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CHLORINACTION
Research Plan
CHLORINACTION is directed to the rational exploitation of agri-food by-products for the development of smart, that is sustainable, active and intelligent, films to be used for food packaging applications.The innovative aspects of this project lay in the objective of fully exploiting both phenolic compounds and biopolymers from the same starting material, with the phenolic compounds providing the active as well as the intelligent component, and the biopolymer providing the biocompatible and biodegradable polymeric matrix for the film implementation. Moving from this rational, the choice of the agri-food by-products fell on carrot pomace and artichoke by-products. These up to now quite overlooked materials may be in fact considered as sustainable sources of very well fit for purpose compounds, that is chlorogenic acid (CGA) and pectins. These latter have been widely exploited for the preparation of food packaging films, whereas CGA may act as a multifunctional compound not only endowed with potent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties but also susceptible of proper chemical modifications to provide biocompatible pH and metal ion sensors for monitoring food deterioration and/or contamination. Within this context, the contribution of CHLORINACTION with respect to the relevant state of art is that of providing, through a systematic and green oriented experimental approach, the basic scientific knowledge needed for the implementation of really sustainable smart films able to prolong the shelf life and, at the same time, to monitor the freshness of the packaged foods. This result could be of interest also for the industrial community and could be extended in the future to other agri-food wastes. Indeed, despite the high number of scientific publications focused on the valorization of agri-food by-products for applications in the food packaging sector, a gap does still exist between theoretical knowledge and real applicability on food, mostly due to the lack of rationalization of the large number of experimental results present in the literature. Moreover, CHLORINACTION is expected to provide a proof of concept of how the multifaceted characteristics, in terms of both chemical structures and functional properties, of sustainably recovered phenolic compounds such as CGA may offer undisclosed opportunities of technological and industrial relevance.
The research activities envisaged by CHLORINACTION will be carried out by a team of expert researchers from University of Naples Federico II (UNINA), University of Foggia (UNIFG) and Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials of the National Research Council (IPCB-CNR), specialized in different and complementary scientific fields as required by the multidisciplinary character of the project.
Briefly, CHLORINACTION will start with a systematic investigation on carrot pomace and artichoke by-products aimed at defining the best low environmental impact extraction conditions allowing to obtain highly performing extracts in terms of CGA content and antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. As a second step, hence through a “cascade” approach, pectins will be recovered from the residual solid material and characterized in terms of structural, mechanical and physical properties. The best
performing phenolic extracts and corresponding pectins from the same source will be then combined, together with a properly functionalized extract (prepared starting from the previously selected phenolic extracts), to develop smart, active and intelligent films whose performance will be further validated in real food systems.
The work plan of CHLORINACTION is organized in 8 work packages (WP).The research approach will be highly multidisciplinary, and constant feedback between the proponents will be necessary to optimize the efforts of each participant. A “rolling” research plan will be adopted, in which research goals and activities will be targeted according to the results that will be obtained during the project itself and to the developments of scientific literature.
Research Units
CHLORINACTION will leverage on the more than 20-year scientific experience of the principal investigator (PI) and associated investigators, who integrate a unique panel of multidisciplinary competences in sectors that are essential for the achievement of the project goals, that is organic chemistry, with particular reference to the structural characterization, extraction and evaluation/modulation of the functional properties of natural phenolic compounds (PI, Lucia Panzella), biopolymer extraction, characterization and functionalization (Gennaro Scarinzi), and food quality/preservation (Amalia Conte). All team members are authors of high level scientific publications in fields inherent to the proposal’s aims and scope. The feasibility of the research plan is guaranteed by the highly encouraging results of preliminary and ongoing studies from the proponents. In particular, the PI has gained significant expertise in the exploitation of the antioxidant properties of agri-food by-products for food relevant applications, also with attention to sustainability issues. The associated investigators have a consolidated experience in polymer modification and characterization and in food packaging and shelf life extension. As far as the activities of the research units (RU) is concerned, briefly, at University of Naples Federico II (UNINA) Prof. Panzella, in addition to coordination and management, will take care together with Prof. Angela Arciello and a specifically recruited researcher, of by-product phenolic extract preparation, characterization and functionalization, and of the evaluation of the antioxidant and cytocompatibility properties of the extracts and pectin films. At University of Foggia (UNIFG), the team composed by Prof. Conte and Prof. Matteo Alessandro Del Nobile
will direct the activities of antimicrobial property characterization of both extracts and active films and validation of the final smart systems on real fresh food products. At Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials-National Research Council (IPCB-CNR) the research activity will be performed by Dr. Scarinzi, Dr. Tiziana Marino, and Dr. Pierfrancesco Cerruti. IPCB-CNR will be responsible of extraction of pectins from the biomasses, pectin films preparation and functionalization, and chemical, physical, and mechanical characterization.
RU1 UNINA
Prof. Panzella, the PI, is Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Department of Chemical Sciences of University of Naples Federico II. She is coauthor of more than 145 publications on international peer-reviewed journals (total number of citations=4429, h-index=40, from Scopus on March 11, 2024). She has been presenter of some 30 oral communications to national and international meetings. In 2007 she received the prize “L’Oreal Italia Per le Donne e la Scienza” promoted by L’Oréal Italia in collaboration with the Italian National Commission for Unesco (2007). In November 2020 she received the National Scientific Qualification ("Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale") as Full Professor in Organic Chemistry (03/C1) (2018/2020 session). She is member of the Scientific Board for the Doctorate in Chemical Sciences (XXXVII, XXXVIII, and XXXIX cycle) at the Department of Chemical Sciences of University of Naples Federico II. She is Principal Investigator of a PRIN 2017 project (code 2017YJMPZN) and Local Coordinator of a PRIN 2022 project (code 2022NHBS9Z), and Principal Investigator of two Research Contracts with two companies (Layn Natural Ingredients Corp and Medena AG). She is Editor-in-Chief for the “Colorants” section of the journal “Molecules”, member of the Editorial Board of the journal “Cosmetics”, member of the Topical Advisory Panel of the journal “International Journal of Molecular Sciences” and Associate Editor for the journal “Frontiers in Chemistry” (Organic Chemistry section). She is member of the Board of Directors of Groupe Polyphenols and of the Board of Directors and of the Travel Award Committee of the European Society for Pigment Cell Research (ESPCR). She is member of the scientific and organizing committee of the Virtual Symposium for Young Organic Chemists (ViSYOChem) promoted by the Organic Division of Italian Chemical Society. Her research interests focus on structural characterization, extraction and evaluation/modulation of the antioxidant properties of natural phenolic compounds with particular reference to the exploitation of phenolic compounds, especially from agri-food by-products, for the development of functional materials to be used in cosmetics, food packaging and biomedicine.
Prof. Arciello (61 publications, h-index=20, number of citations= 1401, from Scopus on November 18, 2022) is Associate Professor in the Cell Biotechnology research group at the Department of Chemical Sciences of University of Naples Federico II. She has a longstanding experience in biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell culture, protein and peptide engineering, expression and purification. She is member of the Scientific Board for the Doctorate in Biotechnology (XXXIII-XXXVIII cycles) at the Department of Biology of University of Naples Federico II and member of the Editorial Board of “Scientific Reports” from Nature publishing group. UNINA research team will be integrated by the recruitment of a Post-Doc who will fully work on the project.
Prof. Conte, the Associate PI, is Associate Professor of Food Science and Technology at the University of Foggia. She is coauthor of more than 220 publications on international peer-reviewed journals (total number of citations=6116, h-index=45, from Scopus on November 16, 2022). She has been presenter of 14 oral communications to national and international meetings. In 2009 she received the scientific award promoted by the Italian Association of Food Science and Technology (SISTAL) as young researcher with the highest number of publications. In November 2016 she received the National Scientific Qualification ("Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale") as Full Professor in Food Science and Technology. She was member of the Scientific Board for the Doctorate in Food Science Technology and Biotechnology (from XXVI to XXVIII cycle) and Health Food Innovation and Management (from XXIX to XXXIII cycle) at the Department of Food Science of University of Foggia. She is Principal Investigator of two Research Contracts with an Italian company (CIEMME Alimentari srl). She is member of the Editorial Board of the journal “Frontiers in Food Packaging and Preservation” and “Novel Techniques in Nutrition and Food Science”, Guest Editor of Special issues for the journal “Frontiers in Microbiology” and “Foods”. She is CEO of an Academic Spin off (since 2014).
Prof. Del Nobile (375 publications, h-index=55, number of citations= 10704, from Scopus on November 16, 2022) is Full Professor in Food Science and Technology at the University of Foggia. He is an engineer with a longstanding experience in material science, functional food and mathematical modeling.
RU2 UNIFG
Dr. Scarinzi (53 publications, number of citations= 1849, h-index 26, from Scopus on November 18, 2022) is Researcher at IPCB-CNR of Pozzuoli. He is coauthor of more than 50 scientific publications on international peer-reviewed journals. He is a chemist with a long standing experience in polymer functionalization, thermoplastic polymer blends, thermosetting polymers, and polyimide based nanocomposites prepared via sol-gel. In the last few years, he has gained experience in recovery and fractionation of polymers from agri-food by-products. His expertise also includes preparation and characterization of biocomposites based on thermoplastic biopolymers charged with natural fillers.
Dr. Marino (67 publications, h-index=29, number of citations= 3746, from Scopus on March 26, 2024) is Researcher at IPCB-CNR of Pozzuoli (Italy). She received the National Scientific Qualification ("Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale") as Associate Professor in Industrial Chemistry (03/C2) (2021/2023 session) and Chemical Foundations of Technologies (03/B2) (2018/2020 session), respectively. She has experience in sustainable separation technologies and processes for applications in the food and environmental sectors.
Dr. Cerruti (118 publications, h-index = 30, number of citations = 2500, from Scopus on November 26, 2022) is Senior Researcher at IPCB-CNR of Pozzuoli (Italy). His research interests include sustainable polymer-based and composites materials. He is the scientific responsible of Polymer Processing Lab at IPCB of Pozzuoli and Coating and Surface Engineering Lab at IPCB Lecco. He has been tutor/supervisor of 6 PhD theses in Materials Engineering and over 20 intern students at IPCB-CNR. IPCB-CNR team will be integrated by a researcher recruited to work 12 months on the project.
RU3 IPCB-CNR
Instrumentation and Facilities
The instruments and facilities present at UNINA, UNIFG and IPCB-CNR will assure the achievement of all the project objectives.
In particular, UNINA is part of the Department of Chemical Sciences of University of Naples Federico II hosting about 100 researchers/professors and 20 units of technicians and administrative personnel. The department hosts several large instrumentations including 400-600 MHz NMR spectrometers, a LC-MS ESI-TOF and a MALDI TOF-TOF spectrometer, small/wide angle X-rays diffraction instruments, FT-IR, ATR-FTIR, SEM and TEM instruments, a spectropolarimeter, a spectrofluorimeter, an EPR spectrometer, and a DLS instrument. In addition, UNINA will take advantage of standard organic chemistry facilities available for the research, including analytical and preparative HPLC, a UV-vis spectrophotometer, a ball mill, a confocal laser scanning microscope Zeiss LSM 700, and a microplate reader FLUOstar Omega BMG LABTECH, as well as of facilities for growing/handling eukaryotic cell cultures.
UNIFG is part of the Department of Food Sciences of University of Foggia hosting about 65 researchers/professors and about 20 units of technicians and administrative personnel. The department hosts several large instrumentations used in different research areas of food science. The RU involved in the present project currently run leading-edge laboratories devoted to the fresh food industry, equipped with packaging machine, tester for monitoring headspace packaging conditions, supercritical fluid extractor, HPLC, microencapsulation system, sifting system, oven for food cooking and useful equipment for nutritional, microbiological and sensory characterizations of foodstuffs.
IPCB-CNR unit is part of the Institute for Polymer Composites and Biomaterials of CNR with branches in Pozzuoli, Catania, Portici and Lecco. The Institute hosts 73 researchers, 11 technologists and 22 technicians and administrative personnel. The RU will take advantage of several large instrumentations used in the field of polymer processing, modification and characterization including twin-screw extruder, brabender mixer, ball mill, microwave extractor, plasma treatment instrument, automatic titrator, TEM, SEM, TGA, DSC and DLS instruments, and FT-IR and UV-vis spectrophotometers. The RU also runs a chemical laboratory devoted to biomass fractionation and characterization and polymer modification.
When required all the RUs will share resources, expertise, and operators in order to accomplish the research goals.
Project Impact
The final target of CHLORINACTION is the implementation of self-standing smart films for application in food packaging based on the exploitation of rationally selected chlorogenic acid- and pectin-rich agri-food by-products. In particular, CHLORINACTION stands as a curiosity-driven research project since its ultimate scientific aim is the validation of a scientific and rational approach to really exploit a single agri-food by-product as a sustainable source of all the functional compounds needed to achieve a biocompatible, multifunctional and smart material for applications that, in this specific case, regard food packaging, but that in the next future could be of interest also in other fields, as well as applicable to other by-products and other components. The optimization of the extraction and functionalization conditions that represents one of the main objectives of CHLORINACTION is also expected to provide not only a significant scientific knowledge improvement, but also basic solutions which could underpin sustainable technological innovations. These could be of interest for various applications, thus finally leading to deliverables and products that can be useful not only for scientists but also for the market.
Actually, great efforts are still required to bridge the gap between the potential of food by-products and their effective reuse at industrial level. Specifically, the gap that justifies the lack of transfer of technology associated to the numerous sustainable innovations proposed by the packaging research can be ascribed to the lack of knowledge in the real applications of bio-based systems to fresh food. CHLORINACTION stands therefore as a high-impact project, producing scientific outcomes that would benefit both economy and society, since it is expected to lead to a significant advancement of knowledge in the field of material science, particularly food packaging, with a positive impact on environment and people's daily lives, also in a circular economy perspective (reduction of food wastes through recovery of food by-products). Based on its multidisciplinary character, CHLORINACTION is also
expected to significantly contribute to strengthen the role of the scientific community within the society and industry, and to reinforce the links between academia, industry and society, through a balanced approach between basic research and technological innovation and a significant engagement of the civil society achieved through the envisaged dissemination and communication activities.
The expertise and international relevance of the involved researchers, together with the strategic importance of CHLORINACTION topic is expected to lead to scientific publications in highly ranked international scientific journals (possibly Open Access), which will likely attract the attention of the wide and multidisciplinary audience of international researchers working in the field of food technology. Dissemination of these results through participation to major international scientific conferences and meetings will further contribute to expand the range of contacts and collaborations beyond those already existing, thus improving competitiveness of the investigators involved in the project. These latter are therefore expected to become points of reference for all the actors of the food chain who may be interested in applying the innovative strategies developed throughout the research project.
CHLORINACTION pursues the number 12 “Responsible Consumption and Production” United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) (“Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”), and is in line with the Strategic Emerging Topic “Sustainability and Protection of Natural Resources” related to the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 (Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment), with particular reference to the targeted impacts “Sustainable and circular management and use of natural resources as well as prevention and removal of pollution are mainstreamed, unlocking the potential of the bioeconomy, boosting competitiveness and guaranteeing healthy soil, freshwater, seas and air for all, through better understanding of planetary boundaries and deployment of innovative technologies and other solutions, notably in primary production, forestry and bio-based systems” and “Food and nutrition security for all within planetary boundaries is ensured through knowledge and innovations in agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and food systems, which are sustainable, inclusive, safe and healthy from farm to fork”. Indeed, CHLORINACTION is aimed precisely in the direction of the European Union issues related to circular economy and waste management/prevention focused on lowering the use of non-renewable raw materials, enabling higher resource efficiency (by improved waste management and cascading use of biomasses), developing innovative and sustainable value-chains, achieving sustainable production, recovery of by-products and optimization of resources, and providing a new life to overlooked natural resources. Indeed, the experimental approaches developed within the project are expected to lead to the development of feasible methodologies, truly and easily accessible to all the academic and industrial stakeholders operating in the food packaging sector.
CHLORINACTION is also in line with the “Do Not Significant Harm (DNSH)” principle, since it is aimed at extending and monitoring the shelf life of food while simultaneously reducing the environmental and the economic impact of the food industrial sector. Indeed, to pursue sustainability, intended as a “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” a crucial issue is how to globally meet the increasing demand for food and provide healthy diets for all in the decades to come without undermining the Earth’s resources and crossing planetary boundaries, beyond which the future human prospects may be threatened. In this context, the rational use of food by-products envisaged by CHLORINACTION to enhance the functional properties of packaging systems will emerge as an effective strategy to foster the sustainability of the food chain and promote circular economy. In particular, CHLORINACTION not only focuses on maintaining and recovering as much as possible the by-products value, but also ensures that waste is minimized together with its negative impact on the environment. The perspective of CHLORINACTION is that many by-products will no longer be uselessly disposed of and will become useful raw materials for the agri-food supply chain, hence favoring the development of an innovative market for secondary resources and services, improving and modernizing the production sectors and increasing competitiveness and employment.
The exploitation of agri-food by-products envisaged by CHLORINACTION that are usually disposed as waste will have also positive environmental, economic, and social impacts. Indeed, the negative image of highly processed food is strongly influenced by their perceived lack of naturalness. Thus, this project will favor the possibility to adopt innovative ‘food-product-as-a-service’ approaches to encourage circular business models. CHLORINACTION impact will benefit the scientific research through the design, development and put into practice of new innovation ideas, which will promote the progress beyond the state of the art of the technology transfer.
The scientific outcomes of CHLORINACTION are also expected to positively impact on the psychological, socio-demographic, and market factors affecting consumer acceptability and willingness-to-pay for a packaging created by exploitation of sustainable sources. Moreover, thanks to the development of a freshness monitoring system, consumer trust towards food consumption will be increased. As stated above, this will likely result in a reinforcement of the synergies between academia, industry, and society, also enhancing the socio-cultural cooperation. Consumers could also profit from the health beneficial effects of the bioactive phenolic compounds released from the active films in contact with the food samples.
Several actions will be undertaken to promote scientific knowledge transfer. As said before, CHLORINACTION results will be made available to the scientific community through participation to international and national conferences and peer-reviewed publications in highly ranked international journals. Open access (green and gold) strategies will be pursued by the team. Where possible, data and experimental procedures will be made public as supplementary materials uploaded on journals repository systems. Leveraging the previous experiences of the RUs in industrial collaborations, CHLORINACTION team will aim at translating project results into cooperation and business opportunities. Patents filing will be used to protect technologically relevant results, also with the support of technology transfer offices at the partner institutions. A project website will be maintained to highlight the activities and achievements of CHLORINACTION. All non-confidential content will be made available in the public domain, also making use of social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook), which have a strong potential in engaging the public audience. Direct contact with the public will be achieved through dissemination events, such as the "European Researchers' Night" promoted by the European Commission, the International "Genoa Science Festival", and the "Futuro Remoto" initiative promoted by UNINA. An interim workshop involving also companies and local policy makers will be organized. All these dissemination and communication activities are expected to raise public awareness for what concerns also regional, rural, local and consumer-based transitions towards a sustainable, healthy and safe circular economy, with inclusive engagement of all stakeholders. Special attention will be given to ensuring cooperation between universities, research centers, scientific communities, industry, including small and medium enterprises, and citizens, through the organization e.g. of two living labs, one in Campania and one in Apulia region, during which academic and non-academic actors, including scholars, citizens, local administrations and stakeholders, will acquire new knowledge, recommendations and guidelines on the CHLORINACTION proposed vision and the obtained innovation results.