Publications by Raffaele Mezzenga

Liquid–liquid crystalline phase separation of filamentous colloids and semiflexible polymers: experiments, theory and simulations

Liquid–liquid crystalline phase separation (LLCPS) is the process by which an initially homogenous single-phase solution composed of a solvent-most frequently water- and a solute-typically rigid or semiflexible macromolecules, polymers, supramolecular aggr ...

IOP Publishing2025

Shape retaining self-healing metal-coordinated hydrogels

Esther Amstad, Alvaro Lino Boris Charlet, Raffaele Mezzenga

Metal-coordinated hydrogels are physical hydrogels entirely crosslinked by complexes between ligand decorated polymers and metal ions. The mechanical properties of these hydrogels strongly depend on the density and dynamics of metal-coordinated interaction ...

2021

Half a century of amyloids: past, present and future

Hilal Lashuel, Raffaele Mezzenga

Amyloid diseases are global epidemics with profound health, social and economic implications and yet remain without a cure. This dire situation calls for research into the origin and pathological manifestations of amyloidosis to stimulate continued develop ...

Royal Society of Chemistry2020

Ubiquitous aluminium contamination in water and amyloid hybrid membranes as a sustainable possible solution

Francesco Stellacci, Raffaele Mezzenga, Malvina Julia Ida Pauchard

We develop a membrane technology based on amyloid fibrils to remove aluminium from water and minimize its exposure to humans. We study aluminium adsorption by amyloid fibrils by evaluating the binding isotherms, the thermodynamics and the effects of differ ...

Royal Society of Chemistry2019

Microtubule-Binding R3 Fragment from Tau Self-Assembles into Giant Multistranded Amyloid Ribbons

Hilal Lashuel, Nadine Aït Bouziad, Raffaele Mezzenga

Tau protein and its fragments self-assemble into amyloid fibrils in the presence of polyanions, such as heparin. By combining microscopy, scattering, and spectroscopy techniques, we studied the aggregation of the 26-mer Tau-derived peptide alone, Tau306-32 ...

Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2016

Micro- and nanoscale hierarchical structure of core-shell protein microgels

Giovanni Dietler, Francesco Simone Ruggeri, Raffaele Mezzenga

Protein nanofibrils were first discovered in the context of misfolding and neurodegenerative diseases but have recently been found in naturally occurring functional materials including algal adhesives, bacterial coatings, and even mammalian melanosomes. Th ...

Royal Society of Chemistry2016

Direct visualization of dispersed lipid bicontinuous cubic phases by cryo-electron tomography

Cécile Hébert, Davide Demurtas, Paul Guichard, Raffaele Mezzenga

Bulk and dispersed cubic liquid crystalline phases (cubosomes), present in the body and in living cell membranes, are believed to play an essential role in biological phenomena. Moreover, their biocompatibility is attractive for nutrient or drug delivery s ...

Nature Publishing Group2015

Isolation and Characterization of Monodisperse Core Shell Nanoparticle Fractions

Francesco Stellacci, Randy Patrick Carney, Raffaele Mezzenga

Monodispersity is a key property to control the self-assembly of colloidal particles, and is typically reached after fine-tuning of the synthesis conditions. Monodisperse particle fractions can also be separated from polydisperse suspensions via ultracentr ...

American Chemical Society2015

The Influence of Arginine on the Response of Enamel Matrix Derivative (EMD) Proteins to Thermal Stress: Towards Improving the Stability of EMD-Based Products

John Christopher Plummer, Matteo Gregorio Modesto Marascio, Alessandra Apicella, Raffaele Mezzenga, Peter Fischer

In a current procedure for periodontal tissue regeneration, enamel matrix derivative (EMD), which is the active component, is mixed with a propylene glycol alginate (PGA) gel carrier and applied directly to the periodontal defect. Exposure of EMD to physio ...

Public Library Science2015

Resonance Light Scattering in Dye-Aggregates Forming in Dewetting Droplets

Gian-Luca Bona, Roland Hany, Jakob Heier, Raffaele Mezzenga

Small organic semiconducting molecules assembling into supramolecular J- and H- aggregates have attracted much attention due to outstanding optoelectronic properties. However, their easy and reproducible fabrication is not yet sufficiently developed for in ...

American Chemical Society2014