International Conference and Exhibition on Materials Chemistry March 30-31, 2016 Valencia, Spain

Irina Roșca has completed her PhD in Biology at Faculty of Biology from Al I Cuza University, Iași, Romania and is a Scientific Reseacher at Centre of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers from Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry. She has published more than 10 papers, she was Principal Investigator in 1 project and worked in another 8 projects related to biotechnology, microbiology and ecology.

Candida albicans infections are an important health issue fuelled, paradoxically, by the advancements in medical care. The prophylactic administration of antifungals generates antifungal resistance and this underlines the need for new antifungal agents. Inclusion complexes of protonated propiconazole nitrate (PCZH-NO3) with three substituted Cyclodextrin (CD) derivatives, namely sulfobutylether β CD (SBE7 β CD), sulfated β CD (β CD SNa) and monochlorotriazinyl β CD (MCT β CD) were investigated as new antifungal systems. The antifungal activity of the inclusion complexes was assessed on 20 Candida spp. clinical isolates. The in vitro susceptibility testing was performed following the EUCAST EDef 7.2 guideline. To assess the cytotoxicity, the CellTiter 96®aqueous one solution cell proliferation assay was performed on Normal Human Dermal Fibroblasts (NHDF). All complexes showed antifungal activity at low concentrations. The IC50 values were two to three orders of magnitude higher than the concentrations required for antifungal activity. The 95% CIs indicate a significantly higher cytotoxicity for the complex with the parental β CD compared to those with the other three CD derivatives. The much lower concentrations required for the antifungal effect, compared to the IC50 cytotoxicity values, prove a high selectivity of the active compound for the fungal cells. The lack of significant differences in the antifungal susceptibility tests and the differences in cytotoxicity between the β-CD complex and the other three suggest that the type of cyclodextrin may be more important for the interaction with the human organism than it is for the actual antifungal activity.

Narcisa Laura Marangoci has completed her PhD in Chemistry at the Romanian Academy, and, since 2005, has been a Scientific Researcher at Centre of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers at Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry from Iași. Her professional experience includs synthesis, characterization and applications of functional polymers, supramolecular compounds, "host-guestʺ inclusion complexes (25 ISI scientific papers) and also design and implementation of national and international projects.

Propiconazole is a triazole developed and marketed by Janssen Pharmaceutics (Belgium) as an antifungal pesticide. Protonated propiconazole nitrate (PCZH NO3), a derivative of propiconazole, was proved to have a better antifungal activity and lower acute toxicity, comparable to those of commercial azole drugs, which makes it a good candidate for clinical use. As most clinical azoles, PCZH NO3 has the major inconvenient of being hydrophobic, which severely reduces its bioavailability. To address this issue, the formation of a host guest inclusion complex with β Cyclodextrin (β CD) as a host carrier molecule was investigated, with good results. The main purpose of this study is to report the synthesis and characterization of the inclusion complexes formed by PCZH-NO3 with three substituted cyclodextrin (CD) derivatives, namely namely sulfobutylether β CD (SBE7 β CD), sulfated β CD (β CD SNa) and monochlorotriazinyl β CD (MCT β CD) and to to investigate them as new antifungal systems. The inclusion complexes were prepared using the freeze-drying method. The structures were confimed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (NMR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and in silico docking and molecular dynamics simulations. This study demonstrates the coexistence of two types of PCZH-NO3 inclusion into the CD cavity. The complexes with SBE7 β CD had the lowest dissociation constant values. Inclusion efficiency was close to 100%. Comparative in silico docking and molecular dynamics simulations were performed. The antifungal activity was assessed on Candida spp. and the cytotoxicity was assessed on Normal Human Dermal Fibroblasts (NHDF).

Imad A Abu-Yousef earned his PhD in Organo-Sulfur Chemistry in 1995 from McGill University (Montreal, Canada). Subsequently, he pursued a Post-doctoral fellowship in Polymer Chemistry at McGill University. His research work was recognized by prestigious institutions that have bestowed awards on him, including the Jordan Higher Education Natural Sciences Award (Jordan, 2010), the National Bank of Sharjah Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award (United Arab Emirates, 2002) and Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Outstanding Young Chemist Researcher in the Middle East (Jordan, 2000). He published more than 50 papers in reputed international journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Saudi Chemical Society, an Elsevier Published Journal.

Silver-based nanoclusters incorporated into mordenite zeolite were prepared and analyzed using various spectroscopic techniques. In the zeolite hosts, both theoretical and experimental results show the presence of silver nanoclusters with various sizes and environments. Upon increasing the excitation wavelength from 250 to 300 nm, the study indicates that the high energy mode (at 415 nm) was deactivated and the low energy emission mode (at 520 nm) was gradually activated. The catalyzed system increases the photodecomposition of phosmet in comparison with the uncatalyzed system upon irradiation with different UV wavelengths. In addition, the largest catalytic activity was observed upon the irradiation of the catalyzed solution at 302 nm, in which an increase in the decomposition rate by 40 folds was observed. We discovered that the photodecomposition products are similar for all systems but variations in the relative amount of these products were observed at different conditions in which phosphorothionic acid was formed as a major product in both catalyzed systems.

Carol Lopez de Dicastillo is currently working as Associate Researcher in the Food Packaging Laboratory, in the Department of Food Technology from the University of Santiago de Chile. Her undergraduate background is on chemistry, and she has focused her PhD and post doctorate on Food Technology and Materials Science. Her PhD was carried out in the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC) in Valencia and it was based in the development of hydrophilic active materials, mainly focused on antioxidant releasing systems. Nowadays, new topics have joined her work, such as biodegradable polymers, nanotechnology, electrospinning and search for natural compounds from plant extracts.

Driven by a growing consciousness for the environment and the need to diminish plastic waste, there is a great interest to develop sustainable and ecofriendly materials with enhanced properties. Among biodegradable polymers, poly (lactic acid), PLA, has attracted the most interest in recent years because it is being produced industrially and it comes from a renewable source. However, in order to be massively used in the food industry, some characteristics must be improved, such as mechanical and barrier properties. Some works have aimed the improvement of these characteristics based on the incorporation of different additives and during last years, the most innovative solution is the reinforcement through nanotechnology, such as the incorporation of organic clay or cellulose nanoparticles (CNW) in its formulation. Regarding the latter technique, the biggest inconvenient is the incorporation of the reinforcing material to the polymeric matrix homogeneously, preventing agglomerations to maximize results. Therefore, the objective of this work was to create a biocomposite based on PLA nanoreinforced with CNW nanoencapsulated with poly (vinyl alcohol), PVOH, through electrospinning technique. First, the optimizations of the electrospinning parameters were studied owing to obtain nanofibers with good appearance, measured by SEM microscopy, high concentration of CNW and minimum amount of PVOH. Thus, it is intended to incorporate homogeneously the CNW in the PLA preventing agglomerations, obtaining a material with better mechanical and barrier properties without altering the advantageous characteristics such as optical properties and biodegradability. Materials were obtained through extrusion and were thermally, morphologically and mechanically characterized.

Galotto M J is a Full Professor and Head of the Food Packaging Laboratory, in the department of Food Technology from the University of Santiago de Chile. Her undergraduate background is on chemistry and food science and technology, and she has focused on food packaging materials. Nowadays she is working on the development of active food packaging materials and nanotechnology.

Antimicrobial Active Packaging is one of the most innovative field on food packaging. It involves the incorporation of an active antimicrobial component in the polymer matrix that should be release during the period of time that food is in direct contact with plastic material. Essential oils are one of the most common antimicrobial active components that are included in polymer matrix but as they are volatile extrusion process is a great disadvantage. In the present work, the study of the supercritical operation condition (pressurization and depressurization rate was carried out in order to determine the amount of active compound impregnated and the kinetic release of the active component from the polymer matrix., comparing polymer matrix and nanocomposites. Nanocomposites of LDPE and Cloisite C20A (modified montmorillonite) 2.5 and 5% were extruded and supercritical fluid impregnation was done at different conditions pressure: 12Mpa, impregnation time: 30 and 60 min, depressurization rate: 10 and 1 MPA/min, temperature 40°C. Physico-chemical characterization of impregnated films were analyzed, and the kinetic release of the active component from the polymer matrix comparing traditional polymer matrix and nanocomposites, were analyzed.

Tugce Kutlusoy has completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Marmara University. She is a graduate student of Marmara University.

Hydrogels comprised of cross-linked polymer networks that have hydrophilic homopolymer or copolymer and these networks have a high affinity for water because of having hydrophilic groups. Hydrogels can be derived from synthetic and natural polymer. Cryogel is one of the new types of polymeric gel that has a significant potential in biotechnology. Cryogel that have elastic structure is used in tissue engineering applications. Cryogel formation occurs below the freezing point of the solvent; thus, a major portion of the solvent freezes creating interconnected ice crystals, the polymer precursors that have been in liquid unfrozen form are polymerized to have network around the ice crystals. Frozen crystals solvent acts as pore-forming agent. After the polymerization, when frozen reaction mixture is cooled to room temperature, ice crystals melt and obtained network structure that have macroporous polymers. In this project, cryogels of chitosan-hyaluronic acid’s efficiency in tissue engineering applications as scaffold has investigated. Therefore, firstly homopolymers of chitosan and hyaluronic acid cryogels have synthesized separately, then copolymer of chitosan and hyaluronic acid cryogels were prepared to improve mechanical and biomaterial properties, to use as scaffold for tissue engineering and to examine cell compatibility.

Emre Aytan has completed his Bachelor’s degree from Marmara University and is an MSc student at Marmara University Institute of Science. His thesis is on developing a polyimide fiber electrolyte via electrospining with cooperation of PhD student M H Ugur and his advisor N K Apohan.

Synthesis and characterization of high performance polyimide nanofibers and application on lithium-ion batteries: Polyimide (PI), as one of high-performance engineering polymers, has been widely applied in many advanced technology fields due to their great thermal stability, remarkable mechanical properties, low dielectric constants and inertness to solvent and radiation resistance. Therefore, electrospun PI nanofiber membranes with diverse molecular structures, controllable fiber diameters and membrane thicknesses have been intensively investigated to obtain high-performance and multifunctional composite fiber membranes. Additionally, it shows good affinity with gel electrolytes which contain plasticizing solvents like ethylene and ethyl methyl carbonate. Thus, these solvents can be strongly combined within the polymer chains in network that can largely enhance the electrolyte retention of PI-based battery electrolytes. In this work; a new highly ion conductive plasticized PI-reinforced UV-cured electrolyte membrane has been synthesized. Oxi-4,4'-dianiline (ODA) and 3,3',4,4'-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) based polyimide fibers were fabricated via electrospinning method and then UV cured with Bisphenol A Ethoxylate Dimethacrylate (BEMA), poly (ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) and 3-(methacryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane (MEMO) containing formulations. In order to measure electrochemical stability and ionic conductivity for Li batteries, UV cured films doped with lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6). The structural and electrochemical properties of the electrolytes thus obtained were systematically examined by a variety of methods including FTIR, TGA, DSC, EIS, LSV and SEM measurements.

Merve YaÅŸar has graduated at Chemistry Department from Marmara University in 2014. She is currently pursuing her Master degree. At the same time, she is pursuing Tubitak project which is 115S224.

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIPs) is investigated by different research groups in a varied time. MIPs are prefered because of its resist on a high temperature, extreme pH values and organic solvent. MIPs are prepared by the polymerization of a functional monomer and crosslinker in the presence of target molecule. It is a process which prepared by replicate the target molecules high affinity receptor regions on polymers. After the polymerization, the templates are removed from the polymer, leaving specific recognition sites complementary in size and shape to the template molecule. Thus it can be used as a plastic antibodies which have been produced by molecular imprinting technique and mimics antibodies functions. For this purpose Diphtheria toxin has been chosen as a target molecule. MIP is performed by using classical two phase mini emulsion polymerization technique. After the polymerization, obtained nanoparticles is removed from the target molecule by dialysis membranes. The morphology and size control of the nanoparticles were characterized by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The nanoparticles have highly monodisperse and regularly spherical shaped, which have an average diameter of about 200-300 nm.

Elif Yüce has completed her Bachelor’s degree from Yalova University Yalova University, Polymer Engineering Department. She is a MSc student at the same Department and is working as a project researcher.

In recent years, highly porous polymer composites are attracting considerable interest due to their large surface area, high chemical resistance, permeability properties, and low densities. These materials have numerous applications such as catalysis, filtration, energy exchange, sensors, etc. For this reason, preparation of such materials with different processes is frequently in focus of research. In this study we report novel macroporous composites for heterogeneous photocatalysis applications. With this aim, Pickering-high internal phase emulsions (Pickering-HIPEs) have been used as templates to build hierarchical open porous polymer networks. HIPEs are concentrated emulsions consisting of a high ratio of internal or dispersed phase. In case of, either one or both phases of a HIPE contain monomers, polyHIPEs can be produced. HIPEs are usually stabilised by using relatively high amounts of emulsifying agents against coalescence. However, it is also possible to stabilise a HIPE with the use of nanoparticles. In this case, the resulting emulsion and the final material are classified as Pickering-HIPE and poly-Pickering-HIPE, respectively. Herein, poly-Pickering-HIPEs were prepared using poly(ethylene glycol-co-propylene glycol-co-ethylene glycol) surface modified TiO2 nanoparticles (TiNPs). For this purpose, TiNPs were synthesised via sol-gel method and the resulting nanoparticles were introduced into the continuous phase consisting of monomers. The structural properties of TiNPs were characterised by using FTIR and XRD. Morphological properties of the resulting poly-Pickering-HIPE composite, on the other hand, were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Moreover, mechanical properties of the poly-Pickering-HIPE were measured by performing uniaxial compression experiment. The specific surface areas of the TiNPs and poly-Pickering-HIPE were determined from the adsorption/desorption isotherms and calculated by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation.

Fatma Nur Parın has completed her Bachelor’s degree as high honor student from Yalova University, Polymer Engineering Department. She is a MSc student at the same Department and is working as a project researcher.

In recent years, the field of heterogeneous photocatalysis has been growing rapidly, as a result of the various developments especially in relation to energy and the environment. In this context, the large band-gap semiconductors are attracting considerable interest in many practical applications such as catalysts, solar cells, dyes, and commercial products ranging from drugs to foods. For industrial applications, high activity, resistance to poisoning and stability for prolonged use at elevated temperatures, mechanical and chemical stability in various conditions are needed. In this respect, TiO2 has been the most preferred material in many fields due to its long-term photo-stability, relative low toxicity, semiconducting and catalytic properties. In this study, we prepared a new kind of macroporous composite having photocatalytic activity, via emulsion templating. With this aim, Pickering-high internal phase emulsions (Pickering-HIPEs) stabilised with surface modified TiO2 nanoparticles (TiNPs) were used as templates. TiNPs were synthesised via sol-gel method by using poly(ethylene glycol-co-propylene glycol-co-ethylene glycol) triblock copolymer. By the polymerisation of the Pickering-emulsion templates poly-Pickering-HIPE/TiO2 composites, having relatively good mechanical properties and thermal stability, were obtained. The photocatalytic activity of poly-Pickering-HIPE/TiO2 composites were determined by investigating the kinetics of the photocatalytic degradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), an environmentally important pollutant, in a constant temperature batch-type photoreactor. The effects of initial pollutant concentration, catalyst concentration and pH value of suspension on the degradation rates of 4-NP have been studied. A kinetic expression, which can be used in the development of large-scale photocatalytic reactor and optimization of experimental conditions, has been obtained.