Bio

Filippo Franceschini is a Visiting Student Researcher at Stanford University in the group of Prof. Shan X. Wang, supported by a travel grant from the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO). His research at Stanford centers on the development of point-of-care biosensors for medical diagnostics and prescreening.
Filippo is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Physics at KU Leuven (Belgium), funded by an FWO fellowship for strategic research, where he works at the intersection of electrocatalysis and sensing technologies. He holds an M.Sc. in Materials Engineering (summa cum laude) from the Polytechnic University of Turin and a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Brescia.

Contact

  • Academic
    filfra@stanford.edu
    University - Student Department: Vice Provost and Dean of Research Position: Graduate

Additional Info

All Publications

  • MBE Grown Vanadium Oxide Thin Films for Enhanced Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensing ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS Franceschini, F., Payo, M., Schouteden, K., Ustarroz, J., Locquet, J., Taurino, I. 2023; 33 (43)

    View details for DOI 10.1002/adfm.202304037

    View details for Web of Science ID 001010468200001

  • Cleanroom-compatible polymeric nanostructured microneedle patch for advanced wearable applications. Biosensors & bioelectronics Amir, M., Rosa, M. A., Debeer, L., Vercooren, N., Franceschini, F., Van Den Eeckhoudt, R., Kuznetsova, N., Kraft, M., Taurino, I. 2025; 288: 117806

    Abstract

    Microneedles are revolutionizing healthcare by enabling minimally invasive drug delivery and real-time biosensing. This study presents an innovative polymer-based wearable system that integrates SU-8 microneedle arrays with a flexible, stretchable substrate, ensuring close skin conformity. Using a single-step backside lithography technique, we fabricated 3D microneedles, followed by a simplified etching process to produce nanostructured surfaces that enhance sensing functionality. The patch supports metal and dielectric deposition, enabling versatile sensing configurations. As a proof of concept, the device demonstrated reproducible performance for hydrogen peroxide electrochemical sensing. Tests on a skin mimic model confirmed its ability to penetrate successfully, as predicted by simulations. This scalable, cleanroom-compatible technology represents a significant advancement in microneedle-based diagnostics, paving the way for practical and minimally invasive healthcare solutions.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bios.2025.117806

    View details for PubMedID 40743890

  • Hydrogen peroxide sensing with cochlear implants in vivo: Towards intra-operative trauma detection SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL Wellens, J., Kerkhofs, L., Deschaume, O., Putzeys, T., Franceschini, F., Taurino, I., Wagner, P., Mc Laughlin, M., Verhaert, N., Bartic, C. 2025; 438

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.snb.2025.137789

    View details for Web of Science ID 001474802300001

  • Nanostructuring copper thin film electrodes for CO2 electroreduction to C2+ products. Nanoscale Papamichail, D., Franceschini, F., Abbas, I., Balalta, D., Nguyen, T. T., Pant, D., Bals, S., Taurino, I., Janssens, E., Grandjean, D., Lievens, P. 2025

    Abstract

    The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a promising approach for achieving carbon-neutral processes in the chemical industry. In this context, various nanostructures have been reported to enhance the C2+ selectivity of Cu-based catalysts. Here, we prepared Cu nanoneedles (NN) from 300 nm sputtered Cu thin films through anodization under various conditions and investigated their performance in terms of C2+ product selectivity. Various combinations of anodization potentials (+0.75 VRHE, +0.85 VRHE, and +0.95 VRHE) and KOH electrolyte concentrations (0.1 M, 0.5 M and 1.0 M) allow the tailoring of the NN length and density that are linked to their CO2RR product selectivity at -1.0 VRHE. The best performance using the C2+ : C1 ratio was achieved with a high NN surface density. A detailed analysis using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy of the best performing sample shows that the anodization of a Cu thin film produces NNs composed of a uniform 3D network of 2 nm hydroxide nanoparticles (NPs) and reconstructs into a rougher metallic Cu NP network after the CO2RR. A high density of NNs with this inner structure may lead to an increase in the local CO concentration and thus to C2+ products. This systematic work demonstrates that nanostructuring the surface of copper thin film electrodes can enhance the CO2RR selectivity to C2+ products while the correlation between the NN morphology and their inner structure strengthens further their applications as CO2 electrocatalysts.

    View details for DOI 10.1039/d5nr01514f

    View details for PubMedID 40667869

  • Gold Nanoclusters on Anodized Glassy Carbon as an Electrocatalytic Glucose Sensing Platform ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS Franceschini, F., Chinnabathini, V., Papamichail, D., Nguyen, T., Deschaume, O., Pham, H., Bartic, C., Escudero, D., Vantomme, A., Janssens, E., Taurino, I. 2025

    View details for DOI 10.1021/acsanm.5c02656

    View details for Web of Science ID 001520439600001

  • Tailoring the glucose oxidation activity of anodized copper thin films CATALYSIS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Franceschini, F., Fernandes, C., Schouteden, K., Ustarroz, J., Locquet, J., Taurino, I. 2025; 15 (10): 3022-3035

    View details for DOI 10.1039/d4cy01248h

    View details for Web of Science ID 001458740500001

  • Comparative Study of ZnO and ZnFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> Microparticle and Nanoparticle-Based Screen-Printed Electrodes in pH Sensing IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL Madagalam, M., Franceschini, F., Fernandes, C., Rosito, M., Padovano, E., Carrara, S., Tagliaferro, A., Bartoli, M., Taurino, I. 2025; 25 (7): 10602-10612

    View details for DOI 10.1109/JSEN.2025.3543243

    View details for Web of Science ID 001457783700001

  • Fabrication of Au Nanostructured Thin Film via Femtosecond Laser Glass Texturing for Enhanced Glucose Sensing. ACS omega Franceschini, F., Nagarajan, B., Claes, I., Deschaume, O., Bartic, C., Castagne, S., Taurino, I. 2025; 10 (9): 9165-9176

    Abstract

    Accurate glucose sensing is crucial for diabetes management, with nonenzymatic electrochemical devices promising enhanced durability and sensitivity. Nonetheless, widespread commercialization remains challenging, with the market still being dominated by their enzymatic counterparts. This study reports on the feasibility of femtosecond-laser texturing of glass followed by thin gold layer deposition to create a highly active and microchip-compatible glucose sensing platform. The laser treatment enables significant nanostructuring of the glass substrate, remarkably resulting in an 8 times greater surface area compared to flat gold films on glass. The electrodes were calibrated via both potentiostatic and potentiodynamic techniques. The laser-treated electrodes displayed in chronoamperometry a sensitivity to glucose of 63.9 ± 1.2 μA·cm-2·mM-1 in the 0.25 mM to 4 mM range and of 42.6 ± 0.8 μA·cm-2·mM-1 ranging from 5 mM to 10 mM. Compared to the flat film gold electrodes, the sensitivity was strikingly 5-fold and 10-fold greater for the two linear ranges. The effect of chlorides on gold was discussed both in terms of leaching from the Ag|AgCl reference electrode during sulfuric acid cycling and in terms of sensitivity decay in phosphate buffer solutions with physiological chloride concentrations. The combination of femtosecond-laser texturing with thin film deposition aims to facilitate the integration with preexisting glass-supported integrated sensing platforms, such as microfluidic systems for point-of-care applications. Its implementation offers substantial versatility, allowing for fine-tuning of the physicochemical properties of the electrode through straightforward adjustments in the deposition protocol parameters.

    View details for DOI 10.1021/acsomega.4c09270

    View details for PubMedID 40092760

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11904711

  • Self-healing and transparent ionic conductive PVA/pullulan/borax hydrogels with multi-sensing capabilities for wearable sensors. International journal of biological macromolecules Qing, X., Liu, Z., Vananroye, A., Franceschini, F., Bouropoulos, N., Katsaounis, A., Taurino, I., Fardim, P. 2025; 284 (Pt 1): 137841

    Abstract

    Conductive hydrogels as wearable sensors have been used for numerous applications in human motion detection, personal healthcare monitoring and other diverse scenarios. However, it remains a challenge to integrate self-healing ability, multiple sensing capabilities, and transparency in one single unit. In this work, multifunctional polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/Pullulan/Borax conductive hydrogels were fabricated by introducing borate ester bonds and hydrogen bonds. The described hydrogels showed fast self-healing properties, which could autonomously completely recover within 15 s. The hydrogels possessed high optical transparency (92.9%) in the visible light range and had multi-sensing capabilities, such as strain, temperature and humidity sensing. The assembled hydrogel sensor displayed a high strain sensitivity of 2.74 within the strain range of 300%, and it could be used to monitor human motions such as finger and wrist bending. In addition, the hydrogel sensor could sense temperature variations with a temperature coefficient of resistance of -0.914 °C-1 over 28-46 °C. Besides, the hydrogel sensor demonstrated the humidity sensing ability and can recognize human inhale and exhale. The overall sensing performance of the PVA/Pullulan/Borax hydrogel was satisfactory and repeatable. This conductive hydrogel shows great potential in wearable electronics and personal healthcare and inspires a new generation of multifunctional hydrogel sensors.

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137841

    View details for PubMedID 39581394

  • Towards yeast fermentation monitoring: Enhanced sensing performance with nanostructured platinum integrated microsensors array SENSING AND BIO-SENSING RESEARCH Rusli, N., van den Eeckhoudt, R., Fernandes, C., Franceschini, F., Konstantinidis, D., Verstrepen, K. J., Ceyssens, F., Kraft, M., Taurino, I. 2024; 46

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.sbsr.2024.100709

    View details for Web of Science ID 001357536200001

  • A Fully-Bioresorbable Nanostructured Molybdenum Oxide-Based Electrode for Continuous Multi-Analyte Electrochemical Sensing ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES Fernandes, C., Franceschini, F., Smets, J., Deschaume, O., Rusli, N., Bartic, C., Ameloot, R., Baert, K., Ustarroz, J., Taurino, I. 2024; 11 (23)

    View details for DOI 10.1002/admi.202400054

    View details for Web of Science ID 001250951200001

  • Unraveling the Potential of a Nanostructured Tungsten-Tungsten Oxide Thin Film Electrode as a Bioresorbable Multichemical Wound Healing Monitor ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES Fernandes, C., Loukopoulos, V., Smets, J., Franceschini, F., Deschaume, O., Bartic, C., Ameloot, R., Ustarroz, J., Taurino, I. 2024; 9 (10)

    View details for DOI 10.1002/admt.202302007

    View details for Web of Science ID 001191024200001

  • Perspectives on the use of bismuth-based materials for sensing and removal of water pollutants CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & HEALTH Franceschini, F., Jagdale, P., Bartoli, M., Tagliaferro, A. 2022; 26

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.coesh.2022.100345

    View details for Web of Science ID 000766839100017

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7208-781X