Research Topics
| Pier Luigi LuisiSummaryAffiliation: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Country: Switzerland Publications
| Collaborators
|
Detail Information
Publications
Basic questions about the origins of life: proceedings of the Erice international school of complexity (fourth course)Pasquale Stano
Research Centre Enrico Fermi, Compendio del Viminale, 00184, Rome, Italy
Orig Life Evol Biosph 37:303-7. 2007
An open question on the origin of life: the first forms of metabolismPier Luigi Luisi
Biology Department, University of Roma Tre, Viale Guglielmo Marconi 446, IT 00146 Rome, Italy
Chem Biodivers 9:2635-47. 2012..It is argued that this spontaneous overcrowding, which permits reactions which are not possible in the original dilute solution, might be the origin of cellular metabolism for the origin of life on Earth...- Vesicle behavior: in search of explanationsPier Luigi Luisi
Biology Department, University of RomaTre, Rome, Italy
J Phys Chem B 112:14655-64. 2008.... - Question 3: the problem of macromolecular sequences: the forgotten stumbling blockPier Luigi Luisi
Biology Department, University of RomaTre, Viale G Marconi 446, 00146, Rome Italy
Orig Life Evol Biosph 37:363-5. 2007..Such constraints are examined and discussed... - Chemical aspects of synthetic biologyPier Luigi Luisi
Department Biology, University of Roma Tre, Viale G Marconi 446, I 00146 Roma
Chem Biodivers 4:603-21. 2007..These minimal cells are not yet capable of self-reproduction, and this and other shortcomings within the project are critically reviewed... - From Never Born Proteins to Minimal Living Cells: two projects in synthetic biologyPier Luigi Luisi
Biology Department, University of RomaTre, Viale G Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy
Orig Life Evol Biosph 36:605-16. 2006..Results and outlooks on these two research lines are shortly discussed, mainly focusing on their relevance to the origin of life studies... - Approaches to semi-synthetic minimal cells: a reviewPier Luigi Luisi
Biology Department, University of RomaTre, Viale G Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy
Naturwissenschaften 93:1-13. 2006..In conclusion, we give a brief outline of the next possible steps on the road map to the minimal cell... - A possible route to prebiotic vesicle reproductionPier Luigi Luisi
Dipartimento di Biologia, Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Italy
Artif Life 10:297-308. 2004..Preliminary data also show that repeated addition of oleate maintains the same basic initial features, and that surfactants other than oleate also respect the reproductive mode of the matrix effect... - Approaches to chemical synthetic biologyCristiano Chiarabelli
Biology Department, University of Roma Tre, Viale Guglielmo Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy
FEBS Lett 586:2138-45. 2012..We describe and critically analyze the main results, emphasizing the possible relevance of chemical synthetic biology for the progress in basic science and biotechnology... - Biosynthesis of proteins inside liposomesPasquale Stano
Biology Department, University of RomaTre, Rome, Italy
Methods Mol Biol 606:127-45. 2010..On this basis, we provide general indications for designing and realizing protein-expressing liposomes. Our approach for the green fluorescent protein expression inside 200-nm extruded vesicles is described in detail... - Chemical approaches to synthetic biologyCristiano Chiarabelli
Biology Department, University of Roma Tre, Viale G Marconi 446, Rome I 00146, Italy
Curr Opin Biotechnol 20:492-7. 2009.... - Achievements and open questions in the self-reproduction of vesicles and synthetic minimal cellsPasquale Stano
Biology Department, University of RomaTre, Italy
Chem Commun (Camb) 46:3639-53. 2010..This approach aims to investigate the minimal requirements for molecular systems in order to display some living properties, while it finds relevance in origins of life studies and in synthetic (constructive) biology... - Toward the engineering of minimal living cellsPier Luigi Luisi
Institute of Polymers, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Anat Rec 268:208-14. 2002..In the final part of the article, the outlook of increasing the complexity of these liposome systems so as to arrive at first semi-synthetic cells is discussed... - Autopoiesis: a review and a reappraisalPier Luigi Luisi
Institut fur Polymere, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
Naturwissenschaften 90:49-59. 2003..Finally, it is pointed out that the new interest in system biology and complexity theories may lead to a reappraisal of autopoiesis and related notions, as outlined also by other authors, such as Tibor Ganti and Stuart Kauffmann... - Size distribution of spontaneously formed liposomes by the alcohol injection methodAnastasia S Domazou
Institute of Polymers, ETH Zentrum, Zurich, CH 8092, Switzerland
J Liposome Res 12:205-20. 2002..It appears that the larger components in the light scattering results are not time-stable, whereas the smaller liposome species are. It is shown that these features are also present when alcohols different from methanol are used... - Giant vesicles "colonies": a model for primitive cell communitiesPaolo Carrara
Biology Department, Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Viale Guglielmo Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy
Chembiochem 13:1497-502. 2012..In fact there are two novel unexpected features typical of vesicle colonies, namely solute capture and vesicle fusion, which can be seen as the basic physicochemical mechanisms at the origin of life... - Semi-synthetic minimal cells as a tool for biochemical ICTPasquale Stano
Biology Department, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
Biosystems 109:24-34. 2012.... - The minimal size of liposome-based model cells brings about a remarkably enhanced entrapment and protein synthesisTereza Pereira de Souza
Department of Biology, University of RomaTre, Rome, Italy
Chembiochem 10:1056-63. 2009..We conclude by suggesting that these entrapment effects in small-sized compartments, once validated, might be very relevant in the origin-of-life scenario... - Reactivity and fusion between cationic vesicles and fatty acid anionic vesiclesFilippo Caschera
Biology Department, University of RomaTre, Viale G Marconi 446, I 00146 Rome, Italy
J Colloid Interface Sci 345:561-5. 2010..This study also contributes to clarify the term "vesicle fusion", which is not always properly used in describing reactivity among vesicles... 
Massive non-natural proteins structure prediction using grid technologiesGiovanni Minervini
Department of Biology, University Roma Tre, Viale G, Marconi 446, Rome, I 00146, Italy
BMC Bioinformatics 10:S22. 2009..Thus, the structural study of NBPs can help to understand if natural protein sequences were selected for their peculiar properties or if they are just one of the possible stable and functional ensembles...- Ser-His catalyses the formation of peptides and PNAsMaçha Gorlero
Biology Department, University of RomaTre, Rome, Italy
FEBS Lett 583:153-6. 2009..Other simpler peptides as Gly-Gly, or Gly-Gly-Gly are also effective, although less efficiently. We discuss the results from the viewpoint of primitive chemistry and the origin of long macromolecules by stepwise fragment condensations... - RNA selectively interacts with vesicles depending on their sizeChris F Thomas
Dipartimento di Biologia, , Viale Guglielmo Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy
J Phys Chem B 109:14544-50. 2005..This kind of discrimination capability of RNA might have been of importance in the early phases of the formation of the protocells... - Condensed DNA in lipid microcompartmentsShahriar Osfouri
, ETH Zentrum, , CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
J Phys Chem B 109:19929-35. 2005..600 mg/mL, comparable to that found in restricted biological compartments... - Novel camptothecin analogue (gimatecan)-containing liposomes prepared by the ethanol injection methodPasquale Stano
Institute of Polymers, ETH-Zentrum, , , Switzerland
J Liposome Res 14:87-109. 2004..05). Finally, our study showed that the liposomal formulation was able to realize a delivery system of a water-insoluble drug, providing a Gimatecan formulation for intravenous administration with a preserved antitumoral activity... - Contingency and determinismPier Luigi Luisi
Department of Materials, ETH Zentrum, , Switzerland
Philos Transact A Math Phys Eng Sci 361:1141-7. 2003..Contingency versus determinism is an old, classic issue in the history of science, and certain trends of contemporary science literature appear to be bringing it to the foreground again... - The production of de novo folded proteins by a stepwise chain elongation: a model for prebiotic chemical evolution of macromolecular sequencesSalvatore Chessari
Department of Materials, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETHZ,
Chem Biodivers 3:1202-10. 2006..The implication of this procedure as a general mechanism for the etiology of de novo macromolecular sequences and globular proteins in the origin of life is briefly discussed... - Effect of tryptophan oligopeptides on the size distribution of POPC liposomes: a dynamic light scattering and turbidimetric studyPasquale Stano
, ETH-Zentrum, , Switzerland
J Liposome Res 15:29-47. 2005.... - Protein synthesis in liposomes with a minimal set of enzymesGiovanni Murtas
Centro Studi e Ricerche E Fermi, Compendio Viminale, 00184 Rome, Italy
Biochem Biophys Res Commun 363:12-7. 2007..The expression of GPAT and LPAAT in liposomes would in principle allow the production of the cell boundary from within... - Investigation of de novo totally random biosequences, Part IV: Folding Properties of de novo, totally random RNAsDavide De Lucrezia
Department of Biology, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, IT-00146 Rome
Chem Biodivers 3:869-77. 2006..The results are discussed within the general framework of random RNA properties such as those that might have been produced in a prebiotic scenario... - Investigation of de novo totally random biosequences, Part III: RNA Foster: A novel assay to investigate RNA folding structural propertiesDavide De Lucrezia
Department of Biology, University of Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, IT-00146 Rome
Chem Biodivers 3:860-8. 2006..The simplicity of RNA Foster suggests that it can easily be scaled up for high-throughput studies of RNA folding stability both in basic and applied research... - Investigation of de novo totally random biosequences, Part II: On the folding frequency in a totally random library of de novo proteins obtained by phage displayCristiano Chiarabelli
Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Via Panisperna 89A, IT-00184 Rome
Chem Biodivers 3:840-59. 2006..The consequences of this finding within a library of 'Never Born Proteins' are discussed in terms of molecular evolution... - Comparison of phosphatidylcholine vesicle properties related to geometrical isomerismCarla Ferreri
ISOF, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Photochem Photobiol 82:274-80. 2006..A picture emerged of the geometrical isomer preference in cells as a process driven by natural selection during the life evolution of different organisms, both in terms of compartment dimensions and membrane functionality... - Cell-free protein synthesis through solubilisate exchange in water/oil emulsion compartmentsAdriana V Pietrini
Institute of Polymers, ETH Zentrum, , , Switzerland
Chembiochem 5:1055-62. 2004..8 ng microL(-1) protein after 5 h. The results with the w/o emulsions show that solubilisate exchange takes place among the different water droplets, but it is not possible to demonstrate clearly that a true fusion takes place... - Circular dichroic properties and average dimensions of DNA-containing reverse micellar aggregatesAdriana V Pietrini
Institute for Polymers, ETH-Zentrum, , Switzerland
Biochim Biophys Acta 1562:57-62. 2002....