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Designing the foam structures in terms of density and morphology gives the chance to tune their mechanical and functional properties to the specific application. Nowadays, this design has been leveled up by the introduction of graded foams which are characterized by spatially nonuniform densities and/or morphologies. Graded foams have proved superior compared to uniform one in numerous examples and loading conditions but in pure compressive loading, where properties such as the Young's modulus of graded foams are always inferior to uniform ones. When using sintered beads foams, macroscopic pure compression may induce local bending on the single bead, which can be exploited to induce stiffening. This thesis was investigated on both polystyrene and thermoplastic polyurethane samples made by foamed beads sintered in a cylindrical mold. The response to compressive tests of graded foams made by sintering beads having nonuniform cells structures was compared to the uniform counterparts. The results evidenced that, at same average density, foams had up to a 30% ca. of increase of the Young's modulus when the beads are characterized by a denser outer layer.

The road between a discovery generated from basic research to a commercial product or process is long and rife with significant roadblocks. In general, innovators and investors alike routinely claim that a ‘funding gap’ or ‘Valley of Death’ exists between new ideas and the commercialization of new products.

Just like any other field of human knowledge application, also Medicine is going Nano. The keywords announcing the dawn of a new era in the general area of healthcare are personalized therapies, point of care, Nano vectors, microneedles, theranostics. These innovative instruments will fight against old and new plagues, such as silent cancers, cardio-pathologies, degenerative diseases, resistant infections. The new weapons available to medical doctors are the result of highly interdisciplinary collaborations between biologist, chemists, physicists and engineers, stating the supremacy of cross fertilization of culture over isolated box of expertise.

There is a strong emphasis on ob- taining more innovation from re- search and cooperation between the worlds of science and busi- ness for crossing the so called “Death Valley” in emerging technologies. The Death Valley refers to the early stages of a technology when it needs a lot of re- sources to develop the new product but has no revenues yet since there is no product. Industry does not take the risk, and even the capital market is coming short saying it is still too risky. The Death Valley is not merely a funding gap, but, often, seed investors do not speak the same language of the researchers. Ma- terias has developed a business model which involves the presence in the com- pany of: • scientific and industrial components • private capitals for the launch of first industrialization projects • network of international experts with complementary skills • multisectoral research teams. So Materias provides a decisive contri- bution to the exploitation and enhance- ment of technology, becoming part of the technology transfer and industrializa- tion process. Because of the scientists who founded Materias have also an en- trepreneurial background, Materias can interact with researchers by using a sci- ence-based approach and with investors by using a business-based approach.

Microneedle devices could play the role of a painless door to the human body. These devices enable high performance in both drug delivery and diagnostic analysis. While there has been a strong effort by the healthcare industry and applied research laboratories, the microneedles platform has not yet reached commercial success in the global market. In this competitive frame, the simplest fabrication processes and the best performing products will rise to the top of the market. In article number 1900036, Luca De Stefano and co‐workers review recent advances in this field.

Mainly designed and realized as a painless alternative to the hypodermic syringe, microneedle‐based devices are currently approaching commercial market placement. The considerable academic and industrial investment in this technology is reflected by a multitude of papers published and patents registered every year, which is also a sign of a field in full fermentation. New materials and innovative methodologies are continuously exploited in search of the best performance at the lowest cost. For these reasons, an updated review, focused predominantly on the last year of scientific production, is a useful guideline in this rapidly changing panorama. This report provides a critical review of microneedle technologies presented in the very recent literature with a particular focus on those closest to the needs of the healthcare field. Although a few devices are already commercial, further effort is still needed to achieve complete clinical translation and therapeutic efficacy competitive with or superior to those of the devices used as standards and adopted by national health systems.

Facile surface modification of polyester films was performed via chemical solutions treatment. Surface hydrolysis was carried out by means of sodium hydroxide solutions, leading to the formation of carboxylate groups. Three commercial polyester films of 100 μm in thickness were used in this work: AryLite™, Mylar™, and Teonex™, hydrolysis time being the main modification parameter. FTIR-ATR analysis, topography and contact angle (CA) measurements, surface free energy (SFE) and T-Peel adhesion tests were carried out to characterize the modified films. A quantitative estimate of the carboxylates surface coverage as a function of treatment time was obtained through a supramolecular approach, i.e. the ionic self-assembly of a tetracationic porphyrin chromophore onto the film surface. The surface free energy and critical surface tension of the hydrolyzed polyesters was evaluated by means of Zisman, Saito, Berthelot and Owens-Wendt methods. It was shown that NaOH solution treatment increases roughness, polarity and surface free energy of polymers. As a result, T-Peel strengths for modified Mylar™ and Teonex™ films were respectively 2.2 and 1.8 times higher than that for the unmodified films, whereas AryLite™ adhesion test failed.

Blends obtained by mixing high temperature applications thermoplastics have been investigated. Namely the blends considered in this work are made by semi-crystalline thermoplastics PEEK with amorphous PEI. The final goal is to analyse the mechanical, chemical-physical and environmental resistance characteristics of these blends to evaluate their suitability as matrices of carbon reinforced composites for aeronautical structural applications. The first collected results are very promising.

The use of plastic film substrates for organic electronic devices promises to enable new applications, such as flexible displays. Plastic substrates have several distinct advantages, such as ruggedness, robustness, ultra lightness, conformability and impact resistance over glass substrates, which are primarily used in flat panel displays (FPDs) today. However, high transparency, proper surface roughness, low gas permeability and high transparent electrode conductivity of the plastic substrate are required for commercial applications. Polyesters, both amorphous and semicrystalline, are a promising class of commercial polymer for optoelectronic applications. Surface modification of polyester films was performed via chemical solution determining hydrolysis or oxidation. Hydrolysis was carried out by means of sodium hydroxide solution and oxidation by using standard clean 1 (SC-1) of RCA procedure [1]. For this work we have used commercial polymer films of 100µm in thickness: AryLite™ [2], supplied by Ferrania Imaging Technologies S.p.A. and characterised by very high glass transition temperature, Mylar™ (Polyethylene Terephthalate PET) and Teonex™ (Polyethylene Naphthalate PEN) both supplied by Dupont. More over, a bioriented and semicrystalline PET have been used. The aim of this study is modifying the polymer surface to improve the adhesion between organic-inorganic layer. It was found that the NaOH and SC-1 treatment cause a decrease of contact angles. In the present study we have deposited a thin films of amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) and its oxide (SiO2) on a new high temperature polymer substrate, AryLite™, by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) [3], with a radio frequency plasma system.