Papers by Simona Concilio
Molecules, 2022
The growing demand of responsive tools for biological and biomedical applications pushes towards ... more The growing demand of responsive tools for biological and biomedical applications pushes towards new low-cost probes easy to synthesize and versatile. Current optical probes are theranostic tools simultaneously responsive to biological parameters/analyte and therapeutically operating. Among the optical methods for pH monitoring, simple small organic molecules including multifunctional probes for simultaneous biological activity being highly desired by scientists and technicians. Here, we present a novel pH-responsive probe with a three-ring heteroaromatic pattern and a flexible cationic chain. The novel molecule shows real-time naked-eye colorimetric and fluorescence response in the slightly acidic pH range besides its excellent solubility both in the organic phase and in water. In addition, the small probe shows significant antibacterial activity, particularly against Escherichia coli. Single-crystal X-ray study and density functional theory (DFT) calculations rationalize the molec...
In the last years the role of confinement in selecting conformations of polymers and in accelerat... more In the last years the role of confinement in selecting conformations of polymers and in accelerating the convergence has been clearly stated. The choice of proper confining systems is crucial in designing new materials. In this contribution, the consequences of tailored mesostructures in controlling a series of physical-mechanical-electronical properties are discussed with a particular attention to magnetic materials and photonic crystals.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, 2014
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We report on the synthesis and the characterization of a new class of segmented polyethers POC co... more We report on the synthesis and the characterization of a new class of segmented polyethers POC containing the oxadiazole and carbazole units. The polymers exhibit a high thermal stability, high glass transition temperatures, and good solubility in common organic solvents, despite the extended aromatic portion in the main polymer chain. The synthetic procedures are simple, and no acid side-products are obtained. According to previous reports on oxadiazole/carbazole-containing materials, POCs show high photoluminescence activity in the blue region of the visible spectra. The good solubility in chlorinate solvents allows the preparation of films with homogeneous thickness by spin coating. Glass transition temperature in the range 115-125 • C ensures good stability of film morphology at room temperature. The only exception is POC(6), which shows a poor solubility and higher T g (170 • C), due to its shorter aliphatic chain portion. For these features, polymers POC are potential candidate materials for fabricating blue light-emitting devices.
Thin Solid Films, 2014
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the a... more This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.
Polymer Composites, 2013
We report on the synthesis and the characterization of an azobenzene-based compound. The molecule... more We report on the synthesis and the characterization of an azobenzene-based compound. The molecule shows high antimicrobial activity against Staphilococcus aureus and Candida albicans, as demonstrated by in vitro microbiological test in solution. Two antimicrobial polymeric systems were realized introducing this antimicrobial molecule in two polyolefin matrices. The polymeric materials containing different percentages of azo-compound were mold-casted and the obtained films were tested in vitro against the same Gram-positive bacterium and fungus. The films show biocide activity at low percentage of azo dye (up to 0.01%), holding promise for the fabrication of bacteria-resistant polymer films by means of simple melt processing. POLYM. COMPOS.,
Polymer Composites, 2013
A new blue emitter oxadiazole/carbazole copolymer has been synthesized and combined with CdSe/ZnS... more A new blue emitter oxadiazole/carbazole copolymer has been synthesized and combined with CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs). Surface passivation of the QDs by ionic liquids was crucial to improve their compatibility with the polymer allowing the deposition of homogeneous nanocomposites films. The nanocomposites have been characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, infrared, UV-visible absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The emission spectra of nanocomposites show a wide spectrum from blue to orange wavelengths due to the combination of colors emitted by the polymer and QDs, respectively. POLYM.
Macromolecules, 2004
The synthesis of 4′-hydroxyphenyl(4-hydroxy-3-allyl)azobenzene is reported. The molecule is mesog... more The synthesis of 4′-hydroxyphenyl(4-hydroxy-3-allyl)azobenzene is reported. The molecule is mesogenic and it can be used for preparing nematic main-chain segmented polymers. The nematic phase is the result of the effect of the side allyl group which, while it destabilizes the crystalline phase, does not affect the occurring of the nematic order. In the crystalline state, a large hexagonal unit cell containing five to six chains is observed for polymers with longer flexible spacer in the chain. Chloroform solutions and thin films of polymers absorb in the UV-visible range, at approximately 332 and 439 nm, corresponding to the π f π* and n f π* electronic transitions of azoaromatic chromophores, respectively. Under appropriate UV irradiation we have obtained the photoisomerizations trans-cis and cis-trans, which are fully reversible in the case of solutions. In the solid state a photostationary state is reached.
Macromolecules, 2002
We have analyzed the phase behavior of a series of liquid-crystalline polyesters bearing the n-al... more We have analyzed the phase behavior of a series of liquid-crystalline polyesters bearing the n-alkoxy pendant group. For n ) 1-4, this class of polymers shows a crystalline phase, called phase I, with a layered molecular packing and two chains per unit cell. For n > 4, a new molecular packing is observed. The new phase, called phase II, is characterized by the supramolecular assembly of 10-12 chains, each structurally independent of the others. This assembly is located in a large triclinic cell: in the case of P(5), the cell parameters are a ) 18.67 Å, b ) 17.54 Å, c ) 21.23 Å, R ) 111.1°, ) 81.7°, and γ ) 105.5°, with 10 chains per unit cell (d calcd ) 1.23 g cm -3 ). The molecular packing of phase II is welldescribed in terms of a "fracture" of the layered molecular structure of phase I. This fracture is restored when samples are dipped into chlorinate solvents. The reason the packing fracture of phase I occurs is not clear: we believe that a complex balance between "packing incompatibility" of rigid chains and flexible side groups might be responsible for this phenomenon.
Macromolecular Symposia, 2002
Macromolecular Symposia, 2000
Nanotechnology is the ability to work at the molecular and supramolecular levels in order to crea... more Nanotechnology is the ability to work at the molecular and supramolecular levels in order to create and use devices, structures and systems with the desired properties and functions. This is what Nature already does in living systems. In this work we investigated the consequences of confinement in the ordering of natural (namely proteins) and synthetic polymers by means of computational techniques. The focus is put on the possibility to design new materials in a Nature-like fashion. In the first part of the paper, the possibility to select/design different folding of the same peptide is investigated by means of full atoms molecular dynamics. In the second part of the paper dynamic mean-field density functional method is applied to the dynamics of block copolymer melts in threedimensional lattice model. The analysis of the aggregates and their temporal evolution in free space and in confined space are compared.
Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 2004
We report on thin films based on a new type of nematic oxadiazole containing polymer for applicat... more We report on thin films based on a new type of nematic oxadiazole containing polymer for application in blue light emitting diodes. In particular, our focus will be on the thickness and temperature dependence of the optical characteristics. A simple optical characterization setup, based on an GaN UV-LED as excitation source and a fiber-coupled spectrometer, has been used to determine the photoluminescence spectrum and peak intensity in the blue wavelength range and the UV-reflection intensity. The measured values of the photoluminescence intensity increase, while those of the UV-reflection intensity decrease strongly with increasing the thickness of the polymer film. This may enable one to use the ratio of both values after appropriate calibration as a valid tool for small variations of the film thickness. We find only a moderate decrease in photoluminescence intensity with increasing the film temperature from 25 to 60°C.
Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2004
{ Electronic Supplementary Material (ESI): Full details of the synthesis of polymer 1 and compari... more { Electronic Supplementary Material (ESI): Full details of the synthesis of polymer 1 and comparison of the 1 H-NMR spectra of 1 and monomer 2. See 2 9 2 J . M a t e r . C h e m . , 2 0 0 4 , 1 4 , 2 9 2 -2 9 5 T h i s j o u r n a l i s ß T h e R o y a l S o c i e t y o f C h e m i s t r y 2 0 0 4
Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2002
Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2007
In this paper we report the employment of Ti(acac) 2 (O-iPr) 2 (titanium bisacetylacetonate diiso... more In this paper we report the employment of Ti(acac) 2 (O-iPr) 2 (titanium bisacetylacetonate diisopropylate) as a novel catalyst for the synthesis of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT). Large scale synthesis of several polymers with the new catalytic system and with the standard catalyst Ti(O-nBu) 4 (titanium tetra-n-butylate) have been performed in a 20 L pilot plant. In the optimized reaction conditions, Ti(acac) 2 (O-iPr) 2 has shown significantly higher activity than standard catalyst, Ti(O-nBu) 4. Furthermore, a stabilized PBT has been synthesized in the presence of Ti(O-nBu) 4 as catalyst with the addition of the stabilizer U626. Then, the stability of the synthesized polymers toward thermo-oxidation has been tested in a forced circulating air oven. The polymers obtained in the presence of Ti(acac) 2 (O-iPr) 2 system showed higher stability towards thermo-oxidation than stabilized and not stabilized PBT, synthesized in the presence of Ti(O-nBu) 4 .
International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 2012
This work presents an antimicrobial peptide database (YADAMP) based on an extensive literature se... more This work presents an antimicrobial peptide database (YADAMP) based on an extensive literature search. This database is focused primarily on bacteria, with detailed information for 2133 peptides active against bacteria. YADAMP was created to facilitate access to critical information on antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The main difference between YADAMP and other web databases of AMPs is the explicit presence of antimicrobial activity against the most common bacterial strains. YADAMP allows complex queries, easily accessible through a web interface. Peptide information can be retrieved based on peptide name, number of amino acids, net charge, hydrophobic percentage, sequence motif, structure and activity against bacteria. YADAMP is suitable for reviewing information on AMPs and for structure-function analyses of peptides. The database can be accessed via a web-based browser at http://www.yadamp.unisa.it.
IEEE Electron Device Letters, 2000
Results obtained on a conductive multilevel device realized with a 100 nm azo-polymer film are re... more Results obtained on a conductive multilevel device realized with a 100 nm azo-polymer film are reported. The capability to switch between three different conductance states makes the device versatile both for Write Once Read Many and Write Many Read Many memory cell application. The analysis of the I-V curves indicates that the hysteretic conductance change with the external voltage can be explained in terms of different hopping distances existing between the nearest neighbors intervening in the two conformational states of the molecular structure.
European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2013
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Dyes and Pigments, 2013
The synthesis of new molecules containing both electron and hole transporter units is reported. T... more The synthesis of new molecules containing both electron and hole transporter units is reported. This class of compounds, named OC, may be used for assembling electroluminescent devices made by a single organic layer. The active moieties are the carbazole, as the hole transporter unit, and the oxadiazole, as the electron transporter unit. The chemical formulation and the complex geometry of the molecular frame allow good solubility in chlorinate solvents and the preparation of homogeneous films by spinning technique.
Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2012
According to the &amp... more According to the "membrane sensor" hypothesis, the…
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Papers by Simona Concilio