I was born in Genoa. After completing my bachelor's degree in chemistry at the University of Genoa, where I worked on the functionalization of poly-L-(lactic) acid (PLLA) aimed at obtaining ultrahydrophobic and conductive materials, I moved to New Jersey for a few months before joining the master's program at the University of Bologna.
In the final year of my master's, I moved to the AMOLF Institute to complete my thesis in solid-state chemistry, titled "Light-driven Manipulation of a Bio-inspired Co-precipitation Process: Self-assembly of Strontium Carbonate/Silica Microarchitectures," in the lab of Prof. Dr. Wim Noorduin, group leader of the Self-Organizing Matter (SOM) group. The core of my thesis focused on the synthesis of complex structures through self-assembly via a photoinduced co-precipitation process, aimed at achieving nanoscale and micrometer-scale control over the genesis and development of highly complex microarchitectures.
After a year of working at a biorefinery company based in Cremona, I returned to my hometown to begin my Ph.D. journey in 2022 with the research group led by Nicola Tirelli. My research, titled "Preparation of New Oxidation-responsive Polymeric Structures and Their Conjugates with Biomolecules," is inspired by the typical adhesive patterns used by ivy plants for anchoring to their surroundings, which mainly include lignin and pectin. I am focused on the role of oxidative processes in strengthening polymeric networks, allowing the 'artificial lignin' formed in situ to covalently bind to functionalized pectin through the formation of a cross-linked polysaccharide complex. In particular, I focus on:
1. Synthesis of artificial lignin through enzymatic oligomerization of methoxyphenols (e.g. guaiacol, eugenol, isoeugenol);
2. Synthesis of biomimetic 'ferulate-like' pectin, functionalized with methoxyphenol moieties for the enzymatic cross-linking;
3. Synthesis of artificial pectin-lignin complex focusing on the mechanism of bridging and the characterization of mechanical properties (e.g. viscoelastic behavior and adhesiveness).
