The  

ability  

of  

natural  

systems  

to  

alter  

function  

in  

direct  

response  

to  

environmental  

conditions  

has

inspired   

many   

scientists   

to   

fabricate   

‘smart’   

materials   

that   

respond   

to   

temperature,   

light,   

pH,

electro/magnetic   

field,   

mechanical   

stress   

and/or   

chemical   

stimuli.   

These   

responses   

are   

usually

manifested  

as  

remarkable  

changes  

from  

the  

molecular  

(e.g.,  

conformational  

state,  

hierarchical  

order

)

to  

the  

macroscopic  

level  

(e.g.  

shape,  

surface  

properties).  

Among  

many  

types  

of  

stimuli  

responsive

materials

,  

self-assembled  

viscoelastic  

gels  

of  

both  

organic  

solvents  

(organogels)  

and  

water  

(hydrogels)

have  

been  

recognized  

as  

promising  

materials  

for  

bottom-up  

nanofabrication

  

tools  

in  

various  

fields  

such

as    

biomedicine,    

catalysis,    

adaptive    

membranes,    

non-invasive    

sensors,    

cosmetics,    

foods    

and

environmental  

remediation

.  

In  

contrast  

to  

chemical  

gels,  

which  

are  

based  

on  

covalent  

bonds  

(usually

cross-linked  

polymers  

unable  

to  

redissolve),  

physical  

(also  

called  

supramolecular)  

gels  

are  

made  

of

either   

low-molecular-weight   

compounds   

or   

polymers   

(gelators)   

through   

extensive   

non-covalent

interactions.  

Many  

gels  

have  

been  

found  

by  

serendipity  

rather  

than  

rational  

design,  

but  

we  

are  

also

convinced  

that  

serendipity  

often  

provides  

a  

major  

opportunity  

for  

scientific  

discovery.  

The  

formation  

of

supramolecular  

gels

  

is  

a  

result  

of  

a  

well-balanced  

combination  

of  

numerous  

non-covalent  

interactions,

including   

those   

between   

gelator-gelator,   

gelator-solvent,   

aggregate-solvent   

and   

solvent-solvent

molecules.  

Usually,  

a  

lack  

of  

control  

over  

these  

interactions  

caused  

an  

unpredictable  

competition

between  

crystallization  

and  

gelation  

phenomena.  

We  

are  

learning  

about  

the  

key  

factors  

that  

govern

the  

equilibrium  

position  

and  

how  

can  

we  

favor  

one  

of  

the  

two  

processes  

selectively  

in  

order  

to  

access

to  

a  

wider  

range  

of  

materials  

with  

different  

properties  

from  

the  

same  

building  

blocks.  

For  

example,  

we

have  

been  

able  

to  

synthesize  

either  

metal-organic-frameworks  

(

MOFs

)  

or  

metal-organic-gels  

(

MOGs

)  

by

small  

changes  

in  

the  

solvent  

composition  

using  

the  

same  

ligand  

and  

metal  

precursors.  

In  

the  

broad

field  

of  

polymer  

gels

,  

we  

are  

also  

involved  

in  

the  

rational  

design  

of  

polymer  

gelators,  

including  

charged

systems  

(e.g.,  

polyelectrolytes

),  

with  

enhanced  

gelation  

efficiency  

and  

new  

functionalities,  

for  

which

we  

employ  

molecular  

dynamic  

simulation  

tools.  

These  

systems  

constitute  

promising  

materials  

for  

soft-

robotic actuators, supercapacitors, drug vehicles, gene transfection, contaminant removal,

 etc.

  

We  

are  

interested  

in  

the  

development,  

modification,  

and  

applications  

of  

new  

multiresponsive  

and/or

reactive   

gels,   

including   

catalytic   

and   

self-healing   

metal-organic   

gels,   

as   

well   

as   

in   

the   

study   

of

supramolecular   

chiral   

amplification   

with   

these   

materials,   

which   

may   

have   

important   

implications

related  

to  

the  

origin  

of  

life  

and  

evolution

.  

In  

general,  

we  

try  

to  

find  

the  

most  

simple  

and  

reliable

synthetic  

approaches  

for  

creating  

new  

and  

complex  

functions.  

We  

focus  

on  

the  

design,  

synthesis,

characterization,  

mechanistic  

studies,  

and  

use  

of  

gels  

for  

biomedical  

applications  

(including  

controlled

release  

of  

(bio)active  

molecules,  

targeted  

gene  

delivery,  

cancer  

treatment,  

bioimaging,  

scaffolds  

for

tissue  

engineering,  

actuators,  

nerve  

regeneration,  

treatment  

of  

spinal  

cord  

and  

brain  

damages

,  

etc.),

optical  

and  

forensic  

applications,  

art  

conservation/restoration,  

environmental  

remediation,  

catalysis,

fabrication   

of   

conductive   

nanowires,   

wearable   

sensors,   

selective   

membranes,   

protective   

surface

coatings,  

nanocomposites,  

and  

nanoreactors

,  

among  

other  

real-life  

applications  

in  

the  

broad  

field  

of

nanotechnology

.   

A   

number   

of   

advanced   

processing   

tools,   

technologies,   

materials   

and   

synthetic

strategies  

play  

a  

key  

role  

in  

the  

development  

of  

this  

key  

program  

in  

our  

group.  

This  

includes  

the  

use  

of

3D   

printing,   

energy   

upconversion,   

isosteric   

replacement,   

dynamic   

bonding,   

topological   

polymer

chemistry,   

simulators   

of   

harsh-conditions,   

organic-inorganic   

hybrids,   

dielectric   

materials,   

shape-

memory systems

, etc.

Inspired  

by  

nature,  

much  

effort  

has  

been  

devoted  

over  

the  

last  

decade  

to  

the  

study  

of  

meso-,  

micro-

and  

nano-scale  

reactors

.  

The  

main  

reason  

for  

this  

is  

the  

fact  

that  

many  

chemical  

reactions  

take  

place

with  

high  

efficiency  

in  

natural  

confined  

and  

compartmentalized  

environments

  

defined  

my  

numerous

interfaces  

where  

the  

motions  

of  

reactant  

molecules  

are  

restricted  

compared  

to  

that  

in  

free  

solution.  

In

concordance,  

numerous  

advantages  

have  

been  

also  

attributed  

to  

the  

use  

of  

synthetic  

nanoreactors

including,   

among   

others,   

the   

possibility   

of   

tailoring   

additional   

functionalities,   

organization   

and

orientation  

of  

solvent,  

catalyst  

and  

reactant  

molecules,  

controllable  

molecular  

diffusion,  

large  

surface

area  

to  

volume  

ratios  

and  

reduction  

of  

overheating/concentration  

effects.  

In  

our  

group  

we  

wish  

to

understand  

the  

changes  

on  

kinetics  

and  

chemical  

pathways/selectivities  

of  

different  

types  

of  

reactions,

with   

great   

emphasis   

on   

photochemical   

transformations   

for   

the   

preparation   

of   

light-harvesting

systems

.  

These  

reactions  

are  

frequently  

promoted  

by  

laser  

or  

LED  

technology

,  

being  

carried  

out  

within

nanostructured  

and  

stimuli-responsive  

soft  

materials

,  

which  

can  

be  

tuned  

for  

working  

as  

reaction

vessels

,  

biocompatible  

nano/microreactors

  

and/or  

reusable  

catalysts

.  

One  

of  

the  

main  

advantages  

of

using,  

for  

instance,  

softgel  

networks  

as  

reaction  

media  

is  

the  

possibility  

to  

perform  

highly  

air-sensitive

photochemical   

reactions   

under   

aerobic   

conditions.   

Beyond   

kinetics   

and   

selectivity   

aspects   

in

comparison  

to  

solution  

phase,  

this  

project  

aims  

to  

contribute  

in  

building  

a  

challenge  

bridge  

between

solution  

and  

biocompatible  

supramolecular  

responsive  

formulations  

for  

the  

selective  

activation  

and

control  

release  

of  

bioactive  

compounds  

for  

the  

treatment  

of  

different  

diseases.  

Within  

this  

context,  

we

work  

with  

gels,  

niosomes,  

liposomes,  

dendrimers,  

vesicles,  

emulsions

,  

as  

well  

as  

different  

types  

of

molecular  

systems,  

nanoparticles  

and  

polymers

  

-including  

natural  

polymers  

and  

proteins

-  

to  

develop

such  

formulations.  

Furthermore,  

we  

believe  

that  

studying  

the  

intrinsic  

role  

of  

proteins  

in  

mediating

bond  

formation/cleavage  

will  

be  

also  

crucial  

for  

understanding  

mechanism  

in  

evolution  

and  

designing

"greener"  

catalysts.  

Within  

the  

overall  

program,  

we  

also  

contribute  

on  

the  

preparation  

of  

highly  

stable

metal  

and  

covalent  

organic  

framework-based  

materials

  

(e.g.,  

MOFs,  

COFs

)  

with  

superior  

properties  

for

applications   

in   

gas   

adsorption,   

catalysis,   

environmental   

remediation,   

energy   

storage

   

(e.g.,   

water

oxidation,  

hydrogen  

evolution

),  

and  

biomedical  

applications

  

(e.g.,  

targeted  

anti-cancer  

drug  

delivery,

diagnostic  

imaging

).  

Moreover,  

we  

are  

interested  

in  

the  

development  

of  

new  

physical  

and  

chemical

strategies  

to  

stabilize  

unstable  

nanoparticles,  

and  

on  

the  

use  

of  

functional  

nanoparticles  

to  

stabilize

other structured materials.

Polymer  

chemistry

  

has  

been  

a  

rich  

beneficiary  

of  

the  

ability  

of  

click  

reactions  

to  

make  

molecular

connections  

with  

absolute  

fidelity.  

Polymer  

synthesis  

depends  

on  

a  

limited  

number  

of  

processes  

that

include  

many  

of  

the  

best  

examples  

of  

click  

reactivity.

  

During  

the  

last  

decade  

we  

have  

been  

working  

in

the  

development  

of  

new  

bulk  

polymers  

with  

adhesive  

properties  

for  

metal  

surfaces  

making  

use  

of  

the

copper-catalyzed  

azide-alkyne  

cycloaddition  

(CuAAC)

.  

In  

this  

field,  

not  

only  

CuAAC,  

but  

also  

its  

copper

free-version  

(i.e.  

strain-promoted  

azide-alkyne  

cycloaddition  

(SPAAC)

)  

constitute  

a  

versatile  

tool  

for  

the

fabrication  

of  

nanocomposites  

with  

tuneable  

properties  

such  

as  

conductivity,  

mechanical  

strength,

and  

morphology

,  

especially  

for  

biomedical  

and  

membrane  

applications

.  

Some  

of  

our  

materials  

have

been   

found   

to   

possess   

superior   

adhesive   

strength   

than   

standard   

commercial   

glues.   

We   

continue

working  

on  

the  

improvement  

of  

these  

formulations  

as  

well  

as  

on  

the  

application  

of  

this  

technology  

in

areas     

such     

as     

conductive     

materials,     

antifouling     

coatings,     

sensors,     

under-water     

adhesion,

mucoadhesives,  

or  

superhydrophobic  

surfaces

.  

We  

are  

also  

interested  

in  

exploring  

the  

use  

of  

dynamic

covalent   

chemistry   

(DCC)   

for   

the   

synthesis   

of   

self-healing,   

stretchable   

and   

adhesive   

polymers

.

Moreover,  

with  

the  

growing  

concern  

for  

our  

environment  

and  

stringent  

environmental  

regulations  

by

the  

governments,  

emphasis  

of  

science  

and  

technology  

is  

shifting  

more  

and  

more  

from  

petrochemical-

based  

feedstocks  

towards  

the  

optimal  

use  

of  

environmentally  

friendly  

and  

sustainable  

resources  

and

processes.  

In  

this  

regard,  

direct  

utilization  

of  

products  

derived  

from  

naturally  

occurring  

materials  

has

become  

a  

prevalent  

means  

for  

a  

number  

of  

high-tech  

applications

.  

Thus,  

we  

are  

also  

interested  

in

development  

of  

eco-friendly  

adhesive  

formulations

  

derived  

from  

natural  

resources,  

which  

can  

be  

also

integrated within

circular economy dealing with biomass revalorization

.