Prof Silvia Giordani

Biography

Silvia Giordani is full Professor (Chair) of Nanomaterials within the School of Chemical Sciences at Dublin City University. She received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Miami, USA and carried out postdoctoral research at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Ireland and at the University of Trieste, Italy. In 2007 she received the prestigious President of Ireland Young Researcher Award and was a Research Assistant Professor at TCD from 2007 to 2013.

Since September 2013 she has been leading the new “Nano Carbon Materials” research lab at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and in December 2016 she was appointed Associate Professor in Organic Chemistry at the University of Turin, Italy. Her main research interests are in the design, synthesis, and characterization of a wide range of nanomaterials for applications in smart and responsive bio-related nanotechnologies. She is the author/co-author of approx. 100 manuscripts, reviews and book chapters. She has served as the thesis/dissertation advisor or mentor to 43 undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral fellows.

In 2012 she was awarded the L’Oréal UK & Ireland Fellowship For Women in Science and in 2014 she has been invited to give a “Women in Science” Masterclass at the Royal Irish Academy. In 2018 she was awarded the William Evans Fellowship from the University of Otago (New Zealand) and is Visiting Scientist to the Bio-Nano Institute at Toyo University (Japan). She is Associate Editor for Frontiers in Chemistry – Supramolecular Chemistry and for Frontiers in Neuroscience – Neural Technology.

Research Expertise

PhD Students

Select Publications

Organic functionalisation and characterisation of single-walled carbon nanotubes
  P Singh, S Campidelli, S Giordani, D Bonifazi, A Bianco, M Prato      2009      Chemical Society Reviews

Since carbon nanotubes (CNTs) display unique structures and remarkable physical properties, a variety of applications have emerged in both materials and life sciences. In terms of applications, the functionalisation of nanotubes is extremely important, as it increases their solubility and processability, and combines the unique properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with those of other classes of materials. A number of methods have been developed, which can be divided into two major approaches: (1) non-covalent supramolecular modifications, and (2) covalent functionalisation. In this tutorial review, we survey the covalent modification of SWCNTs with organic moieties, and illustrate the major analytical techniques routinely used to characterise the functionalised materials.

 

Signal processing at the molecular level
  FM Raymo, S Giordani      2001      Journal of the American Chemical Society
Human sensory receptors transduce chemical, light, mechanical, and thermal stimulations into nerve impulses, which are transmitted to the brain. 1 This sequence of events involves a concatenation of processes at the molecular level. At each step, input signals of one form are converted into output signals of another. This complex mechanism is related conceptually to the manipulation of binary data in microprocessor systems. 2 The data introduced into a computer are elaborated through a sequence of logic operations and converted in a specific output. In modern microprocessor systems, logic circuits are built integrating electronic devices. However, they could be fabricated combining mechanical, pneumatic, or other types of devices, including molecular-sized switches. 3
Molecules able to perform simple logic operations are known. 4-6 Reliable and efficient methods to integrate organic compounds into simple …

 

Molecular switches as photocontrollable “smart” receptors
  Manuel Natali, Silvia Giordani      2012      Chemical Society Reviews

This critical review focuses on the development of photochromic compounds as sensors for cations, anions, and biologically important molecules. The review commences with a brief description of photochromism and the strategies to exploit photochromic molecular switches’ properties for sensing application. This is followed by a summary of photoswitchable receptors emerged to date and classified according to the photochromic structure they are based on. These include azobenzenes, fulgides, dithienylethenes, dihydroindolizines, chromenes and spiropyrans.

 

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