Green strategies for the design and the development of hybrid systems based on innovative synthetic clays

The research project involved the design and development of new green strategies to produce hybrid polymer-based systems containing innovative synthetic clays for skin tissue regeneration. The thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter I provides an overview of the most well-known clays, both of natural and synthetic origin, used in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields as drug delivery systems or for applications in tissue engineering. Chapter II describes innovative and sustainable strategies for the synthesis of Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH), synthetic clays, for use in tissue engineering. Chapters III and IV illustrate the design and development of microparticle polymeric systems containing previously synthesized LDH, either alone or in comparison with other types of clays. Particular attention has been paid to the use of green continuous production techniques to increase use in the industrial sector. Chapter V describes the development of polymeric microfibers through the innovative technique of centrifugal spinning. Synthetic zeolites have been loaded inside these microfibers to reinforce the polymer matrix and to promote the skin regeneration process.