Vincenzo CUNSOLO
VINCENZO CUNSOLO
Associate Professor in Organic Chemistry (SSD CHEM/05)
Member of the PhD teaching board in Chemical Sciences (XXXVIII, XXXIX e XL)
Member of the Quality Group of the Bachelor's Degree Course in Sustainable Chemistry for Industry, Environment and Energy
Member of the Quality Group of the Master's degree Course in Chemical Sciences (Curriculum in Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry - COB)
Member of the scientific committee of the University Service Centre for Research and Innovation in Bio and Nano - technologies - BRIT of the University of Catania
Scientific Supervisor of the LC-MS Orbitrap Fusion system, the Actapure system, and the Typhoon system at the BIO-NANOTECH RESEARCH AND INNOVATION TOWER (BRIT Service Center) of the University of Catania
Research Topics
His research activity is mainly devoted to the structural characterization of proteins by MS-based proteomics methods, including electrophoresis, HPLC, LC-MS, LC-MS/MS, and bioinformatic tools.
The results of his research activity have been presented in many national and international conferences, and published in more than 80 peer-reviewed articles in international journals with impact factor.
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2349-5494
PhD. Student's Supervisor
Dott. Aldo Lanzoni: “Shotgun proteomic analysis of Italian chickpea genotypes” Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences (XXXVIII Ciclo)
Dott. Salvo Laudani: “In-depth characterization of the seed molecular composition of autochthonous Sicilian genotypes of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum)”, in collaboration with CREA of Acireale. Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences (XL Ciclo) - Fellowship of the Sicilian Region (PR FSE+ 2021-27).
Post-Doc's Supervisor
Dott.ssa Antonella Di Francesco: “Characterization by Mass Spectrometry of Protein-Based Biosensors for the Detection of Wastewater Pollutants”, within the Samothrace Project - Spoke 1 - WP2 - Task 2.2: “Application of new materials for the real-time control of contaminants of emerging concern in water”.
CV – VINCENZO CUNSOLO
Vincenzo Cunsolo graduated in 1998 with Summa cum Laude in Chemistry at the University of Catania. He obtained his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Catania in 2002. He attended, as PhD student, many courses, mainly focused on mass spectrometry. In 2003, supported by an EMBO Fellowship, he spent some months in Odense, Denmark, in the laboratory of Professor Peter Roepstorff working on proteomics of durum wheat gluten proteins. From 2003 to 2005 he was Post-Doctoral Fellow in Chemistry at the University of Catania. From 2006 to 2010 he was Temporary Research Fellow in Organic Chemistry. From 2010 to 2020 he was researcher of Organic Chemistry at the University of Catania. Since 1st March 2020 he has been working as Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Catania. His research activity is mainly devoted to the structural characterization of proteins, with special relevance to the study of proteins in food, by MS-based proteomics methods. He has participated in many national and international projects, national and international conferences, and published more than 70 peer reviewed articles in international journals with impact factor. He acts as referee of many international scientific journals.
Expertises
Mass Spectrometry techniques; Liquid Chromatography; RP-nHPLC/nESI-MS; Protein Chemistry; Structural Characterization of Proteins and Peptides; Characterization of complex protein mixtures by proteomic approaches and bio-informatic tools.
Bibliometric Parameters
(updated April 2025; from Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/search/form.uri?display=basic)
Total Scientific Manuscripts: 84
h-index: 28
Total Citations: 1999
Qualification
1999: Qualified chemist profession.
CV updated 2d April 2025
- CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System: link
- ORCID: 0000-0002-2349-5494
Publications of the last 5 years (* Corresponding Author)
De Fazio R, Di Francesco A, Di Ciccio PA, Cunsolo V, Britti D, Lomagistro C, Roncada P, Piras C. Detection of Bioactive Peptides' Signature in Podolica Cow's. Milk. Foods. 2025 Mar 4;14(5):877. doi: 10.3390/foods14050877. PMID: 40077579; PMCID: PMC11898676.
Piras C, De Fazio R, Di Francesco A, Oppedisano F, Spina AA, Cunsolo V, Roncada P, Cramer R, Britti D. Detection of Antimicrobial Proteins/Peptides and Bacterial Proteins Involved in Antimicrobial Resistance in Raw Cow's Milk from Different Breeds. Antibiotics (Basel). 2024 Sep 3;13(9):838. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics13090838. PMID: 39335011; PMCID: PMC11429332.
G. Zilberstein, S. Zilberstein, P.G. Righetti, Cunsolo V, A. Tikhonov, A.G. Bublichenko. Sense of Smell Reduction as Factor for Mammoth’s and other Mammals Extinction. Immunoglobulins as Possible Markers. Earth History and Biodiversity (2024), volume 1, 100008. doi: 10.1016/j.hisbio.2024.100008.
Pittalà MGG, Reina S, Cucina A, Cunsolo V, Guarino F, Di Francesco A, Foti S, De Pinto V, Saletti R. Intramolecular Disulfide Bridges in Voltage-Dependent Anion Channel 2 (VDAC2) Protein from Rattus norvegicus Revealed by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2024 Jul 3;35(7):1422-1433. doi: 10.1021/jasms.4c00033. Epub 2024 Jun 4. PMID: 38832804.
Di Francesco A, De Santis MA, Lanzoni A, Pittalà MGG, Saletti R, Flagella Z, Cunsolo V*. Mass Spectrometry Characterization of the SDS-PAGE Protein Profile of Legumins and Vicilins from Chickpea Seed. Foods. 2024 Mar 14;13(6):887. doi: 10.3390/foods13060887. PMID: 38540876; PMCID: PMC10969193.
Pittalà MGG, Di Francesco A, Cucina A, Saletti R, Zilberstein G, Zilberstein S, Arhire T, Righetti PG, Cunsolo V*. Count Dracula Resurrected: Proteomic Analysis of Vlad III the Impaler's Documents by EVA Technology and Mass Spectrometry. Anal Chem. 2023 Aug 29;95(34):12732-12744. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01461. Epub 2023 Aug 8. PMID: 37552208; PMCID: PMC10469356.
Punginelli D, Catania V, Abruscato G, Luparello C, Vazzana M, Mauro M, Cunsolo V, Saletti R, Di Francesco A, Arizza V, Schillaci D. New Bioactive Peptides from the Mediterranean Seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) and Their Impact on Antimicrobial Activity and Apoptosis of Human Cancer Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Mar 15;24(6):5650. doi: 10.3390/ijms24065650. PMID: 36982723; PMCID: PMC10056643.
Cunsolo V, Di Francesco A, Pittalà MGG, Saletti R, Foti S. The TriMet_DB: A Manually Curated Database of the Metabolic Proteins of Triticum aestivum. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 18;14(24):5377. doi: 10.3390/nu14245377. PMID: 36558536; PMCID: PMC9781733.
Spina A, Saletti R, Fabroni S, Natalello A, Cunsolo V, Scarangella M, Rapisarda P, Canale M, Muccilli V. Multielemental, Nutritional, and Proteomic Characterization of Different Lupinus spp. Genotypes: A Source of Nutrients for Dietary Use. Molecules. 2022 Dec 10;27(24):8771. doi: 10.3390/molecules27248771. PMID: 36557904; PMCID: PMC9787123.
Pittalà MGG, Reina S, Nibali SC, Cucina A, Cubisino SAM, Cunsolo V, Amodeo GF, Foti S, De Pinto V, Saletti R, Messina A. Specific Post-Translational Modifications of VDAC3 in ALS-SOD1 Model Cells Identified by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Dec 13;23(24):15853. doi: 10.3390/ijms232415853. PMID: 36555496; PMCID: PMC9784795.
Punginelli D, Catania V, Vazzana M, Mauro M, Spinello A, Barone G, Barberi G, Fiorica C, Vitale M, Cunsolo V, Saletti R, Di Francesco A, Arizza V, Schillaci D. A Novel Peptide with Antifungal Activity from Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii. Antibiotics (Basel). 2022 Dec 10;11(12):1792. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11121792. PMID: 36551449; PMCID: PMC9774249.
Di Felice V, Barone R, Trovato E, D'Amico D, Macaluso F, Campanella C, Marino Gammazza A, Muccilli V, Cunsolo V, Cancemi P, Multhoff G, Coletti D, Adamo S, Farina F, Cappello F. Physiactisome: A New Nanovesicle Drug Containing Heat Shock Protein 60 for Treating Muscle Wasting and Cachexia. Cells. 2022 Apr 21;11(9):1406. doi: 10.3390/cells11091406. PMID: 35563712; PMCID: PMC9100106.
Cucina A, Di Francesco A, Saletti R, Pittalà MGG, Zilberstein G, Zilberstein S, Tikhonov A, Bublichenko AG, Righetti PG, Foti S, Cunsolo V*. Meta-proteomic analysis of two mammoth's trunks by EVA technology and high-resolution mass spectrometry for an indirect picture of their habitat and the characterization. of the collagen type I, alpha-1 and alpha-2 sequence. Amino Acids. 2022 Jun;54(6):935-954. doi: 10.1007/s00726-022-03160-6. Epub 2022 Apr 17. PMID: 35434776; PMCID: PMC9213349.
A. Capocchi, C.G. Athanassiou, G. Benelli, V. Muccilli, N.G. Kavallieratos, Cunsolo V, R. Saletti, D. Fontanini. A new monomeric α-amylase inhibitor from the tetraploid emmer wheat is mostly active against stored product pests. Journal of Pest Science 95, 1401–1412 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-021-01447-3 .
Pittalà MGG, Conti Nibali S, Reina S, Cunsolo V, Di Francesco A, De Pinto V, Messina A, Foti S, Saletti R. VDACs Post-Translational Modifications Discovery by Mass Spectrometry: Impact on Their Hub Function. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Nov 27;22(23):12833. doi: 10.3390/ijms222312833. PMID: 34884639; PMCID: PMC8657666.
Cucina A, Cunsolo V*, Di Francesco A, Saletti R, Zilberstein G, Zilberstein S, Tikhonov A, Bublichenko AG, Righetti PG, Foti S. Meta-proteomic analysis of the Shandrin mammoth by EVA technology and high-resolution mass spectrometry: what is its gut microbiota telling us? Amino Acids. 2021 Oct;53(10):1507-1521. doi: 10.1007/s00726-021-03061-0. Epub 2021 Aug 28. PMID: 34453585; PMCID: PMC8519927.
Di Francesco A, Cunsolo V*, Saletti R, Svensson B, Muccilli V, De Vita P, Foti S. Quantitative Label-Free Comparison of the Metabolic Protein Fraction in Old and Modern Italian Wheat Genotypes by a Shotgun Approach. Molecules. 2021 Apr 29;26(9):2596. doi: 10.3390/molecules26092596. PMID: 33946829; PMCID: PMC8124627.
Tanasi D, Cucina A, Cunsolo V*, Saletti R, Di Francesco A, Greco E, Foti S. Paleoproteomic profiling of organic residues on prehistoric pottery from Malta. Amino Acids. 2021 Feb;53(2):295-312. doi: 10.1007/s00726-021-02946-4. Epub 2021 Feb 13. PMID: 33582869; PMCID: PMC7910365.
Pittalà MGG, Reina S, Cubisino SAM, Cucina A, Formicola B, Cunsolo V, Foti S, Saletti R, Messina A. Post-Translational Modification Analysis of VDAC1 in ALS-SOD1 Model Cells Reveals Specific Asparagine and Glutamine Deamidation. Antioxidants (Basel). 2020 Dec 2;9(12):1218. doi: 10.3390/antiox9121218. PMID: 33276691; PMCID: PMC7761621.
Cunsolo V, Schicchi R, Chiaramonte M, Inguglia L, Arizza V, Cusimano MG, Schillaci D, Di Francesco A, Saletti R, Lo Celso F, Barone G, Vitale M. Identification of New Antimicrobial Peptides from Mediterranean Medical Plant Charybdis pancration (Steinh.) Speta. Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Oct 28;9(11):747. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9110747. PMID: 33126631; PMCID: PMC7694139.
M.A. De Santis, Cunsolo V, M.M. Giuliani, A. Di Francesco, R Saletti, S. Foti, Z. Flagella, “Gluten proteome comparison among durum wheat genotypes with different release date”, Journal of Cereal Science 96 (2020) 103092. doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2020.103092.
Cardullo N, Muccilli V, Cunsolo V, Tringali C. Mass Spectrometry and 1H-NMR Study of Schinopsis lorentzii (Quebracho) Tannins as a Source of Hypoglycemic and Antioxidant Principles. Molecules. 2020 Jul 17;25(14):3257. doi: 10.3390/molecules25143257. PMID: 32708865; PMCID: PMC7397293.
Sbardella D, Tundo GR, Cunsolo V, Grasso G, Cascella R, Caputo V, Santoro AM, Milardi D, Pecorelli A, Ciaccio C, Di Pierro D, Leoncini S, Campagnolo L, Pironi V, Oddone F, Manni P, Foti S, Giardina E, De Felice C, Hayek J, Curatolo P, Galasso C, Valacchi G, Coletta M, Graziani G, Marini S. Defective proteasome biogenesis into skin fibroblasts isolated from Rett syndrome subjects with MeCP2 non-sense mutations. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2020 Jul 1;1866(7):165793. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2020.165793. Epub 2020 Apr 8. PMID: 32275946.
Pittalà MGG, Saletti R, Reina S, Cunsolo V, De Pinto V, Foti S. A High Resolution Mass Spectrometry Study Reveals the Potential of Disulfide Formation in Human Mitochondrial Voltage-Dependent Anion Selective Channel Isoforms (hVDACs). Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Feb 21;21(4):1468. doi: 10.3390/ijms21041468. PMID: 32098132; PMCID: PMC7073118.
Di Francesco A, Saletti R, Cunsolo V, Svensson B, Muccilli V, Vita P, Foti S. Qualitative proteomic comparison of metabolic and CM-like protein fractions in old and modern wheat Italian genotypes by a shotgun approach. J Proteomics. 2020 Jan 16;211:103530. doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2019.103530. Epub 2019 Oct 16. PMID: 31629055.
VINCENZO CUNSOLO - Research Activity
The research activity of prof. V. Cunsolo is mainly devoted to the structural characterization of food proteins by MS-based proteomics methods. These proteomic investigations are based on the use of highly efficient separation techniques for proteins such as RP-HPLC or 2D-PAGE combined with enzymatic reactions and mass spectrometry in order to obtain data suitable for searching, by specific software, genomic and protein databases.
In particular, his research activity is directed to the:
- quali-quantitative comparison of kernel cereal proteins from different cultivars (commercials and ancestrals), aimed to: i) the identification of qualitative and quantitative variation of the protein fraction between commercials and ancestral cultivars; ii) elucidation of the relationships between breadmaking flour quality, nutritional values, cultivar physical and chemical properties and protein composition;
- quali-quantitative comparison of the protein fraction of chickpea and other minor legumes, aimed to: i) the identification of qualitative and quantitative variation of the protein fraction related to both the genotype and the agronomic conditions; ii) elucidation of the relationships between breadmaking flour quality, nutritional values, cultivar physical and chemical properties and protein composition
- quali-quantitative comparison of the protein fraction of milk belonging to different mammalian species, with the aim to elucidate the different protein composition, including minor proteins (the so-called “hidden proteome”). These studies are aimed to understand the relationship between the protein composition and the nutritional and allergenic properties of different milks;
- Characterization of peptides with biological activity in marine invertebrate organisms;
- Characterization of protein fraction extracted from in ancient samples by proteomics.