Antonella Fontana
| Name | Antonella Fontana |
| Work Groups |
Work Group 2 - Characterisation |
| Laboratory | Organic Chemistry |
| Organisation | Università Gabriele d'Annunzio |
| Website | http://farmacia.unich.it/chimorg/ricerca/fontana/ |
| Areas of Research | supramolecular chemistry, carbon nanotubes, amphiphilic molecules |
| Research Keywords | disaggregation of carbon nanotubes, UV/vis/IR spectroscopy, supramolecular aggregation |
| Areas of Future Interest | sensors and energy research |
Selected Publications:
- Structural modifications of ionic liquid surfactants for improving the water dispersibility of carbon nanotubes: an experimental and theoretical study
- Biocompatible dispersions of carbon nanotubes: a potential tool for intracellular transport of anticancer drugs
- Assessing the role of poly(ethylene glycol-bl-propylene sulfide) (PEG-PPS) block copolymers in the preparation of carbon nanotube biocompatible dispersions
- Microwave-Assisted Functionalization of Carbon Nanostructures in Ionic Liquids
- Disaggregation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) promoted by the ionic liquid based surfactant 1-hexadecyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide in aqueous solution
Brief CV
Antonella Fontana has been active in the field of Physical Organic Chemistry and Supramolecular Chemistry and is author of more than 60 papers published in International Journals. During her PhD she worked with R. M. O'Ferrall in Dublin. On study-leave from the University of Chieti in 1998,1999 and 2000 she worked with prof. B. H. Robinson and prof. D. Needham at UEA in Norwich (UK) and at Duke University in Durham (US), respectively and maintained these collaborations over the years. Her main fields of interest are thermodynamics and kinetics of proton-transfer reactions in water, in organic solvents and ionic liquids; the metal and micellar catalysis. Particular attention has been recently addressed to various aspects of supramolecular chemistry such as (i) kinetics of formation and breakdown of vesicles from natural (liposomes) and synthetic surfactants; (ii) effects of the inclusion of different guests in the liposomal bilayer: from an increase of membrane stability to formation of channels; (iii) thermodynamics and kinetics of aggregates from block copolymers;(iv) physico-chemical characterization of amphiphilic fullerene derivatives and their aggregation properties in water and in organic solvent/water mixtures; (v) dispersion of carbon nanotubes with ionic liquids, newly synthesized ionic surfactants or block copolymers and preparation of composite materials used for the covalent funzionalization of carbon nanotubes and/or the preparation of biosensors; (vi) preparation of carbon nanotube-based drug delivery systems; (vii) formation of nanocapsules through Layer by Layer deposition of carbon nanotubes onto liposomes. She is now associate-professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Chieti.