Both photonics and nanotechnologies contribute key knowledge to innovation in the Agrifood value chain, providing disruptive solutions for remote inspection and food packaging. Since some time, the research groups at IFN-CNR have introduced and developed several different and complementary optical spectroscopies, like multi-modal spectroscopies and time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy (TRS) in the Agrifood sector, for remote and non-destructive characterization of the quality of food raw materials. Portable spectroscopical systems have been designed and engineered for in-field measurements with high sensitivity.

Flexible food packaging materials featuring novel functionalities are developed at CNT-IFN. Novel organic and inorganic coatings are integrated to improve UV and humidity barrier and for antimicrobial activity. Novel molecular dyes are added to packaging films and tested as passive remote optical sensors to evaluate the quality of the internal atmosphere and to detect bacteria. Available optical spectroscopic techniques are exploited to qualify novel functionalities.

Research activities are supported by scientific and technological apparatuses such as Clean-room environments with film deposition methods, thermal processing, nanolithographic and nanoimprinting tools, optical, electronic and scanning-probe microscopies, optical and Raman spectroscopies, luminescence set-ups. Active collaborations include other CNR institutes, some commercial companies and national and international research institutions such as: Univ. of Rome La Sapienza, Univ. of Rome Tor Vergata, Univ. of Trento, FBK Foundation (IT), CREA-IT, Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Laimburg (IT), VLF Foundation (USA), The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems(IPMS)(D), Agricultural University of Athens (GR), Freie Universität Berlin (D), Wageningen Food Safety Research (D).