2023-07-31 16:05:49
How do small molecules produced in the laboratory behave when they are inside human cells? The answer comes from an Italian study coordinated by the Cnr-Isof of Bologna, the Institute for organic synthesis and photoreactivity of the National Research Council, which observed the formation of organic nanostructures inside human cells, understanding the mechanism of growth. The work, published in ‘Advanced Materials’ and conducted in collaboration with various Cnr groups, the Milan Polytechnic, the University of Bologna and the Italian Institute of Technology (Iit, Milan and Pisa offices), promises “significant effects on different sectors. In medicine”, for example, “it lays the foundations for the development of innovative therapies for tissue regeneration based on nanomaterials”.
“After more than 10 years of interdisciplinary studies – says Francesca Di Maria, Cnr-Isof researcher – we have ascertained the extraordinary ability of some organic molecules to ‘self-assemble’ into fibrous crystalline structures (fibrils) inside human cells, without compromising their vitality, and constituting highly organized structures with electrically conductive properties”.
Using cutting-edge techniques of cellular imaging and microscopy – explain from the Cnr – the researchers investigated, in particular, the growth mechanism of one of the protagonist molecules of the study, the Dtto. “The structures that are formed through self-assembly processes inside the cells – describes Guglielmo Lanzani of the Iit – are able to cross the cell membrane, facilitating contact between different cells and adapting to their movement: this mechanism of self -organization is unprecedented and has significant implications in several sectors. For example, it opens new perspectives for the development of therapies based on the stimulation and regulation of cell interactions. It could also allow considerable advances in tissue engineering, allowing the creation of functional three-dimensional cellular structures”.
According to the authors, “the use of these organic molecules represents only a first step within a vast field of research on the properties of self-organization within cells, and lays the foundations for further studies and potential applications in the field of cell biology and regenerative medicine”.
“Our team – concludes Francesca Di Maria of the Cnr-Isof – is already engaged in the study of the potential of Dtto fibrils and in the exploration of new organic compounds with similar properties. The goal is to fully understand the mechanisms underlying these structures organized, in order to fully exploit their benefits for human health”.
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