Postdoctoral Position: CHIPS project « Chitosan innovative platforms for sustainable biocontrol»

Descrizione

Postdoctoral Position: CHIPS project « Chitosan innovative platforms for sustainable biocontrol» Sintesi in italiano (traduzione automatica): L'Institut de Chimie Moléculaire de Reims (ICMR) cerca un Ricercatore post-dottorato per un contratto a tempo determinato di 12 mesi, con inizio previsto per ottobre 2026. Il progetto CHIPS si concentra sullo sviluppo di materiali innovativi per la protezione sostenibile delle viti, utilizzando chitosano per migliorare l'efficacia dei trattamenti a base di rame. Il candidato selezionato sarà coinvolto in tutte le fasi del processo di sviluppo dei materiali, dalla sintesi alla caratterizzazione fisico-chimica. Le principali responsabilità includono la funzionalizzazione chimica del chitosano, la progettazione di strutture polimeriche innovative e l'indagine sulla complessazione del rame. È richiesta una laurea in chimica o un campo correlato, e il candidato lavorerà in un ambiente di ricerca collaborativo con attrezzature analitiche all'avanguardia. POSITION OFFER – POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER (12-MONTH FIXED-TERM CONTRACT) Location : Institut de Chimie Moléculaire de Reims (ICMR – UMR CNRS 7312), University of Champagne-Ardenne, France Preferred start date: October 2026 Project background: The CHIPS project « Chitosan innovative platforms for sustainable biocontrol» funded by the International Institut EXEBIO [ANR-22-EXES0007] through its « Interdisciplinarity » call, is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to contribute to the development of innovative materials for the sustainable protection of grapevines. The project aims to design natural polymer-based platforms capable of enhancing the efficiency of copper-based plant protection treatment while reducing the amount of copper applied in viticulture, thereby minimizing their environmental impact. Keywords: Chitosan Functionalization, Polymeric Biomaterials, Copper Complexation, Controlled Release, Sustainable Viticulture, Biocontrol Responsabilities: The recruited candidate will play a key scientific role within the project and will be involved in the entire material development process, from synthesis to physicochemical characterization. The research activities will focus on three main scientific areas: Chemical functionalization of chitosan to tailor its physicochemical properties and improve its interactions with leaf surfaces. Design and development of innovative polymeric structures, including the synthesis of nanohydrogels and the preparation of photocrosslinked gels from functionalized chitosan derivatives. Investigation of copper complexation and controlled release within the developed materials in order to optimize their performance for sustainable grapevine protection applications. The successful candidate will work closely with the biologists involved in the CHIPS project to correlate the physicochemical properties of the developed materials with their biological performance in grapevine assays. Particular attention will also be devoted to assessing the environmental impact of the formulations, especially on aquatic organisms. Research environment: The position if based at the ICMR (URCA, Reims, France), within a highly collaborative research environment equipped with state-of-the-art analytical facilities (e.g. RMN 600 MHz with cryoprobe, ICP instrumentation, DLS, Physicochemical characterization platform). Annuncio in inglese. Fonte: Euraxess (Commissione europea).