11th ACM International Conference on Nanoscale Computing and Communication
Milan, Italy, October 28-30, 2024
11th ACM International Conference on Nanoscale Computing and Communication
Milan, Italy, October 28-30, 2024
Invited Talks
| Invited Talk 1: Polifab, the micro and nano technology center at Politecnico di Milano | |
| Session Chair: Massimiliano Pierobon | |
| Time: Monday, October 28 - 14:30-15:00 (UTC+1:00) | |
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Andrea Melloni
Professor - Chair in Electromagnetic Fields |
Polifab is the Politecnico di Milano infrastructure dedicated to micro and nanotechnology. Polifab provides the highest technological standards for different fields and applications, including photonics, micro and nanoelectronics, spintronics, MEMS, biotechnology, advanced materials, and nanotechnology in general. The main mission is to provide infrastructure, technological processes, tools and know-how to support academic and industrial research from materials science to packaging for rapid prototyping for applications.
Short Biography
Andrea Melloni, OSA Fellow, Full Professor at Politecnico di Milano, Italy with Chair in Electromagnetic Fields, leader of the Photonic Devices group, Director of Polifab, the facility for micro and nano technologies at Politecnico di Milano. His field of research is in integrated optical devices for optical communication, sensing and optical processing, now focusing on adaptive control, calibration and testing of large photonic integrated circuits. He is author of more than 450 publications, 18 patents and 4 book contribution. H-index=45
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| Invited Talk 2: A Multifaceted Approach to Non-viral Gene Delivery | |
| Session Chair: Maurizio Magarini | |
| Time: Tuesday, October 29 - 09:00-09:30 (UTC+1:00) | |
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Gabriele Candiani
Professor (Associate) |
Gene delivery involves transferring genetic material into recipient cells to control their functions. Unfortunately, naked nucleic acids have low effectiveness in entering cells. Therefore, gene delivery vectors have become crucial in basic and medical research.
Viral vector-based gene delivery can achieve high transduction efficiency and long-lasting effects, yet they also have significant drawbacks. Non-viral gene-delivery agents, such as cationic lipids and polymers, self-assemble with polyanionic nucleic acids to form nano- and micro-particles called lipoplexes and polyplexes, respectively. These particles are endocytosed to carry out their function. However, non-viral vectors have lower transfection efficiency and can cause notable cytotoxic effects despite being safer than recombinant viruses.
This presentation will discuss the planned approaches for developing and optimizing gene delivery. It will address key issues such as why and how to shape gene delivery complexes at the nano/microscale, their interaction with biological fluids, and how to equip gene delivery vectors with cell-targeting properties and antimicrobial activity to improve their overall performance. Additionally, the talk will cover the recent idea of using physical forces to disrupt the cell membrane and enhance the effectiveness of non-viral gene delivery vectors. Besides, to expedite the optimization process, there is an urgent need to develop new tools and technologies for the unbiased, straightforward, and quantitative assessment of transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity. A promising approach to address these issues involves the design of miniaturized and user-friendly devices. Lab-on-chip (LoC) platforms for conducting transfection assays to select more effective gene delivery vectors will also be presented.
Short Biography
Gabriele Candiani is Professor of Biotechnology and Bioreactors, and Chemical Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano. He is also the Chair of the Biomedical Engineering Division (coordinatore di Sezione di Ingegneria Biomedica) in the same department.
He is currently member of the Editorial Board of: Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Pharmaceutics, Journal of Applied Biomaterials & Functional Materials. He also holds positions as Co-Director of the Brain-targeted Nanotechnologies Lab (BraiNs Lab), Joint Research Facility “NEUROTECH” between the Politecnico di Milano and the IRCCS "C. Besta" (Milan, ITALY) and as Director of the Gene Transfer Lab (genT_ LɅB) and the Microorganisms-Biomaterials Interactions Lab (μBioMI_LɅB), Dept. of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "G. Natta", Politecnico di Milano.
He is author of 110 works published in WoS/Scopus-indexed journals, 8 book chapters, editor and co-editor of 2 books and co-inventor in 11 filed patents and patent applications. Within the transdisciplinary field of gene delivery, his main research interest lies in the development of more effective transfectants and gene delivery technologies. Besides, a large part of his research activities has been focusing on the development and validation of antimicrobial materials and technologies for manifold applications.
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Header Background: Duomo di Milano, Milan, Italy (Photo by Gil Garza)