Smart luminescent materials: probes for environmental and bio-analytical applications

Polymers have proved to be promising materials for widespread use in many fields. Their useful properties, such as affinity with analytes, biocompatibility, biodegradability, resistance and flexibility, together with the presence of functional groups, allow for their use in many applications, but also open the possibility to modify their chemical structure and introduce additional moieties and novel properties, to design new “smart” materials. In this PhD thesis, we aimed to prepare novel polymeric materials – based on biopolymers - for sensing in environmental applications and as supports for biomedical and even artistic-cultural applications. Starting from our research group’s background in the preparation of fluorogenic polymer probes, we carried out chemical synthesis to improve the solubility, stability and selectivity of polymer probes, but also to introduce photoactive moieties into the structure. Using conventional and advanced spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, we have characterized such materials in terms of the efficacy of the synthetic procedures, photophysical properties, morphology and actual performance in respective applications. Successful derivatization and optimal photophysical properties related to the physico-chemical structure were obtained, yielding materials able to match the required features for the envisaged applications. In particular, promising interactions with Micro- and Nano Plastics (MNPs) showed the possibility of identifying them in complex water samples, while the preparation of doped non-woven scaffolds showed promising results for localized in situ therapy and restoration applications. Such favourable results represent an encouraging step towards the improvement of already proposed approaches, in terms of selectivity and cost-effectiveness, but also as faster, simpler and more controlled procedures. In conclusion, this research contributes to the field of the development and application of versatile polymeric materials to exploit and improve their properties for future use in important fields of great socio-economical impact such as public health.