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SUMMARY:Complex\, Amphiphilic\, Supramolecular Material: from Interfacial 
 Energy Modulation to the Design of Antivirals
DTSTART:20161026T121500
DTSTAMP:20260509T211751Z
UID:bb2986e32b3dad16f46bc356e04a8c42f0b782b0f26c8985e6502a1e
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Francesco Stellacci\, EPFL (IMX and IBI)\, Lausanne (CH)
 \nSPECIAL SCHOOL of ENGINEERING SEMINAR\, HOSTED by the INSTITUTE of BIOEN
 GINEERING\n\nAbstract:\nA bird eye view of most folded proteins shows ‘o
 uter’ surfaces composed of hydrophobic and hydrophilic patches with char
 acteristic dimensions in the nanoscale. Little is known on the effect that
  these surfaces have on the solid-liquid (protein-water) interfaces that a
 re established in the proteins' natural environment. It is easy to make a 
 case that current thermodynamics understanding for these interfaces is inc
 omplete. In this talk\, I will present fundamental investigations on supra
 molecular materials that are engineered to have hydrophobic/hydrophilic su
 rfaces\, similar to the proteins' ones. Advances in synthesis and characte
 rization of such materials will be shown. It will be proven that these mat
 erials show interfacial phenomena that cannot be captured by classical the
 rmodynamics treatments. These amphiphilic surfaces show a plethora of impo
 rtant properties when interacting with biological matter. For example\, (i
 ) they can create nanoparticles that can insert in lipid bilayers spontane
 ously\, and (ii) can penetrate cell membranes with an energy independent m
 echanism\, or that (iii) can label amyloids is a unique way. Finally\, it 
 will be shown that key properties of these materials can be used to create
  a novel class of antivirals. In fact\, nanoparticles and small molecules 
 that bear amphiphilic linkers terminated with sulfonic acids can bind to v
 iruses so strongly as to generate a force sufficiently large to create the
  extracellular irreversible deformation of viruses with their consequent l
 oss of infectivity. This novel (virucidal) effect is broad-spectrum by des
 ign and has been used to inhibit the infectivity for a number of enveloped
  (Herpes Simplex\, Lenti-\, Respiratory Syncytial\, Dengue\, and\, Zika Vi
 rus) and naked (Papilloma) viruses. In vitro\, ex- and in-vivo data will b
 e presented.\n\nBio:\nFrancesco Stellacci graduated in Materials Engineeri
 ng at the Politecnico di Milano in 1998 with a thesis on photochromic poly
 mers with Prof. Giuseppe Zerbi and Mariacarla Gallazzi. In 1999 he moved t
 o the Chemistry Department of the University of Arizona for as a post-doc 
 in the group of Joe Perry in close collaboration with the group of Seth Ma
 rder. In 2002 he moved to the Department of Materials Science and Engineer
 ing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an assistant professor
 . He was then promoted to associate without (2006) and with tenure (2009).
  In 2010 he moved to the Institute of Materials at EPFL as a full Professo
 r. He holds the Alcan EP Chair. Francesco was one of the recipients of the
  Technology Review TR35 "35 Innovator under 35" award in 2005\, and the Po
 pular Science Magazine "Brilliant 10" award in 2007. He has been a Packard
  Fellow starting 2005.\nFrancesco Stellacci is Director of the EPFL's lnte
 grative Food and Nutrition Center (CNU)\, which was inaugurated in October
  2014.\n\n 
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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