BIO/05 ZOOLOGY

Research Lines

  • Impact of xenobiotics on aquatic ecosystems: environmental chemistry and ecotoxicity taking in account both environmental matrices (water, sediments) and organisms (invertebrates) at different stages of development. Xenobiotics: drugs, classic organic and inorganic contaminants, personal care products, nanoparticles and nanomaterials
  • Approaches: acute and chronic toxicity bio-assays, embryotoxicity assays, gamete quality, enzymatic and physiological biomarkers, genotoxicity, gene expression
  • Analitical techniques: liquid and gas chromatography (HPLC and GC-MS), UV-VIS and fluorescence spectrophotometry, immuno-enzymatic techniques, gene expression (transcriptomics)
  • Study of bioactive compounds from marine organisms
  • Study of fouling in marine and freshwater environments: evaluation of environmental aspects together with functional aspects in terms of efficacy on polymeric materials with fouling release action. Research is developed on a laboratory scale by carrying out studies on target organisms, for a better understanding of adhesion strategies.
  • Study of the environmental impact of offshore marine aquaculture by monitoring the diversity of the benthic macrofauna

Academic Staff

Prof. Carlo Pretti