MAGBIOMAT · Study of magnetic responsive biopolymer based materials

The aim of the proposed project is to synthesize and characterize new nanostructured magneto-responsive biopolymer-based materials by the introduction of functionalized magnetic nanoparticles in biogel and foam to gain a deeper understanding of two fundamental aspects: - The understanding of the formation mechanisms of such structures: magneto-responsive networks. - The correlation between the behaviour of the nanostructured composite biopolymer-based materials under the change of external conditions, such as magnetic field, shear, ionic strength, pH and composition of polymer and magnetic nanoparticles or the chemical structure of the constituents. The research project will involve different aspects. On one hand, it will include the elaboration of new magnetic-responsive biopolymer-based materials. On the other hand, the project will try to develop specific dedicated apparatus, allowing the measurements of mechanical properties under magnetic field to determine structure and dynamical properties at different external conditions as well as kinetics of structure transformation of such systems controlled by magnetic field. The combination of synthesis, characterization and theory will allow a synergy for the elaboration and optimization of novel magnetic-responsive biopolymer based materials with fine tuned properties and for their future application in industry (vehicle for drug delivery, intelligent materials for medical and structural applications).