BC – Biotecnologie Cellulari
Room 2Mb14; phone +39-081-679150 Email mdmonti@unina.it;
Room 2Mb05; phone +39-081-679148 Email rosa.gaglione@unina.it;
Other Group members:
- PhD Students: Dr Angela Cesaro, Dr Luigi D'Elia, Maria De Luca, Davide Liberti, Shurooq Ismail
- Post Doc: Dr Paola Imbimbo
Research:
Development of innovative antimicrobials for biotechnological applications
Antioxidants from microalgae and other natural sources: identification, characterization and use in cosmeceutical and nutraceutical fields
Development of innovative antimicrobials for biotechnological applications
The research group directed by Professor Angela Arciello is mainly involved in the development of innovative antimicrobials for biotechnological purposes. The main skills include recombinant production and structural and functional characterization of peptides, peptide design to improve biological properties and applicability, cell biology, synthetic biology, bioengineering, and microbiology. Antimicrobial peptides endowed with a wide range of activities, such as antimicrobial, anti-biofilm, and immunomodulatory properties, are characterized for their ability (i) to preserve food samples and industrial surfaces in food field, (ii) to counteract skin infections in cosmeceutical field, (iii) to prevent infections of medical implants upon immobilization, (iv) to act in synergism with conventional antibiotics or natural substances to counteract multidrug resistant bacterial infections.
Antioxidants from microalgae and other natural sources: identification, characterization and use in cosmeceutical and nutraceutical fields
The research group directed by Professor Daria Maria Monti is aimed at analyzing the antioxidant activity of molecules obtained from microalgae and other natural sources or microorganisms. The research is focused to study their beneficial effects against oxidative stress injury and to characterize their chemical composition. The protective activity of the natural molecules is validated by biochemical strategies on cell-based models in which oxidative stress is induced. In particular, the attention is focused on phycobiliproteins, proteins endowed with many special biological activities (antioxidant, anti cancer, anti microbial), which can be used in food or cosmetic industry, as well as in biotechnological applications.
