State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Italy 2017

Dear colleagues,

In Italy, the materials science is protagonist of a remarkable development, which can be attributed to several factors including the excellence of Italian academic and industrial research, as well as to the excellent capacity of Italian companies to turn innovation into valuable products. 

These advancements are particularly notable in the health area. The biotech companies in Italy are almost 500 and more than half of these are companies that dedicate over 75% of their total R & D investment in biotech researches. In particular, more than 250 companies are engaged in research of new therapeutic and diagnostic tools, the core activity being the research and applications of nanostructured materials.

In the academic area, the interest on materials and biomaterials is oriented on both research and high formation. An increasing number of research papers in the field of new biomaterials is yearly published and new PhD courses on these items are activated in Italian Universities.

For example, in the field of medical tissue engineering, interesting hot topics are presently cell-based biomaterials and nanoparticles coatings aiming to repair bone and joint defects, or biomaterials able to tune the inflammatory response. Additionally, multifunctional polymeric nanoconstructs for drug delivery and imaging open new perspectives in the field of nano-oncology. Similarly, an active field of development for biomaterials is that of dental research, from restorative composites or glass-ionomer cements, to bioactive implant materials.

On the industrial side, materials science is producing innovative materials for food packaging, aiming to avoid the migration of toxic substances from the envelop to the food or to avoid water and oil leakage from the food to the container. 

Additionally, vegetable substances are of interest in the field of materials not only as food to be protected but also as a source for bioplastics, such as for raw starch and cellulose but also for by-products of the agricultural foods as is the case of tomato skin.

Polymer fibers are increasingly employed, particularly in the field of innovative biomedical devices for wound care. For example, electrospun fibers can be designed to be ultrafine and to give mechanical flexibility and conformability to non-woven materials for wound dressing and coverage of the injured tissues, protection against infections and dehydration, transport of nutrients, retention of moisture and absorption of exudates. New materials, possibly modified by hybrid formulations including inorganic functional materials such as graphene or other carbon-based nanofillers, should guarantee adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of cells during tissue regeneration and delivery of drugs, as anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents. Preventing infection is the main focus on wound care. In this connection, essential oils or other natural compounds from plants appear promising additives to be encapsulated in advanced biomedical devices.

Besides the mentioned innovative materials, other innovative issues are welcome.

This special issue is aimed at collecting excellent papers that will be of interest to scholars in the field.

Prof. Dr. Carla Renata  Arciola
Dr. Marco  Salerno
Guest Editors

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