Abstract
Water is an essential resource for life. Nowadays, however, this resource is dramatically threatened by pollution, mainly produced by anthropic activities that have generated the spread of hazardous compounds with a high impact on human well-being and environmental health.
The CLEANUP project aims to explore a suitable strategy for managing this problem, proposing a “circular” effective approach for water quality management, studying the possibility to functionalize a cheap and widely diffused support with molecular receptors, for the realization of reliable devices, able to both monitor and manage the presence of pollutants, and in particular poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and micro- and nanoplastics (MNP).
The general idea is a stepwise process that starts with the development of receptors able to monitor their presence in freshwater matrices. These receptors will be rationally designed also to be combined with solid substrates, and in particular with Color Catcher®, a cheap material that can efficiently support the receptors in the solid state.
scientific department head
Luca Prodi (local coordinator)
Partnership
Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata
Università degli Studi di Milano