Natural Additives for Special and High Performance Polymeric Materials

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to natural additives which, incorporated in small amounts  by various techniques or as nanoencapsulants, are destined to the delivery of nutrients (nutrition and neutraceuticals), flavors, aromas, drugs, antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds. The natural additives can be incorporated into different polymeric materials such as bioplastics, hybrid composites, antimicrobial materials, multifunctional polymeric biomaterials, pharmaceutical polymers, nanostructured polymers and nanocomposites, smart polymeric materials/nanoparticles, smart textiles, electrospun materials, polymer-clay nano-composites,   biodegradable materials and  waste-recycling materials, materials for tissue engineering, functionally responsive polymeric materials, etc.. The inclusion of these additives confers to the receiving materials special characteristics, such as antibacterial/antioxidant properties, biological functions, advanced functionalities, external stimuli responsiveness, flexibility, etc. Research on natural additives has recently become extremely fascinating, especially in relation to vegetable extracts (from plants and agricultural waste), nanoclays, biological polymers (such as alginate, chitosan (nanochitosan), chitin, etc. and their derivatives), lignocellulosics (lignin and its derivatives, nanocellulose). Compared to synthetic additives, natural additives have the advantages of being accepted in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, by the food industry, and by consumers as they are biocompatible, biodegradable, and sustainable.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring the attention of contributors and readers the various aspects of natural additives: their obtainment, modification, morphology, the characterization of their physical and chemical properties, the thermodynamics and kinetics of multicomponent polymer systems, their degradation and stabilization, the effects of various kinds of radiation (electron beam, gamma irradiation, plasma, etc.) on their properties, and the stability of the special materials with high performance mentioned above. Also, their applications in the biomedical, nanomedicine, green industry fields, and food industry are of great interest, as well as the technological developments related to them.

Both research and review articles are welcome. Since you are working in this intriguing area, it is our pleasure to invite you to contribute a full paper, letter, communication, or review to this Special Issue. The authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts reporting unexpected results, providing they can present scientifically spotless explanations.

Prof. Dr. Cornelia Vasile
Dr. Elena Stoleru
Dr. Bogdan Munteanu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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