregulation in the expression of EGFR in cells exposed to M13r-Ce6 after PDT. Following PDT treatment, autophagy induction was supported by an increased expression of LC3II, along with a raised autophagic fluorescent signal, as observed by fluorescence microscopy analysis for autophagosome visualization. As a conclusion we have herein proposed a bacteriophage-based receptor targeted photodynamic therapy for EGFR-positive ovarian cancer.
Publication by Sabrina Conoci, Luca Prodi and Giovanni Valenti on Biosensors and Bioelectronics
News on ECLIPSE project published on Unibo Magazine
Unibo Magazine talks about the ECLIPSE project in the article “With ECLIPSE, rapid, reliable and cheap tests to detect viruses, bacteria and parasites”.