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Applied Sciences
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Advances in Natural Polymers-Based Nanocomposites: Structure, Properties and Applications
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Advances in Natural Polymers-Based Nanocomposites: Structure, Properties and Applications

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanotechnology and Applied Nanosciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 5272

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ioana Chiulan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Bioresources and Polymer Science, Advanced Polymer Materials Group, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: polymers; nanocomposites; biomaterials; medical devices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Idalina Gonçalves

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: starch-rich byproducts; starch-based materials; hydrophobization; elasticity; plasticity; active packaging; formative manufacturing; additive manufacturing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Interest in the research and development of natural and nature-based materials is rapidly growing in many industries, as alternatives are sought to replace the non-biodegradable synthetic materials that currently dominate the market. Natural polymers are environmentally friendly, easy to process, easily available, renewable, biocompatible, and biodegradable. They have been widely used in a variety of applications in biomedicine (pharmaceuticals, tissue regeneration scaffolds, drug carriers, and imaging agents) and packaging (films, containers). Due to their attractive properties, natural polymers offer a great potential for emerging industries in the development of biobased materials.

The aim of this Special Issue is to publish original research and review papers that address the latest state of the art in advanced natural polymer-based nanocomposites.

The following are but a few examples of possible topics:

  • Modern processing technique for natural polymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides
  • Recent advances in natural polymers crosslinking protocols
  • Films for food packaging – biodegradability, moisture and gas barrier, heat resistance, antimicrobial action properties
  • Engineered biopolymer-based composite membranes for water purification
  • Valorization of different biological resources (biomass, microorganisms) for the production of natural polymers and their composites
  • Electrohydrodynamic processing of natural polymers for active food packaging
  • Recent progress and technological prospects for the development of nanocarriers for cancer therapy, scaffolds for skin repair and regeneration, among others
  • Processability of natural polymer-based nanocomposites
  • Scalable preparation of natural polymer-based composites for practical applications

If this interesting topic fits with your current research activity, we invite you to submit your research results and promote them in this Special Issue.

Dr. Ioana Chiulan
Dr. Idalina Gonçalves
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural polymers
  • modified natural polymers
  • biodegradable polymers
  • renewable polymers
  • polymer composites
  • nanocomposite characterization
  • nanocomposite applications
  • polysaccharides
  • polypeptides
  • polynucleotides

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 5830 KiB  
Article
Influence of Biosynthesized Nanoparticles Addition and Fibre Content on the Mechanical and Moisture Absorption Behaviour of Natural Fibre Composite
by Natrayan Lakshmaiya, Velmurugan Ganesan, Prabhu Paramasivam and Seshathiri Dhanasekaran
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(24), 13030; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122413030 - 19 Dec 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1451
Abstract
This study looks at how incorporating nanofiller into sisal/flax-fibre-reinforced epoxy-based hybrid composites affects their mechanical and water absorption properties. The green Al2O3 NPs are generated from neem leaves in a proportion of leaf extract to an acceptable aluminium nitrate combination. [...] Read more.
This study looks at how incorporating nanofiller into sisal/flax-fibre-reinforced epoxy-based hybrid composites affects their mechanical and water absorption properties. The green Al2O3 NPs are generated from neem leaves in a proportion of leaf extract to an acceptable aluminium nitrate combination. Both natural fibres were treated with different proportions of NaOH to eliminate moisture absorption. The following parameters were chosen as essential to achieving the objectives mentioned above: (i) 0, 5, 10, and 15% natural fibre concentrations; (ii) 0, 2, 4, and 6% aluminium powder concentrations; and (iii) 0, 1, 3, and 5% NaOH concentrations. Compression moulding was used to create the hybrid nanocomposites and ASTM standards were used for mechanical testing such as tension, bending, and impact. The findings reveal that combining sisal/flax fibre composites with nanofiller improved the mechanical features of the nanocomposite. The sisal and flax fibre hybridised successfully, with 10% fibres and 4% aluminium filler. The water absorption of the hybrids rose as the fibre weight % increased, and during the next 60 h, all of the specimens achieved equilibrium. The failed samples were examined using scanning electron Microscopic (SEM) images better to understand the composite’s failure in the mechanical experimentations. Al2O3 NPs were confirmed through XRD, UV spectroscope and HPLC analysis. According to the HPLC results, the leaf’s overall concentrations of flavonoids (gallocatechin, carnosic acid, and camellia) are determined to be 0.250 mg/g, 0.264 mg/g, and 0.552 mg/g, respectively. The catechin concentration is higher than the phenolic and caffeic acid levels, which could have resulted in a faster rate of reduction among many of the varying configurations, 4 wt.% nano Al2O3 particle, 10 wt.% flax and sisal fibres, as well as 4 h of NaOH with a 5 wt.% concentration, producing the maximum mechanical properties (59.94 MPa tension, 149.52 Mpa bending, and 37.9 KJ/m2 impact resistance). According to the results, it can be concluded that botanical nutrients may be used effectively in the manufacturing of nanomaterials, which might be used in various therapeutic and nanoscale applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Natural Polymers-Based Nanocomposites: Structure, Properties and Applications)
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10 pages, 1984 KiB  
Communication
Alginate/Polypyrrole Hydrogels as Potential Extraction Phase for Determination of Atrazine, Caffeine, and Progesterone in Aqueous Samples
by Sheila C. Jacumasso, Gabriela de Alvarenga, Adriana C. de Lazzari, Naiara M. F. M. Sampaio, Bruno J. G. Silva, Luis F. Marchesi, Marcio Vidotti and Izabel C. Riegel-Vidotti
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(20), 10609; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122010609 - 20 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1451
Abstract
Hydrogels are smart-swelling 3D structures capable of incorporating/expelling water while maintaining their structures. When combined with electroactive materials, such as conducting polymers, the resulting composite may present tunable properties. Herein, the preparation and characterization of alginate-polypyrrole composite hydrogels is described using chemical polymerization [...] Read more.
Hydrogels are smart-swelling 3D structures capable of incorporating/expelling water while maintaining their structures. When combined with electroactive materials, such as conducting polymers, the resulting composite may present tunable properties. Herein, the preparation and characterization of alginate-polypyrrole composite hydrogels is described using chemical polymerization to form polypyrrole inside and around alginate beads, employing two simple protocols. These materials were qualitatively tested as extraction phases, using the solid-phase extraction technique, for the pre-concentration of contaminants of emerging concern (atrazine, caffeine, and progesterone). Compared to alginate alone, the composite materials showed a modified extraction capacity, especially for the extraction of progesterone. It was shown that the alginate matrix also contributes to the extraction, not only acting as a support but also as an active extraction media, evidencing a good combination of materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Natural Polymers-Based Nanocomposites: Structure, Properties and Applications)
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11 pages, 2383 KiB  
Article
Nanoparticles Based-Plant Protein Containing Rosmarinus officinalis Essential Oil; Fabrication, Characterization, and Evaluation
by Hossein Rabbi Angourani, Moslem Heydari, Ali Reza Yousefi, Babak Pashaei and Andrea Mastinu
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(19), 9968; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12199968 - 04 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1722
Abstract
The toxicity risks, instability of essential oil, and complex composition are principal obstacles to using essential plant oil for clinical applications. Solving stability-related problems, providing targeted drug delivery, and decreasing plant essential oil toxicity, encapsulation can be used successfully. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis [...] Read more.
The toxicity risks, instability of essential oil, and complex composition are principal obstacles to using essential plant oil for clinical applications. Solving stability-related problems, providing targeted drug delivery, and decreasing plant essential oil toxicity, encapsulation can be used successfully. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a perennial plant of the Lamiaceae family with various healing properties. However, the rosemary essential oil, as volatile oil, is fast evaporated, which limits its applications. This study’s goal is to boost the prevent evaporation and bioactivity of rosemary essential oil by developing zein-NPs as a promising NDS (nano-drug-delivery system) and assessing the effect of NPs on the rosemary essential oil efficacy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed NPs sizes between 70–200 nm. With dynamic light scattering analysis (DLS), the average size of zein nanoparticle-containing rosemary essential oil (NPZLA) was obtained at ca. 154.5 nm. The entrapment efficiency (EE) on rosemary essential oil was ca. 71% inside the zein NPs. The in vitro release suggests that the polymeric barrier can control the rosemary essential oil release. Zein-NPs can be potentially used as NC (nanocarrier) for enhancing the evaporation inhibitor of ether oil of rosemary essential oil to enhance its bioavailability and performance further. It can be concluded that rosemary plant can be used as the core inside the nanoparticle by biological production method due to its medicinal properties and other properties. Based on the stated content, it is clear that in the future, by conducting more extensive research, the necessary platform can be provided for the use of this medicinal plant as much as possible in the pharmaceutical industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Natural Polymers-Based Nanocomposites: Structure, Properties and Applications)
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