The Biosensing laboratory deals with the design and construction of optical and electrochemical biosensors for the detection of environmental pollutants of a chemical and/or microbiological nature. The activities that take place there include: the identification of bioreceptors (enzymes, antibodies, proteins, cells or subcellular elements) that are selective for specific targets (toxins, herbicides, pesticides, pathogenic bacteria); the search for suitable immobilization techniques of the selected bioreceptors, on substrates capable of amplifying their response (eg, gold nanoparticles, or carbon dots); the characterization of these substrates in relation to the transduction method used (amperometry, voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, fluorescence).
The research activities of the Institute are carried out in the context of research, development and innovation projects, both national and international, based on regional funding programs (POR FEAMPA - Regional Operational Program of the European Maritime Affairs Fisheries Fund and Aquaculture and POR FESR - Regional Operational Program of the European Regional Development Fund) or ministerial (PRIN - Projects of relevant national interest, PNRA - National Research Program in Antarctica, PO FEAMPA - National Operational Program European Maritime Affairs Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund) , programs for European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg), direct funding programs of the European Commission (Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe, Life, JPI - Joint Programming Initiatives, ERA-NET Cofund) and thematic collaboration initiatives managed by international organizations such as, for example , the FAO - GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean). The Institute also develops funded projects in the context of collaborations with private companies in the sectors of the blue economy as well as technology transfer and research results. Research projects, mainly of a collaborative nature, are developed through a wide network of partners that include major Italian and foreign research institutions and universities.
