Nano- and Micro-systems for drug delivery Controlled release of biological response modifiers. Production and characterization of particulate delivery systems: liposomes, cubosomes, microspheres for gene therapy Conduits for nerve repair Development and optimization of different bioencapsulation methods for the production of conduits for nerve repair. Study of new materials for cell encapsulation and identification of new processes allowing the use of these materials under mild and biocompatible conditions Lab-on-a-chip Prodution and characterization of nano- and microparticellar system for biopharmaceutical applications on a Lab-on-a-chip based microelectronic technology" Phytonutrients Design, production and characterization of microparticles made of enteric resistant polymers to prevent phytonutrients release to the stomach and to the upper small intestine Lipospheres Lipidic microspheres, lipospheres (LS) as new type of fat-based encapsulation system developed for drug delivery of bioactive compounds (especially lipophilic compounds). LS combine the advantages of polymeric nanoparticles, fat emulsions and liposomes avoiding some of their disadvantages, such as cytotoxic effects after phagocytosis, toxic effects of organic residues after the production of polymers, lack of large industrial scale production Multifunctional microcapsules for islets entrapment We introduced a new approach for the integrated immunoprotection of transplanted islets, irrespective of the islet origin and maturation level. In this approach, the ‘‘islet compartment’’ benefit from a ‘‘chemical/pharmacologic agent compartment’’ constituted of a sustained release formulation able to deliver the included biological response modifiers for long periods of time Liposomes, micelles and microemulsions as delivery systems for biological response modifiers Design and performance of specialized delivery systems (SDSs) such as liposomes, micellar solutions and microemulsions Prototyping Rapid prototyping technology for the quick production of three-dimensional objects without expensive tooling techniques during the product development stage