Short CV of Dr ROBERTO PINI
Institute of Applied Physics / Istituto di Fisica Applicata "Nello Carrara",
National Research Council / Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IFAC-CNR)
Education:
1983: Laurea Degree in Physics with top score 110 cum Laude / 110 at the University of
Florence, Faculty of Physics.
Present positions held:
 2013-present: Director of the Institute of Applied Physics (IFAC-CNR) in Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
 2001-present: First (Senior) Researcher of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR).
 2000-present: Contract Professor of Optics at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of
Florence.
 2010-present: Contract Professor of Biomedical Optics at the Faculty of Optics and Optometry of the
University of Florence.
Responsibilities within the CNR:
 2007-present: Scientific responsible of the “Biophotonics and Nanomedicine Lab" at IFAC-CNR,
coordination of 15 researchers.
 2004-present: Responsible of the CNR Research Section "Laser technology and systems", coordination
of 5 researchers.
 2003-present: Scientific responsible of the “Laboratory for Lasers Application”, on behalf of a publicprivate agreement between EL.EN. SpA and CNR, 5 associated researchers.
Present research activities:
 Theoretical studies on light propagation in biological tissues and on laser-tissue interaction for the
application of photothermal and photodynamic therapies in medicine.
 Development, synthesis and applications of laser-activated metal nanoparticles and nanostructured
chromophores for medical use, in particular for tumor diagnostics and therapy, and for laser tissue
welding.
 Microscopic techniques (optical, fluorescence and multiphoton microscopy, AFM, SEM, TEM), with
particular applications to proteins and their photothermal modifications under laser irradiation.
 Development of new laser devices and delivery systems for medical diagnostics, surgery and therapy.
 Preclinical and clinical studies on the use of laser and other optoelectronics devices, as well as organic
and nanostructured photosensitizers in minimally invasive surgery and therapy, in particular in the fields
of ophthalmology, neurosurgery, microvascular surgery and dermatology.
Responsibilities in Research Projects:
Roberto Pini is a coordinator and partner of several projects and networks at European, Italian and Regional
(Tuscany) levels, related to applied researches in fields such as nanotechnology for biomedical applications,
biophysical chemistry, biomedical optics, laser and optoelectronics technology. He is also responsible of a
number of research contracts with enterprises, private research centers and hospitals. Here is reported a list
of his responsibilities from selected projects, recently carried out or presently underway:
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Italian representative within the European Network of Excellence “Photonics4Life”, 7th FP.
Responsible of the CNR unit within the EU STREP Project “Light+ter”, 7th FP.
Italian coordinator of the Project "McNANO - Microscopic characterization of novel hybrid nanoparticles
for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer " within the Protocol of Scientific Cooperation between Italy and
Quebec.
Italian coordinator of the Project "Versatile, near infrared-sensitive gold-antibody nano-conjugates for
cancer targeting, imaging and therapy" within the Protocol of Scientific Cooperation between Italy and
Russia.
Coordinator of the Regional Project "Nanochrom-New nano-chromophores for minimally invasive
photothermal therapies" (Prog. Regionale Ricerca Salute 2009).
Responsible of the CNR unit within the Regional Project "Nano Treat" (POR CReO Linea 1.1)
Partner of the Regional Project "Ipernano" (POR CReO FESR 2007-2013).
Referee's activity:
R. Pini is currently serving at international level as a reviewer of PhD theses, research projects and scientific
articles, in particular for Journals such as: Langmuir, Nanomedicine, Nanoscale, Nano letters, Journal of
Biophotonics, Journal of Biomedical Optics, Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, Lasers in the Medical Science,
Spectrochimica Acta, etc.
Scientific Publications:
Roberto Pini is co-author of more than 200 scientific publications, including 6 books, and of 18 patents.
10 Selected recent papers:
1. Martina MR, Giambastiani G, Tatini F, Cascella R , Ratto F, Cecchi C, Caminati G, Dei L, Pini R (2013).
Light-responsive nanocomposite sponges for on demand chemical release with high spatial and dosage
control. JOURNAL OF MATERIAL CHEMISTRY B 1, 1096-1100
2. de Angelis M, Matteini P, Ratto F, Pini R, Coppola S, Grilli S, Vespini V, Ferraro P (2013). Plasmon
resonance of gold nanorods for all-optical drawing of liquid droplets APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 103,
163112
3. Mercatelli R, Centi S, Soria S, Romano G, Matteini P, Quercioli F, Fusi F (2013). Quantitative readout of
optically encoded gold nanorods using an ordinary dark-field microscope. NANOSCALE, 5 (20) 96459650
4. Matteini P, Tatini F, Luconi L, Ratto F, Rossi F, Giambastiani G, Pini R (2013). Photothermally Activated
Hybrid Films for Quantitative Confined Release of Chemical Species. ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE INT.
EDIT. 52 (23) 5956–5960
5. Matteini P, Ratto F, Rossi F, Pini R (2012). Emerging concepts of laser-activated nanoparticles for tissue
bonding. JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL OPTICS, vol. 17, p. 010701-1-010701-9, ISSN: 1083-3668
6. Esposito G, Matteini P, Ratto F, Sabatino G, Puca A, Albanese A, Rossi G, Marchese E, Maira G, Pini R
(2012). Nanotechnology and vascular neurosurgery: An in vivo experimental study on microvessels
repair using laser photoactivation of a nanostructured hyaluronan solder . JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL
REGULATORS & HOMEOSTATIC AGENTS, vol. 26, p. 447-456, ISSN: 0393-974X
7. Matteini P, Ratto F, Rossi F, de Angelis M, Cavigli L, Pini R (2012). Hybrid nanocomposite films for
laser-activated tissue bonding. JOURNAL OF BIOPHOTONICS, vol. 5, p. 868-877, ISSN: 1864-063X
8. Mercatelli R, Romano G, Ratto F, Matteini P, Centi S, Cialdai F, Monici M, Pini R, Fusi F (2011).
Quantitative measurement of scattering and extinction spectra of nanoparticles by darkfield microscopy.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS, vol. 99, ISSN: 0003-6951, doi: 10.1063/1.3636439
9. Ratto F, Matteini P, Centi S, Rossi F, Pini R (2011). Gold nanorods as new nanochromophores for
photothermal therapies. JOURNAL OF BIOPHOTONICS, vol. 4, p. 64-73, ISSN: 1864-063X, doi:
10.1002/jbio.201000002
10. Ratto F, Matteini P, Cini A, Centi S, Rossi F, Fusi F, Pini R (2011). CW laser-induced photothermal
conversion and shape transformation of gold nanodogbones in hydrated chitosan films. JOURNAL OF
NANOPARTICLE RESEARCH, vol. 13, p. 4337-4348, ISSN: 1388-0764
Contact info:
Dr ROBERTO PINI
IFAC-CNR
Via Madonna del Piano 10
50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
Tel +39 055 5225 303 / +39 320 4316616
FAX +39 055 5225 305
E-mail: R.Pini@ifac.cnr.it
http://bnlab.ifac.cnr.it/