The chemical and structural properties of comets are directly linked to the composition of the materials from which they originated and to the formation mechanisms. A great progress in their determination has been possible thanks to the in-situ exploration of comet 1P/Halley. Moreover, with the improvement of spectroscopic capabilities in the IR and mm ranges, a strong impulse has been given to the characterisation of dust composition, thanks to the identification of typical spectral features that fall in those intervals. In particular, ISO space-born satellite has given significant hints to the comet characterisation. However, a definite jump ahead will be possible thanks to the direct analyses that instruments on-board the Rosetta spacecraft will be capable to perform.

In this framework a substantial contribution to the clarification of comet composition comes from laboratory work. Experiments are aimed at producing materials able to simulate cometary dust and to characterise their physical and chemical properties. Moreover, various techniques are applied to monitor their evolution as a function of various treatments (e.g. thermal annealing, UV processing, ion bombardment) in order to simulate the processing active in space environments. The results of laboratory analyses can be compared with cometary observations with the aim to find correlation/analogies with the laboratory samples.

In the present work an overview of the most recent results obtained by laboratory investigation of cometary dust analogues will be presented and the implication for comet characterisation will be discussed.