Research Area
Active Research fields
The research activities of Dr Craparo concern the synthesis, physico-chemical and biological characterization of biocompatible materials having a polymeric, oligosaccharide or lipid structure and systems derived from them which are used mainly in the field of controlled and targeted release of biologically active substances (drugs, genes, proteins) (Drug Delivery Systems and Targeting - DDST), diagnostic, theranostic, or cosmetic field and food industry.
Research projects of the last 5 years
PRIN 2010-2011 - Codice progetto: 20109PLMH2_006 Titolo del progetto: Identificazione di sistemi di rilascio ottimali per i Nucleic Acid Based Drugs e studio dei meccanismi di azione in alcuni modelli di patologie umane infiammatorie e tumorali.
PON 2007-2013 - Codice progetto: PON02_00355_2964193 Titolo del progetto: Sviluppo di Micro e Nano-Tecnologie e Sistemi Avanzati per la Salute dell'uomo – HIPPOCRATES
PON 2007-2013 - Codice progetto: PON01_01434 Titolo del progetto: “Piattaforma Scientifico-Tecnologica Mirata allo Sviluppo di Nuovi Approcci Terapeutici nel Trattamento delle Principali Patologie Degenerative della Retina” (REACT)
PON03PE_00216_1: DRUG DELIVERY: VEICOLI PER UN’INNOVAZIONE SOSTENIBILE (Distretto Biomedico)
Collaborations
Alessandro Riccardo, Dip. Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche ( Di.Bi.Med), Università Palermo (Italia);
Barba Anna Angela, Dip. Farmacia, Universita’ di Salerno (Italia).
Bondì Maria Luisa, Istituto Per Lo Studio Dei Materiali Nanostrutturati – Cnr (Italia);
Castelli Francesco, Dip. Scienze del Farmaco, Università di Catania (Italia);
Cervello Melchiorre, Istituto IBIM, CNR, Palermo (Italia);
Conese Massimo, Dip. Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, Universita’ di Foggia (Italia);
Grassi Gabriele, Dip. Scienze della vita, Università di Trieste (Italia);
Grassi Mario, Dip. Ingegneria e Architettura, Università di Trieste (Italia);
Guido Stefano, Dip. Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale,Universita’ degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (Italia);
Lamberti Gaetano, Dip. Ingegneria Industriale, Universita’ di Salerno (Italia);
Manca Davide, Dip. Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica, Politecnico di Milano (Italia);
Pace Elisabetta, Istituto IBIM, CNR, Palermo (Italia);
Pallavicini Piersandro, Dip. Chimica, Universita’ di Pavia (Italia);
Saiano Filippo, Dip. Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università Palermo (Italia),
San Biagio Pierluigi, Istituto di Biofisica, CNR, Palermo (Italia);
Trapani Adriana, Dip. Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università di Bari (Italia);
SIFI S.p.A. - Società Industria Farmaceutica Italiana (Catania, Italy)
Active research
Services delivered under the right of third parties
For over twenty years, the Lab of Biocompatible Polymers conducts research concerning the synthesis, the physico-chemical characterization and, more recently, the preliminary biological characterization of biocompatible polymeric materials employed in the field of controlled release of biologically active substances (drugs, genes, proteins) and in the field of tissue engineering.
Moreover the laboratory has experience on lipid and phospholipid (lipid nanoparticles and liposomes) and oligosaccharide derived materials (cyclodextrins). The high formulation versatility of prepared and characterized systems allows their use also in the diagnostic, cosmetic and agricultural and food field.
Then, this laboratory has experience on the chemistry of natural (eg polysaccharides, peptides, proteins) and synthetic polymers (polyaminoacids, polyesters, polyamides, polyanhydrides), on the most advanced procedures for the functionalization of such materials and on the technological processes that allow their transformation into systems whose sizes range from the nanoscale (nanoparticles, Nanogels, surfactants and polymeric micelles, interpolyelectrolitic complexes with DNA), to microparticles, to hydrogels (biodegradable, stimulus sensitive, intelligent), and to three-dimensional scaffolds for cell growth (films, sponges, fibrillar scaffolds).
The lab already undertakes research on commission of private companies in the production and characterization of systems for drug delivery and tissue regeneration. Some of these systems are already in the scale-up for an upcoming release in market. The Laboratory has highly specialized staff and a large equipment and it is able to interact with a large number of people working in the technological-pharmaceutical, biomedical, diagnostic, cosmetic, agricultural and food fields.
Therefore the Laboratory is able to provide consulting service and research focused on the technological transfer to companies and research institutes both public and private, for the formulation and characterization of both innovative and conventional systems.
Main services
• chemical and structural modifications of polymeric materials of industrial interest by the use of low environmental impact methods (microwaves, photo-irradiators),
• production of scaffolds for tissue engineering through innovative synthetic techniques and by electrospinning,
• resolution of issues related to the instability of pharmaceutical forms, cosmetic and diagnostic products,
• preparation and characterization of food industry products (release of pesticides, fertilizers, flavorings, preservatives),
• preparation of innovative pharmaceutical and biomedical systems able to increase the patient compliance,
• physicochemical characterization of polymeric and non polymeric derived materials by 1H-NMR, FT-IR, UV spectroscopy, rheological measurements, particle size determination, evaluation of surface electrical properties, optical microscopy and image analysis,
• determination of molecular weights and polydispersity index of polymeric materials by Size Exclusion Chromatography and Light Scattering,
• in vitro evaluation of bio-adhesive properties of materials of pharmaceutical, cosmetic and biomedical interest,
• short and long-term stability tests of polymeric and non-polymeric materials,
• determination of purity of polymeric and non-polymeric materials by chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques,
• evaluation of the in vitro release profile of biologically active substances from polymeric and non-polymeric systems,
• determination of the capacity of sanitary products to absorb aqueous and non aqueous liquids,
• in vitro evaluation of the cell compatibility of polymeric and non polymeric materials with different cell line models,
• capacity assessment of transfection of non-viral vectors carried DNA.
Main instruments:
-Reattore a microonde (CEM Discover – SP); Omogenizzatore (VWR VDI 25 S40); Omogenizzatore ad Alta pressione EmulsiFlexTM -C5; Elettrospinning (Nano Spider NS Lab, Elmarco – Nano for Life); Ultracentrifuga (BECKMAN COULTER–OPTIMA XPN–100-ULTRACENTRIFUGE); NANOSPRAYDRYING (Nano Spray Dryer B-90 Buchi; Cappa a Flusso Laminare (Thermo MSC advance); Microscopio a Fluorescenza; Reometro (Discovery HR-2, TA Instruments); Reattore al plasma (Femto 40 kHz, Diener Electronic GmbH); Laser freddo 810nm (GBox 15A 15W-810nm, GIGAA LASER); Spettroscopio FT-IR (Alpha series, Bruker); Zetasizer NanoZS instrument (Malvern); Sistema di pompaggio HPLC (WATERS) completo per cromatografia ad esclusione dimensionale equipaggiato con un sistema di pompe e detector ad indice di rifrazione; Sistema per cromatografia HPLC costituito da pompa binaria (Agilent) a gradiente, rivelatore UV-VIS (Agilent); N. 2 Sistemi freeze-drying (Labconco e Hewards); Fotoreattore tipo Rayonet e Fotoreattore Polymer; sistema per microfluidica (Elveflow).