The course aims to provide students with a solid understanding of the fundamental physicochemical characterization techniques used in the analysis of biomaterials and nanomaterials. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: • demonstrate knowledge of the principles, instrumentation, applications, and limitations of the main characterization techniques for biomaterials and nanomaterials. • identify and select appropriate characterization techniques to investigate specific structural, morphological, compositional, and surface properties of materials. • critically evaluate the capabilities and limitations of different analytical techniques and interpret the information they provide.
Prerequisiti
Students are expected to have a basic knowledge of general chemistry and physical chemistry.
Metodi didattici
Lectures
Verifica Apprendimento
Oral examination aimed at evaluating the student's understanding of the fundamental principles of the characterization techniques presented during the course, as well as their ability to select appropriate analytical methods.
Testi
There is not a standard textbook. The lecture slides are available to the students. The teachers provide references to the relevant review papers of the current scientific literature.
Contenuti
The course provides an overview of the principal physicochemical characterization techniques used for the investigation of biomaterials and nanomaterials. The fundamental principles, instrumentation, capabilities, limitations, and typical applications of each technique will be presented. The course will cover the following topics: • Optical microscopy • Electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis • Scanning probe microscopy • X-ray generation and interaction with matter • X-ray diffraction (XRD) • X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) • X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) • X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) • Imaging techniques • Thermal analysis techniques • Adsorption techniques
