The overall shape of a biomolecule affects its reactivity.





Our aim is to develop an analytical platform to analyze DNA-protein interactions using self-assembled nanostructured materials.

Properties and reactivity of large biomolecules greatly depends on their external shape and higher order structure. The way they interact with the external environment is determined by the fragments they expose.

Thus the analysis of the interactions between the outer shell of a biomolecule and a solid interface is a valuable tool to investigate the mechanisms involved in molecular reactivity.



NEMATIC will develop a nanoelectrophoretic platform where DNA will be forced to translocate across nanoporous membranes. The use of self assembling materials assure a large tunability of both type and strength of interactions between moelcules and dielectric scaffolds.

The analysis of the translocation/migration events will be investigated using multiparametric techniques.
Experiments will be compared with theoretical simulations and, viceversa, feedback from ad-hoc experiments will be used to check theoretical models.