First user access Call Direct Access 2020-1
Prof. Giuseppe Novelli, together with Daniele Leodori, representing the Regione Lazio, presented ISIS@MACH (Materials Characterisation Hub) — the new research infrastructure at the Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata” campus in Lazio. This hub is the first overseas node of the UK-based ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source, operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It supports multidisciplinary experiments to study the properties of composite materials at the nanoscale. web.uniroma2.it+2isis.stfc.ac.uk+2
The STFC’s ISIS facility is celebrating the establishment of its first international hub, ISIS@MACH. The collaboration with the University of Rome Tor Vergata will enable scientists to delve deeper into the nanoscale properties of materials, supporting fields from aerospace and engineering to cultural heritage and biomaterials.
Drug delivery stays on target – A team from the University of Rome Tor Vergata (G. Paradossi, E. Chiessi, S. Ghugare, A. Mateescu and Mr. Sharad Pasale), working in collaboration with ISIS scientists (M. Telling and V. García Sakai), is using neutron scattering to study the efficacy of constructing such drug delivery vehicles from biocompatible polymers. In the future, injectable hydrogel balls could deliver anti-cancer drugs to target mutant cells.
Quantum effects explain similar melting points of light and heavy water – Water is vital to life and covers over 70% of Earth’s surface. R. Senesi and G. Romanelli (ISIS UK) from the University of Rome Tor Vergata said, “This is the first measurement of the O momentum distribution in H2O, made possible by recent advances in Electron-volt Neutron Spectroscopy at ISIS.”
Testing the robustness of space electronics against more than 100,000 years’ worth of neutrons – “Neutrons on the moon are produced by spallation of primary cosmic rays on materials, the same process as on the ISIS neutron source,” says ChipIr Instrument Scientist Dr Carlo Cazzaniga. “Therefore, ChipIr fast neutrons are representative of cosmic ray neutrons in space.”
