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Novel Polysaccharide Materials
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Novel Polysaccharide Materials

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Macromolecular Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 14889

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Ivan Donati

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Science, Universita degli Studi di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy
Interests: biomaterials; mechanobiology; polysaccharide chemistry and physical-chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polysaccharide-based networks have received substantial attention over recent years as material candidates in different fields of application, spanning from medicine to food. Modeling shape, dimension, and, in general, the physical properties of such constructs are routinely achieved via more or less sophisticated methods often entailing multi-step approaches. However, there is a growing consensus that next-generation materials must satisfy stricter rules, for instance, they should respond to different surrounding stimuli or specific triggers. Hence, the challenge in the close future is to tackle the synthesis of novel or modification of existing biopolymers for addressing such demanding requests.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together researchers involved at the edge of innovative polysaccharide-based materials and their potential applications. Different themes of large interest are herewith welcome, for instance, polysaccharide chemistry; macromolecular self-assembly; polysaccharide-based platforms at the nano- or macro-scale for potential uses in medicine, environment, and food to mention a few; structure–function relationship in relation to material final fate as examples.

Prof. Dr. Ivan Donati
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. Molecules 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

  • Novel polysaccharide materials
  • Polymer chemistry
  • Macromolecular self-assembly
  • Structure-function relationship
  • advanced applications

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 3712 KiB  
Article
Zinc and Calcium Cations Combination in the Production of Floating Alginate Beads as Prednisolone Delivery Systems
by Paola Russo, Silvana Morello, Aldo Pinto, Pasquale Del Gaudio, Giulia Auriemma and Rita P. Aquino
Molecules 2020, 25(5), 1140; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25051140 - 04 Mar 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2986
Abstract
The aim of this research was to verify the application of alginate in combination with Ca2+ and Zn2+ ions to produce a floating and prolonged release system for the oral administration of prednisolone. Hollow and floating gel-beads were designed using prilling/ionotropic [...] Read more.
The aim of this research was to verify the application of alginate in combination with Ca2+ and Zn2+ ions to produce a floating and prolonged release system for the oral administration of prednisolone. Hollow and floating gel-beads were designed using prilling/ionotropic gelation as the microencapsulation technique, zinc acetate in the gelling solution as the alginate external crosslinker, and calcium carbonate in the feed as the internal crosslinking agent able to generate gas when in contact with the acidic zinc acetate solution. To achieve this goal, drug/alginate solutions were opportunely combined with different amounts of calcium carbonate. The effect of the addition of calcium carbonate into the feed solution on buoyancy, encapsulation efficiency, morphology, size distribution, as well as in vitro drug release profile of the alginate particles was studied. Moreover, the ability of the floating beads to modulate in vivo the anti-inflammatory response was assayed using the carrageenan-induced acute oedema in rat paw. The proposed strategy allowed obtaining alginate beads with extremely high encapsulation efficiency values (up to 94%) and a very porous inner matrix conferring buoyancy in vitro in simulated gastric fluid up to 5 h. Moreover, in vivo, the best formulation, F4, resulted in the ability to prolong the anti-inflammatory effect up to 15 h compared with raw prednisolone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Polysaccharide Materials)
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11 pages, 1331 KiB  
Article
On the Formation and Stability of Chitosan/Hyaluronan-Based Complex Coacervates
by Franco Furlani, Pietro Parisse and Pasquale Sacco
Molecules 2020, 25(5), 1071; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25051071 - 27 Feb 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3258
Abstract
This contribution is aimed at extending our previous findings on the formation and stability of chitosan/hyaluronan-based complex coacervates. Colloids are herewith formed by harnessing electrostatic interactions between the two polyelectrolytes. The presence of tiny amounts of the multivalent anion tripolyphosphate (TPP) in the [...] Read more.
This contribution is aimed at extending our previous findings on the formation and stability of chitosan/hyaluronan-based complex coacervates. Colloids are herewith formed by harnessing electrostatic interactions between the two polyelectrolytes. The presence of tiny amounts of the multivalent anion tripolyphosphate (TPP) in the protocol synthesis serves as an adjuvant “point-like” cross-linker for chitosan. Hydrochloride chitosans at different viscosity average molar mass, M v ¯ , in the range 10,000–400,000 g/mol, and fraction of acetylated units, FA, (0.16, 0.46 and 0.63) were selected to fabricate a large library of formulations. Concepts such as coacervate size, surface charge and homogeneity in relation to chitosan variables are herein disclosed. The stability of coacervates in Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) was verified by means of scattering techniques, i.e., Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). The conclusions from this set of experiments are the following: (i) a subtle equilibrium between chitosan FA and M v ¯ does exist in ensuring colloidal stability; (ii) once diluted in PBS, osmotic swelling-driven forces trigger the enlargement of the polymeric mesh with an ensuing increase of coacervate size and porosity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Polysaccharide Materials)
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Review

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15 pages, 1925 KiB  
Review
Renewable Polysaccharides Micro/Nanostructures for Food and Cosmetic Applications
by Alessio Massironi, Andrea Morelli, Dario Puppi and Federica Chiellini
Molecules 2020, 25(21), 4886; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25214886 - 22 Oct 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2785
Abstract
The worldwide diffusion of nanotechnologies into products nowadays has completely revolutionized human life, providing novel comfort and benefits. Their inclusion in food and cosmetic has a heavy impact over the market, allowing the development of higher value products with enhanced properties. Natural origin [...] Read more.
The worldwide diffusion of nanotechnologies into products nowadays has completely revolutionized human life, providing novel comfort and benefits. Their inclusion in food and cosmetic has a heavy impact over the market, allowing the development of higher value products with enhanced properties. Natural origin polymers and in particular polysaccharides represent a versatile platform of materials for the development of micro/nanostructured additives for food and cosmetic products due to their chemical versatility, biocompatibility, and abundance. Here, we review the current applications of polysaccharides-based micro/nanostructures, taking into consideration the precursors’ production, isolation, and extraction methods and highlighting the advantages, possible drawbacks, and market diffusion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Polysaccharide Materials)
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18 pages, 3487 KiB  
Review
Glycosylated-Chitosan Derivatives: A Systematic Review
by Pasquale Sacco, Michela Cok, Francesca Scognamiglio, Chiara Pizzolitto, Federica Vecchies, Andrea Marfoglia, Eleonora Marsich and Ivan Donati
Molecules 2020, 25(7), 1534; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25071534 - 27 Mar 2020
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5413
Abstract
Chitosan derivatives, and more specifically, glycosylated derivatives, are nowadays attracting much attention within the scientific community due to the fact that this set of engineered polysaccharides finds application in different sectors, spanning from food to the biomedical field. Overcoming chitosan (physical) limitations or [...] Read more.
Chitosan derivatives, and more specifically, glycosylated derivatives, are nowadays attracting much attention within the scientific community due to the fact that this set of engineered polysaccharides finds application in different sectors, spanning from food to the biomedical field. Overcoming chitosan (physical) limitations or grafting biological relevant molecules, to mention a few, represent two cardinal strategies to modify parent biopolymer; thereby, synthetizing high added value polysaccharides. The present review is focused on the introduction of oligosaccharide side chains on the backbone of chitosan. The synthetic aspects and the effect on physical-chemical properties of such modifications are discussed. Finally, examples of potential applications in biomaterials design and drug delivery of these novel modified chitosans are disclosed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Polysaccharide Materials)
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