diff --git a/libs/dnet-wf-service/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/manager/wf/workflows/graph/GraphLoader.java b/libs/dnet-wf-service/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/manager/wf/workflows/graph/GraphLoader.java
index 2a8aaf76..e181ea1f 100644
--- a/libs/dnet-wf-service/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/manager/wf/workflows/graph/GraphLoader.java
+++ b/libs/dnet-wf-service/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/manager/wf/workflows/graph/GraphLoader.java
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ public class GraphLoader {
 			if (n.isStart()) {
 				foundStart = true;
 			}
-			if (!this.nodeHelper.isValidType(n.getType())) { throw new WorkflowManagerException("Invalid node type: " + n.getType()); }
+			if (!this.nodeHelper.isValid(n)) { throw new WorkflowManagerException("Invalid node type: " + n.getType()); }
 		}
 		if (!foundStart) { throw new WorkflowManagerException("Start node not found"); }
 	}
diff --git a/libs/dnet-wf-service/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/manager/wf/workflows/util/NodeHelper.java b/libs/dnet-wf-service/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/manager/wf/workflows/util/NodeHelper.java
index 20ec408c..cfb92be4 100644
--- a/libs/dnet-wf-service/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/manager/wf/workflows/util/NodeHelper.java
+++ b/libs/dnet-wf-service/src/main/java/eu/dnetlib/manager/wf/workflows/util/NodeHelper.java
@@ -1,14 +1,22 @@
 package eu.dnetlib.manager.wf.workflows.util;
 
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
 import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 import org.springframework.beans.BeansException;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AnnotatedBeanDefinition;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.config.BeanDefinition;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContextAware;
+import org.springframework.context.annotation.ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider;
+import org.springframework.core.type.filter.AnnotationTypeFilter;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
 
 import eu.dnetlib.errors.WorkflowManagerException;
+import eu.dnetlib.manager.wf.annotations.WfNode;
 import eu.dnetlib.manager.wf.nodes.DefaultJobNode;
 import eu.dnetlib.manager.wf.nodes.ProcessNode;
 import eu.dnetlib.manager.wf.nodes.SuccessNode;
@@ -19,7 +27,6 @@ import eu.dnetlib.manager.wf.workflows.procs.WorkflowProcess;
 @Component
 public class NodeHelper implements ApplicationContextAware {
 
-	public static final String beanNamePrefix = "wfNode";
 	private static final Log log = LogFactory.getLog(NodeHelper.class);
 
 	private ApplicationContext applicationContext;
@@ -30,25 +37,63 @@ public class NodeHelper implements ApplicationContextAware {
 		} else if (StringUtils.isBlank(node.getType())) {
 			return new DefaultJobNode(node.getName());
 		} else {
+			try {
+				Class<? extends ProcessNode> clazz;
 
-			// TODO: Considerare i nodi annotati con WfNode
-			final ProcessNode pnode = this.applicationContext.getBean(beanNamePrefix + node.getType(), ProcessNode.class);
-			if (pnode != null) {
-				pnode.setNodeName(node.getName());
-				if (pnode instanceof ProcessAware) {
-					((ProcessAware) pnode).setProcess(process);
+				clazz = findClassForNodeType(node.getType());
+
+				final ProcessNode pnode = this.applicationContext.getBean(clazz);
+
+				if (pnode != null) {
+					pnode.setNodeName(node.getName());
+					if (pnode instanceof ProcessAware) {
+						((ProcessAware) pnode).setProcess(process);
+					}
+					return pnode;
+				} else {
+					log.error("cannot find bean of type " + node.getType());
+					throw new WorkflowManagerException("cannot find bean of type " + node.getType());
 				}
-				return pnode;
-			} else {
-				log.error("cannot find bean " + beanNamePrefix + node.getType());
-				throw new WorkflowManagerException("cannot find bean " + beanNamePrefix + node.getType());
+			} catch (final ClassNotFoundException e) {
+				throw new WorkflowManagerException("Class not found for node " + node.getType());
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
-	public boolean isValidType(final String type) {
-		return StringUtils.isBlank(type) || this.applicationContext.isPrototype(beanNamePrefix + type) && this.applicationContext
-			.isTypeMatch(beanNamePrefix + type, ProcessNode.class);
+	private Class<? extends ProcessNode> findClassForNodeType(final String type) throws ClassNotFoundException {
+		final ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider provider =
+			new ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider(false);
+
+		provider.addIncludeFilter(new AnnotationTypeFilter(WfNode.class));
+
+		final Set<BeanDefinition> beanDefs = provider.findCandidateComponents("eu.dnetlib.wf.nodes");
+
+		for (final BeanDefinition bd : beanDefs) {
+			if (bd instanceof AnnotatedBeanDefinition) {
+				final Map<String, Object> annotAttributeMap = ((AnnotatedBeanDefinition) bd)
+					.getMetadata()
+					.getAnnotationAttributes(WfNode.class.getCanonicalName());
+
+				if (type.equals(annotAttributeMap.get("value"))) {
+					final Class<?> clazz = Class.forName(bd.getBeanClassName());
+					if (ProcessNode.class.isAssignableFrom(clazz)) { return (Class<? extends ProcessNode>) Class.forName(bd.getBeanClassName()); }
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		throw new ClassNotFoundException("Class not found for type " + type);
+	}
+
+	public boolean isValid(final GraphNode n) {
+		if (n.getType() == null) {
+			return true;
+		} else {
+			try {
+				return findClassForNodeType(n.getType()) != null;
+			} catch (final ClassNotFoundException e) {
+				return false;
+			}
+		}
 	}
 
 	@Override