My major research interest is focused in microbiological studies on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, considered as opportunistic pathogen to be eradicated or as potential tool in bioremediation and white biotechnology.

I applied different antibacterial approaches (synthetic and natural disinfectants, photodynamic antibacterial therapy) to control P. aeruginosa grown both as planktonic culture and adherent community (biofilms). I investigated the bactericidal effect of common disinfectant against bacterial strains isolated from patients with persistent skin infections and the antimicrobial activities of extracts from African plants often used in traditional medicine. In the last years I focused my studies on the antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT), an approach which combines the use of a drug (photosensitizing agent) with visible light to kill pathogens. In order to investigate the mechanism of response to photo-oxidative and oxidative stresses a panel of mutant strains isogenic of the model microorganism P. aeruginosa PAO1 were obtained. Among these, few clones were mutated in the three Quorum Sensing (QS) systems rhl, las and pqs.

I applied biochemical and molecular techniques such as ROFE (Rotating Field gel Electrophoresis) and Eric-PCR (enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus) to identify and subtype clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa producers of an extended spectrum of beta-lattamases.

I applied molecular approaches (“DNA shuffling” and “chimeric proteins design”) to modify a multienzimatic monooxygenase complex (from Pseudomonas stutzeri) to obtain variants different and/or better than original enzymes.

When I studied pathogenic mechanisms related to HIV infection I got skill in eukaryotic cell cultures either primary either immortalized ones; in cell vitality evaluation, in immunoenzimatic approach (ELISA), in molecular biology techniques (prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA extraction, PCR and RT-PCR, bacterial cloning and transient eukaryotic cells transformation) and in fluorescence and optical microscopy.