PhD Student: Anna Fusetti (ORCID n. 0009-0009-8735-9705)
Supervisor: Dr. Gigliola Borgonovo, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS)
Co-tutor: Prof. Andrea Kunova
Dean: Prof. Diego Mora
Research area: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Research topic
Development of new chemical and biological strategies for the control of pathogenic microorganisms in the agri-food chain.
Project Synopsis
Nature-inspired compounds as ferroptosis inhibitors by metal coordination and enzymatic inhibition.
The aim of this PhD research project is the synthesis of novel siderophores and highly active nature-inspired compounds to be used as antifungal agents for crop protection, overcoming the emergency of resistant strains and limiting the use of harmful chemicals. These new molecules will be employed to modulate ferroptosis, a programmed cell death process responsible for the virulence mechanisms occurring in phytopathogenic fungi, by iron chelation or by radical trapping. Structural modification strategies and biological studies will be exploited to increase the efficacy of the desired compounds as potent fungicides.
Project keywords
Chemical synthesis, natural compound, crop, antifungal activity
Contacts
Laboratory address: DeFENS – Chemical & Biomolecular Sciences – Via Celoria 2, Milano (MI)
Email address: anna.fusetti@unimi.it
Collaborations
Prof. Andrea Kunova, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS).
Sponsor
Università degli Studi di Milano