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Lignin and Polysaccharide Derived Functional Polymers for Sustainable Applications

A Special Issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360) belonging to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 217

Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Forestry and Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia
Interests: synthetic chemistry; catalysis; lignocellulosic biomass; sustainable polymers; tissue engineering; functional biomaterials; bioactive materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing environmental concerns associated with petroleum-based polymers have accelerated the development of sustainable polymeric materials derived from renewable biomass resources. Lignin, cellulose, polysaccharides and other bio-derived feedstocks have emerged as promising candidates for the development of functional polymers and advanced bioactive materials due to their abundance, renewability, biodegradability and versatile chemical functionalities.

Recent advances in biomass valorization, green polymer synthesis, catalytic functionalization, nanostructured materials and bioinspired engineering have enabled the design of high-performance sustainable polymers for applications in biomedical materials, hydrogels, coatings, packaging, catalysis, environmental remediation and smart functional systems. In particular, renewable aromatic platforms and waste-derived polymeric materials are attracting increasing attention for the fabrication of next-generation materials with enhanced mechanical, antibacterial, antioxidant, conductive and stimuli-responsive properties.

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent progress in the synthesis, modification, characterization and applications of sustainable polymeric materials derived from renewable and waste-based resources, integrating polymer science, green chemistry, catalysis, nanotechnology and circular bioeconomy approaches.

Dr. Udayakumar Veerabagu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • bio-based polymers
  • functional biomaterials
  • bioactive hydrogels
  • biomass valorization
  • circular bioeconomy
  • green polymer chemistry
  • renewable materials
  • functional polymers
  • polymer nanocomposites

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

26 pages, 7243 KB  
Review
Ultrasound-Assisted Deep Eutectic Solvent Extraction of Polysaccharides: Mechanistic Foundations, Structural Consequences, and Process Optimization
by Kit-Leong Cheong, Si Xu, Wanzi Yao, Farwa Abdul Hafeez, Amanullah Sabir, Afifa Aziz, Zhanhui Cao and Udayakumar Veerabagu
Polymers 2026, 18(18), 2298; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18182298 (registering DOI) - 20 Sep 2026
Abstract
Ultrasound-assisted deep eutectic solvent (DES) extraction has emerged as a promising green and intensified strategy for recovering natural polysaccharides from plant, algal, fungal, and other biological matrices. By coupling acoustic cavitation with tunable solvent microenvironments, this approach can enhance cell-wall disruption, solvent penetration, [...] Read more.
Ultrasound-assisted deep eutectic solvent (DES) extraction has emerged as a promising green and intensified strategy for recovering natural polysaccharides from plant, algal, fungal, and other biological matrices. By coupling acoustic cavitation with tunable solvent microenvironments, this approach can enhance cell-wall disruption, solvent penetration, mass transfer, and polysaccharide solubilization while reducing reliance on harsh acidic, alkaline, or organic solvents. However, extraction efficiency alone is insufficient to define process quality because ultrasound-assisted DES systems may also reshape the molecular weight distribution, monosaccharide composition, uronic acid or sulfate content, substitution pattern, charge density, conformation, surface morphology, and physicochemical behavior. These structural consequences directly influence downstream bioactivities, including antioxidant, hypoglycemic, prebiotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-ulcerative colitis effects. This review critically summarizes the mechanistic foundations of ultrasound–DES synergy, analyzes how extraction conditions determine polysaccharide structural outcomes, and highlights the importance of linking structure with functionality. Emerging data-driven approaches, including solvent prescreening, COSMO-RS, and machine learning-assisted process optimization, are also discussed as supporting tools for navigating the multidimensional extraction space. However, their current application to the direct prediction of polysaccharide structural outcomes remains limited. Future progress will require standardized datasets, advanced structural characterization, causal structure–activity validation, and scalable process engineering. Overall, ultrasound-assisted DES extraction should be viewed as a structure-sensitive extraction platform whose performance depends on the coordinated control of solvent properties, acoustic conditions, biomass characteristics, and downstream processing. Full article
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