International Journal of Biological Engineering

International Journal of Biological Engineering is an international peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal publishing original scientific research in all fields of biological pharmacy. Original research work that contributes significantly to further the scientific knowledge in biological pharmacy will be appreciated.

Gianni Ciofani

Editorial Board Member of International Journal of Biological Engineering

Post-doctoral Fellow, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy

Research Areas

Nanomedicine, Biomaterials

Education

2006Master University of Pisa
2006Diploma in EngineeringScuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa
2010Ph.DScuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa

Academic Achievement

The ISIB-CNR award (2006)
The AICC award (2008)
The excellent paper award of the Society for Biotechnology of Japan (2009)
The STSBC-Roche award (2009)
The "Salvatore Venuta" scholarship (2010)
The "Massimo Grattarola" award (2010)
The "Nital IRobot" award (2010)
Winner of the European Space Agency (ESA) Parabolic Flight Campaign 2005
Winner of the ESA Spin Your Thesis! campaign 2010

Publications: Journals

[1]  Menichetti L., De Marchi D., Calucci L., Ciofani G., Menciassi A., Forte C. Boron nitride nanotubes for boron neutron capture therapy as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, accepted.
[2]  Pensabene V., Taccola S., Ricotti L., Ciofani G., Menciassi A., Perut F., Salerno M., Dario P., Baldini N. Flexible polymeric ultrathin film for mesenchymal stem cell differentiation. Acta Biomaterialia, 7(7): 2883-2891 (2011).
[3]  Ciofani G., Ricotti L., Menciassi A., Mattoli V. Preparation, characterization and in vitro testing of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid/barium titanate nanoparticle composites for enhanced cellular proliferation. Biomedical Microdevices, 13(2): 255-266 (2011).
[4]  Ciofani G., Danti S., Ricotti L., D'Alessandro D., Moscato S., Berrettini S., Mattoli V., Menciassi A. Boron nitride nanotubes: production, properties, biological interactions and potential applications as therapeutic agents in brain diseases. Current Nanoscience, 7(1): 94-109 (2011).
[5]  Ciofani G., Sergi P.N., Carpaneto J., Micera S. A hybrid approach for the control of axonal outgrowth: preliminary simulation results. Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing, 49(2): 163-170 (2011).
[6]  Ciofani G., Danti S., D'Alessandro D., Ricotti L., Moscato S., Bertoni G., Falqui A., Berrettini S., Petrini M., Mattoli V., Menciassi A. Enhancement of neurite outgrowth in neuronal-like cells following boron nitride nanotube-mediated stimulation. ACS Nano, 4(10): 6267–6277 (2010).
[7]  Calucci L., Ciofani G., De Marchi D., Forte C., Menciassi A., Menichetti L., Positano V. Boron nitride nanotubes as T2-weighted MRI contrast agents. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 1(17): 2561–2565 (2010).
[8]  Ciofani G. Potential applications of boron nitride nanotubes as drug delivery systems. Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 7(8): 889-893 (2010).
[9]  Ciofani G., Danti S., D'Alessandro D., Moscato S., Petrini M., Menciassi A. Barium titanate nanoparticles: highly cytocompatible dispersions in glycol-chitosan and doxorubicin complexes for cancer therapy. Nanoscale Research Letters, 5(7): 1093-1101 (2010).
[10]  Raffa V., Ciofani G., Vittorio O., Pensabene V., Cuschieri A. Carbon nanotube-enhanced cell electropermeabilisation. Bioelectrochemistry, 79(1): 136–141 (2010).
[11]  Ciofani G., Migliore A., Mazzei D., Carrozza M.C., Dario P. Modification of pointing performance in altered gravitational environments. Microgravity Science and Technology, 22(2): 123-128 (2010).
[12]  Ciofani G., Ricotti L., Danti S., Moscato S., Nesti C., D'Alessandro D., Dinucci D., Chiellini F., Pietrabissa A., Petrini M., Menciassi A. Investigation of interactions between poly-L-lysine coated boron nitride nanotubes and C2C12 cells: up-take, cytocompatibility and differentiation. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 5: 285-298 (2010).
[13]  Ciofani G., Danti S., D'Alessandro D., Moscato S., Menciassi A. Assessing cytotoxicity of boron nitride nanotubes: interference with the MTT assay. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 394(2): 405-411 (2010).
[14]  Ciofani G., Danti S., Moscato S., Albertazzi L., D'Alessandro D., Dinucci D., Chiellini F., Petrini M., Menciassi A. Preparation of stable dispersion of barium titanate nanoparticles: potential applications in biomedicine. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 76(2): 535-543 (2010).
[15]  Raffa V., Ciofani G., Vittorio O., Riggio C., Cuschieri A. Physicochemical properties affecting cellular uptake of carbon nanotubes. Nanomedicine UK 5(1): 89-97 (2010).
[16]  Obata Y., Ciofani G., Raffa V., Cuschieri A. Menciassi A., Dario P., Takeoka S. Evaluation of cationic liposomes composed of an amino-acid-based lipid for neuronal transfection. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine 6(1): 70-77 (2010).
[17]  Raffa V., Vittorio O., Ciofani G., Pensabene V., Cuschieri, A. Cell creeping and controlled migration by magnetic carbon nanotubes. Nanoscale Research Letters 5(1): 257-262 (2010).
[18]  Ciofani G., Raffa V. Chemically functionalized carbon nanotubes: emerging vectors for cell therapy. Mini-reviews in Medicinal Chemistry 9(11): 1251-1261 (2009).
[19]  Riggio C., Ciofani G., Raffa V., Cuschieri A., Micera S. Combination of polymer technology and carbon nanotube array for the development of an effective drug delivery system at cellular level. Nanoscale Research Letter 4(7): 668-673 (2009).
[20]  Ciofani G., Riggio C., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Cuschieri A. A bi-modal approach against cancer: magnetic alginate nanoparticles for combined chemotherapy and hyperthermia. Medical Hypotheses 73(1): 80-82 (2009).
[21]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Cuschieri A., Micera S. Magnetic alginate microspheres: system for the position controlled delivery of nerve growth factor. Biomedical Microdevices 11(2): 517-527 (2009).
[22]  Bardi G., Tognini P., Ciofani G., Raffa V., Costa M., Pizzorusso T. Pluronic-coated carbon nanotubes do not induce degeneration of cortical neurons in vivo and in vitro. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine 5(1): 96-104 (2009).
[23]  Ciofani G., Obata Y., Sato I., Okamura Y., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Dario P., Takeda N., Takeoka S. Realization, characterization and functionalization of lipidic wrapped carbon nanotubes. Journal of Nanoparticle Research 11(2): 477-484 (2009).
[24]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Yu J., Chen Y., Obata Y., Takeoka S., Menciassi A., Cuschieri A. Boron nitride nanotubes: a novel vector for targeted magnetic drug delivery. Current Nanoscience 5(1): 33-38 (2009).
[25]  Raffa V., Ciofani G., Cuschieri A. Enhanced low voltage cell electropermeabilization by boron nitride nanotubes. Nanotechnology 20(7): 075104 (2009).
[26]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Cuschieri A. Folate functionalised boron nitride nanotubes and their selective uptake by glioblastoma multiforme cells: implications for their use as boron carriers in clinical boron neutron capture therapy. Nanoscale Research Letters 4(2): 113-121 (2009).
[27]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Cuschieri A. Boron nitride nanotubes: an innovative tool for nanomedicine. Nano Today 4(1): 8-10 (2009).
[28]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Pensabene V., Menciassi A., Dario P. Dispersion of multiwall carbon nanotubes in aqueous Pluronic F127 solutions for biological applications. Fullerenes Nanotubes and Carbon Nanostructures 17(1): 11-25 (2009).
[29]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Dario P. Preparation of boron nitride nanotubes aqueous dispersions for biological applications. Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 8(12): 6223-6231 (2008).
[30]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Cuschieri A. Cytocompatibility, interactions and uptake of polyethyleneimine-coated boron nitride nanotubes by living cells: confirmation of their potential for biomedical applications. Biotechnology and Bioengineering 101(4): 850-858 (2008).
[31]  Raffa V., Ciofani G., Nitodas S., Karachalios T., D'Alessandro D., Masini M., Cuschieri A. Can the properties of carbon nanotubes influence their internalization by living cells? Carbon 46(12): 1600-1610 (2008).
[32]  Ciofani G., Cascone M.G., Serino L.P., Lazzeri L. Urease loaded alginate microspheres for blood purification. Journal of Microencapsulation 25(8): 569-576 (2008).
[33]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Pizzorusso T., Menciassi A., Dario P. Characterization of an alginate based drug delivery system for neurological applications. Medical Engineering and Physics 30(7): 848-855 (2008).
[34]  Ciofani G., Migliore A., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Dario P. Bi-compartmental device for dynamic cell co-culture: design, realisation and preliminary results. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering 105(5): 536-544 (2008).
[35]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Dario P. Alginate and chitosan particles as drug delivery system for cell therapy. Biomedical Microdevices 10(2): 131-140 (2008).
[36]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Obata Y., Menciassi A., Dario P., Takeoka S. Magnetic driven alginate nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery. Current Nanoscience 4(2): 212-218 (2008).
[37]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Menciassi A., Micera S., Dario P. A drug delivery system based on alginate microspheres: mass-transport test and in vitro validation. Biomedical Microdevices 9(3): 395-403 (2007).

Publications: Books/Book Chapters

[1]  Ciofani G. Nanotubes and their application to nanomedicine. In "Nanomedicine in Health and Disease", pp. 43-63, edited by Hunter R.J., Preedy V.R. (Science Publishers, CRC Press, USA, 2011)
[2]  Raffa V., Vittorio O., Riggio C., Ciofani G., Cuschieri A. Physical properties of carbon nanotubes for therapeutic applications. In "Carbon Nanotubes for Biomedical Applications", Carbon Nanostructures, part 1, pp. 3-26, edited by Klingeler R., Sim R.B. (Springer, Germany, 2011).
[3]  Riggio C., Ciofani G., Raffa V., Bossi S., Micera S., Cuschieri A. Polymeric thin film technology for neural interfaces: Review and perspectives. In "Polymer Thin Films", pp. 289-308, edited by Hashim A.A. (In-Tech, Croatia, 2010).
[4]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Vittorio O., Cuschieri A., Pizzorusso T., Costa M., Bardi G. In vitro and in vivo biocompatibility testing of functionalized carbon nanotubes. In "Carbon Nanotubes: Methods and Protocols", Methods in Molecular Biology Series, vol. 625, pp. 67-84, edited by Burghard M., Balasubramanian K. (The Humana Press, Springer, USA, 2010).
[5]  Ciofani G., Raffa V., Micera S. Innovative strategies for controlled delivery and release of NGF in neurological applications. In "Nerve Growth Factor: New Research", pp. 91-140, edited by MacIntire G.K. (Nova Science Publishers, USA, 2008).