MARINE INSPIRED BIOMATERIALS: Marine origin polymers and ceramics in Tissue Engineering; Valorization of marine resources and by-products; extraction/isolation and characterization of marine polymers (chitosan, collagen, fucoidan) and ceramics (calcium phosphates and biosilica); development of biomedical applications based on marine origin materials, using different processing technologies, as biomaterials and drug delivery devices for the engineering of bone, cartilage, skin and cornea tissues, as well as for advanced therapies for cancer and diabetes.

MARINE BIOMIMETICS: Exploring particular features and phenomena of marine sponges and other marine invertebrates as inspiration for the design of innovative biomedical applications and smart materials. A focus is given to functional properties, enrolled in collagen aggregation and bioadhesion, as well as to hierarchical morphologies.

MARINE NATURAL PRODUCTS: assessing the biological activities of marine origin extracts (mainly polymeric), particularly regarding antitumoral, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.

NANOSCIENCE AND NANOMEDICINE: Layer-by-Layer electrostatic self-assembly on Tissue engineering; polyelectrolyte multilayers; surface chemistry and surface modification; development of nanoparticulated systems for drug delivery