Address

University of Bologna, Department of Food Science, Piazza Goidanich, 60 – 47521 Cesena.

Francesco Capozzi was born in Taranto, Italy, on 10th June 1961.

In 1987 he achieved the Doctorate in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, at the University of Florence, with full marks (110/110 cum laude).

Until 1989 he worked for the Pharmaceutical Industries Menarini S.R.L. (Florence) as researcher for the development of analytical methodologies in the quali-quantitative control of drugs on trial.

From 1990 to 1992 he was employed at the University of Bologna as an expert of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) in the context of a convention between the University and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

From 1993 to 1995 he supported tutorial activities for the degree's courses held by the Campus of Food Sciences at the University of Bologna.

From 1996 to 1998 he was Tenure Researcher in General and Inorganic Chemistry at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bologna.

From 1998 to 2001 he was Associate Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of the Calabria.

Currently he is Associate Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bologna.

He is teaching General and Inorganic Chemistry for the Triennial Bachelor Courses in “Food Science and Technologies”, “Viticulture and Oenology”, and “Food Consumptions and Restoration Sciences””. He is teaching Bioinorganic Chemistry for the Magistral Degree in “Food Science and Technologies”.

He is member of the Supervisory Committee for the PhD Program in “Inorganic Chemistry Methodologies”, at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Calabria.

He is member of the "American Chemical Society" and of the "Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry".

He is representative for the University of Bologna in the Executive Board of the "Interuniversity Consortium for the Magnetic Resonances of Paramagnetic Metallo-proteins".

He is reviewer for the following international journals: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry; Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry; Protein Engineering, Design, and Selection; Food Chemistry; Metabolomics; Nutrients.

He belongs to the editorial board of the journal Nutrients MDPI.

He is co-author of more than 60 papers on scientific peer-reviewed journals and international books.

He is leader of the "BIO-NMR" group at the Campus of Food Science of the University of Bologna, with research activities aimed at studying biological systems (of bacterial, vegetable or animal origins) containing metals and, in particular:

a) at studying the magnetic properties of paramagnetic metal ions by relaxometry;

b) at elucidating the role of metal ions in the protein function;

c) at studying, via NMR, foodstuffs and their transformations, with prevalence of their bio-inorganic aspects;

d) at discovering the relationships between structure and function of metal-enzymes involved in biodegradation processes.

He is developing spectroscopic methods to be adopted in the assessment of food quality, by discovering correlations between nuclear relaxation times of water contained in foodstuffs and the chemical-physical characteristics of the food matrix. He has also initiated research works aimed at developing chemical descriptors able to define the qualitative characteristics of foodstuffs, by extracting simple numerical parameters from spectroscopic data. The case studies include vegetable products protected by collective quality labels, requiring particular attention for their traceability, and vegetables GMOs, demanding a careful assessment of the variations introduced in their metabolic profiles by genetic modifications. Currently, he is developing a traceability system for fruit and vegetable products based on univocal molecular fingerprints, derived by spectroscopic data.

Finally, he started a research line in chemical bioinformatics, applied to the study of the chemical properties of protein surfaces and structures, aiming at correlating the information collected in PDB with the biological function of such macromolecular systems.

In 2005-2007 he was he scientific responsible for the research "Identification of innovative parameters in assessing the quality of Pachino's tomatoes by application of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy" in the frame of the project "Development of chemical indices detectable by advanced analytical technology, to identify the quality of horticultural products and their geographical origin (IGP)", financed by the special fund for the development of research of strategic interest granted by the Italian Ministry of the Scientific Research MIUR.

In 2007-2008 he was the scientific coordinator of the project "Development of a unified platform for an advanced trac(k)eability system for ready-to-eat fruit and vegetables" financed by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (DM 499 of 20.03.2007).

Currently, he is the scientific coordinator of the project funded for two years by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, on "Development of the fresh fish system" to support the General Directorate of Maritime Fishing and Aquaculture in the drafting of regulatory guidelines.

He is the European coordinator of the project KBBE FP7-266331 "CHANCE - Low cost technologies and traditional ingredients for the production of affordable, nutritionally correct foods Improving Health in Population groups at risk of poverty".