Synthesis and characterization of biomaterials for engineering applications

The main objective of my PhD work was to study several classes of next-generation biomaterials, which are materials designed and developed to interact with biological systems, as they are bioactive and compatible with human tissue, and show a good degree of biodegradability. They are eco-friendly, renewable, and non-polluting and find use in medicine, tissue engineering, biosensors and virus detection. Specifically, this PhD thesis is divided into three sections, based on the materials studied, which find their applications in the biomedical and environmental fields. The first section refers to the development of carbon-based nanomaterials for drug delivery. In detail, graphene quantum dots (GQD), the last member of the graphene family have been investigated as drug delivery systems for anticancer therapy. Their strong size-dependent photoluminescence and the presence of many reactive groups on the surface of the graphene surface allowed their multimodal conjugation with therapeutic agents and targeting ligands, making them valuable agents for innovative targeted therapies for cancer treatment. The second section is focused on the development of new synthetic hydrogels based on chitosan useful for the tissue regeneration. Tissue engineering is an important therapeutic strategy for present and future medicine. The goal is to restore, regenerate, maintain, or improve function in defective tissue or lost tissue due to different disease conditions. The use of novel biodegradable and bioresorbable chitosan-based hydrogel formulations for controlled drug delivery has enabled the development of biocompatible biopolymer scaffolds that can promote tissue regeneration. The third section concerns the design of eco-friendly and innovative antifouling coatings. Marine biofouling generally refers to the undesirable accumulation of biological organisms on surfaces in contact with seawater. This natural phenomenon represents a major economic concern for marine industries, and in the last few decades, many efforts have been spent into developing efficient antifouling (AF) surfaces (coatings) combining advances in materials science and recent knowledge of marine chemistry and biology. In this context, polysiloxanes with controlled hydrophilicity represent a valuable and environmentally friendly alternative to currently used marine coating.