On September 19-21, 2022, the Nanotechnology Center for Education and Research hosted the 1st Summer School of the "GREEN-MAP" project “Novel green polymeric materials for medical packaging and disposables to improve hospital sustainability" dedicated to the topic of sustainable development of polymeric materials for a circular economy titled "Designing bio-based polymers for circular economy: from green monomers to green polymers." The meeting, which was conducted in a hybrid form (online and stationary), featured a rich and interesting program of lectures on the use of plant-derived monomers/ oligomers to produce "green" and biodegradable polymers. Issues of the circular economy in the disposable medical device industry and the use of green chemistry in the synthesis of new polymeric materials using enzymes and alternative, non-toxic catalysts were discussed.
During the four thematic sessions: I - Synthesis of bio-based monomers and polymers, II - Material sdesign, physicochemical and microstructural analysis of bio-based polymers, III - Functionalization and high performance of bio-based polymers, and IV - Industrial production and applications of biological polymers, 15 lectures were delivered by prominent specialists from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Poland. Participants of the Summer School were not only students and doctoral students, but also students of high school classes from the High School in Gryfice and IX High School in Szczecin.
On the last day, there was a meeting of the Consortium participants summarizing the Summer School. They also discussed the next activities in the GREEN-MAP project coordinated by Prof. Miroslawa El Fray from Department of Polymer and Biomaterials Science of Faculty of Chemical Technology and Engineering and Chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Research Council.
