Chiara Di Meo

Chiara Di Meo serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology at Sapienza University of Rome, where she teaches Polymers of Pharmaceutical Interest and Cosmetic Chemistry courses for the 2024/2025 academic year with mandatory attendance for Pharmacy students. She maintains regular office hours on Thursdays at 4 pm in room 261 CU019 by appointment. Her institutional role extends to serving as a member of the faculty council for the International Doctorate in Molecular Design and Characterization for the Promotion of Health and Well-being: from Drug to Food.

Dr. Di Meo specializes in the synthesis, characterization, and formulation of innovative polymeric matrices for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food applications, with particular expertise in polysaccharides. Her research focuses on developing hyaluronan-based nanogels, polymer-drug conjugates, and interpenetrating polymer networks for targeted drug delivery systems. She has coordinated multiple research projects funded by the university and private companies, demonstrating strong industry-academia collaboration in pharmaceutical technology development.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent research trajectory centered on nanohydrogels and biopolymeric nanoparticles, particularly those based on hyaluronic acid and cholesterol derivatives. Her work spans multiple therapeutic areas including dermatology, oncology, ophthalmology, and hepatology, with significant emphasis on overcoming biological barriers like mucus, skin, cornea, and the blood-brain barrier. The 2023-2025 publications show increasing sophistication in materials engineering, with recent work exploring 3D printing of polymer systems, mussel-inspired chemistry for mechanical property tuning, and molecular targeting of specific cancer pathways.

As a member of the PolyRome Center affiliated with the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Dr. Di Meo contributes to providing services for the development and physico-chemical characterization of polymeric systems. Her research group has produced 66 publications with an h-index of 27 (Scopus), reflecting substantial impact in the fields of drug delivery and polymer-based pharmaceutical formulations. Current research directions include self-assembling nanogels based on synthetic and mixed polymers, with applications spanning from drug delivery to food science.