ADVANCED ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES OF BIOMATERIALS FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

The main characteristic of this course resides in having a strong character of interdisciplinarity by joining basic to applied science in several scien-tific disciplines. Basic disciplines of Chemistry, Physics, Molecular De-sign, Medicine, and Materials Science will be linked to applied disci-plines of Diagnostics, Cell biology, Microbiology, and Food Chemistry. This course will feature Raman spectroscopy to give the students ad-vanced notions of the emerging interdisciplinary research field named “Medical Molecular Imaging”, as a new extension of the wider field of Molecular Medicine, which was originally proposed by Linus Pauling in the middle of the last century. Research in Medical Molecular Imaging aims at visualizing the molecular-level dynamics of biological phenomena.

This course aims at giving students a new interdisciplinary perspective, which will eventually produce future research leaders in research fields that match advanced notions of biochemistry, bioinformatics, and molecular design to medical knowledge and practice. The main focus of the course is placed on elucidating physiological aspects of hard and soft tissues, eukaryotic cells, bacteria, pathogenic yeasts, and viruses, the pathophysiology of emerging infectious diseases and age-related diseases, thus opening the way to next-generation diagnostics and treatments based on new portable Raman imaging instruments suitable for on-site early diagnostics in the immediate follow up of outpatient procedures. This interdisciplinary approach to medical science trains students toward collaborative research with medical doctors.

There are not specific pre-requirements, but it is expected that the stu-dents have basic notions of chemistry, cell physiology, and microbiology. The course will provide logic paths to understand the contents before proceeding into detailed applications.

(1) A brief introduction to Raman spectroscopy
• The Raman effect and its quantum mechanics origin
• Applications of Raman spectroscopy
• Stress analysis by Raman spectroscopy
• Molecular Medicine and Raman Spectroscopy

(2) Raman spectroscopic applications to orthopedics: Part I
• Raman analyses of bone structure in health and disease
• Raman analyses of joint cartilage in health and disease

(3) Raman spectroscopic applications to orthopedics: Part II
• Artificial hip joints
• Ceramic femoral heads and ceramic coatings

(4) Raman spectroscopic applications to orthopedics: Part III
• Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene acetabular cups
• Sliding of ceramic heads against polyethylene cups

(5) Raman spectroscopic applications to dentistry: Part I
• Raman analyses of enamel and dentine structures in health and disease
• Raman imaging of dental caries

(6) Raman spectroscopic applications to dentistry: Part II
• Raman analyses of supra- and subgingival oral bacteria and their metabolic behavior
• Raman analyses and imaging of dental biofilm

(7) Raman spectroscopic applications to dentistry: Part III
• Raman identification and imaging of oral Candida species
• Raman barcode identification of oral Candida species

(8) Raman spectroscopy in cell biology and microbiology: Part I
• Raman spectroscopy of neuronal cells
• Raman imaging of living neuronal cells in neuronal network
• In situ molecular analyses of peripheral nerve myelination

(9) Raman spectroscopy in cell biology and microbiology: Part II
• Chemical interactions between osteoblasts and ceramic substrates
• Chemical interaction between bacteria and ceramic substrates

(10) Raman spectroscopy in cell biology and microbiology: Part III
• Raman classification and barcoding of pathogenic Candida species
• In situ monitoring of the effect of drugs on pathogenic Candida species

(11) Raman spectroscopy in virology: Part I
• Raman monitoring of viral patterning and inoculation in host cells
• Raman speciation of different influenza viruses
• Decrypting the Raman fingerprints of virus-host interactions

(12) Raman spectroscopy in virology: Part II
• Speciation and barcoding of SARS-CoV-2 variants by Raman spectroscopy
• Raman monitoring of inactivation mechanisms in SARS-CoV-2 variants by silicon nitride hydrolysis

(13) Raman spectroscopy in food analysis: Part I
• Non-destructive Raman analyses of rice nutritional value
• Comparison among Japanese rice cultivars

(14) Raman spectroscopy in food analysis: Part II
• Comparison between renown Japanese and foreign rice cultivars
• Raman analyses of fruit sugars

(15) The future of Raman spectroscopy in Molecular Medicine and Food Chemistry; Q&A time

Given the advanced nature of the contents, there are not specific text-books for this course. The students will be addressed to published litera-ture and review papers at the end of each lecture. One possible text on biomaterials for artificial hip joints could be:

G. Pezzotti, Advanced Materials for Joint Implants, Stanford Publ., New York (2013):
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.1201/b15454/advanced-materials-joint-implants-giuseppe-pezzotti

Presence at the lessons and the submission of a set of three successive written reports on contents (1)~(4), (5)~(9), and (10)~(14) will be re-quired; each report must be submitted within two weeks from lessons (4), (9), and (14). The final vote will be the arithmetical average of the votes obtained on the three reports, counting for the 80% of the score, while the remaining 20% will be assigned proportionally to the number of presences. In case of failure to submit one report, the unsubmitted report will be counted zero. Failure to submit two or tree reports will lead to automatic fail on the course.
Evaluation will be made by assessing three written reports to be prepared and submitted by the students at specified times.

Web lessons and Q&A time.

English

written