Abstract: Core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) host a large variety of thermodynamic conditions, from cold low-density regions in the external layers of the collapsing star to the hot and very dense nascent proto-neutron star (PNS). Nuclear physics is a key ingredient to determine the evolution of CCSNe. At high densities, the strong interaction governs the equation of state (EOS), which has large impact on the dynamics. Nevertheless, the EOS of dense matter is not fully understood. Numerical simulations are crucial to understand, and explore, the mechanisms involved in the explosion. We use CCSNe simulations as laboratories to study the impact of several nuclear matter properties on the dynamics of the PNS and the explosion. At low densities, nuclear reactions describe the nucleosynthesis that takes place in the events, which play an essential role in the chemical evolution of the universe. We investigate the impact of the composition and the energy released by nuclear reactions on the dynamics of the explosion and the nucleosynthesis.