Polymers

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Chengcheng Li

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Guest Editor

College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
Interests: polysaccahride; nanomaterials; antibacterial; pickering emulsions; probiotic; wound healing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Naturally derived polysaccahrides originating from microorganisms, plant, and animals are driving a paradigm shift in modern materials science and technology due to their advantageous properties, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, intrinsic bioactivity, and diverse chemical properties. Moreover, the chemical, physical, and biological properties of polysaccahrides can be altered to meet the diverse requirements of their applications in the preparation of functional materials, drug delivery, antibacterial, antivirus, and bioremediation. A comprehensive study covering the types, structures, properties, and applications is of great importance for facilitating the design of more effective bionanomaterials for various desired purposes in the near future.

Dr. Chengcheng Li
Guest Editor

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

natural polysaccharide
hydrogel
film
biomedicine
drug delivery
bioremediation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 10974 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Unique Morphology and Elastic Properties of Multi-Jet Electrospun Cashew Gum-Based Fiber Mats

by Mattia Grumi, Cristina Prieto, Roselayne F. Furtado, Huai N. Cheng, Atanu Biswas, Sara Limbo, Luis Cabedo and Jose M. Lagaron

Polymers 2024, 16(10), 1355; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16101355 - 10 May 2024

Viewed by 664

Abstract

This study investigates the unique morphology and mechanical properties of multi-jet electrospun cashew gum (CG) when combined with high-molecular-weight polyethylene oxide (PEO) and glycerol. Cashew gum (CG) is a low-cost, non-toxic heteropolysaccharide derived from Anacardium occidentale trees. Initially, the electrospinnability of aqueous solutions of cashew gum alone or in combination with PEO was evaluated. It was found that cashew gum alone was not suitable for electrospinning; thus, adding a small quantity of PEO was needed to create the necessary molecular entanglements for fiber formation. By using a single emitter with a CG:PEO ratio of 85:15, straight and smooth fibers with some defects were obtained. However, additional purification of the cashew gum solution was needed to produce more stable and defect-free straight and smooth fibers. Additionally, the inclusion of glycerol as a plasticizer was required to overcome material fragility. Interestingly, when the optimized formulation was electrospun using multiple simultaneous emitters, thicker aligned fiber bundles were achieved. Furthermore, the resulting oriented fiber mats exhibited unexpectedly high elongation at break under ambient conditions. These findings underscore the potential of this bio-polysaccharide-based formulation for non-direct water contact applications that demand elastic properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Natural Polysaccharide-Based Materials)

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Review

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21 pages, 12546 KiB

Open AccessReview

Delivery of Probiotics with Cellulose-Based Films and Their Food Applications

by Ying Yang, Junze Zhang and Chengcheng Li

Polymers 2024, 16(6), 794; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16060794 - 13 Mar 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 993

Abstract

Probiotics have attracted great interest from many researchers due to their beneficial effects. Encapsulation of probiotics into biopolymer matrices has led to the development of active food packaging materials as an alternative to traditional ones for controlling food-borne microorganisms, extending food shelf life, improving food safety, and achieving health-promoting effects. The challenges of low survival rates during processing, storage, and delivery to the gut and low intestinal colonization, storage stability, and controllability have greatly limited the use of probiotics in practical food-preservation applications. The encapsulation of probiotics with a protective matrix can increase their resistance to a harsh environment and improve their survival rates, making probiotics appropriate in the food packaging field. Cellulose has attracted extensive attention in food packaging due to its excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, environmental friendliness, renewability, and excellent mechanical strength. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the main types of cellulose used for probiotic encapsulation, as well as the current advances in different probiotic encapsulating strategies with cellulose, grafted cellulose, and cellulose-derived materials, including electrospinning, cross-linking, in-situ growth, casting strategies, and their combinations. The effect of cellulose encapsulation on the survival rate of probiotics and the patented encapsulated probiotics are also introduced. In addition, applications of cellulose-encapsulated probiotics in the food industry are also briefly discussed. Finally, the future trends toward developing encapsulated probiotics with improved health benefits and advanced features with cellulose-based materials are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Natural Polysaccharide-Based Materials)

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