Green Chemistry and Technology

Biography

Biography: Claudia Crestini

Abstract

Tannins are natural polyphenols found in most higher plants around the globe. They play a significant role in defending the plant against insects, infections, fungi or bacteria; this role stems from their capability to form complexes with proteins, polysaccharides and metals, and hence provide protection to the vulnerable parts of the plants against invasive microbial extracellular enzymes. However, their exploitation as renewable high added value products is to date not extensive despite their interesting intrinsic properties, including high biocompatibility and biodegradability. The fundamental positive health effects of tannins, which are connected to their high antioxidant activity and their role as radical scavengers, allow for protection from diseases associate with the presence of free radicals in the body, such as cancer, arthritis, and degenerative eye and neurological disorders, and display significant potential for biofilm control undoubtedly revealing intriguing potential for their application in biomedical fields that is yet to be explored. In this frame our research group, aiming at designing a rational process for tannins valorization developed an innovative ³¹P NMR analytical technique for fast and reliable quantification of all the different phenolic groups present in complex tannns matrices and applied it to the selective functionalization of tannins of different origins and structures in order to tune biological and chemico physical properties such as hydrophobicity and chelation. Furthermore, the high tendency to supramolecular interactions was succesfully exploited for the design and development of nanostructures for synergistic controlled drug delivery by ultrasonication.