Welcome to the webpage of Pier Luigi Luisi’s group at RomaTre University

 Introduction

The Luisi lab research activity focuses on the general area of self-organization and self-reproduction of chemical and biological systems, in the framework of the field of origin of life and cell models.

 

The physical chemistry of surfactant aggregates, the study of reactions in compartments and the molecular biology of phage display provide the theoretical and experimental frameworks for the development of specific research projects. 

The two main current projects – i.e., (1) the Never Born Proteins and (2) the Minimal Cell – can generally be ascribed to the domain of Synthetic Biology. In addition, supporting research themes on the biophysics of surfactant aggregates form an integer part of the group’s activity.

 

Meeting on the Emergence - Erice, 12-16 April 2008

 

SYNTHCELLS - Approaches to the Bioengineering of Synthetic Minimal Cells - A Synthetic Biology Project within the 6th Framework Programme

Approach to the construction of minimal living cells - A research grant from Human Frontiers Science Program

 

 

  2006 Meeting  Erice - Sicily 2-6 October 2006

Basic Questions about the Origin of Life

 

  

 

 

 

 

Historically, there have been two main research areas in the group: one is the self-assembly and self-organization of macromolecular surfactant aggregates (in particular lipids) and the relevance of these assemblies - micelles, vesicles and liposomes - as models for biological membranes and cells, while the other focuses on polypeptides and the question as to the origin of their structural order, in particular the origin of their homochirality and of their primary sequences and folding.
 
A realistic scenario of the emergence of life can be based on a gradual transition from random mixtures of simple organic molecules to spatially ordered assemblies displaying primitive forms of cellular compartmentalization, self-reproduction and catalysis.
 
 

Both research themes belong to the more general research area of the origin of life in the sense that they ask basic questions about the origin of ordered molecular complexity and specificity.
 
 

 
Together with these research lines on basic science, the group also studies the biomedical application of liposomes as vectors for drug delivery. The present lines of research result as a development of previous research interest as can be seen by clicking historical development, which provides a description of the group up to about 1990. 
Present research topics, grouped under six major headings, can be found by clicking on 'research' in the menu on the left-hand side of this page.