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Milan Polymer Days 2024

The 8th edition of the Milan Polymer Days international congress – MIPOL2024 has taken place from June 5th to June 7th , 2024 at the Ca’ Granda, the beautiful renaissance building hosting the University of Milan headquarter. The event has been held under the auspices of the University of Milan and of the Italian Chemical Society.

When we started eight years ago, we initially planned to organize a single technology day reserved for Italian colleagues. We could not have imagined that our event would grow so quickly and become so popular in the international polymer science community. This year we have hosted more than 90 participants from different European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as Italy. We are honored that so many outstanding scientists have joined us from such distant regions to share experiences and ideas and work together on the exciting field of polymers.

During the three days of the congress, 54 oral scientific communications have been released, of which 3 keynotes, 21 invited lectures, 30 short oral communications, as well as 12 poster communications. The poster session has taken place on the first two days of the congress during the lunchtime. This rich communications program testifies the interest aroused by topics relating to the science of polymers and the liveliness of research in this discipline.

The keynote lectures have been held by leading personalities in the international scientific community:

“Computer aided process design: opportunities and challenges in polymer science and technology”, by Ilenia Rossetti, University of Milan, Italy. “Natural and sustainable polymers of bacterial origin and their biomedical applications”, by Ipsita Roy, University of Sheffield, UK. “Thermal and mechanical properties of furan based thermoplastics and biobased epoxy thermosets”, by Nicolas Sbirrazzuoli, University of Côte d’Azur, France. Many other important contributions were presented in the following areas:

Bioactive polymers, nanomedicine Bioplastics Green chemistry, synthesis of polymers from renewable sources; eco-compatibility assessment of polymers Life cycle assessment of polymers Crystallization of polymers Nanocomposites Water purification Polymeric biomaterials Polymeric flame retardants Polymer processing Synthesis of complex macromolecular architectures The proposed themes clearly indicate that the sustainability of polymers is nowadays a hot topic. Polymer scientists must indeed face the challenge of continuing to improve the functional properties of polymers while addressing the issue of sustainability.

On the first congress day, June 5th, we have invited participants to take part in a social event, an Apericena, that is, aperitif and buffet. The location was the Cafè & Restaurant Piccolo Teatro Grassi, located in Milano downtown. We have reached this location walking together and enjoying the beauty of Milan.

One of the aims of the Milan Polymer Days events is to valorize the participation of young scientists, to help boost their careers. As in all previous editions, we have organized a Best Poster Award competition for Young Scientists. The international award committee was made up of Professor Paweł Chmielarz, Rzeszow University of Technology, Poland, and Doctor Monika Dobrzynska-Mizera, Poznan University of Technology, Poland.

Two prizes were awarded for the following communications:

“Carbon dots as photocatalysts in photoinitiating systems for photopolymerization processes in 3D printing application” by Agnieszka Sysło, Ph.D. candidate at the Cracow University of Technology, Poland;

“Toughening effect of 2,5-furandicaboxylate polyesters on polylactide-based compatibilized renewable fibers”, by Edoardo Zonta, Ph.D. candidate in Industrial Engineering at the University of Trento, Italy.

We have also prized the winner of the Mario Malinconico award for the best master’s degree thesis in polymer science, namely Chiara Strigini, University of Milan, Italy, who has presented the results of her research during the last oral session. The title of her communication has been: “Synthesis and study of bio-based polymers as compatibilizers for potato peel-polybutylene succinate blends”.

This year's novelty is that, to satisfy the requests of participation of Young Scientists, we have organized the MIPOL YOUNG Symposium, consisting in a rich program of sessions specifically dedicated to the short oral communications by Young Scientists. The MIPOL YOUNG Symposium has given them a unique opportunity to interact with an international audience. The symposium has been chaired by Dr. Ermelinda Falletta and Dr. Stefano Gazzotti.

Special prizes have been awarded for the two best oral communications, namely:

“Reduction of heat release in unsaturated polyester resin-based thermosets: exploring the effect of in-situ grown SiO 2 nanoparticles for a transparent composite” by Arvindh Sekar, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Switzerland;

“Heterophasic copolymers of isotactic polypropylene: development of methods for improving toughness without losing mechanical strength” by Angelo Giordano, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.

In her final speech, the congress chair, Professor Elisabetta Ranucci, has announced that the 9 th edition of the Milan Polymer Days congress, MIPOL2025, will be held from 17 to 20 June 2025 at Ca' Granda - University of Milan. We look forward to continuing this exciting experience and hosting many more brilliant scientists willing to share their knowledge in polymer science with us.

Partecipants

Congress Chairs

Jenny Alongi

University of Milan, Italy

Paolo Ferruti

University of Milan, Italy

Elisabetta Ranucci

University of Milan, Italy

Scientific Committee

Ann-Christine Albertsson

Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Dimitrios Bikiaris

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Stéphan Bruzaud

Bretagne Sud University, Lorien, France

Daniele Cangialosi

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), San Sebastián, Spain

Federico Carosio

Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy

Alessandro Caselli

University of Milan, Italy

Pawel Chmielarz

Rzeszow University of Technology, Poland

Dagmar D'Hooge

University of Ghent, Belgium

Maria Laura Di Lorenzo

Italian National Research Council (CNR-IPCB), Pozzuoli, Italy

Monika Dobrzynska-Mizera

Poznan University of Technology, Poland

Andrea Dorigato

University of Trento, Italy

Ermelinda Falletta

University of Milan, Italy

Sophie Guillaume

CNRS - University of Rennes 1, France

Nicolò Mauro

University of Palermo, Italy

Hatice Mutlu

Haute-Alsace University, France

Anaïs Pitto-Barry

Paris-Saclay University, France

Orlando Santoro

University of Insubria, Italy

Organizing Committee

Silvia Cauteruccio

University of Milan, Italy

Ermelinda Falletta

University of Milan, Italy

Stefano Gazzotti

University of Milan, Italy

Sofia Treccani

University of Milan, Italy

Keynote Speakers

Ilenia Rossetti

University of MIlan, Italy

Computer aided process design: opportunities and challenges in polymer science and technology

Ipsita Roy

University of Sheffield, UK

Natural and sustainable polymers of bacterial origin and their biomedical applications

Nicolas Sbirrazzuoli

University Côte d’Azur, France

Thermal and mechanical properties of furan based thermoplastics and biobased epoxy thermosets

Invited Speakers

Tiziana Bardelli

NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbH, Germany

Acrylate photopolymers in additive manufacturing: a dive into thermal stability and curing kinetics

Fabienne Barroso-Bujans

Donostia International Physics Center, Spain

Constructing cyclic polymers for potential biomedical applications

Claudia Bianchi

University of Milan, Italy

Green choices from the lab bench: eco-design and LCA in (polymer) chemistry

Federico Carosio

Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy

Green, mechanically strong and fire safe materials from layer-by-layer coated natural fibers

Roberta Cavalli

University of Turin, Italy

Albumin: a natural polymer exploited for the effective delivery of drugs

Dagmar D'Hooge

University of Ghent, Belgium

Molecular scale driven design for polymer recycling: the impact of distributed properties

Stefano Del Buffa

Alfatest s.r.l., Italy

Thermal analysis and dynamic-mechanical characterization of bio-polymer films

Maria Laura Di Lorenzo

Italian National Research Council (CNR-IPCB), Pozzuoli, Italy

Optimization of polymer melting in fused filament fabrication

Monika Dobrzynska-Mizera

Poznan University of Technology, Poland

Thermosensitive hydrogel doped with osteoinductive fillers: from synthesis to medical application

Andrea Dorigato

University of Trento, Italy

Recent developments on furanoate polyesters and their role in the future bioplastics industry

Emmanouil Glynos

University of Crete, Greece

Designing high performance single-ion nanostructured polymer electrolytes at the molecular scale for energy storage

Sami Halila

CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, France

Synthesis, self-assembly and applications of glyco-amphiphiles

Fabrice Mathevet

CNRS, Sorbonne University, France

Donor-acceptor semiconducting macromolecular architectures for optoelectronic applications

Nicolò Mauro

University of Palermo, Italy

Microporous poly(D,L-lactide) acid-carbon nanodots nanocomposite scaffolds with multicolor emission for image-guided bone regeneration

Hatice Mutlu

Haute-Alsace University, France

Main-chain macromolecular photoswitches

Marco Aldo Ortenzi

University of Milan, Italy

Upgrading the household plastic waste: the case of PET and plasmix

Joanna Ortyl

Cracow University of Technology, Poland

Harnessing light to create functional, three-dimensional polymeric materials: multitasking initiation systems as the critical key to success

Daniel Portinha

INSA Lyon, France

Chemical strategies to favor repairing, redesigning and recycling silicone-based materials

Francesco Trotta

University of Turin, Italy

Hyper branched and cross-linked cyclodextrin based polymers for the gene delivery

Maria Vamvakaki

University of Crete, Greece

Stimuli-responsive main chain biodegradable polymers: synthesis and aqueous solution properties

Nathan Van Zee

CNRS, ESPCI, Paris, France

Upcycling polyolefin blends into high performance materials

Speakers

Merve Seckin Altuncu

University of Wuppertal, Germany

Phosphorus-containing polyamidoamines

Matteo Arioli

Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain

Nylon 5,6 - natural rubber blends for the enhancement of biobased polyamide properties

Lorenzo Broggio

University of Trento, Italy

Anionic polymerization of polyamide 6: development and characterization of thermoplastic nanocomposites

Claudio Cecone

University of Turin, Italy

One-step in-situ production of gold nanoparticles supported on carbon sub-micrometric fibers from maltodextrin-based electrospun mats

Roberta Cillari

University of Palermo, Italy

Photoluminescent glucose-functionalized hybrid gold/carbon nanodots for multimodal theranostic treatments of breast cancer

Marco Coletti

Waters – TA Instruments Italia, Italy

Thermal analysis of battery separator film

Giacomo Damonte

University of Genoa, Italy

ATRP biofunctionalized poly(lactide) films as neuronal cell growth scaffolds

Fabio De Stefano

University of Naples Federico II, Italy

Synthesis and characterization of crystalline 4-methyl-1-pentene/1,5-hexadiene isotactic copolymers with enhanced low-temperature mechanical performance

Ermelinda Falletta

University of Milan, Italy

Highly porous polyaniline (PANI): a novel green catalytic method for morphology control

Federica Ferruti

Stockholm University, Sweden

How to achieve safe, scalable, and sustainable industrial adhesives from lignin?

Alberto Fina

Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy

Melt processing of dynamic polymer networks

Monika Flejszar

Rzeszow University of Technology, Poland

Polymer brushes nanolayers with complex architecture in microliter and milliliter scale

Angelo Giordano

University of Naples Federico II, Italy

Heterophasic copolymers of isotactic polypropylene: development of methods for improving toughness without losing mechanical strength

Janna Jeschke

Haute-Alsace University, France

Efficient avenues towards upcycling of polybutadiene facilitated by metal-free chemoselective approaches

Azra Kocaarslan

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Unveiling the photonic potential of Curtius rearrangement in polymer science

Adrián Matencio

University of Turin, Italy

Anticoagulant effect of cyclodextrin hyper-branched-based polymers: in vitro and in vivo evaluation

Roberto Oliva

University of Messina, Italy

Synthesis of linear and branched amphiphilic PLA-PEG copolymers for drug delivery

Carlo Andrea Pagnacco

Donostia International Physics Center, Spain

Synthesis and characterization of cyclic graft hyperbranched polyglycerol

Giada Papa

ICAP-SIRA Chemicals and Polymers S.p.A., Italy

Synthesis of polyurethanes with intrinsic flame-retardant properties

Ilaria Porello

Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy

Tailoring functional copolymer interactions for efficient nanotherapeutic delivery: a novel design-by-architecture approach

Laura Riva

Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy

Nanocellulose-based eco-safe materials for water treatment

Corrado Sciancalepore

University of Parma, Italy

PLA-based composites loaded with stabilized hay flour for ecological packaging applications

Anna Scomparin

University of Turin, Italy

Injectable nanogels for in situ postsurgical treatment of glioblastoma

Arvindh Sekar

Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Switzerland

Reduction of heat release in unsaturated polyester resin-based thermosets: exploring the effect of in-situ grown SiO₂ nanoparticles for a transparent composite