On Demand
Materials Science
How can crystalline materials be designed to store and release liquid active ingredients (L-AI)? The release profile can be related to the solid-state arrangement of the material, offering a strong and rational tool to afford a vast range of materials for controlled delivery of L-AI. Widely known examples of compounds relevant to human health and nutrition which are liquid at ambient conditions are propofol, vitamin E, nicotine, and terpenoids and phenolic derivatives used as natural antioxidants such as carvacrol, eugenol, eucalyptol, and valproic acid. The thermodynamic requisites to embed liquid ingredients in a crystalline form will be discussed. Cocrystallization is shown to be a powerful method to control the release of such liquid ingredients in the environment, thanks to the engineering of ad hoc intermolecular interactions which strengthen or weaken the tendency of the ingredient to be retained inside the solid matrix. Similarly, L-AI have been encapsulated within adaptable cavities of Metal Organic Frameworks intentionally designed to uptake such guests; the evolution in time of the supramolecular arrangement of the nano-confined guests in the cavities has been monitored by SCXRD and related to the observed selectivity of the material towards different liquid guests.
Alessia Bacchi
Professor of Chemistry
Alessia Bacchi is a full Professor of Chemistry at the University of Parma, and she served as the President of the European Crystallographic Association from 2015-2018. She has authored more than 180 publications on international journals, 5 book chapters, and presented more than 150 communications to meetings, including more than 50 invited lectures. Prof. Bacchi’s main research interests are focused on crystal engineering of polymorphs, solvates, co-crystals, and responsive hybrid organic/inorganic materials. Within this broad theme, she developed crystalline molecular materials capable of reversibly capturing and releasing volatile solvents in a solid/gas exchange, as well as proposed structural models to map the process of molecular recognition between the crystalline receptor and the volatile substrate. Recently she has focused on the design and control of crystal forms of molecular compounds and on the stabilization inside crystalline structures (MOF and cocrystals) of liquid and volatile compounds related to human health, environment, and nutrition. Along with scientific production, Prof. Bacchi is actively committed to activities of outreach and divulgation towards schools and the general public, having been involved in the organization of several events and public lectures. In 2015 she established the Museum of Crystallography at the University of Parma, of which she is currently the Director.
Keep learning. Excel in your career.
Choose from more than 200 courses in seven different categories, taught by experts in the chemistry community, online and in person.