Fish freshness is one of the major concerns in food analysis. Several methods are currently emplo... more Fish freshness is one of the major concerns in food analysis. Several methods are currently employed to get information about freshness of samples, while many of these methods give sufficient information for freshly stored fish they are not reliable in case of thawed fishes. In this paper an electronic nose is applied to the analysis of trout fishes both freshly stored and thawed. Results show a good capability of the electronic nose to discriminate among the different storage days (93% of correct classification) and between freshly stored and thawed fishes, disregarding the freshness degree (84% of correct classification).
Proceedings of IEEE Sensors 2003 (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37498), 2003
The oxygen transport in blood is threatened by the presence of carbon monoxide. CO indeed permane... more The oxygen transport in blood is threatened by the presence of carbon monoxide. CO indeed permanently replaces the oxygen molecule in the hemoglobin making this last no more effective as oxygen carrier. This mechanism is ruled by the properties of a particular metalloporphyrin (heme) for which the binding energy with CO is about 250 times higher than that towards O2.
This paper presents the VISTA (Volatile In Situ Thermogravimetry Analyser) instrument, conceived ... more This paper presents the VISTA (Volatile In Situ Thermogravimetry Analyser) instrument, conceived to perform planetary in-situ measurements. VISTA can detect and quantify the presence of volatile compounds of astrobiological interest, such as water and organics, in planetary samples. These measurements can be particularly relevant when performed on primitive asteroids or comets, or on targets of potential astrobiological interest such as Mars or Jupiter's satellite Europa. VISTA is based on a micro-thermogravimetry technique, widely used in different environments to study absorption and sublimation processes. The instrument core is a piezoelectric crystal microbalance, whose frequency variations are affected by variations of the mass of the deposited sample, due to chemical processes such as sublimation, condensation or absorption/desorption. The low mass (i.e. 40 g), the low volume (less than 10 cm(3)) and the low power (less than 1 W) required makes this kind of instrument very suitable for space missions. This paper discusses the planetary applications of VISTA, and shows the calibration operations performed on the breadboard, as well as the performance tests which demonstrate the capability of the breadboard to characterize volatile compounds of planetary interests.
Porphyrin diads have been synthesized and studied as enantioselective receptor for chiral recogni... more Porphyrin diads have been synthesized and studied as enantioselective receptor for chiral recognition in solid state. Self-assembled monolayers have been deposited onto the gold electrodes of thickness shear mode resonators to be exploited as sensing materials of nanogravimetric sensors operating in the gas phase. The enantiodiscrimination properties of such a sensors towards the enantiomeric pairs of chiral analytes have been studied. While in the case of analytes bearing donor ligand atoms we did not observe a significant enantioselectivity, a significant degree of chiral discrimination has been observed in the case of limonene; this result is particularly encouraging for the potential development of enantioselective chemical sensors to be exploited in an array configuration.
Sensors and Microsystems - Proceedings of the 8th Italian Conference, 2004
ABSTRACT A fiber optic multimeter is presented, consisting of a platform for interrogating an arr... more ABSTRACT A fiber optic multimeter is presented, consisting of a platform for interrogating an array of absorption-based chemical sensors. It has been validated on a set of porphyrin-based materials having gas-sensor potential. Discrimination between different kinds of gases has been demonstrated.
ISIE '97 Proceeding of the IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, 1997
Abstruct - Electronic noses have been designed ad utilized ,for a variety of different applicatio... more Abstruct - Electronic noses have been designed ad utilized ,for a variety of different applications. Undoubtedly, among these, food analysis has gained the major mention. In fact in food analysis there is a double opportunity for elecfvxic noses developers. The first is ...
Sensors and Microsystems - Proceedings of the 8th Italian Conference, 2004
ABSTRACT In the present work the interaction of Zn-Tetraphenylporphyrins with chemically differen... more ABSTRACT In the present work the interaction of Zn-Tetraphenylporphyrins with chemically different volatile compounds are reported, in order to create Thickness-Share-Mode-Resonators (TSMRs) with optimal thickness for sensing response. Previous results showed isotherm curves typical for each chemical compound, thus demonstrating the selectivity of the used Zn-Porphyrins. However, other parameters are expected to contribute to the isotherm shape, such as the coating porosity, roughness and thickness. In this paper, the behaviour of TSMR sensors prepared with different amounts of the same coating has been investigated. Results indicate a strong correlation between sensor properties and deposition parameters opening the way to optimised sensor fabrication.
Sensors and Microsystems - Proceedings of the 8th Italian Conference, 2004
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPLEX MIXTURES WITH AN ELECTRONIC NOSE: THE CASE OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS G... more CLASSIFICATION OF COMPLEX MIXTURES WITH AN ELECTRONIC NOSE: THE CASE OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS Giorgio Pennazza1, Antonella Macagnano2, Eugenia Martinelli1, Roberto Paolesse2'3, Corrado DiNatale1'2, Amaldo D'Amico1'2 1. ...
An electronic nose is now becoming available as a commercial product. Nevertheless its performanc... more An electronic nose is now becoming available as a commercial product. Nevertheless its performances are not fully understood and interpreted. Also the differences between electronic noses and the human olfaction have not yet been sufficiently studied. This is an important issue in many industrial sectors, such as food analysis. In this paper a comparison between the performances of an electronic
Soil is a complex ecosystem comprised of several and mutually interacting components, both abioti... more Soil is a complex ecosystem comprised of several and mutually interacting components, both abiotic (organo-mineral associations) and biotic (microbial and pedofaunal populations and plants), where a single parameter depends on other factors and affects the same and other factors, so that a network of influences among organisms coexists with the reciprocal actions between organisms and their environment. Therefore, it is difficult to undoubtedly determine what is the cause and what the effect within relationships between factors and processes. Soil is commonly studied through the evaluation and measurement of single parameters (e.g. the content of soil organic matter (SOM), microbial biomass, enzyme activities, pH, etc.), events (e.g. soil erosion, compaction, etc.) and processes (e.g. soil respiration, carbon fluxes, nitrification/denitrification, etc.), often carried out in laboratory conditions in order to limit the number of factors acting within the ecosystem under study, but missing the information about the global soil environment that way. In the last decade, several scientists have proposed and suggested the need for a holistic approach to soil ecosystems in different contexts. Recently, we have applied a sensing system developed in the last decades and capable of analysing complex mixtures of gases and volatiles (odours or aromas) in atmospheres, namely called electronic nose (EN). Typically, ENs are devices consisting of an array of differentially and partially specific, despite selective, sensors upon diverse coatings of sensitive films, i.e. interacting with single analytes of the same chemical class, despite not highly specific for a single substance, only, but showing also lower extent of cross-selectivity towards compounds of other chemical classes. ENs can be used in the classifications of odours by processing the collected responses of all sensors in the array through pattern recognition analyses, in order to obtain a chemical fingerprint (olfactory fingerprint) typical of the analysed air sample. Due to these features, we decided to apply such a sensing technology to the analyses of soil atmospheres, because several processes in soil, both abiotic and biotic, result in gas and/or volatile production and the dynamics of such releases may also be affected by several additional environmental factors, such as soil moisture, temperature, gas exchange rates with outer atmosphere, adsorption/desorption processes, etc. Then, the analysis of soil atmosphere may provide information about global soil conditions (e.g. soil quality and health), according to a holistic approach, where several factors are contemporarily taken into account. At the same time, the use of such a technology, if adequately trained on purpose, can supply information about a single or a pool of processes sharing similar features, which occur in soil over a certain period of time and mostly affecting soil atmosphere. According to these premises and hypotheses, we demonstrated that EN is an useful technology to measure soil microbial activity, through its correlation to specific metabolic activities occurring in soil (i.e. global and specific respiration and some enzyme activities), but also soil microbial biomass. On the basis of such evidences, we also were able to use this technology to assess the quality and health conditions of soil ecosystems in terms of metabolic indices previously identified, according to some metabolic parameters and biomass quantification of microbial populations. In other studies, we also applied EN technology, despite using a different set of sensors in the array, to analyse the atmosphere of soil ecosystems in order to assess their environmental conditions after contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (i.e. semivolatile - SVOCs - organic pollutants). In this case, EN technology resulted capable of distinguishing between contaminated and uncontaminated soils, according to the differences in a list of substances, occurring in the atmospheres of differently treated soils, which were identified through SPME-GC/MS analyses and then suggested to be responsible for the different classification. Analysing the EN responses, it was also possible to follow the degradation process of pollutants by resident microbial populations over time, on the basis of the contemporary decrease of contaminant and the increased release of CO2. Then, we suggest that EN technology may be usefully employed in the analyses of soil ecosystems in order to both supply information about global soil environment, according to the holistic approach, and about specific processes occurring therein. Furthermore, since EN technology resulted to be effective and successful in detecting processes in soil, in both natural and perturbed conditions, involving microbial populations, which are commonly considered as the most sensitive and responsive to soil environmental modifications, we suggest it might be reasonably employed in analyses concerning the assessment of soil quality and health. Consequently, such a technology may also be used to study several processes involving soil ecosystems, such as soil management practices, soil restoration, soil contamination and remediation, soil fertility, etc.
Fish freshness is one of the major concerns in food analysis. Several methods are currently emplo... more Fish freshness is one of the major concerns in food analysis. Several methods are currently employed to get information about freshness of samples, while many of these methods give sufficient information for freshly stored fish they are not reliable in case of thawed fishes. In this paper an electronic nose is applied to the analysis of trout fishes both freshly stored and thawed. Results show a good capability of the electronic nose to discriminate among the different storage days (93% of correct classification) and between freshly stored and thawed fishes, disregarding the freshness degree (84% of correct classification).
Proceedings of IEEE Sensors 2003 (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37498), 2003
The oxygen transport in blood is threatened by the presence of carbon monoxide. CO indeed permane... more The oxygen transport in blood is threatened by the presence of carbon monoxide. CO indeed permanently replaces the oxygen molecule in the hemoglobin making this last no more effective as oxygen carrier. This mechanism is ruled by the properties of a particular metalloporphyrin (heme) for which the binding energy with CO is about 250 times higher than that towards O2.
This paper presents the VISTA (Volatile In Situ Thermogravimetry Analyser) instrument, conceived ... more This paper presents the VISTA (Volatile In Situ Thermogravimetry Analyser) instrument, conceived to perform planetary in-situ measurements. VISTA can detect and quantify the presence of volatile compounds of astrobiological interest, such as water and organics, in planetary samples. These measurements can be particularly relevant when performed on primitive asteroids or comets, or on targets of potential astrobiological interest such as Mars or Jupiter's satellite Europa. VISTA is based on a micro-thermogravimetry technique, widely used in different environments to study absorption and sublimation processes. The instrument core is a piezoelectric crystal microbalance, whose frequency variations are affected by variations of the mass of the deposited sample, due to chemical processes such as sublimation, condensation or absorption/desorption. The low mass (i.e. 40 g), the low volume (less than 10 cm(3)) and the low power (less than 1 W) required makes this kind of instrument very suitable for space missions. This paper discusses the planetary applications of VISTA, and shows the calibration operations performed on the breadboard, as well as the performance tests which demonstrate the capability of the breadboard to characterize volatile compounds of planetary interests.
Porphyrin diads have been synthesized and studied as enantioselective receptor for chiral recogni... more Porphyrin diads have been synthesized and studied as enantioselective receptor for chiral recognition in solid state. Self-assembled monolayers have been deposited onto the gold electrodes of thickness shear mode resonators to be exploited as sensing materials of nanogravimetric sensors operating in the gas phase. The enantiodiscrimination properties of such a sensors towards the enantiomeric pairs of chiral analytes have been studied. While in the case of analytes bearing donor ligand atoms we did not observe a significant enantioselectivity, a significant degree of chiral discrimination has been observed in the case of limonene; this result is particularly encouraging for the potential development of enantioselective chemical sensors to be exploited in an array configuration.
Sensors and Microsystems - Proceedings of the 8th Italian Conference, 2004
ABSTRACT A fiber optic multimeter is presented, consisting of a platform for interrogating an arr... more ABSTRACT A fiber optic multimeter is presented, consisting of a platform for interrogating an array of absorption-based chemical sensors. It has been validated on a set of porphyrin-based materials having gas-sensor potential. Discrimination between different kinds of gases has been demonstrated.
ISIE '97 Proceeding of the IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, 1997
Abstruct - Electronic noses have been designed ad utilized ,for a variety of different applicatio... more Abstruct - Electronic noses have been designed ad utilized ,for a variety of different applications. Undoubtedly, among these, food analysis has gained the major mention. In fact in food analysis there is a double opportunity for elecfvxic noses developers. The first is ...
Sensors and Microsystems - Proceedings of the 8th Italian Conference, 2004
ABSTRACT In the present work the interaction of Zn-Tetraphenylporphyrins with chemically differen... more ABSTRACT In the present work the interaction of Zn-Tetraphenylporphyrins with chemically different volatile compounds are reported, in order to create Thickness-Share-Mode-Resonators (TSMRs) with optimal thickness for sensing response. Previous results showed isotherm curves typical for each chemical compound, thus demonstrating the selectivity of the used Zn-Porphyrins. However, other parameters are expected to contribute to the isotherm shape, such as the coating porosity, roughness and thickness. In this paper, the behaviour of TSMR sensors prepared with different amounts of the same coating has been investigated. Results indicate a strong correlation between sensor properties and deposition parameters opening the way to optimised sensor fabrication.
Sensors and Microsystems - Proceedings of the 8th Italian Conference, 2004
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPLEX MIXTURES WITH AN ELECTRONIC NOSE: THE CASE OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS G... more CLASSIFICATION OF COMPLEX MIXTURES WITH AN ELECTRONIC NOSE: THE CASE OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS Giorgio Pennazza1, Antonella Macagnano2, Eugenia Martinelli1, Roberto Paolesse2'3, Corrado DiNatale1'2, Amaldo D'Amico1'2 1. ...
An electronic nose is now becoming available as a commercial product. Nevertheless its performanc... more An electronic nose is now becoming available as a commercial product. Nevertheless its performances are not fully understood and interpreted. Also the differences between electronic noses and the human olfaction have not yet been sufficiently studied. This is an important issue in many industrial sectors, such as food analysis. In this paper a comparison between the performances of an electronic
Soil is a complex ecosystem comprised of several and mutually interacting components, both abioti... more Soil is a complex ecosystem comprised of several and mutually interacting components, both abiotic (organo-mineral associations) and biotic (microbial and pedofaunal populations and plants), where a single parameter depends on other factors and affects the same and other factors, so that a network of influences among organisms coexists with the reciprocal actions between organisms and their environment. Therefore, it is difficult to undoubtedly determine what is the cause and what the effect within relationships between factors and processes. Soil is commonly studied through the evaluation and measurement of single parameters (e.g. the content of soil organic matter (SOM), microbial biomass, enzyme activities, pH, etc.), events (e.g. soil erosion, compaction, etc.) and processes (e.g. soil respiration, carbon fluxes, nitrification/denitrification, etc.), often carried out in laboratory conditions in order to limit the number of factors acting within the ecosystem under study, but missing the information about the global soil environment that way. In the last decade, several scientists have proposed and suggested the need for a holistic approach to soil ecosystems in different contexts. Recently, we have applied a sensing system developed in the last decades and capable of analysing complex mixtures of gases and volatiles (odours or aromas) in atmospheres, namely called electronic nose (EN). Typically, ENs are devices consisting of an array of differentially and partially specific, despite selective, sensors upon diverse coatings of sensitive films, i.e. interacting with single analytes of the same chemical class, despite not highly specific for a single substance, only, but showing also lower extent of cross-selectivity towards compounds of other chemical classes. ENs can be used in the classifications of odours by processing the collected responses of all sensors in the array through pattern recognition analyses, in order to obtain a chemical fingerprint (olfactory fingerprint) typical of the analysed air sample. Due to these features, we decided to apply such a sensing technology to the analyses of soil atmospheres, because several processes in soil, both abiotic and biotic, result in gas and/or volatile production and the dynamics of such releases may also be affected by several additional environmental factors, such as soil moisture, temperature, gas exchange rates with outer atmosphere, adsorption/desorption processes, etc. Then, the analysis of soil atmosphere may provide information about global soil conditions (e.g. soil quality and health), according to a holistic approach, where several factors are contemporarily taken into account. At the same time, the use of such a technology, if adequately trained on purpose, can supply information about a single or a pool of processes sharing similar features, which occur in soil over a certain period of time and mostly affecting soil atmosphere. According to these premises and hypotheses, we demonstrated that EN is an useful technology to measure soil microbial activity, through its correlation to specific metabolic activities occurring in soil (i.e. global and specific respiration and some enzyme activities), but also soil microbial biomass. On the basis of such evidences, we also were able to use this technology to assess the quality and health conditions of soil ecosystems in terms of metabolic indices previously identified, according to some metabolic parameters and biomass quantification of microbial populations. In other studies, we also applied EN technology, despite using a different set of sensors in the array, to analyse the atmosphere of soil ecosystems in order to assess their environmental conditions after contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (i.e. semivolatile - SVOCs - organic pollutants). In this case, EN technology resulted capable of distinguishing between contaminated and uncontaminated soils, according to the differences in a list of substances, occurring in the atmospheres of differently treated soils, which were identified through SPME-GC/MS analyses and then suggested to be responsible for the different classification. Analysing the EN responses, it was also possible to follow the degradation process of pollutants by resident microbial populations over time, on the basis of the contemporary decrease of contaminant and the increased release of CO2. Then, we suggest that EN technology may be usefully employed in the analyses of soil ecosystems in order to both supply information about global soil environment, according to the holistic approach, and about specific processes occurring therein. Furthermore, since EN technology resulted to be effective and successful in detecting processes in soil, in both natural and perturbed conditions, involving microbial populations, which are commonly considered as the most sensitive and responsive to soil environmental modifications, we suggest it might be reasonably employed in analyses concerning the assessment of soil quality and health. Consequently, such a technology may also be used to study several processes involving soil ecosystems, such as soil management practices, soil restoration, soil contamination and remediation, soil fertility, etc.
Uploads
Papers by Antonella Macagnano