Anna Chiara De Luca

Current Position:

Senior Researcher

Contacts:

Group leader of Biophotonics and Advanced Microscopy Lab

Manager for the Joint Research Unit of the Euro-bioimaging Infrastructure

Phone: +39 0816132612
Lab: +39 08161325206
Email: annachiara.deluca@cnr.it
a.deluca@ieos.cnr.it

Keywords:

Raman microscopy, SERS, biosensors, imaging, biophotonics

My research activity is mainly focused on the development of optical technologies based on Raman spectroscopy, such as novel Raman imaging platform, fluorescence-free Raman spectroscope and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) Imaging and their integration/correlation with other microscopies (e.g., fluorescence microscopy, digital holography and Mass Imaging), in order to provide specific label-free characterizations/mapping of single cells with molecular resolution. Together with this, I am working also in the field of SERS biosensors with the aim of detecting low concentration of specific molecules that could be used as reliable biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis or for monitoring of drug release in living cells. In this contest, I am working on the development of fiber SERS sensors for in vivo applications. In 2015 I became member of the Euro-bioimaging ERIC infrastructure (EuBi) - Advanced Light Microscopy Italian Node (ALM) in Naples as technology advisor. Since 2020, I am manager the Joint Research Unit for the development and managing of the research activities of the 4 AML nodes of EuBi._

Education

2008 PhD (with honors) in Novel technologies for materials, sensors and imaging, Department of Physics, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples.
2004 Master degree in Physics (cum laude), Department of Physics, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples.

Positions

2021-present: Senior Researcher at IEOS - 2^nd Unit
2012-2020: Researcher at IBP – National Research Council of Italy, Naples.
2010-2012: Research fellow at the University of St. Andrews, School of Physics and Astronomy, St Andrews, UK
2009-2010: PostDoc at the University of St. Andrews, School of Physics and Astronomy, St Andrews, UK.
2005-2008: PhD student at Department of Physics, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples.
2004-2005: Postgraduate fellow (CoCoCo) at INFM (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia), Naples.

Honors/Awards

2019: Young Scientist Award PhotonIcs & Electromagnetics Research Symposium, PIERS Rome 2019
2017: Scientific Award of the Department of Biomedical Sciences-CNR for the research activity in the field “Biological and Biomedical imaging”

Patents

“Optical Eigenmode imaging”: Pub. No. WO/2011/128645 (2011)
“Metodo ed apparato per per discriminare tra spermatozoi X e Y basato sulla spettroscopia Raman” No. RM2013A000648 (2013)

SERS assisted sandwich immunoassay platforms for ultrasensitive and selective detection of human Thyroglobulin
Biosens & Bioelectron 233, 115322 (2023)
S Spaziani, G Quero, S Managò, G Zito, D Terracciano, PE Macchia, F Galeotti, M Pisco, AC De Luca*, A Cusano

SERS Quantification of Galunisertib Delivery in Colorectal Cancer Cells by Plasmonic-Assisted Diatomite Nanoparticles
Small 17 (34), 2101711 (2021)
S. Managò, C. Tramontano, D. Delle Cave, G. Chianese, G. Zito, L. De Stefano, M. Terracciano, Enza Lonardo, A.C. De Luca*, I. Rea

Bioderived three-dimensional hierarchical nanostructures as efficient surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates for cell membrane probing
ACS Appl. Mater. Interf. 10(15) 12406 (2018)
S. Managò, G. Zito, A. Rogato, M. Casalino, E. Esposito, A.C. De Luca*, E. De Tommasi

A reliable Raman-spectroscopy-based approach for diagnosis, classification and follow-up of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Sci. Rep. 6 24821 (2016)
S. Managò, C. Valente, P. Mirabelli, D. Circolo, F. Basile, D. Corda, A. C. De Luca

Reproducible Surface-Enhanced Raman Quantification of Biomarkers in Multicomponent Mixtures
ACS Nano 8, 2575 (2014)
A.C. De Luca, P. Reader-Harris, M. Mazilu, S. Mariggiò, D. Corda, A. Di Falco

Online fluorescence suppression in modulated Raman spectroscopy
Anal. Chem. 82, 738 (2010)
A.C. De Luca, M. Mazilu, A. Riches, S. Herrington, K. Dholakia

Researcher:

Maria Mangini; PhD in Cell Biology
email:m.mangini@ieos.cnr.it; maria.mangini@ieos.cnr.it

Post-doctoral fellows:

Deniz Yilmaz; PhD in Biotechnology
email: d.yilmaz@ieos.cnr.it; deniz.yilmaz@ieos.cnr.it

Alessandro Esposito; PhD in Nanotechnology
email: al.esposito@ieos.cnr.it; alessandro.esposito@ieos.cnr.it

Hossein Kadhem; PhD In Physics
email: h.kadhem@ieos.cnr.it

Miriam Lucariello; PhD in Cell Biology
email: m.lucariello@ieos.cnr.it

Post-graduate fellow:

Graziano Preziosi
email: grazianopreziosi7@gmail.com

Somayeh Farazpour
email:somayeh.farazpour@gmail.com

2022 – 2025 Coordinator: PNRR Potenziamento Infrastrutture IR00023
SEE LIFE-Potenziamento Euro-BioImaging ERIC Italia

2022 – 2024 PI: SeeInvis @CNR grant

2019 – 2024 PI: AIRC IG Grant n.21420
Correlative optical microscopies for cancer imaging

2019 – 2023 Coordinator of Second Unit: Progetto Ricerca Finalizzata (under 40) GR-2018-12367517
Pharmacological targeting of CtBP1/BARS in cancer

2022 – 2024 PI: Bilateral agreement CNR/ASRT
Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel Triazole based compounds as anti-cancers and non-steroidal Aromatase Inhibitors

2018 – 2022 Coordinator of Unit: PON Ricerca e Innovazione 2014-2020
Nanofotonica per nuovi approcci diagnostici e terapEutici in Oncologia e Neurologia (NeON)- ARS01_00769

2018 – 2022 Coordinator of OR: POR CAMPANIA FESR 2014/2020
PROGETTO CIRO - Campania Imaging Infrastructure for Research in Oncology

2018 – 2022 Coordinator of OR: POR CAMPANIA FESR 2014/2020
PROGETTO PLATT - Piattaforma innovativa per lo sviluppo, di nuovi radiofarmaci per diagnosi e cura di neoplasie solide e nuovi potenti metodi non-invasivi per la diagnosi e gestione del cancro ai polmoni

2018 – 2022 Coordinator of OR: PON Potenziamento Infrastruttura Europea
Progetto IMPARA - Imaging dalle molecole alla preclinica- PIR01_00023

2012 – 2018 PI: AIRC start up grant n. 11454
Advanced photonic techniques for efficient non-invasive cancer diagnosis at cellular and molecular scale.

2012 – 2018 Partecipant: Finanziamento Premiale FOE 2014-Italian Ministry for Research (MIUR)
Project Title: Tecnologie Innovative per la Terapia con Radionuclidi e l'Imaging Biologico (TERABIO)

2013 – 2017 PI: FIRB from Italian Ministry for Research (MIUR) n. RBFR12WAPY
Project title: Photonic techniques for early cancer diagnosis at cellular and molecular scale

small2