Examples of applications for material analysis

Research through chemical characterisation, structural analysis and imaging to examine new materials (such as competition yacht sails)

Using Imaging techniques, it is possible to carry out research and analysis on:

• Structure of polymeric foams. Observation of the microstructure of the foams used in the automobile industry while subjected to various deformation processes in order to obtain correlations between the structure, the strength of the material and its insulating properties
• Fabrics for Sails. Use of phase contrast microradiography for the observation of the nanometric structures, otherwise invisible with traditional techniques, of the new materials used to make competition yacht sails.
• Phytoremediation. Use of the fluorescence technique to map the presence of heavy metals in plants and to verify their ability to tolerate, absorb and metabolise them, while making them less toxic for the stabilisation of the environment and/or the removal of pollutants.

Using structural analysis techniques, it is possible to carry out research and analysis on:

• Bioenzymes. Use of the X-ray diffraction technique for the acquisition of precise information on the three-dimensional structure of an enzyme of bacterial origin which, under certain conditions, can be employed in biotechnological applications.
• Anti-Alzheimer molecules. Use of the X-ray diffraction technique to acquire detailed information on the structure of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE) – a target of Alzheimer’s disease involved in nerve signal transmission – and its interaction with one of the drugs capable of controlling AChE activity.

Using chemical characterisation techniques, it is possible to carry out research and analysis on:

• Biocatalysis. Development of new biocatalytic processes with enzymatic catalysts and evaluation of their efficiency within polymers by coupling FT (Fourier Transformed) infrared spectroscopy with synchrotron light.
• Clean steel. In traditional steels, non-metallic micro-inclusions are produced during hot working processes and can generate micro-fractures that cause the destabilisation of entire structures. It is possible to identify and chemically characterise these very small impurities and the processing phases that are most responsible for their “contamination”.