SARA ALFANO

PhD Graduate

PhD program:: XXXVI


supervisor: Andrea Martinelli

Thesis title: A poly-hydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) multifaced study: extraction, characterization and applications

In recent years, the problems associated with solid waste management and the dependence on petroleum-based plastics have created great interest, mainly focused on the development of bio-derived and biodegradable polymers. One of the most promising group of biopolymers that can be used as a fossil plastic substitute is the polyhydroxyalkanoates family (PHAs). PHAs are polyesters that can be naturally accumulated as intracellular granules by many prokaryotic microorganisms. The stored copolymer is a biodegradable thermoplastic material. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] and its copolymers, mainly with 3-hydroxyvalerate monomeric repeating unit [P(3HB-co-3HV)], are among the most investigated biopolymers of this class. The combination of thermoplasticity and biodegradability makes PHAs suitable for several applications, including packaging and biomedical devices. However, problems related to the environmental and economic sustainability of the extraction and purification as well as PHA chemical modification limit the large-scale diffusion. In this thesis, the transition toward eco-friendly methodologies has been addressed both for P(3HB-co-3HV) recovery from biomasses and for chemical functionalization. More in detail, the extraction of P(3HB-co-3HV) from biomass by dissolution in ethyl esters and through innovative coupled treatment based on cell lysis is proposed as an effective alternative to the commonly used chloroform solubilization. As far as the application of PHA in the biomedical field, chemical modification is often necessary to increase the polymer hydrophilicity to humper particles aggregation in body fluids as well as to favour the adhesion of cells and possible internalization processes. Then, a safer alternative to the main approaches described in literature has been proposed. It involves the use of the non-cytotoxic ionic liquid choline taurinate [Ch][Tau] for the surface modification of PHA films and for the preparation of self-surfactant systems, used in nanoparticles fabrication. In addition to the mentioned economic and sustainability-related drawbacks, P(3HB-co-3HV) copolymers with low 3HV content are difficult to process, because of high melting temperature, and the obtained items are brittle, because of the high crystallinity. The possibility of producing 3HV-rich copolymers leads to a reduction of crystallinity and, therefore, to better processability and mechanical properties. On the other hand, a gap of knowledge is still present about the effect of high 3HV concentration on copolymer properties. Then, part of this thesis is dedicated to a basic study of the structure-property relationships of P(3HB-co-3HV) copolymers with various 3HV content and to the evaluation of the effect of copolymer composition processing and compounding.

Research products

11573/1714161 - 2024 - Influence of the 3-Hydroxyvalerate Content on the Processability, Nucleating and Blending Ability of Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)-Based Materials
Alfano, Sara; Doineau, Estelle; Perdrier, Coline; Preziosi-Belloy, Laurence; Gontard, Nathalie; Martinelli, Andrea; Grousseau, Estelle; Angellier-Coussy, Hélène - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: ACS OMEGA (Washington, D.C. : American Chemical Society, 2016-) pp. 29360-29371 - issn: 2470-1343 - wos: WOS:001259886400001 (0) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85197595336 (0)

11573/1705903 - 2024 - Nanostructured poly-l-lactide and polyglycerol adipate carriers for the encapsulation of usnic acid: a promising approach for hepatoprotection
Brugnoli, B; Perna, G; Alfano, S; Piozzi, A; Galantini, L; Axioti, E; Taresco, V; Mariano, A; Scotto D'abusco, A; Vecchio Ciprioti, S; Francolini, I. - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: POLYMERS (Basel : Molecular Diversity Preservation International) pp. 1-18 - issn: 2073-4360 - wos: WOS:001160035800001 (0) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85184688198 (1)

11573/1690449 - 2023 - Rapid Estimation of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) Composition Using ATR-FTIR
Alfano, Sara; Pagnanelli, Francesca; Martinelli, Andrea - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: POLYMERS (Basel : Molecular Diversity Preservation International) pp. 1-11 - issn: 2073-4360 - wos: WOS:001089478300001 (1) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85175354471 (1)

11573/1680686 - 2023 - Surface modification of polyester films with polyfunctional amines: Effect on bacterial biofilm formation
Mallamaci, Gianmarco; Brugnoli, Benedetta; Mariano, Alessia; Scotto D'abusco, Anna; Piozzi, Antonella; Di Lisio, Valerio; Sturabotti, Elisa; Alfano, Sara; Francolini, Iolanda - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: SURFACES AND INTERFACES ([Amsterdam] : Elsevier BV) pp. 1-12 - issn: 2468-0230 - wos: WOS:000999286200001 (6) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85159122577 (6)

11573/1692084 - 2023 - Chlorine-free Extractions of Mixed-Culture Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced from Fermented Sewage Sludge at Pilot Scale
Salvatori, Gaia; Alfano, Sara; Martinelli, Andrea; Gottardo, Marco; Villano, Marianna; Ferreira Bruno, Sommer; Valentino, Francesco; Lorini, Laura - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH (Washington, D.C. : American Chemical Society, c1987-) pp. 17400-17407 - issn: 1520-5045 - wos: WOS:001095737000001 (1) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85177046075 (1)

11573/1629208 - 2022 - Sewage sludge as carbon source for polyhydroxyalkanoates. A holistic approach at pilot scale level
Lorini, Laura; Munarin, Gianluca; Salvatori, Gaia; Alfano, Sara; Pavan, Paolo; Majone, Mauro; Valentino, Francesco - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION (Oxford : ELSEVIER SCI LTD Oxford : Butterworth-Heinemann, 1993-) pp. - - issn: 0959-6526 - wos: WOS:000793462700003 (18) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85128403668 (19)

11573/1659694 - 2022 - Exploitation of wasted bread as substrate for polyhydroxyalkanoates production through the use of Haloferax mediterranei and seawater
Montemurro, Marco; Salvatori, Gaia; Alfano, Sara; Martinelli, Andrea; Verni, Michela; Pontonio, Erica; Villano, Marianna; Rizzello, Carlo Giuseppe - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY (Lausanne : Frontiers Research Foundation, 2010-) pp. 1-16 - issn: 1664-302X - wos: WOS:000891409700001 (7) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85140056235 (7)

11573/1659670 - 2022 - Self-Healing and reprocessable oleic acid-based elastomer with dynamic S-S bonds as solvent-free reusable adhesive on copper surface
Pettazzoni, Luca; Leonelli, Francesca; Marrani, Andrea; Migneco, Luisa; Vetica, Fabrizio; Celio, Lorenzo; Napoleone, Valerio; Alfano, Sara; Colecchia, Andrea; Amato, Francesco; Di Lisio, Valerio; Martinelli, Andrea - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: POLYMERS (Basel : Molecular Diversity Preservation International) pp. - - issn: 2073-4360 - wos: WOS:000887814700001 (1) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85142439389 (2)

11573/1624598 - 2022 - Transamidation-based vitrimers from renewable sources
Pettazzoni, Luca; Leonelli, Francesca; Martinelli, Andrea; Migneco, Luisa Maria; Alfano, Sara; Di Luca, Daniele; Celio, Lorenzo; Di Lisio, Valerio - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE (New York, NY : John Wiley & Sons) pp. - - issn: 1097-4628 - wos: WOS:000772884300001 (9) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85127259201 (10)

11573/1631466 - 2022 - A Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)-Biochar Reactor for the Adsorption and Biodegradation of Trichloroethylene: Design and Startup Phase
Rossi, Marta M.; Alfano, Sara; Amanat, Neda; Andreini, Fabiano; Lorini, Laura; Martinelli, Andrea; Petrangeli Papini, Marco - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: BIOENGINEERING (Basel : MDPI AG, 2014-) pp. 192- - issn: 2306-5354 - wos: WOS:000801554900001 (5) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85130172278 (5)

11573/1599856 - 2021 - Ethylic esters as green solvents for the extraction of intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoates produced by mixed microbial culture
Alfano, S.; Lorini, L.; Majone, M.; Sciubba, F.; Valentino, F.; Martinelli, A. - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: POLYMERS (Basel : Molecular Diversity Preservation International) pp. 1-14 - issn: 2073-4360 - wos: WOS:000690152500001 (14) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85113719784 (14)

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