Davide Barboni

Edible coatings (ECs) derived from natural biopolymers represent an effective preservation strategy for fruits and vegetables and a promising postharvest approach aligned with the increasing demand for sustainable agricultural practices. These Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)-based coatings, which are mainly polysaccharide-, protein-, and lipid-based, can extend shelf-life with minimal impact on texture, flavor, and nutritional value, reducing reliance on synthetic packaging and helping mitigate food loss and waste. Beyond acting as a physical barrier, ECs can significantly influence fruit and vegetable metabolism by modulating biochemical and molecular processes. This review focuses on these effects by summarizing evidence from conventional analytical methods, including targeted metabolite analyses, as well as omics-based approaches, primarily transcriptomics and metabolomics, which remain poorly explored in the current EC research literature. Furthermore, integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses are examined, as they offer a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying quality attributes, stress responses, and preservation outcomes. Collectively, this work offers detailed insights into coating-induced changes in metabolite profiles and gene expression in coated fruits and vegetables, including formulations derived from agri-food by-products and coatings enriched with bioactive compounds with antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties. Overall, by addressing a current gap in the literature, it provides an integrative and innovative framework for interpreting coating performance at both applied and molecular levels, with potential relevance for the agri-food industry and for future research aimed at developing more sustainable, effective, and commodity-tailored postharvest technologies.

Neural implants are widely used in prosthetic applications to interact with the peripheral nervous system, but their long‐term functionality is compromised by foreign body reactions (FBR). Thanks to its high biocompatibility, polyimide poly (biphenyl dianhydride)‐ p ‐phenylenediamine (BPDA‐PDA) represents a suitable material to fabricate ultrathin and ultra‐flexible neural implants. This study explores the surface functionalization of BPDA‐PDA, the electrically inert component of the neural implant. The novelty of this approach relies on the fact that dexamethasone (DEX covalently bound to BPDA‐PDA, enabling its sustained release over a period of at least 9 weeks. In vitro assays demonstrate that this strategy reduce the production of pro‐inflammatory markers in macrophages. In addition, the biocompatibility of the functionalized material has been ensured by evaluating the viability of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. Furthermore, in vivo implantation of DEX functionalized BPDA‐PDA substrates shows a significant reduction in inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrotic capsule thickness formed around the devices. These findings suggest that local release of DEX from the electrically inactive scaffold of neural implants may enhance their long‐term stability and performance by mitigating the FBR.