The research of the group was oriented towards the following main directions: 

• Structural, morphological, thermal evaluation of polymers / polymeric systems /(nano) composites, and water sorption behaviours of bio-based materials and their interaction with water
• Modification / functionalization of natural and synthetic polymers by chemical and / or physical methods for the development of high performance materials by improving both the surface and the volume properties that meet the food packaging, medical, pharmaceutical and agricultural requirements. 
• Development of new innovative methods to obtain multifunctional polymeric materials sensitive to external stimuli (temperature, pH), based on bionanocomposites containing biodegradable polymers (e.g. collagen, chitosan, cellulose, alginates), poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and nanoparticles, as controlled/targeted release systems for drugs or biological active molecules.
• Stabilization of active principles (e.g. functional proteins, essential oils, plant extracts, etc.) in / onto polymeric matrices, to obtain active materials with antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, low permeability to gases, and low migration of components in contact environment. These materials are intended for bioactive food packaging (e.g. enhanced nutritional value and extended shelf life), medical / pharmaceutical use (e.g. controlled and targeted release) or agricultural applications (e.g. seeds protection, germination improvement).
• Improvement of plastics (e.g. polypropylene, poly(lactic acid)) biodegradability by various methods (gamma irradiation, plasma treatment, blends / composites with natural biodegradable components) and biodegradation evaluation in various biological environments (soil burial, compost, fungal cultures, etc.).
• Thermal stability (kinetics and mechanisms) and thermal treatment / valorisation of polymeric materials.
• Compositional analysis of bioactive plant extracts (e.g. volatiles in essential oils, flavonoids / polyphenols in vegetal oils, etc.).
• Rheological studies of polymeric materials.