On May 25^th-26^th, the AAPS Italian University Network Student Chapter (A.It.U.N.) held its ninth annual meeting titled “From Food to Pharma: the polyhedral nature of polymers” at the University of Milan.

The meeting aimed to get a deeper insight on polymers usually present in foods that can find applications in pharmaceutical fields. The most critical attributes of polymers were faced particularly from a technological point of view. Taking advantage from industrial case studies, the functionality-related characteristics of such excipients were discussed according to the new FDA and European requirements.

The program started with a welcome by Dr. Umberto M. Musazzi (A.It.U.N. Chair) and the remarks of Prof. Paola Minghetti (A.It.U.N. Faculty Advisor) and Prof. Franco Alhaique, president of ADRITELF (Associazione Docenti e Ricercatori Italiani di Tecnologie e Legislazione Farmaceutiche).

The scientific program was comprised of eleven invited lectures, five short oral communications and a poster session.

The afternoon session of May 25^th was opened by the plenary lecture of Prof. Alberto Schiraldi (University of Milan) on “Biopolymers in food and pharmaceutical product”. Prof. Schiraldi reviewed the critical chemo-physical properties of biopolymers that can found application in food and pharmaceutical products. Dr. Yves Galante (CNR-ICRM) offered an interesting overview of the application of biopolymers for industrial use titled “Chemical and enzymatic modification of polygalactomannans for industrial use”. The discussion highlighted the opportunity for pharmaceutical scientists to apply their expertise in various industrial fields. The second part of the afternoon was opened by Dr. Annalisa Aluigi (CNR-ISOF). Dr. Aluigi discussed “Upcycle of keratin: from animal waste to biomaterials for biomedical applications”, highlighting the potentialities of a waste material for the development and design of drug delivery systems. The session ended with two lectures of Dr. Maurizio Lugli (Alfatest srl) and Ing. Sandra Lanteri (Anton Paar Italia srl) on the use of rheology and tribology for the characterization of biopolymers for food and pharmaceutical applications.

At the conclusion of the day, the participants had the chance to enjoy the wonderful view of Milan during the welcome reception organized at the terrace of the Hotel Cavalieri .

The morning session of May 26^th was opened by Prof. Franco Alhaique (University of Rome) with a plenary lecture on “Polysaccharide hydrogels: from macro to nano”, which discussed the evolution of polysaccharides use in the pharmaceutical development from hydrogels to micro- and nano-delivery systems. The session continued with the lecture of Prof. Maria Cristina Tanzi (Politecnico di Milano) on “Pectin-based injectable delivery systems for regenerative medicine”. The lecture offers a very interesting overview on the use of pectins in pharmaceutical development of parenteral drug products and their critical attributes. The session ended with the lecture of Dr. Amina Faham (Dow Europe) on “Enhanced efficiency using Affinisol^TM polymers in solubility enhancement”, discussing the application of cellulose derivatives for increasing the drug solubility.

The program continued with the poster session where 41 posters were presented. The best three poster were selected by the scientific committee, composed by the invited speakers, and the presenting authors were awarded with grant.

The afternoon sessions started with Dr. Francesco Puoci (University of Calabria). He discussed “Functionalization of polymers: state of art and future perspectives”, an interesting overview of the challenges in modifying chemically biopolymers for improving their physicochemical characteristics and efficiency as pharmaceutical excipients. Dr. Giovanni Boccardi (Istituto Ronzoni) gave a lecture titled “Challenges of chemical characterization of pharmaceutical excipients”, facing the current criticisms in the characterization of pharmaceutical excipients according to FDA and European requirements. The session continued with Dr. Francesco Roversi (Rofarma srl), who gave an interesting lecture on the use of starch as excipient for tablet coating. Finally, the session ended with the lecture of Dr. Andrea M. Giori (IBSA Farmaceutici Italia - Bouty S.p.A.) on “Natural polymers and orodispersible films for pharmaceutical use”. Dr. Giori discussed the application of maltodextrins as pharmaceutical excipient in the production of fast-dissolving films, highlighting the most critical steps in the pharmaceutical development and manufacturing process of such films.

The meeting ended with the chapter assembly and concluding remarks. The high quality of the scientific contribution was noted and the participation of more than 120 students and young researchers was outstanding.

The undergraduate and graduate students selected for the short oral communications are:

• Smbat Gevorgyan (Fondazione Filarete) on “An innovative method of synthesis of polyamidoamine nanoparticles”;
• Sara Lusa (University of Naples) on “Liposomes targeting CXCR4 receptors: anti-tumor and anti-metastatic effects”;
• Angela Abruzzo (University of Bologna) on “Synbiotic vaginal insert containing Lactobacillus crispatus, fructo-oligosaccharides and ascorbic acid: technological and microbiological characterization;
• Barbara Vigani (University of Pavia) on “Adipose stromal vascular fraction within 3D natural scaffolds: a promising approach for intraoperative  advanced therapies”;
• Vieri Piazzini (University of Florence) on “Brain delivery of andrographolide by polymeric nanovectors”.

The winners for the best posters are :

• Simona Giarra (Università degli Studi di Napoli): “Stealth nanoparticles for the intracellular curcumindelivery induce cell cycle arrest in mesothelioma cells”;
• Serena Casagrande (Università degli Studi di Perugia): “Physico-chemical and mechanical characterization of biodegradable chitosan/alginate coated PLGA-scaffold for tissue engineering”;
• Elisa Gurian (Università degli Studi di Trieste): “Polysaccharide solutions and gels: isothermal dehydration study by DSC”.

On May 27^th, a visit of Expo Milano 2015 “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” was organized for all the meeting participants to enjoy together the unique atmosphere of the Universal Exposition.

The meeting was kindly supported by AAPS, the consortium TEFARCO Innova, the association ADRITELF, IBSA Farmaceutici Italia - Bouty S.p.A., Rofarma Italia Srl, Aboca S.p.A, Alfatest srl, Anton Paar Italia srl. The meeting also had the endorsement of AFI (Associazione Farmaceutici Industria) and CRS Italy Chapter.

The A.It.U.N. roster thanks the scientific committee, the organization committee, all the sponsors, Image srl, Teva Italia srl and Edra LSWR S.p.A for the help in the organization of the event.