Free radical stress is recognized to be one of the first causes of chemical mutation of biomolecules, inducing biological disfunctions connected with aging and onset of human diseases, such as metabolic and cardiovascular impairment, neurodegeneration and cancer.
In this scenario, we study the chemical reactivity of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids under free radical stress providing synthetic strategies for their preparation, also as isotopic analogues, full kinetic and thermodynamic information for their formation in biomimetic conditions, complete analytical details for their recognition in biological samples and application as biomarkers of free radical stress.
By using a Gamma cell (60Co), in ISOF we mimic the conditions of an endogenous radical damage. In fact, gamma-radiolysis can be used to produce free radicals which can be controlled and selected in their reactivity, allowing to investigate the reactivity of oxidizing and reductive species and their consequences on biomolecules, as example to test the resistance of biomaterials.
Biomimetic models used in our group include: oligonucleotides, liposome and proteo-liposomes preparations.