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Polymers from Renewable Resources for Packaging and Biomedical Applications: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1935

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: polymer design; polymer synthesis and characterization; polymer modification; copolymerization; solid state properties; thermal properties and crystallization kinetics; mechanical characterization; bio-based monomers; bio-based polymers; nano-polymer; nanocomposites; gas barrier behaviour; polymer compostability; biopolymers for engineering tissue; polymeric for controlled drug delivery; biodegradation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Interests: polyesters; synthesis; chemical modification; thermal properties; mechanical properties; barrier properties; biodegradability; food packaging; active packaging; diffusion; permeability; bio-based and biodegradable polymers; polymers from waste; nanocomposites; biocomposites; life cycle assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering Department, University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Interests: polyesters; polymer synthesis; chemical modification; thermal properties; mechanical properties; barrier properties; biodegradability; packaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is widely known that polymers are versatile substances that offer customized solutions for a wide variety of applications and sectors, such as packaging, building, automotive, electronics, sports, agriculture, and medicine. Plastics, thanks to their light weight, durability, easy processability, low cost, and good thermomechanical properties, are produced in large volumes. However, limitations relating to littering and end-of-life options for some kinds of plastic wastes must be overcome in view of achieving a circular and efficient economy. Overcoming this challenge would also allow plastics to play a crucial role in delivering a more sustainable future.

Packaging represents the largest application field of plastics and is responsible for the highest volume of waste production. Even if recycling is the preferred option, it is not possible for the multilayered structures that are used commercially to guarantee smart barriers and mechanical performances. Thus, the development of novel monomaterials suitable for recycling is strongly encouraged.

Another growing market of great importance in everyday life is that of health, in particular in fields such as regenerative medicine and pharmacology with the fabrication of controlled drug delivery systems. The use of polymeric supports to favor cell and tissue regeneration can represent a valid alternative to conventional drug therapies or transplants, overcoming their drawbacks in terms of rejection and non-effectiveness, thus supporting correct cell growth.

Bioplastics, and in particular biopolyesters, represent a valid alternative in all these fields of applications, as they can simultaneously satisfy the requirements of biodegradability and biocompatibility within the environment in which they are disposed and the release of non-toxic degradation products, thus avoiding dependence on non-renewable sources.

This Special Issue will offer the academic and industrial worlds the opportunity to present overviews of novel sustainable materials for packaging and biomedical applications.

Research papers, as well as reviews, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Nadia Lotti
Dr. Valentina Siracusa
Dr. Giulia Guidotti
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. Polymers 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 2700 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

  • biopolymers
  • renewable resources
  • biodegradability
  • biocompatibility
  • barrier properties
  • mechanical properties

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3517 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Non-Isocyanate Polyurethanes Derived from Adipic Acid: A Comprehensive Study
by Maria Angeliki G. Ntrivala, Evangelia D. Balla, Panagiotis A. Klonos, Apostolos Kyritsis and Dimitrios N. Bikiaris
Polymers 2025, 17(6), 728; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17060728 - 10 Mar 2025
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Abstract
The increasing quest for greener and more sustainable polymeric materials has gained interest in the past few decades. Non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) have attracted attention considering that they are produced through less toxic methods compared to the conventional polyurethanes (PUs) obtained from petroleum resources [...] Read more.
The increasing quest for greener and more sustainable polymeric materials has gained interest in the past few decades. Non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) have attracted attention considering that they are produced through less toxic methods compared to the conventional polyurethanes (PUs) obtained from petroleum resources and toxic isocyanates. In this context, adipic acid, glycerol carbonate, 1,2-ethylenediamine, and 1,6-hexamethylenediamine, were used to synthesize NIPU_ethyl and NIPU_hexa, respectively. The obtained NIPUs were characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-NMR spectra) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, which verified the structures of the intermediate and final products. Calorimetric and dielectric studies provided direct and indirect support for the facilitated thermal stability of NIPU_ethyl and NIPU_hexa. Compared to the intermediate product, the NIPUs exhibit elevated glass transition temperatures, suggesting the formation of more rigid structures. The NIPUs were also tested in terms of swelling properties, and the results indicated that NIPU_hexa absorbs and withholds increased amounts of water for longer time periods compared to NIPU_ethyl, and their hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis confirmed that NIPU_hexa is more stable in aqueous environments than NIPU_ethyl. Therefore, the successful production of adipic-acid-based NIPUs through a novel perspective of the polyaddition path is reported and complemented by the characterization of the obtained materials with several techniques. Full article
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21 pages, 3951 KiB  
Article
Characterization and Evaluation of Zero-Order Release System Comprising Glycero-(9,10-trioxolane)-trialeate and PLA: Opportunity for Packaging and Biomedicine Applications
by Olga V. Alexeeva, Marina L. Konstantinova, Valentina Siracusa, Vyacheslav V. Podmasterev, Levon Yu. Martirosyan, Olga K. Karyagina, Sergey S. Kozlov, Sergey M. Lomakin, Ilya V. Tretyakov, Tuyara V. Petrova and Alexey L. Iordanskii
Polymers 2024, 16(24), 3554; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16243554 - 20 Dec 2024
Viewed by 908
Abstract
Glycerol-(9,10-trioxolane) trioleate (OTOA) is a promising material that combines good plasticizing properties for PLA with profound antimicrobial activity, which makes it suitable for application in state-of-the-art biomedical and packaging materials with added functionality. On the other hand, application of OTOA in PLA-based antibacterial [...] Read more.
Glycerol-(9,10-trioxolane) trioleate (OTOA) is a promising material that combines good plasticizing properties for PLA with profound antimicrobial activity, which makes it suitable for application in state-of-the-art biomedical and packaging materials with added functionality. On the other hand, application of OTOA in PLA-based antibacterial materials is hindered by a lack of knowledge on kinetics of the OTOA release. In this work, the release of glycero-(9,10-trioxolane) trioleate (OTOA) from PLA films with 50% OTOA content was studied during incubation in normal saline solution, and for the first time, the kinetics of OTOA release from PLA film was evaluated. Morphological, thermal, structural and mechanical properties of the PLA + 50% OTOA films were studied during incubation in normal saline and corresponding OTOA release using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and mechanical tests. It was confirmed by DSC and XRD that incubation in the saline solution and corresponding OTOA release from PLA film does not lead to significant changes in the structure of the polymer matrix. Thus, the formation of more disturbed α’ crystalline phase of PLA due to partial hydrolysis of amorphous zones and/or most unstable crystallites in the PLA/OTOA semi-crystalline structure was observed. The degree of crystallinity of PLA + OTOA film was also slightly increased at the prolonged stages of OTOA release. PLA + 50% OTOA film retained its strength properties after incubation in normal saline, with a slight increase in the elastic modulus and tensile strength, accompanied by a significant decrease in relative elongation at break. The obtained results showed that PLA + 50% OTOA film could be characterized by sustained OTOA release with the amount of released OTOA exceeding 50% of the initial content in the PLA film. The OTOA release profile was close to zero-order kinetics, which is beneficial in order to provide stable drug release pattern. Developed PLA + 50% OTOA films showed a strong and stable antibacterial effect against Raoultella terrigena and Escherichia coli, bacterial strains with multidrug resistance behavior. The resulting PLA + OTOA films could be used in a variety of biomedical and packaging applications, including wound dressings and antibacterial food packaging. Full article
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