Personale docente

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0025-1104

Position
Full Professor at the SCVSA Department (Chemistry Unit) - University of Parma.

Education
December 1998 – January 2002 University of Parma, Ph.D. in Chemistry.
Final dissertation and graduation: 31/01/2002.
October 1992 – July 1997 University of Parma. Degree in Chemistry.
Final dissertation and graduation: 14/07/1997. Final mark 110/110 cum laude.

H-index (SCOPUS): 33. Total citation SCOPUS: 4100
H-index (WOS): 33. Total citation WOS: 3890

Projects and awards
-2023-2026. PRIN 2022T3H2CW_002. “Green processes for Rare Earth Elements Separation, recovery & valorization from permanent Magnets (GREEn SM)”
-2017. Recipient of FABBR-2017 award.
-2016. Galileo Project (Università Italo-Francese, G15-78). Principal Investigator. Preparation of metal-organic frameworks for electro-catalysis.
-2013-2017. EU FP7/2013-2017 Marie Curie IRSES. Member. Project title: Metallacrowns-based innovative materials and supramolecular devices. (https://sites.google.com/site/metallacrowns/).
-2007-2009. MIUR project PRIN. Local Unit coordinator. Project Title: Design and synthesis of copper complexes for developing bioinorganic target-specific drugs.
-2004-2006. MIUR project PRIN. Member. Project Title: Sviluppo di potenziali farmaci a base metallica e approfondimento dei meccanismi d'azione su specifiche linee tumorali.

Research periods spent abroad
-2000. Department of Chemistry of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Project: Tripodal ligands for asymmetric catalysis. Supervisor: Dr. Philip J. Bailey.
Recipient of a Short Term Mobility Grant (Italian National Research Council, C.N.R.)
-2003. Visiting Researcher at the Department of Chemistry of the Columbia University, New York, USA. Project: Development of novel boron-centerd tripodal ligands. Host: Prof. Gerard Parkin.
-2005. Visiting periods within the cooperation agreement framework between the Italian C.N.R and
the Spanish C.S.I.C. at the Departamento de Quimica Inorganica, Organica y Bioquimica, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain. Research group: Prof. Antonio Otero and Prof. Antonio Antinolo.

Academic responsibilities and activities
From January 2020, S.C.V.S.A. Department research delegate.
Member of the “Consorzio Interuniversitario di Ricerca in Chimica dei Metalli nei Sistemi Biologici”, CIRCMSB (http://www.circmsb.uniba.it/index.html). 2009-2012. Representative of the University of Parma within the Executive Council of the CIRCMSB.
From the academic year 2001-2002 to the present, member of the Teaching board of the Department of Chemistry (from 1st January 2017 S.C.V.S.A. Department) of the University of Parma. Teaching: Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Inorganic stereoisomerism, Molecular structure determination (X-ray), Inorganic Chemistry.
Supervision/tutoring of more than 20 students for the first and second level degrees in Chemistry and 6 PhD theses for the PhD course in Chemistry.

Publications
More than 150 publication on peer reviewed journals. More than 40 presentation at National and international conferences.

Scientific activity
Research interests are divided into three main areas:

1. Development of chemical methods for the recovery of transition metals (d/f series) from model systems and end-of-life (EoL) products (WEEE, catalysts, cutting tools, permanent magnets). Study of the dissolution of Au, Cu, and Pd in the presence of iodine and sulfur-based ligands followed by recovery through reduction with Mg. Study of Nd/Dy separation from FeNd(Dy)B magnets via selective complexation with N,O-donor ligands (control of solubility/stoichiometry). Study of the dissolution of Au, Cu, and Pd in the presence of iodine and sulfur ligands and subsequent Mg-mediated recovery. Application to real systems: Pd recovery from catalytic converters using mild oxidants and S-donor ligands; selective dissolution of Co from WC–Co using O₂ and organic acids derived from waste matrices. The project is conducted in close collaboration with the research groups of Prof. Angela Serpe (UniCA) and Prof. Flavia Artizzu (UniUPO).

2. Design and synthesis of tripodal ligands (N₃/S₃ donors) for the construction of coordination polymers. Development of polydentate pyrazole-based ligands for supramolecular architectures and microporous coordination polymers featuring thermal and desolvation stability. Structural characterisation via X-ray diffraction (single crystal/powder) and 2D PGSE NMR to correlate solution and solid-state structures. Study of porosity through adsorption isotherms (N₂, H₂, CO₂), correlating porous material formation with metal/counterion interactions and supramolecular self-assembly. Collaborations (Milano-Bicocca, Prof. Angiolina Comotti): study of MOFs and supramolecular porous materials interacting with CO₂, Xe, N₂, CH₄ and analysis of the evolution of the porous matrix as a function of the adsorbed gas.
Galileo Project (Grenoble, Dr. Marcello Gennari): functionalisation of porous cavities with metallic complexes/cations for hydrogen-reduction catalysis.

3. Synthesis and characterisation of copper complexes with selective cytotoxic activity towards tumour cell lines. In vitro assays and investigation of cell death mechanisms (confocal microscopy, microarray, western blot, PCR): evidence of non-apoptotic pathways induced by intracellular copper accumulation, with potential application in apoptosis-resistant tumours.

4. Use of DFT/TD-DFT methods for structural and electronic characterisation of coordination and organometallic compounds. Study of magnetic properties (high/low spin states, ferro-/antiferromagnetic coupling) and luminescent properties of metal complexes. Analysis of weak interactions (H-bonding, halogen bonding) and their role in dissolution and metal recovery processes from end-of-life products.

Pharmaceutical collaborations (Chiesi Farmaceutici).
Study of drug–counterion/co-former interactions for modulation of ADME properties (solubility, dissolution, permeability). Analysis of pharmaceutical polymorphism by X-ray diffraction (single crystal/powder) under ambient and non-ambient conditions.