In the early stages of my research activity, particular attention has been paid to the structure of foods, with special emphasis to the changes at macro and micro scale induced by modifications on the original formulation by means of both the use of new ingredients or additives and new preservation strategies. To this purpose, many analytical/processing techniques have been used, some of them set up ‘ad hoc’ for the specific application. Although these aspects do not represent at the moment the core of my research activity, the interest towards them is still strong, especially within fruitful collaborations with other research groups.
The main topic covering most part of my current research activity at Packlab is the design and development of very thin layers to be coated onto the substrates commonly used in the food packaging field (e.g., plastics, cellulosic material, and glass). In particular, the goal is to generate high-performance coatings starting from biomacromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids, avoiding (or limiting as much as possible) the use of conventional petrol-based molecules. So far, several coating solutions have been produced: some entirely made of natural macromolecules, others combining natural polymers to inorganic species (hybrid coatings).
Rising to the aforementioned topic, a new field of investigation has recently been introduced in my work. This deals with the enhancement of the surface properties of plastics, in order to make possible the deposition of water-borne coatings. Among others, flame treatment has been selected as the preferred technique due to its potential especially towards highly recalcitrant polymers (e.g., polyolefins).