bruno Torre

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Materials Science, Multidisciplinary, Biophysics, Surfaces and Interfaces

Scopus Publications

AFM interlaboratory comparison for nanodimensional metrology on silicon nanowires
Luigi Ribotta, Alexandra Delvallée, Eleonora Cara, Roberto Bellotti, Andrea Giura, Ivan De Carlo, Matteo Fretto, Walter Knulst, Richard Koops, Bruno Torre,et al.
IOP Publishing
Abstract Silicon nanowires (NWs) with a cylindrical form are fabricated by means of nanosphere lithography and metal-assisted chemical etching to obtain high aspect ratio nanostructures (diameter of about 100 nm and length of more than 15 µm) on an approximately 1 cm2 area. The nanodimensional characterization of individual NWs is performed by using several techniques, because dimensions at the nanoscale strictly relate to functional performance. In this study, we report the results of an interlaboratory comparison between measurements from a metrological atomic force microscope (AFM) and research AFMs located in different national metrology institutes (NMIs) across Europe and in a university. The purpose of this study is to characterize two measurands: (i) sidewall roughness ( R a , R q , R z , R sk , R ku parameters) extracted from the top profile measured along the nanowire length, and (ii) diameter of the nanowires measured as top-height. To this goal, the nanowires are spread horizontally on a silicon substrate, which has several areas labelled with a pattern of crosses and letters facilitating the measurement of the same NW, in order to study the reproducibility due to different instruments. Measurements show a good agreement between the different NMIs, with a combined standard uncertainty of top-height diameter less than 3%, and with a combined standard uncertainty of roughness parameters well within 5% for R a and R q values.


Stabilizing Layered BiOBr Photoelectrocatalyst by Van Der Waals Heterojunction Strategy
Mengjiao Wang, Silvio Osella, Bruno Torre, Matteo Crisci, Fabian Schmitz, Roberto Altieri, Enzo Di Fabrizio, Heinz Amenitsch, Barbara Sartori, Zheming Liu,et al.
Wiley
AbstractThe photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) holds immense promise as a clean and sustainable method for hydrogen production. However, finding a suitable catalyst which is efficient, stable and scalable still remains an open challenge. BiOBr is a 2D layered material studied as photoelectrocatalyst because of its suitable band gap for light absorption and potential for up‐scalable production. However, its application in HER is not commonly reported, because of instability in a cathodic PEC environment, driven by a strong tendency to reduction to metallic bismuth. To solve this problem, 2D MoS2 is used to induce the formation of a van der Waals (vdW) layered heterojunction (HJ) to stabilize the lattice of BiOBr during HER. By performing PEC HER with the HJs containing different ratios of MoS2, it is found that the HJ with 1 % MoS2 can increase the stability of BiOBr, while the one with 50 % MoS2 can even accelerate the reduction of BiOBr to metallic bismuth. DFT calculations reveal that the interface between BiOBr and MoS2 in the HJ with 1 % MoS2 tends to push active electrons on the sulfur atoms, thus favoring HER. On the other hand, in the 50 % HJ, active electrons are prone to react with BiOBr to induce reduction. In situ wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) on the MoS2/BiOBr HJs with 1 % and 50 % of MoS2 allows to track the phase change and the phase transfer speed of BiOBr during PEC HER. Interestingly, when the HJ is illuminated with UV light, a lower amount of BiOBr is reduced to Bi under negative potential, due to the presence of photogenerated holes reacting with the extra electrons derived from the negative bias and preventing the BiOBr photon absorber to be further reduced.


Synaptic Plasticity and Visual Memory in a Neuromorphic 2D Memitter Based on WS<inf>2</inf> Monolayers
Federico Ferrarese Lupi, Gianluca Milano, Angelo Angelini, Mateo Rosero‐Realpe, Bruno Torre, Erika Kozma, Christian Martella, and Carlo Grazianetti
Wiley
AbstractNeuromorphic computing aims to leverage physical phenomena of adaptive materials for emulating information processing capabilities and effectiveness of biological neuronal circuits. In this framework, memristors (resistors with memory) based on 2D materials are demonstrated for the hardware implementation of highly integrated artificial neural networks. All the works reported thus far exploited electrical properties of 2D materials to emulate neuromorphic functionalities. Here, a 2D memitter (emitter with memory) is reported on that exploits the stimuli‐responsive photoluminescence of a monolayer WS2 for neuromorphic‐type of data processing. A combined experimental and modeling approach reveals that photoluminescent dynamics triggered by optical stimulation emulates Short‐Term synaptic Plasticity and Visual Short‐Term Memory typical of biological systems. While spatio‐temporal processing capabilities of input signals can be used for information processing in the context of reservoir computing, the capability of the 2D memitter of sensing, processing, and memorizing‐forgetting optical inputs in the same physical substrate can be utilized for in‐sensor computing.


Reticular chemistry for the rational design of mechanically robust mesoporous merged-net metal-organic frameworks
Hao Jiang, Seyed Mohamad Moosavi, Justyna Czaban-Jóźwiak, Bruno Torre, Aleksander Shkurenko, Zied Ouled Ameur, Jiangtao Jia, Norah Alsadun, Osama Shekhah, Enzo Di Fabrizio,et al.
Elsevier BV



Self-sieving DNA over superhydrophobic surfaces: A Raman spectroscopy study
Monica Marini, Bruno Torre, Marco Allione, Tania Limongi, Francesca Legittimo, Andrea Giugni, Carlo Ricciardi, Candido Fabrizio Pirri, and Enzo di Fabrizio
Wiley
AbstractThe Raman spectra of DNA fibers were studied before and after suspension over superhydrophobic surface (SHS). At the end of the dehydration process of a droplet of nucleic acids solution over SHS, two structural areas appear: (i) a thicker droplet residual spot and (ii) a thinner free‐standing, self‐oriented DNA extended fibers region. For specimens deposited on reference samples (CaF2 slides), buffer contribution overrides the total Raman spectrum, while for free‐standing λDNA, biological signature comes out readily with no interference. Our spectroscopy results confirm that a mechanical sieving effect occurs spontaneously during λDNA suspension process over superhydrophobic devices. Tailored designed devices and sample preparation separate small non‐interacted molecules from the bundles and remove, concentrating, the non‐suspended material in a defined area of the SHS. At the end of the process, helices retain only the ions that effectively have interacted with the DNA strand in solution, while all the other compounds were sieved away from the areas of interest. The self‐sieving effect herein shown will provide a step forward for biomaterials studies as it allows the characterization of dilutions otherwise not detectable. The samples, autonomously purified, retain the effective interaction with environmental stresses free from any other misleading contribution allowing for characterization in optimal condition.


Direct Visualization and Identification of Membrane Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels from Human iPSC-Derived Neurons by Multiple Imaging and Light Enhanced Spectroscopy
Manola Moretti, Tania Limongi, Claudia Testi, Edoardo Milanetti, Maria Teresa De Angelis, Elvira I. Parrotta, Stefania Scalise, Gianluca Santamaria, Marco Allione, Sergei Lopatin,et al.
Wiley
AbstractIn this study, transmission electron microscopy atomic force microscopy, and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy are combined through a direct imaging approach, to gather structural and chemical information of complex molecular systems such as ion channels in their original plasma membrane. Customized microfabricated sample holder allows to characterize Nav channels embedded in the original plasma membrane extracted from neuronal cells that are derived from healthy human induced pluripotent stem cells. The identification of the channels is accomplished by using two different approaches, one of them widely used in cryo‐EM (the particle analysis method) and the other based on a novel Zernike Polynomial expansion of the images bitmap. This approach allows to carry out a whole series of investigations, one complementary to the other, on the same sample, preserving its state as close as possible to the original membrane configuration.


Microfluidics for 3D Cell and Tissue Cultures: Microfabricative and Ethical Aspects Updates
Tania Limongi, Francesco Guzzi, Elvira Parrotta, Patrizio Candeloro, Stefania Scalise, Valeria Lucchino, Francesco Gentile, Luca Tirinato, Maria Laura Coluccio, Bruno Torre,et al.
MDPI AG
The necessity to improve in vitro cell screening assays is becoming ever more important. Pharmaceutical companies, research laboratories and hospitals require technologies that help to speed up conventional screening and therapeutic procedures to produce more data in a short time in a realistic and reliable manner. The design of new solutions for test biomaterials and active molecules is one of the urgent problems of preclinical screening and the limited correlation between in vitro and in vivo data remains one of the major issues. The establishment of the most suitable in vitro model provides reduction in times, costs and, last but not least, in the number of animal experiments as recommended by the 3Rs (replace, reduce, refine) ethical guiding principles for testing involving animals. Although two-dimensional (2D) traditional cell screening assays are generally cheap and practical to manage, they have strong limitations, as cells, within the transition from the three-dimensional (3D) in vivo to the 2D in vitro growth conditions, do not properly mimic the real morphologies and physiology of their native tissues. In the study of human pathologies, especially, animal experiments provide data closer to what happens in the target organ or apparatus, but they imply slow and costly procedures and they generally do not fully accomplish the 3Rs recommendations, i.e., the amount of laboratory animals and the stress that they undergo must be minimized. Microfluidic devices seem to offer different advantages in relation to the mentioned issues. This review aims to describe the critical issues connected with the conventional cells culture and screening procedures, showing what happens in the in vivo physiological micro and nano environment also from a physical point of view. During the discussion, some microfluidic tools and their components are described to explain how these devices can circumvent the actual limitations described in the introduction.


DNA-Carbon Nanotube Binding Mode Determines the Efficiency of Carbon Nanotube-Mediated DNA Delivery to Intact Plants
Zahir Ali, Maged F. Serag, Gozde S. Demirer, Bruno Torre, Enzo di Fabrizio, Markita P. Landry, Satoshi Habuchi, and Magdy Mahfouz
American Chemical Society (ACS)
: E ffi cient delivery of DNA, RNA, and genome engineering machinery to plant cells will enable e ff orts to genetically modify plants for global food security, sustainable energy production, synthetic biology applications, and climate change resilience. For the delivery of functional genetic units into plant cells, nanoparticles, particularly carbon nanotubes (CNTs), have attracted considerable interest. Although some success has been achieved using CNT-based approaches, the e ffi ciency and practicality of the method for genome editing applications remain elusive. This is partly due to insu ffi cient knowledge about the mechanisms of CNT-mediated delivery and expression of CNT-condensed DNA in plants. Here, we characterize the transcription and transformation e ffi ciency of DNA deposited on CNTs coated with positively charged polymers by applying multiple experimental settings and reporter systems controlling the delivery and expression of DNA in plants. We found that the formation of partially condensed DNA on the CNT surface is a prerequisite for transfection and expression. In addition, we show that DNA irreversibly binds to the CNT and does not detach completely from the CNT surface. These results, together with an in vitro transcription assay, suggest that only the partially condensed part of the DNA is accessible to the cellular transcription machinery. Thus, the overall transcription and translation e ffi ciency remains low, in particular for the large DNA units that are required for genome editing applications. Understanding the underlying mechanisms and limitations of CNT-mediated delivery of DNA through the plant cell wall is of considerable importance in guiding e ff orts to design nanomaterials for e ffi cient transformation, agricultural trait engineering, and synthetic biology applications.


Lipid-based nanovesicular drug delivery systems
Tania Limongi, Francesca Susa, Monica Marini, Marco Allione, Bruno Torre, Roberto Pisano, and Enzo di Fabrizio
MDPI AG
In designing a new drug, considering the preferred route of administration, various requirements must be fulfilled. Active molecules pharmacokinetics should be reliable with a valuable drug profile as well as well-tolerated. Over the past 20 years, nanotechnologies have provided alternative and complementary solutions to those of an exclusively pharmaceutical chemical nature since scientists and clinicians invested in the optimization of materials and methods capable of regulating effective drug delivery at the nanometer scale. Among the many drug delivery carriers, lipid nano vesicular ones successfully support clinical candidates approaching such problems as insolubility, biodegradation, and difficulty in overcoming the skin and biological barriers such as the blood–brain one. In this review, the authors discussed the structure, the biochemical composition, and the drug delivery applications of lipid nanovesicular carriers, namely, niosomes, proniosomes, ethosomes, transferosomes, pharmacosomes, ufasomes, phytosomes, catanionic vesicles, and extracellular vesicles.


Micro/nanopatterned superhydrophobic surfaces fabrication for biomolecules and biomaterials manipulation and analysis
Marco Allione, Tania Limongi, Monica Marini, Bruno Torre, Peng Zhang, Manola Moretti, Gerardo Perozziello, Patrizio Candeloro, Lucia Napione, Candido Fabrizio Pirri,et al.
MDPI AG
Superhydrophobic surfaces display an extraordinary repulsion to water and water-based solutions. This effect emerges from the interplay of intrinsic hydrophobicity of the surface and its morphology. These surfaces have been established for a long time and have been studied for decades. The increasing interest in recent years has been focused towards applications in many different fields and, in particular, biomedical applications. In this paper, we review the progress achieved in the last years in the fabrication of regularly patterned superhydrophobic surfaces in many different materials and their exploitation for the manipulation and characterization of biomaterial, with particular emphasis on the issues affecting the yields of the fabrication processes and the quality of the manufactured devices.


Dna studies: Latest spectroscopic and structural approaches
Monica Marini, Francesca Legittimo, Bruno Torre, Marco Allione, Tania Limongi, Luciano Scaltrito, Candido Fabrizio Pirri, and Enzo di Fabrizio
MDPI AG
This review looks at the different approaches, techniques, and materials devoted to DNA studies. In the past few decades, DNA nanotechnology, micro-fabrication, imaging, and spectroscopies have been tailored and combined for a broad range of medical-oriented applications. The continuous advancements in miniaturization of the devices, as well as the continuous need to study biological material structures and interactions, down to single molecules, have increase the interdisciplinarity of emerging technologies. In the following paragraphs, we will focus on recent sensing approaches, with a particular effort attributed to cutting-edge techniques for structural and mechanical studies of nucleic acids.


Clustering of Major Histocompatibility Complex-Class i Molecules in Healthy and Cancer Colon Cells Revealed from Their Nanomechanical Properties
Manola Moretti, Rosanna La Rocca, Michela Perrone Donnorso, Bruno Torre, Claudio Canale, Mario Malerba, Gobind Das, Rosa Sottile, Cinzia Garofalo, Adnane Achour,et al.
American Chemical Society (ACS)
The activation of the T cell mediated immune response relies on the fine interaction between the T cell receptor on the immune cell and the antigen-presenting major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules on the membrane surface of antigen-presenting cells. Both the distribution and quantity of MHC/peptide complexes and their adequate morphological presentation affect the activation of the immune cells. In several types of cancer the immune response is down-regulated due to the low expression of MHC-class I (MHC-I) molecules on the cell's surface, and in addition, the mechanical properties of the membrane seem to play a role. Herein, we investigate the distribution of MHC-I molecules and the related nanoscale mechanical environment on the cell surface of two cell lines derived from colon adenocarcinoma and a healthy epithelial colon reference cell line. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) force spectroscopy analysis using an antibody-tagged pyramidal probe specific for MHC-I molecules and a formula that relates the elasticity of the cell to the energy of adhesion revealed the different population distributions of MHC-I molecules in healthy cells compared to cancer cells. We found that MHC-I molecules are significantly less expressed in cancer cells. Moreover, the local elastic modulus is significantly reduced in cancer cells. We speculate that these results might be related to the proven ability of cancer cells to evade the immune system, not only by reducing MHC-I cell surface expression but also by modifying the local mechanical properties affecting the overall morphology of MHC-I synapse presentation to immune cells.


A droplet reactor on a super-hydrophobic surface allows control and characterization of amyloid fibril growth
Peng Zhang, Manola Moretti, Marco Allione, Yuansi Tian, Javier Ordonez-Loza, Davide Altamura, Cinzia Giannini, Bruno Torre, Gobind Das, Erqiang Li,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractMethods to produce protein amyloid fibrils, in vitro, and in situ structure characterization, are of primary importance in biology, medicine, and pharmacology. We first demonstrated the droplet on a super-hydrophobic substrate as the reactor to produce protein amyloid fibrils with real-time monitoring of the growth process by using combined light-sheet microscopy and thermal imaging. The molecular structures were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray scattering. We demonstrated that the convective flow induced by the temperature gradient of the sample is the main driving force in the growth of well-ordered protein fibrils. Particular attention was devoted to PHF6 peptide and full-length Tau441 protein to form amyloid fibrils. By a combined experimental with the molecular dynamics simulations, the conformational polymorphism of these amyloid fibrils were characterized. The study provided a feasible procedure to optimize the amyloid fibrils formation and characterizations of other types of proteins in future studies.


Influence of Water on the Performance of Organic Electrochemical Transistors
Achilleas Savva, Camila Cendra, Andrea Giugni, Bruno Torre, Jokubas Surgailis, David Ohayon, Alexander Giovannitti, Iain McCulloch, Enzo Di Fabrizio, Alberto Salleo,et al.
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) composed of organic mixed conductors can operate in aqueous, biological media and translate low-magnitude ionic fluctuations of biological origin into measurable electrical signals. The growing technological interest in these biotransducers makes the fundamental understanding of ion-to-electron coupling extremely important for the design of new materials and devices. One crucial aspect in this process that has been so far disregarded is the water taken up by the film during device operation and its effects on device performance. Here, using a series of the same electrolyte with varying ion concentrations, we quantify the amount of water that is incorporated into a hydrophilic p-type organic semiconductor film alongside the dopant anions and investigate structural and morphological changes occurring in the film upon electrochemical doping. We show that infiltration of the hydrated dopant ions into the film irreversibly changes the polymer structure and negatively...


Lateral-Polarity Structure of AlGaN Quantum Wells: A Promising Approach to Enhancing the Ultraviolet Luminescence
Wei Guo, Haiding Sun, Bruno Torre, Junmei Li, Moheb Sheikhi, Jiean Jiang, Hongwei Li, Shiping Guo, Kuang‐Hui Li, Ronghui Lin,et al.
Wiley
AbstractAluminum‐gallium‐nitride alloys (Al x Ga1– x N, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1) can emit light covering the ultraviolet spectrum from 210 to 360 nm. However, these emitters have not fulfilled their full promise to replace the toxic and fragile mercury UV lamps due to their low efficiencies. This study demonstrates a promising approach to enhancing the luminescence efficiency of AlGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) via the introduction of a lateral‐polarity structure (LPS) comprising both III and N‐polar domains. The enhanced luminescence in LPS is attributed to the surface roughening, and compositional inhomogeneities in the N‐polar domain. The space‐resolved internal quantum efficiency (IQE) mapping shows a higher relative IQE in N‐polar domains and near inversion domain boundaries, providing strong evidence of enhanced radiative recombination efficiency in the LPS. These experimental observations are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations, where both lateral and vertical band diagrams are investigated. This work suggests that the introduction of the LPS in AlGaN‐based MQWs can provide unprecedented tunability in achieving higher luminescence performance in the development of solid state light sources.


Plasmonic nanowires for wide wavelength range molecular sensing
Giovanni Marinaro, Gobind Das, Andrea Giugni, Marco Allione, Bruno Torre, Patrizio Candeloro, Jurgen Kosel, and Enzo Di Fabrizio
MDPI AG
In this paper, we propose the use of a standing nanowires array, constituted by plasmonic active gold wires grown on iron disks, and partially immersed in a supporting alumina matrix, for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy applications. The galvanic process was used to fabricate nanowires in pores of anodized alumina template, making this device cost-effective. This fabrication method allows for the selection of size, diameter, and spatial arrangement of nanowires. The proposed device, thanks to a detailed design analysis, demonstrates a broadband plasmonic enhancement effect useful for many standard excitation wavelengths in the visible and NIR. The trigonal pores arrangement gives an efficiency weakly dependent on polarization. The devices, tested with 633 and 830 nm laser lines, show a significant Raman enhancement factor, up to around 6 × 104, with respect to the flat gold surface, used as a reference for the measurements of the investigated molecules.


Confined laminar flow on a super-hydrophobic surface drives the initial stages of tau protein aggregation
Manola Moretti, Marco Allione, Monica Marini, Andrea Giugni, Bruno Torre, Gobind Das, and Enzo Di Fabrizio
Elsevier BV



Suspended DNA structural characterization by TEM diffraction
Monica Marini, Marco Allione, Sergei Lopatin, Manola Moretti, Andrea Giugni, Bruno Torre, and Enzo di Fabrizio
Elsevier BV



The Role of Surface Tension in the Crystallization of Metal Halide Perovskites
Ayan A. Zhumekenov, Victor M. Burlakov, Makhsud I. Saidaminov, Abdulilah Alofi, Md Azimul Haque, Bekir Turedi, Bambar Davaasuren, Ibrahim Dursun, Namchul Cho, Ahmed M. El-Zohry,et al.
American Chemical Society (ACS)
The exciting intrinsic properties discovered in single crystals of metal halide perovskites still await their translation into optoelectronic devices. The poor understanding and control of the crystallization process of these materials are current bottlenecks retarding the shift toward single-crystal-based optoelectronics. Here we theoretically and experimentally elucidate the role of surface tension in the rapid synthesis of perovskite single crystals by inverse temperature crystallization. Understanding the nucleation and growth mechanisms enabled us to exploit surface tension to direct the growth of monocrystalline films of perovskites (AMX3, where A = CH3NH3+ or MA; M = Pb2+, Sn2+; X = Br–, I–) on the solution surface. We achieve up to 1 cm2-sized monocrystalline films with thickness on the order of the charge carrier diffusion length (∼5–10 μm). Our work paves the way to control the crystallization process of perovskites, including thin-film deposition, which is essential to advance the performance b...


Experimental Route to Scanning Probe Hot-Electron Nanoscopy (HENs) Applied to 2D Material
Andrea Giugni, Bruno Torre, Marco Allione, Gobind Das, Zhenwei Wang, Xin He, Husam N. Alshareef, and Enzo Di Fabrizio
Wiley
This paper presents details on a new experimental apparatus implementing the hot electron nanoscopy (HENs) technique introduced for advanced spectroscopies on structure and chemistry in few molecules and interface problems. A detailed description of the architecture used for the laser excitation of surface plasmons at an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip is provided. The photogenerated current from the tip to the sample is detected during the AFM scan. The technique is applied to innovative semiconductors for applications in electronics: 2D MoS2 single crystal and a p‐type SnO layer. Results are supported by complementary scanning Kelvin probe microscopy, traditional conductive AFM, and Raman measurements. New features highlighted by HEN technique reveal details of local complexity in MoS2 and polycrystalline structure of SnO at nanometric scale otherwise undetected. The technique set in this paper is promising for future studies in nanojunctions and innovative multilayered materials, with new insight on interfaces.


Raman study of lysozyme amyloid fibrils suspended on super-hydrophobic surfaces by shear flow
Manola Moretti, Marco Allione, Monica Marini, Bruno Torre, Andrea Giugni, Tania Limongi, Gobind Das, and Enzo Di Fabrizio
Elsevier BV



Laboratory injection molder for the fabrication of polymeric porous poly-epsilon-caprolactone scaffolds for preliminary mesenchymal stem cells tissue engineering applications
Tania Limongi, Lucia Lizzul, Andrea Giugni, Luca Tirinato, Francesca Pagliari, Hua Tan, Gobind Das, Manola Moretti, Monica Marini, Giovanna Brusatin,et al.
Elsevier BV



Raman on suspended DNA: Novel super-hydrophobic approach for structural studies
Monica Marini, Marco Allione, Bruno Torre, Manola Moretti, Tania Limongi, Luca Tirinato, Andrea Giugni, Gobind Das, and Enzo di Fabrizio
Elsevier BV



Imaging and structural studies of DNA-protein complexes and membrane ion channels
M. Marini, T. Limongi, A. Falqui, A. Genovese, M. Allione, M. Moretti, S. Lopatin, L. Tirinato, G. Das, B. Torre,et al.
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
In bio-imaging by electron microscopy, damage of the sample and limited contrast are the two main hurdles for reaching high image quality. We extend a new preparation method based on nanofabrication and super-hydrophobicity to the imaging and structural studies of nucleic acids, nucleic acid-protein complexes (DNA/Rad51 repair protein complex) and neuronal ion channels (gap-junction, K+ and GABAA channels) as paradigms of biological significance and increasing complexity. The preparation method is based on the liquid phase and is compatible with physiological conditions. Only in the very last stage, samples are dried for TEM analysis. Conventional TEM and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) were used to achieve a resolution of 3.3 and 1.5 Å, respectively. The EM dataset quality allows the determination of relevant structural and metrological information on the DNA structure, DNA-protein interactions and ion channels, allowing the identification of specific macromolecules and their structure.


Nanoplasmonic and microfluidic devices for biological sensing
G. Perozziello, A. Giugni, M. Allione, B. Torre, G. Das, M. L. Coluccio, M. Marini, L. Tirinato, M. Moretti, T. Limongi,et al.
Springer Netherlands

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

Cover Feature: Stabilizing Layered BiOBr Photoelectrocatalyst by Van Der Waals Heterojunction Strategy (ChemCatChem 16/2024)
M Wang, S Osella, B Torre, M Crisci, F Schmitz, R Altieri, E Di Fabrizio, ...
ChemCatChem 16 (16), e202481602 2024



Stabilizing Layered BiOBr Photoelectrocatalyst by Van Der Waals Heterojunction Strategy
M Wang, S Osella, B Torre, M Crisci, F Schmitz, R Altieri, E Di Fabrizio, ...
ChemCatChem 16 (16), e202400282 2024



Synaptic Plasticity and Visual Memory in a Neuromorphic 2D Memitter Based on WS₂ Monolayers (Adv. Funct. Mater. 32/2024)
F Ferrarese Lupi, G Milano, A Angelini, M Rosero‐Realpe, B Torre, ...
Advanced Functional Materials 34 (32), 2470178 2024



Synaptic Plasticity and Visual Memory in a Neuromorphic 2D Memitter Based on WS₂ Monolayers
F Ferrarese Lupi, G Milano, A Angelini, M Rosero‐Realpe, B Torre, ...
Advanced Functional Materials 34 (32), 2403158 2024



AFM interlaboratory comparison for nanodimensional metrology on silicon nanowires
L Ribotta, A Delvalle, E Cara, R Bellotti, A Giura, I De Carlo, M Fretto, ...
Measurement Science and Technology 35 (10), 105014 2024



Synaptic Plasticity and Visual Memory in a Neuromorphic 2D Memitter Based on WS
FF Lupi, G Milano, A Angelini, M Rosero-Realpe, B Torre, E Kozma, ...
2024



Silicon nanowires: fabrication and quantitative dimensional characterisation by AFM
L Ribotta, A Delvalle, E Cara, R Bellotti, A Giura, I DE CARLO, M Fretto, ...
NanoInnovation 2024 2024



Reticular chemistry for the rational design of mechanically robust mesoporous merged-net metal-organic frameworks
H Jiang, SM Moosavi, J Czaban-Jźwiak, B Torre, A Shkurenko, ...
Matter 6 (1), 285-295 2023



Nanodimensional characterization on nanowires: an interlaboratory comparison between AFMs
L Ribotta, E Cara, R Bellotti, I DE CARLO, M Fretto, A Delvalle, W Knulst, ...
NanoScale 2023 2023



Featured Cover.
S Maity, H Hiramatsu
Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 53 (11) 2022



Self‐sieving DNA over superhydrophobic surfaces: A Raman spectroscopy study
M Marini, B Torre, M Allione, T Limongi, F Legittimo, A Giugni, C Ricciardi, ...
Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 53 (8), 1352-1360 2022



Direct Visualization and Identification of Membrane Voltage‐Gated Sodium Channels from Human iPSC‐Derived Neurons by Multiple Imaging and Light Enhanced Spectroscopy (Small
M Moretti, T Limongi, C Testi, E Milanetti, MT De Angelis, EI Parrotta, ...
Small Methods 6 (7), 2270040 2022



Direct Visualization and Identification of Membrane Voltage‐Gated Sodium Channels from Human iPSC‐Derived Neurons by Multiple Imaging and Light Enhanced Spectroscopy
M Moretti, T Limongi, C Testi, E Milanetti, MT De Angelis, EI Parrotta, ...
Small Methods 6 (7), 2200402 2022



DNA–Carbon nanotube binding mode determines the efficiency of carbon nanotube-mediated DNA delivery to intact plants
Z Ali, MF Serag, GS Demirer, B Torre, E Di Fabrizio, MP Landry, ...
ACS Applied Nano Materials 5 (4), 4663-4676 2022



Microfluidics for 3D cell and tissue cultures: microfabricative and ethical aspects updates
T Limongi, F Guzzi, E Parrotta, P Candeloro, S Scalise, V Lucchino, ...
Cells 11 (10), 1699 2022



Lipid-based nanovesicular drug delivery systems
T Limongi, F Susa, M Marini, M Allione, B Torre, R Pisano, E di Fabrizio
Nanomaterials 11 (12), 3391 2021



Micro/nanopatterned superhydrophobic surfaces fabrication for biomolecules and biomaterials manipulation and analysis
M Allione, T Limongi, M Marini, B Torre, P Zhang, M Moretti, G Perozziello, ...
Micromachines 12 (12), 1501 2021



DNA studies: latest spectroscopic and structural approaches
M Marini, F Legittimo, B Torre, M Allione, T Limongi, L Scaltrito, CF Pirri, ...
Micromachines 12 (9), 1094 2021



Clustering of major histocompatibility complex-class I molecules in healthy and cancer colon cells revealed from their nanomechanical properties
M Moretti, R La Rocca, M Perrone Donnorso, B Torre, C Canale, ...
ACS nano 15 (4), 7500-7512 2021



Lipid-Based Nanovesicular Drug Delivery Systems. Nanomaterials 2021, 11, 3391
T Limongi, F Susa, M Marini, M Allione, B Torre, R Pisano, E di Fabrizio
s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published 2021

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

Hot-electron nanoscopy using adiabatic compression of surface plasmons
A Giugni, B Torre, A Toma, M Francardi, M Malerba, A Alabastri, ...
Nature nanotechnology 8 (11), 845-852 2013
Citations: 302



The role of surface tension in the crystallization of metal halide perovskites
AA Zhumekenov, VM Burlakov, MI Saidaminov, A Alofi, MA Haque, ...
ACS Energy Letters 2 (8), 1782-1788 2017
Citations: 205



Influence of water on the performance of organic electrochemical transistors
A Savva, C Cendra, A Giugni, B Torre, J Surgailis, D Ohayon, ...
Chemistry of Materials 31 (3), 927-937 2019
Citations: 197



Simple and effective graphene laser processing for neuron patterning application
M Lorenzoni, F Brandi, S Dante, A Giugni, B Torre
Scientific reports 3 (1), 1954 2013
Citations: 80



Confinement in oriented mesopores induces piezoelectric behavior of polymeric nanowires
V Cauda, B Torre, A Falqui, G Canavese, S Stassi, T Bein, M Pizzi
Chemistry of Materials 24 (21), 4215-4221 2012
Citations: 76



Magnetic force microscopy and energy loss imaging of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles
B Torre, G Bertoni, D Fragouli, A Falqui, M Salerno, A Diaspro, ...
Scientific Reports 1 (1), 202 2011
Citations: 67



Lateral‐polarity structure of AlGaN quantum wells: a promising approach to enhancing the ultraviolet luminescence
W Guo, H Sun, B Torre, J Li, M Sheikhi, J Jiang, H Li, S Guo, KH Li, R Lin, ...
Advanced Functional Materials 28 (32), 1802395 2018
Citations: 61



The structure of DNA by direct imaging
M Marini, A Falqui, M Moretti, T Limongi, M Allione, A Genovese, ...
Science advances 1 (7), e1500734 2015
Citations: 58



Recognizing and avoiding artifacts in atomic force microscopy imaging
C Canale, B Torre, D Ricci, PC Braga
Atomic Force Microscopy in Biomedical Research: Methods and Protocols, 31-43 2011
Citations: 56



Lipid-based nanovesicular drug delivery systems
T Limongi, F Susa, M Marini, M Allione, B Torre, R Pisano, E di Fabrizio
Nanomaterials 11 (12), 3391 2021
Citations: 54



Structural Depinning of Ne Monolayers on Pb at
L Bruschi, G Fois, A Pontarollo, G Mistura, B Torre, F Buatier de Mongeot, ...
Physical review letters 96 (21), 216101 2006
Citations: 51



Tactile multisensing on flexible aluminum nitride
S Petroni, F Guido, B Torre, A Falqui, MT Todaro, R Cingolani, ...
Analyst 137 (22), 5260-5264 2012
Citations: 48



Microfluidic device for continuous single cells analysis via Raman spectroscopy enhanced by integrated plasmonic nanodimers
G Perozziello, P Candeloro, A De Grazia, F Esposito, M Allione, ...
Optics Express 24 (2), A180-A190 2016
Citations: 46



Photolithography and micromolding techniques for the realization of 3D polycaprolactone scaffolds for tissue engineering applications
T Limongi, R Schipani, A Di Vito, A Giugni, M Francardi, B Torre, M Allione, ...
Microelectronic Engineering 141, 135-139 2015
Citations: 39



Nanochains formation of superparamagnetic nanoparticles
G Bertoni, B Torre, A Falqui, D Fragouli, A Athanassiou, R Cingolani
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 115 (15), 7249-7254 2011
Citations: 39



DNA–Carbon nanotube binding mode determines the efficiency of carbon nanotube-mediated DNA delivery to intact plants
Z Ali, MF Serag, GS Demirer, B Torre, E Di Fabrizio, MP Landry, ...
ACS Applied Nano Materials 5 (4), 4663-4676 2022
Citations: 32



Scanning probe oxidation of SiC, fabrication possibilities and kinetics considerations
M Lorenzoni, B Torre
Applied Physics Letters 103 (16) 2013
Citations: 31



Nanoscale reduction of graphene oxide thin films and its characterization
M Lorenzoni, A Giugni, E Di Fabrizio, F Prez-Murano, A Mescola, B Torre
Nanotechnology 26 (28), 285301 2015
Citations: 30



Reticular chemistry for the rational design of mechanically robust mesoporous merged-net metal-organic frameworks
H Jiang, SM Moosavi, J Czaban-Jźwiak, B Torre, A Shkurenko, ...
Matter 6 (1), 285-295 2023
Citations: 27



Adiabatic nanofocusing: spectroscopy, transport and imaging investigation of the nano world
A Giugni, M Allione, B Torre, G Das, M Francardi, M Moretti, M Malerba, ...
Journal of Optics 16 (11), 114003 2014
Citations: 27