Biophysics, Condensed Matter Physics, Surfaces and Interfaces
73
Scopus Publications
2297
Scholar Citations
27
Scholar h-index
37
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Polymer conformational entropy as the driver of complex coacervation Tommaso Inzani, Giovanni Nava, Marco Buscaglia, Andrea Soranno, Alessandro Gori, et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026 Understanding the mechanisms leading to complex coacervation is a fundamental challenge in biomolecular sciences. Here, we explored the condensation transition and pretransitional behavior of an archetypal system consisting of polyuridylic acid chains (PolyU) and short cationic peptides in buffered aqueous solutions. By combining static and dynamic light scattering with confocal microscopy, we determined the location of the transition and the partitioning of PolyU and peptides between the coexisting phases as a function of the total peptides/PolyU ratio. We find that upon adding peptides in the system, the size of PolyU coils in the single-phase region is progressively reduced by peptide-mediated intrachain bonds. Such conformational constraints become less severe in the dense phase, where part of the bonds become interchain as indicated by the sticky-reptation-type kinetics observed by dynamic light scattering. We propose a phenomenological model in which we include the loss in PolyU conformational entropy induced by peptide decoration and show that this quantity is large enough to be the main driver of the condensation transition. The model well reproduces the observed molecular partitioning between phases. We argue that the role of coil conformational relaxation, here demonstrated for a specific system, might be of general relevance in complex coacervation.
Affinity-Based Copolymer Coating for Oriented Protein Immobilization in Biosensor Development Lorenzo Zarini, Thomas Carzaniga, Morena Pirotta, Francesco Damin, Dario Brambilla, et al. Biosensors, 2025 Effective protein immobilization is a critical step in biosensor development, as it ensures the stability, functionality, and orientation of biomolecules on the sensor surface. Here, we present a novel affinity-based terpolymer coating designed to enhance protein immobilization for biosensor applications. The novelty lies in the incorporation of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) ligands directly into the polymeric chains, facilitating histidine-tagged protein oriented binding through a robust metal-chelating interaction. To validate the system, magnetic microbeads coated with the polymer were tested for their ability to bind native and His-tagged proteins. The results demonstrated the superior binding capacity, enhanced stability, and reversibility of the interactions compared to traditional coatings, which immobilize proteins through nucleophile reactions with amine residues. Moreover, enzyme immobilization tests confirmed that the polymer preserves enzymatic activity, highlighting its potential for biosensor applications requiring functional biomolecules. This innovative polymeric coating offers a fast, versatile, and scalable solution for next-generation biosensor platforms, paving the way for improved sensitivity, reliability, and accessibility in diagnostic and analytical technologies.
Dynamics of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated to COVID-19: steady severity despite declining cases and new SARS-CoV-2 variants—a single-center cohort study Thomas Carzaniga, Valeria Calcaterra, Luca Casiraghi, Tommaso Inzani, Stephana Carelli, et al. European Journal of Pediatrics, 2025 Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) is a serious condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The relationship between SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) and the occurrence and severity of MIS-C is unknown. We analyzed the dynamics of MIS-C in the Milan metropolitan area (Italy) during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the epidemiologic trends and disease severity in relation to different VOCs in a single-center study. Fifty-seven MIS-C patients (mean 8.3 ± 3.8 years) admitted to the Pediatric Department of Buzzi Children’s Hospital in Milan, Italy, between November 2020 and July 2022, were retrospectively included in the study. The SARS-CoV-2 variant was retrospectively identified from serological fingerprinting (profiles of serum antibodies targeting different variants of SARS-CoV-2 obtained by a label-free microarray biosensor) or by the variant of prevalence. Two main periods of MIS-C case accumulation were observed. The peak of MIS-C cases rate in December 2020 reached 0.6 cases per day, which is nearly double the rate observed in February 2022, despite the larger number of infected subjects. Although the WT variant exhibited a broader range of severity score values, the score distributions for the different variants do not show statistically relevant differences. Conclusion: The results clearly show a decrease in the incidence of MIS-C in relation to infections, but also support the concept that severity of MIS-C remained essentially unchanged across different virus variants, including Omicron. The course of MIS-C, once initiated, is independent from the characteristics of the triggering variants, although later variants may be considered less likely to induce MIS-C. What is known:• MIS-C is a rare systemic inflammatory disorder that arises as a post-infectious complication temporally related to SARS-CoV-2 infection.• Fluctuations in MIS-C incidence were observed throughout the pandemic, with the latest variants associated with a lower incidence. What is new:• The SARS-CoV-2 variant of infection can be retrospectively confirmed by serum antibody fingerprinting using a label-free microarray biosensor.• Despite the decreasing incidence, MIS-C severity has remained essentially unchanged across SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Weak-cooperative binding of a long single-stranded DNA chain on a surface Giovanni Nava, Thomas Carzaniga, Luca Casiraghi, Erik Bot, Giuliano Zanchetta, et al. Nucleic Acids Research, 2024 Binding gene-wide single-stranded nucleic acids to surface-immobilized complementary probes is an important but challenging process for biophysical studies and diagnostic applications. The challenge comes from the conformational dynamics of the long chain that affects its accessibility and weakens its hybridization to the probes. We investigated the binding of bacteriophage genome M13mp18 on several different 20-mer probes immobilized on the surface of a multi-spot, label-free biosensor, and observed that only a few of them display strong binding capability with dissociation constant as low as 10 pM. Comparing experimental data and computational analysis of the M13mp18 chain structural features, we found that the capturing performance of a specific probe is directly related to the multiplicity of binding sites on the genomic strand, and poorly connected with the predicted secondary and tertiary structure. We show that a model of weak cooperativity of transient bonds is compatible with the measured binding kinetics and accounts for the enhancement of probe capturing observed when more than 20 partial pairings with binding free energy lower than -10 kcal mol−1 are present. This mechanism provides a specific pattern of response of a genomic strand on a panel of properly selected oligomer probe sequences.
Fetal Myocarditis Associated with Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection Savina Mannarino, Mariano Lanna, Valeria Calcaterra, Thomas Carzaniga, Luca Casiraghi, et al. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 2024 We report the first case of significant fetal myocardial involvement associated with maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, in which restoration of cardiac function at birth was noted. The demonstration of previous infection was supported by the quantification of humoral response in child and mother, in particular the presence of anti-N antibodies and through the detection of specific antibodies against the BA.4/5 variant.
Serum antibody fingerprinting of SARS-CoV-2 variants in infected and vaccinated subjects by label-free microarray biosensor Thomas Carzaniga, Luca Casiraghi, Giovanni Nava, Giuliano Zanchetta, Tommaso Inzani, et al. Frontiers in Immunology, 2024 Both viral infection and vaccination affect the antibody repertoire of a person. Here, we demonstrate that the analysis of serum antibodies generates information not only on the virus type that caused the infection but also on the specific virus variant. We developed a rapid multiplex assay providing a fingerprint of serum antibodies against five different SARS-CoV-2 variants based on a microarray of virus antigens immobilized on the surface of a label-free reflectometric biosensor. We analyzed serum from the plasma of convalescent subjects and vaccinated volunteers and extracted individual antibody profiles of both total immunoglobulin Ig and IgA fractions. We found that Ig level profiles were strongly correlated with the specific variant of infection or vaccination and that vaccinated subjects displayed a larger quantity of total Ig and a lower fraction of IgA relative to the population of convalescent unvaccinated subjects.
Digital Detection of Single Virus Particles by Multi-Spot, Label-Free Imaging Biosensor on Anti-Reflective Glass Giovanni Nava, Luca Casiraghi, Thomas Carzaniga, Giuliano Zanchetta, Marcella Chiari, et al. Small, 2023 Rapid detection of whole virus particles in biological or environmental samples represents an unmet need for the containment of infectious diseases. Here, an optical device enabling the enumeration of single virion particles binding on antibody or aptamers immobilized on a surface with anti‐reflective coating is described. In this regime, nanoparticles adhering to the sensor surface provide localized contributions to the reflected field that become detectable because of their mixing with the interfering waves in the reflection direction. Thus, these settings are exploited to realize a scan‐free, label‐free, micro‐array‐type digital assay on a disposable cartridge, in which the virion counting takes place in wide field‐of‐view imaging. With this approach we could quantify, by enumeration, different variants of SARS‐CoV‐2 virions interacting with antibodies and aptamers immobilized on different spots. For all tested variants, the aptamers showed larger affinity but lower specificity relative to the antibodies. It is found that the combination of different probes on the same surface enables increasing specificity of detection and dynamic range.
Label-free optical biosensors in the pandemic era Giovanni Nava, Giuliano Zanchetta, Fabio Giavazzi, Marco Buscaglia Nanophotonics, 2022 The research in the field of optical biosensors is continuously expanding, thanks both to the introduction of brand new technologies and the ingenious use of established methods. A new awareness on the potential societal impact of this research has arisen as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The availability of a new generation of analytical tools enabling a more accurate understanding of bio-molecular processes or the development of distributed diagnostic devices with improved performance is now in greater demand and more clearly envisioned, but not yet achieved. In this review, we focus on emerging innovation opportunities conveyed by label-free optical biosensors. We review the most recent innovations in label-free optical biosensor technology in consideration of their competitive potential in selected application areas. The operational simplicity implicit to label-free detection can be exploited in novel rapid and compact devices for distributed diagnostic applications. The adaptability to any molecular recognition or conformational process facilitates the integration of DNA nanostructures carrying novel functions. The high sensitivity to nanoscale objects stimulates the development of ultrasensitive systems down to digital detection of single molecular binding events enhanced by nanoparticles and direct enumeration of bio-nanoparticles like viruses.
Label-free optical sensing of pollutants in real water samples with a phantom membrane integrated into a microfluidic device 21st International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences Microtas 2017, 2020
Multiplex, label-free quantification of miRNA by reflective phantom interface 23rd International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences Microtas 2019, 2019
Phantom microbeads chromatography column in microfluidics 20th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences Microtas 2016, 2016
Label-free optical detection of molecular and cellular binding on reflectionless glass 20th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences Microtas 2016, 2016
Bistability of nematic liquid crystals confined in 3D scaffold produced by two-photon polymerization 2012 Conference on Lasers and Electro Optics CLEO 2012, 2012
Polymer conformational entropy as the driver of complex coacervation T Inzani, G Nava, M Buscaglia, A Soranno, A Gori, G Bergamaschi, ... Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 123 (1), e2520181123 , 2026 2026
Identification of ICAM-1-targeting DNA aptamers as a host-directed strategy to inhibit Human Rhinovirus infection J Dellavedova, C Campera, S Ancona, M Rebecchi, V Panzeri, ... bioRxiv, 2026.04. 20.717810 , 2026 2026
Sequence optimization of a DNA aptamer inhibiting COVID-19 infection guided by analysis of secondary structure distribution MI Muniz, T Carzaniga, G Nava, L Casiraghi, D Giana, S Rocca, A Pedretti, ... Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Affinity-Based Copolymer Coating for Oriented Protein Immobilization in Biosensor Development L Zarini, T Carzaniga, M Pirotta, F Damin, D Brambilla, M Chiari, ... Biosensors 15 (10), 670 , 2025 2025
Weak-cooperative binding of long single-stranded DNA to surface-immobilized oligomers for optimal detection by microarray biosensor G Nava, T Carzaniga, L Casiraghi, E Bot, G Zanchetta, F Damin, M Chiari, ... EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL 54, S94-S95 , 2025 2025
Selective Single Virion Counting by Digital Interferometric Imaging on Label-free Biosensor Microarray G Nava, L Casiraghi, T Carzaniga, G Zanchetta, M Chiari, F Damin, ... EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL 54, S259-S259 , 2025 2025
Entropic Interplay in the Onset of Biomolecular Condensates T Inzani, G Nava, M Buscaglia, A Gori, S Suweis, A Maritan, T Bellini EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL 54, S192-S192 , 2025 2025
Dynamics of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated to COVID-19: steady severity despite declining cases and new SARS-CoV-2 variants—a single-center … T Carzaniga, V Calcaterra, L Casiraghi, T Inzani, S Carelli, G Del Castillo, ... European Journal of Pediatrics 184 (6), 327 , 2025 2025 Citations: 7
Weak-cooperative binding of a long single-stranded DNA chain on a surface G Nava, T Carzaniga, L Casiraghi, E Bot, G Zanchetta, F Damin, M Chiari, ... Nucleic Acids Research 52 (15), 8661-8674 , 2024 2024 Citations: 3
Fetal myocarditis associated with maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection S Mannarino, M Lanna, V Calcaterra, T Carzaniga, L Casiraghi, A Lai, ... The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 43 (5), 454-456 , 2024 2024 Citations: 2
Serum antibody fingerprinting of SARS-CoV-2 variants in infected and vaccinated subjects by label-free microarray biosensor T Carzaniga, L Casiraghi, G Nava, G Zanchetta, T Inzani, M Chiari, ... Frontiers in immunology 15, 1323406 , 2024 2024 Citations: 4
Digital Detection of Single Virus Particles by Multi‐Spot, Label‐Free Imaging Biosensor on Anti‐Reflective Glass G Nava, L Casiraghi, T Carzaniga, G Zanchetta, M Chiari, F Damin, ... Small 19 (32) , 2023 2023 Citations: 7
Label-free optical biosensors in the pandemic era G Nava, G Zanchetta, F Giavazzi, M Buscaglia Nanophotonics 11 (18), 4159-4181 , 2022 2022 Citations: 27
Nasopharyngeal bacterial microbiota composition and SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody maintenance in asymptomatic/paucisymptomatic subjects L Ferrari, C Favero, G Solazzo, J Mariani, A Luganini, M Ferraroni, ... Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 12, 882302 , 2022 2022 Citations: 10
Invisible fluorinated materials for optical sensing R Lanfranco, M Buscaglia Encyclopedia of Smart Materials. 3, 432-443 , 2022 2022 Citations: 2
Copolymer coatings for DNA biosensors: effect of charges and immobilization chemistries on yield, strength and kinetics of hybridization L Vanjur, T Carzaniga, L Casiraghi, G Zanchetta, F Damin, L Sola, ... Polymers 13 (22), 3897 , 2021 2021 Citations: 9
A bit stickier, a bit slower, a lot stiffer: Specific vs. nonspecific binding of gal4 to dna T Carzaniga, G Zanchetta, E Frezza, L Casiraghi, L Vanjur, G Nava, ... International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22 (8), 3813 , 2021 2021 Citations: 8
A microfluidic column of water index–matched packed microspheres for label-free observation of water pollutants R Lanfranco, J Saez, D Abati, T Carzaniga, F Benito-Lopez, M Buscaglia Microchimica Acta 188 (4), 143 , 2021 2021 Citations: 3
Acknowledgment to Reviewers of Biosensors in 2020 BE Office Biosensors 11 (2), 28 , 2021 2021
Design of a rapid, multiplex, one-pot miRNA assay optimized by label-free analysis G Zanchetta, T Carzaniga, L Vanjur, L Casiraghi, G Tagliabue, C Morasso, ... Biosensors and Bioelectronics 172, 112751 , 2021 2021 Citations: 13
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Emerging applications of label-free optical biosensors G Zanchetta, R Lanfranco, F Giavazzi, T Bellini, M Buscaglia Nanophotonics 6 (4), 627-645 , 2017 2017 Citations: 220
Nematics with quenched disorder: what is left when long range order is disrupted? T Bellini, M Buscaglia, C Chiccoli, F Mantegazza, P Pasini, C Zannoni Physical Review Letters 85 (5), 1008 , 2000 2000 Citations: 163
Memory and topological frustration in nematic liquid crystals confined in porous materials T Araki, M Buscaglia, T Bellini, H Tanaka Nature materials 10 (4), 303-309 , 2011 2011 Citations: 148
Right-handed double-helix ultrashort DNA yields chiral nematic phases with both right-and left-handed director twist G Zanchetta, F Giavazzi, M Nakata, M Buscaglia, R Cerbino, NA Clark, ... Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107 (41), 17497-17502 , 2010 2010 Citations: 129
Effects of denaturants on the dynamics of loop formation in polypeptides M Buscaglia, LJ Lapidus, WA Eaton, J Hofrichter Biophysical Journal 91 (1), 276-288 , 2006 2006 Citations: 123
Phase separation and liquid crystallization of complementary sequences in mixtures of nanoDNA oligomers G Zanchetta, M Nakata, M Buscaglia, T Bellini, NA Clark Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 (4), 1111-1117 , 2008 2008 Citations: 115
A fast and simple label-free immunoassay based on a smartphone F Giavazzi, M Salina, E Ceccarello, A Ilacqua, F Damin, L Sola, M Chiari, ... Biosensors and Bioelectronics 58, 395-402 , 2014 2014 Citations: 102
Nematics with quenched disorder: how long will it take to heal? T Bellini, M Buscaglia, C Chiccoli, F Mantegazza, P Pasini, C Zannoni Physical review letters 88 (24), 245506 , 2002 2002 Citations: 79
Determination of ultrafast protein folding rates from loop formation dynamics M Buscaglia, J Kubelka, WA Eaton, J Hofrichter Journal of molecular biology 347 (3), 657-664 , 2005 2005 Citations: 76
Viscoelasticity of nematic liquid crystals at a glance F Giavazzi, S Crotti, A Speciale, F Serra, G Zanchetta, V Trappe, ... Soft Matter 10 (22), 3938-3949 , 2014 2014 Citations: 75
Kinetics of intramolecular contact formation in a denatured protein M Buscaglia, B Schuler, LJ Lapidus, WA Eaton, J Hofrichter Journal of molecular biology 332 (1), 9-12 , 2003 2003 Citations: 71
Making connections between ultrafast protein folding kinetics and molecular dynamics simulations T Cellmer, M Buscaglia, ER Henry, J Hofrichter, WA Eaton Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 (15), 6103-6108 , 2011 2011 Citations: 70
Liquid crystal ordering of DNA and RNA oligomers with partially overlapping sequences G Zanchetta, M Nakata, M Buscaglia, NA Clark, T Bellini Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 20 (49), 494214 , 2008 2008 Citations: 65
Kinetics of contact formation and end-to-end distance distributions of swollen disordered peptides A Soranno, R Longhi, T Bellini, M Buscaglia Biophysical journal 96 (4), 1515-1528 , 2009 2009 Citations: 56
Liquid crystal alignment on a chiral surface: interfacial interaction with sheared DNA films M Nakata, G Zanchetta, M Buscaglia, T Bellini, NA Clark Langmuir 24 (18), 10390-10394 , 2008 2008 Citations: 50
The emergence of memory in liquid crystals F Serra, M Buscaglia, T Bellini Materials Today 14 (10), 488-494 , 2011 2011 Citations: 49
Nematics with quenched disorder: pinning out the origin of memory M Rotunno, M Buscaglia, C Chiccoli, F Mantegazza, P Pasini, T Bellini, ... Physical review letters 94 (9), 097802 , 2005 2005 Citations: 47
Topological defects of nematic liquid crystals confined in porous networks F Serra, KC Vishnubhatla, M Buscaglia, R Cerbino, R Osellame, ... Soft Matter 7 (22), 10945-10950 , 2011 2011 Citations: 46
Dark field differential dynamic microscopy enables accurate characterization of the roto-translational dynamics of bacteria and colloidal clusters R Cerbino, D Piotti, M Buscaglia, F Giavazzi Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 30 (2), 025901 , 2018 2018 Citations: 43
Multispot, label-free biodetection at a phantom plastic–water interface F Giavazzi, M Salina, R Cerbino, M Bassi, D Prosperi, E Ceccarello, ... Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110 (23), 9350-9355 , 2013 2013 Citations: 40