Paolo Bettotti

Swimmers are self-propelled objects that move thanks to the release of an "internal source" of energy. We are investigating rechargeable swimmers made of natural biopolymers that are able to sustain macroscopic movement.
The thesis will cover all the aspects of the experiment: from the sinthesis of the swimmers (basic chemistry procedures) to the tracking of their movement (coding of tracking system and/or use of already available libraries) to the integration of motion equations to quantify the amount of energy they can load.

In collaboration with the University of Bolzano we are investigating the use of flexible cellulose substrates for printed electronics and active materials.

The thesis is about the structural analysis of peptides self-aggregation into twisted fibrils. Peptides are provided by CTB Group of Milan. The student will characterize the dynamics of the peptides aggregation using Atomic Force Microscopy supported by circular dichroism and light scattering measurements.

The experimental thesis is about the understanding of in-vitro neural networks development by using optogenetics and electrical stimuli/readings. Experiments will be performed on microscope setup coupling superresolution microscopy (spinning disk and structured light) with a digital light processor (DLP) to excite selected neurons only and multielectrodearray (MEA) for recording the extracellular activity. Modeling activity using available packages (Neuron) is also foreseen.

The (re)use of wasted bio-materials is fundamental to reduce our planet footprint. This thesis aims to finalize the fabrication of a drug delivery system to release functional molecules (polyphenols) starting from an abundant source of biomaterial (rice).