Nucleic acid (NA) therapies represent a transformative frontier in modern medicine, yet their clinical success depends heavily on the development of efficient delivery carriers to overcome biological barriers. This Thesis focuses on two distinct classes of materials: nanoparticles formed by the complexation of NAs with block copolymers (polyplexes) and peptide/NA coacervates. While the former are well-established delivery systems, the latter have been proposed only recently in this field.
We ...
The aluminium casting industry plays a crucial role in modern manufacturing, particularly in the automotive sector, where lightweight and high-performance components are essential. Within the European Union, the transition toward a circular economy has intensified the need for sustainable material solutions. Aluminium alloys are key enablers due to their recyclability and mechanical performance; however, the classification of aluminium and its major alloying elements such as silicon and magne...
In this work a variety of organic semiconducting materials, suitable as charge transport layers in organic and hybrid perovskite solar cells are investigated using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. The reason for the extensive employment of this technique stems from the ubiquitous presence of paramagnetic species in the ground state or after photoexcitation materials used in photovoltaic devices. All the investigated systems are potentially able to efficiently transport charges an...
Abstract
Enteric methane emissions from ruminant livestock are an important source of agricultural greenhouse gases and also represent a loss of dietary energy for the animal. Therefore, reducing methane emissions has both environmental and nutritional importance. However, progress in this area depends not only on effective mitigation strategies, but also on accurate methods to measure methane production. This PhD thesis focused on two main aspects: improving the reliability of in vitro metha...
This thesis examines the existence and role of counter-hegemonic discourses among Palestinians in the ’48 territories, Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship but whose families neither fled nor were expelled, but might have been internally displace, during the Nakba. Focusing on youth movements and non-formal educational institutions, the study explores how alternative spaces of education provide platforms for challenging the Israeli state’s framing of identity and citizenship, and whether...
Since the rise of modern optical telecommunications, the need to use the same channel to connect multiple users or to enhance the capacity of transmitted data has driven the investigation of the various degrees of freedom of light. This effort has led to the development of several division multiplexing strategies that exploit wavelength, time, polarization, phase/amplitude, and more recently spatial modes. Space division multiplexing (SDM) takes advantage of the structuring of the intensity o...
Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production sectors in the world. Aquatic animal health (AAH), therefore, has been playing the lead to ensure global food security and human nutrition. However, disease outbreaks are still a major threat to the sector. In such a puzzle, responsible and effective disease surveillance and response (DSR) are essential for early detection and rapid emergency response. Nonetheless, implementation of programmes for animal health management in continuous...
Sputtering has attracted significant attention among physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques for the synthesis of layered transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) films. Its simplicity, combined with high reliability, uniform large-area coverage, and excellent repeatability, makes it a promising approach for next-generation nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, catalysis, photovoltaics, and energy applications. However, achieving high crystalline quality while maintaining uniformity and tunable p...
Wetting is a key phenomenon in interfacial physics that affects the shape and dynamics of droplets on solid surfaces. It can be controlled by employing passive or active methods. The most promising active methods are based on the application of external electric fields, because of their easy implementation and the possibility of manipulating a large variety of liquids. The first part of this Ph.D. thesis deals with different kinds of liquid crystals using methods such as electrowetting on die...
Agri-food systems are currently under increasing pressure to improve sustainability through the large-scale by-products recycling in line with circular economy and smart agri-food system principles. The main objective of this PhD project was to evaluate sustainable valorisation strategies for by-products originating from the dairy and winery supply chains, promoting their transformation from waste into high-value dairy fermented products.A main research topic focused on the recycling of (bovi...