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Special Issue "Advances in Applications of Polysaccharides and Polysaccharide-Based Materials"

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Macromolecules".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2023 | Viewed by 4552

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Tatiana A. Akopova

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Guest Editor

Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymeric Materials, Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPM RAS), 70 Profsoyuznaya st., 117393 Moscow, Russia
Interests: polymer chemistry; supramolecular structure; polysaccharides; graft-copolymers; hybrid composites; biomaterials; solvent-free extrusion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Sankar Bhuniya

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Guest Editor

Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, JIS Institute of Advanced Studies and Research, JIS University, Kolkata 700091, India
Interests: polymer synthesis; drug delivery; theranostic; polymer nanoparticle; biomaterials; biopolymers

Dr. Tatiana Demina

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Guest Editor

Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymeric Materials, Russian Academy of Sciences, 70 Profsouznaya str., 117393 Moscow, Russia
Interests: regenerative medicine; scaffolds; polysaccharides; biomaterials; particles; surface
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polysaccharides are a wide class of natural polymers having a long successful history of application for material science and great potential for further use in a wide range of areas. The modification of polysaccharides’ chemical structures is expanding the number of technologies for their processing and, thus, the range of polysaccharide-based functional materials. Currently, the use of polysaccharides safe for humans and the environment is attracting attention as a key element of "green chemistry" in various fields as versatile constructional and biologically active functional materials. Polysaccharides also find their place in such modern areas of life science as additive technologies for the fabrication of three-dimensional scaffolds for regenerative medicine, and the creation of new drug-delivery systems and biosensors. In this Special Issue, we invite you to share with readers your experience in modifying the structure and properties of polysaccharides and creating polysaccharide-based functional advanced materials.

Prof. Dr. Tatiana A. Akopova
Dr. Sankar Bhuniya
Dr. Tatiana Demina
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

polysaccharides
chemical modification
processing
drug delivery
biomaterials
bionanomaterails
polymer-based sensors

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Time on the Properties of Bio-Nanocomposite Films Based on Chitosan with Bio-Based Plasticizer Reinforced with Nanofiber Cellulose

Divine Yufetar Shyntum

and

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(17), 13205; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713205 - 25 Aug 2023

Viewed by 359

Abstract

The deterioration of the performance of polysaccharide-based films over time, particularly their hydrophilicity and mechanical properties, is one of the main problems limiting their applications in the packaging industry. In the present study, we proposed to improve the performance of chitosan-based films through the use of: (1) nanocellulose as an additive to reduce their hydrophilic nature; (2) bio-based plasticizer to improve their mechanical properties; and (3) chestnut extract as an antimicrobial agent. To evaluate their stability over time, the properties of as-formed films (mechanical, hydrophilic, barrier and antibacterial) were studied immediately after preparation and after 7, 14 and 30 days. In addition, the morphological properties of the films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, their structure by FTIR, their transparency by UV-Vis and their thermal properties by TGA. The films showed a hydrophobic character (contact angle above 100°), barrier properties to oxygen and carbon dioxide and strong antibacterial activity against Gram-negative (E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. aureus) bacteria. Moreover, the use of nanofillers did not deteriorate the elongation at breaks or the thermal properties of the films, but their addition reduced the transparency. In addition, the results showed that the greatest change in film properties occurred within the first 7 days after sample preparation, after which the properties were found to stabilize. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Applications of Polysaccharides and Polysaccharide-Based Materials)

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Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Non-Solvent Nature on the Rheological Properties of Cellulose Solution in Diluted Ionic Liquid and Performance of Nanofiltration Membranes

Sergey O. Ilyin

Anna V. Kostyuk

Tatyana S. Anokhina

Viktoria Y. Melekhina

Danila S. Bakhtin

Sergey V. Antonov

and

Alexey V. Volkov

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(9), 8057; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24098057 - 29 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 706

Abstract

The weak point of ionic liquids is their high viscosity, limiting the maximum polymer concentration in the forming solutions. A low-viscous co-solvent can reduce viscosity, but cellulose has none. This study demonstrates that dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), being non-solvent for cellulose, can act as a nominal co-solvent to improve its processing into a nanofiltration membrane by phase inversion. A study of the rheology of cellulose solutions in diluted ionic liquids ([EMIM]Ac, [EMIM]Cl, and [BMIM]Ac) containing up to 75% DMSO showed the possibility of decreasing the viscosity by up to 50 times while keeping the same cellulose concentration. Surprisingly, typical cellulose non-solvents (water, methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol) behave similarly, reducing the viscosity at low doses but causing structuring of the cellulose solution and its phase separation at high concentrations. According to laser interferometry, the nature of these non-solvents affects the mass transfer direction relative to the forming membrane and the substance interdiffusion rate, which increases by four-fold when passing from isopropanol to methanol or water. Examination of the nanofiltration characteristics of the obtained membranes showed that the dilution of ionic liquid enhances the rejection without changing the permeability, while the transition to alcohols increases the permeability while maintaining the rejection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Applications of Polysaccharides and Polysaccharide-Based Materials)

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Open AccessArticle

Effect of Substitution Degree and Homogeneity on Cyclodextrin-Ligand Complex Stability: Comparison of Fenbufen and Fenoprofen Using CD and NMR Spectroscopy

and

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(8), 7544; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087544 - 19 Apr 2023

Viewed by 739

Abstract

The stability of host–guest complexes of two NSAID drugs with similar physicochemical properties, fenbufen and fenoprofen, was investigated by comparing induced circular dichroism and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance methods using eight cyclodextrins of different degrees of substitution and isomeric purity as guest compounds. These cyclodextrins include native β-cyclodextrin (BCyD), 2,6-dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin 50 (DIMEB50), 80 (DIMEB80) and 95% (DIMEB95) isomerically pure versions, low-methylated CRYSMEB, randomly methylated β-cyclodextrin (RAMEB) and 4.5 and 6.3 average substitution grade hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPBCyD). The stability constants obtained by the two methods show good agreement in most cases. For fenbufen complexes, there is a clear trend that the stability constant increases with the degree of substitution while isomer purity has a smaller effect on the magnitude of stability constants. A significant difference was found in the case of DIMEB50 when compared to DIMEB80/DIMEB95, while the latter two are similar. In the fenbufen–fenoprofen comparison, fenbufen, with its linear axis, gives a more stable complex, while fenoprofen shows lower constants and poorly defined trends. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Applications of Polysaccharides and Polysaccharide-Based Materials)

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Open AccessArticle

A Novel D-Psicose 3-Epimerase from Halophilic, Anaerobic Iocasia fonsfrigidae and Its Application in Coconut Water

Khanok Ratanakhanokchai

Ayaka Uke

Akihiko Kosugi

and

Chakrit Tachaapaikoon

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(7), 6394; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24076394 - 29 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1100

Abstract

D-Psicose is a rare, low-calorie sugar that is found in limited quantities in national products. Recently, D-psicose has gained considerable attention due to its potential applications in the food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, a novel D-psicose 3-epimerase (a group of ketose 3-epimerase) from an extremely halophilic, anaerobic bacterium, Iocasia fonsfrigidae strain SP3-1 (IfDPEase), was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli, and characterized. Unlike other ketose 3-epimerase members, IfDPEase shows reversible epimerization only for D-fructose and D-psicose at the C-3 position but not for D-tagatose, most likely because the Gly218 and Cys6 at the substrate-binding subsites of IfDPEase, which are involved in interactions at the O-1 and O-6 positions of D-fructose, respectively, differ from those of other 3-epimerases. Under optimum conditions (5 µM IfDPEase, 1 mM Mn²⁺, 50 °C, and pH 7.5), 36.1% of D-psicose was obtained from 10 mg/mL D-fructose. The IfDPEase is highly active against D-fructose under NaCl concentrations of up to 500 mM, possibly due to the excessive negative charges of acidic amino acid residues (aspartic and glutamic acids), which are localized on the surface of the halophilic enzyme. These negative charges may protect the enzyme from Na⁺ ions from the environment and result in the lowest pI value compared to those of other 3-epimerase members. Moreover, without adjusting any ingredients, IfDPEase could improve coconut water quality by converting D-fructose into D-psicose with a yield of 26.8%. Therefore, IfDPEase is an attractive alternative to enhancing the quality of fructose-containing foods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Applications of Polysaccharides and Polysaccharide-Based Materials)

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Open AccessCommunication

Swelling of Homogeneous Alginate Gels with Multi-Stimuli Sensitivity

Haniyeh Malektaj

Aleksey D. Drozdov

and

Jesper deClaville Christiansen

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(6), 5064; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065064 - 07 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1291

Abstract

A new two-step method is suggested for the preparation of homogeneous alginate gels. In the first step, alginate chains are weakly bonded by Ca

^{2 +}

ions in an aqueous solution with a low pH. In the next step, the gel is immersed [...] Read more.

A new two-step method is suggested for the preparation of homogeneous alginate gels. In the first step, alginate chains are weakly bonded by Ca

^{2 +}

ions in an aqueous solution with a low pH. In the next step, the gel is immersed into a strong solution of CaCl

_{2}

to finalize the cross-linking process. Homogeneous alginate gels preserve their integrity in aqueous solutions with a pH ranging from 2 to 7 and ionic strength in the interval from 0 to 0.2 M, at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to 50 °C, and can be used in biomedical applications. The immersion of these gels into aqueous solutions with low pH induces the partial breakage of ionic bonds between chains (treated as gel degradation). This degradation affects the equilibrium and transient swelling of homogeneous alginate gels and makes them sensitive to the history of loading and environmental conditions (pH, ionic strength and temperature of aqueous solutions). As sensitivity to the environmental stimuli is a characteristic feature of polymer networks connected by catch bonds, homogeneous alginate gels may serve as a simple model, mimicking the behavior of more sophisticated structures in living matter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Applications of Polysaccharides and Polysaccharide-Based Materials)

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