Personale docente

She got her Degree in Chemistry in July 1979. From June1983 to October 1992 she had a permanent position as Researcher at Organic and Industrial Chemistry Department of the Faculty of Science at Parma University. From 1992 to 2004 she was Associate Professor at the Faculty of Science of the Parma University (permanent position from 1995). She became Full Professor at Parma University in December 2004. She is co-author of more than 100 papers published on international journals, 5 book chapters and 8 patents.
In the past (1980-1994) she developed studies on the regio- and stereoselective functionalization of aromatic substrates and studies on the comprehension of order factors controlling these processes. More recently the attention has been directed toward the synthesis of important classes of intermediates and fine chemicals in heterogeneous catalysis, using in particular zeolites and clays, to obtain selective and environmentally friendly processes.
Thus ortho-substituted phenols and anilines, N,N'-disubstituted ureas and heterocyclic compounds like dibenzofurans, benzopyrans, chromenes, coumarines and pyrimidines were synthesized. It was shown that it is possible to replace toxic reagents (e.g. phosgene or isocyanate) and to promote 'one-pot' consecutive as well as multicomponent reactions operating under heterogeneous catalysis in solventless conditions or in water, eco-compatible reaction medium.
Particular attention was devoted to Knoevenagel condensation, performing synthetic processes in water and also without adding any catalyst.
Moreover, she developed studies concerning the heterogenization of homogeneous catalysts, including chiral catalysts, on silica supports.
The immobilization of chiral Manganese complexes permitted to obtain good results (high enantioselectivity,yields and selectivities)in the epoxidation of alkenes. Recently, different silica-bound ammonium decatungstates were prepared, able to activate hydrogen peroxide and molecular oxygen, eco-compatible oxidant agents. These heterogeneous catalysts promoted the oxidation, and photooxidation, of organic substrates in high yields and selectivities.
Recently, her interest has been expanded to the preparation of functionalized superparamagnetic nanoparticles for application in catalysis and in the biomedical field as well as to the preparation of hybrid organic-inorganic nanosystems for biomedical applications, such as hyperthermia and Photodynamic therapy (PDT) for deep cancer tratment using Xray .