Month: June 2024

The international European Polymer Conference 2024 took place at the University Residential Center of Bertinoro, Italy from 26 to 30^th of May 2024. Organized by the European Polymer Federation (EPF) in collaboration with the Italian Association of Macromolecular Science and Technology (AIM), this year’s edition went under the theme of “Polymer Brushes”.

The development of surfaces with well-engineered properties is a significant challenge for chemists and physicists. In this context, polymer brushes, which consist of thin organic layers of polymers tethered by one end to a substrate, represent an extremely versatile tool in surface engineering. The impressive progress in precision polymerization methods, organic reactions and supramolecular strategies provide for achieving excellent control over the composition, architecture and length of tethered polymer chains, leading to an unprecedented variety of polymer brush structures.

EUPOC 2024 offered a great platform for discussing the main challenges this research field faces by bringing together worldwide scientists and students working on different aspects of polymer brushes (PB):

• Synthesis and processing of Polymer Brushes
• Advanced characterization of PB
• PB theory
• Modeling of PB Properties
• Bioinspired PB
• Responsive PB
• Cutting-edge applications of PB

Before an audience comprising mostly researchers like PhD students, postdoctoral and permanent scholars and professors as well as industry professionals committed to providing adapted responses to the new requirements, Maialen Argaiz from TEKNIKER presented an oral lecture titled “Smart leaching of essential oils from mesoporous silica nanoparticles”. It demonstrated the stimuli-responsive behaviour of polymer brushes attached into silica nanoparticles – a topic which is in the core of RELIANCE project.

The conference program comprised also lectures given by professors who summarized the latest polymer brushes updates and oral presentations delivered by researchers who updated the attendees with the most recent advances in the field of polymer brushes.

An exciting two days organized into two morning and afternoon conference sessions, featuring 30-minute plenary lecture and 20-minute oral communications, along with a separate poster session. The atmosphere was one of innovation and collaboration among a heterogeneous community of scientists from all over the world.

Warm and sunny Greece welcomed RELIANCE consortium from 5 to 6 June to discuss project’s work progress, challenges and next tasks. The event hosted by the University of Patras marked the middle of the project and was held in a hybrid mode in the modern industrial setting of T16 Boutique Office in Athens.

SCALABILITY – the key word of the meeting

RELIANCE has entered its result prolific phase where most of the lab work on the synthesis of the mesoporous silica nanoparticles has been completed and we have started making steps towards scaling up, nanoparticle synthesis process optimization and functionalization of the nanoparticles with copper. The coming months will be challenging as for scaling up, the project researchers will study the behavior of different types of polymers in terms of their response to temperature and pH changes by a smart release of the loaded essential oils. The surface modification with antimicrobial peptides (AMP) from chicken feathers and upscaling activities are also expected to be exciting due to the variability in the results when it comes to bacteria and viruses. The optimization of the scaling up processes is led by the objectives of safety, sustainability, yield, cost and of course, the key objective – bioactivity.

The upscaling of coating formulation synthesis continues vigorously as well as the development of hybrid sol gel inorganic coating for glass or stainless-steel surfaces. First results with samples will soon be tested by Arcelik on home appliances, to include assessment of the aesthetic requirements which must be met along with a preserved repellency. Some samples of coating deposition by PU digital printing were brought by Centexbel who have already achieved the desired scaling up of the coating formulation preparation and move on with performing tests with antimicrobial additives.

Promising findings were shared by partners regarding the nanotoxicity and ecotoxicity studies performed on lung cells and with algae and microorganisms found in nature, respectively. We also briefly touched upon the forthcoming regulatory evaluation in the context of regulatory perspectives of the newly developed within RELIANCE biocidal additive and regulatory roadmap per sectors and application.

Lastly, the consortium made some serious steps towards finalizing the initial exploitation plan for RELIANCE results and dedicated energy in discussing follow on dissemination and synergy activities with sister projects.

The hard-working days were rewarded with an enlightening tour of the Acropolis Museum organized by our gracious host. For about two hours, we got lost in the lands of ancient Greece and Greek Gods, travelling through time, hearing lots of interesting myths and legends, and seeing some cool and preserved artefacts. We ended the experience with a social dinner, immersing into a gourmet culinary experience and lively talks, overlooking the magnificent Acropolis, sinking in the dim light of the sunset.  

Polymers 2024 Conference was co-organized by the MDPI open access journal Polymers, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and BIOMAC project, and Exelisis Co. from May 28 to 31, 2024 at the prestigious War Museum in Athens, Greece. This year’s motto of the event “Polymers for a Safe and Sustainable Future” reflects the research efforts of the polymer scientists to transition to producing environmentally friendly, safe, and non-toxic polymers that could be fully recycled or are completely degradable shortly after their use.

RELIANCE project was presented with an oral presentation by David De Smet, a researcher in Textile Functionalization and Surface Modification in Centexbel. The title of his presentation was ‘A pathway to green polyurethanes for textiles’, showcasing the results of the wash resistant biobased PU coating during the session dedicated to “Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers – Green Monomer Synthesis By Design”.

“Polymers 2024” is an international conference covering the latest progress and innovations in the fields of polymers for the production of new materials and additives for a safe and sustainable world. The latest findings in the scientific field of polymers, with a particular emphasis on the synthesis of safe polymers with unique properties for human health and environmental sustainability and green polymer chemistry were in the focus of the discussions and conference sessions.

Find out more about the conference here.

The Panhellenic Chemical Engineering Conference (PESXM) is a reference point for the professional, scientific, and educational community of Greek Chemical Engineers, offering them the opportunity to meet, exchange ideas and results, make new connections, and establish new collaborations.

Taking place from 29 to 31 May, in the sunny city of Thessaloniki, the 2024 edition of PESXM main goals was to to explore, encourage, and promote the cooperation between institutions engaged in primary and applied research, with the goal of creating innovative products and/or processes capable of ensuring the robust operation of the domestic supply chain.

As such, the scope of the 14th PESXM included the following topics: Health and Safety, Quality Assurance, Applied Chemistry, Energy, Circular Economy and Zero Waste, Pharmaceutical Technology, Polymers and Nanocomposites, Physical Chemistry and Thermodynamics, and Transport Phenomena. The PESMX was co-hosted by all Chemical Engineering Departments and Institutes in Greece and Cyprus, including the University of Patras (UPAT).

Recent experimental studies have determined the effectiveness of small keratin-derived antimicrobial peptides (KAMPs) with no ordered structure against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. However, little is known about the structural dynamics of KAMPs, and how their aggregation propensity affects their antimicrobial activity. As a first step to their analysis, the team from UPAT has sought to elucidate the structural dynamics of KAMPs in dilute and semi-dilute solutions, in order to lay the groundwork for the study of their mechanism of action. Based on their findings, interaction motifs between residues (e.g. arginine-tyrosine among others) that lead to ordered structures were identified. By properly altering these motifs, one can design de novo AMPs and variants of KAMPs that have an unordered structure.

RELIANCE partners from UPAT did an presentation of their work during the conference, related to the structural dynamics of keratin-derived antimicrobial peptides (KAMPs) in dilute and semi-dilute solutions. In more detail, Panagiotis Panagopoulos Papageorgiou covered their approach on the examination of intra- and inter-peptide amino acid interactions that lead to the formation of ordered – albeit transient – secondary structure elements.

Read the full abstract here.