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Polymers
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Feature Papers in Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers, 3rd Edition
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Feature Papers in Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers, 3rd Edition

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2827

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Waldo M. Argüelles-Monal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biopolymers Group, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Hermosillo 83304, Mexico
Interests: polysaccharides and their derivatization; polyelectrolyte complexes; smart polymers; functional polymeric materials and nanomaterials for biomedical and biotechnological applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Marguerite Rinaudo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biomaterials Applications, University of Grenoble Alpes, 6 Rue Lesdiguières, 38000 Grenoble, France
Interests: investigation on properties and applications of polysaccharides and water-soluble polymers; specific chemical modifications of polysaccharides; electrostatic properties and polyelectrolytes properties; hydration of polysaccharides in relation with their chemical structure and their environment; polyelectrolyte complexes; polysaccharide rheology in solution and gel; gel porosity; biomaterials from polysaccharides; electrospinning of chitosan nanofibers; applications of polysaccharides in cosmetics, foods, biomedical
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global mass production of plastics started in the 1950s; an estimated total of 8.3 to 9.1 million metric tons (Mt) have been manufactured up to now. Around only 9% and 12% of these have been recycled and incinerated, respectively, whereas the remaining 79% has accumulated in landfills or the natural environment, causing serious environmental issues. The demand for sustainability and a green economy has promoted research interest on polymer technologies:

  • To replace the use of fossil-derived polymers in various applications with neat biomacromolecules or their derivatives;
  • To employ a green synthesis processes to recover and/or synthesize monomers derived from renewable resources (biobased monomers);
  • To produce new, eco-friendly, biodegradable polymers based on these monomers in a short time. 
This Special Issue of Polymers aims to collect cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, original, full-length research articles and critical or tutorial reviews on the topic of ‘Biomacromolecules and Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers’, including but not limited to:
  • The properties of biomacromolecules and their applications in several fields;
  • The synthesis and characterization of macromolecules derivatives with the desired properties;
  • Eco-friendly processes used to recover biobased monomers from biomass;
  • Biomass treatments used to produce monomers appropriate for polymer synthesis;
  • The synthesis, properties, and applications of biobased and biodegradable polymers and copolymers;
  • The development of biocomposites and nanocomposites;
  • Biodegradable blends;
  • Biobased polymer recycling methods and depolymerization techniques;  
  • The advantages of biomacromolecules and/or biobased and biodegradable polymers.

Dr. Waldo M. Argüelles-Monal
Prof. Dr. Marguerite Rinaudo
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

  • biomass
  • biobased monomers
  • eco-friendly polymers
  • biomacromolecules
  • biobased polymers
  • biodegradable polymers
  • polymer applications

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 8262 KiB  
Article
Computational Analysis of the Tripartite Interaction of Phasins (PhaP4 and 5)-Sigma Factor (σ24)-DNA of Azospirillum brasilense Sp7
by Yovani Aguilar-Carrillo, Lucía Soto-Urzúa, María De Los Ángeles Martínez-Martínez, Mirian Becerril-Ramírez and Luis Javier Martínez-Morales
Polymers 2024, 16(5), 611; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16050611 - 23 Feb 2024
Viewed by 587
Abstract
Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 produces PHB, which is covered by granule-associated proteins (GAPs). Phasins are the main GAPs. Previous studies have shown phasins can regulate PHB synthesis. When A. brasilense grows under stress conditions, it uses sigma factors to transcribe genes for survival. One [...] Read more.
Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 produces PHB, which is covered by granule-associated proteins (GAPs). Phasins are the main GAPs. Previous studies have shown phasins can regulate PHB synthesis. When A. brasilense grows under stress conditions, it uses sigma factors to transcribe genes for survival. One of these factors is the σ24 factor. This study determined the possible interaction between phasins and the σ24 factor or phasin-σ24 factor complex and DNA. Three-dimensional structures of phasins and σ24 factor structures were predicted using the I-TASSER and SWISS-Model servers, respectively. Subsequently, a molecular docking between phasins and the σ24 factor was performed using the ClusPro 2.0 server, followed by molecular docking between protein complexes and DNA using the HDOCK server. Evaluation of the types of ligand–receptor interactions was performed using the BIOVIA Discovery Visualizer for three-dimensional diagrams, as well as the LigPlot server to obtain bi-dimensional diagrams. The results showed the phasins (Pha4Abs7 or Pha5Abs7)-σ24 factor complex was bound near the −35 box of the promoter region of the phaC gene. However, in the individual interaction of PhaP5Abs7 and the σ24 factor, with DNA, both proteins were bound to the −35 box. This did not occur with PhaP4Abs7, which was bound to the −10 box. This change could affect the transcription level of the phaC gene and possibly affect PHB synthesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers, 3rd Edition)
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16 pages, 6412 KiB  
Article
Physicochemical and Rheological Properties of Succinoglycan Overproduced by Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 Mutant
by Jaeyul Kim, Jae-pil Jeong, Yohan Kim and Seunho Jung
Polymers 2024, 16(2), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16020244 - 15 Jan 2024
Viewed by 911
Abstract
Commercial bacterial exopolysaccharide (EPS) applications have been gaining interest; therefore, strains that provide higher yields are required for industrial-scale processes. Succinoglycan (SG) is a type of bacterial anionic exopolysaccharide produced by Rhizobium, Agrobacterium, and other soil bacterial species. SG has been [...] Read more.
Commercial bacterial exopolysaccharide (EPS) applications have been gaining interest; therefore, strains that provide higher yields are required for industrial-scale processes. Succinoglycan (SG) is a type of bacterial anionic exopolysaccharide produced by Rhizobium, Agrobacterium, and other soil bacterial species. SG has been widely used as a pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food additive based on its properties as a thickener, texture enhancer, emulsifier, stabilizer, and gelling agent. An SG-overproducing mutant strain (SMC1) was developed from Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 through N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) mutation, and the physicochemical and rheological properties of SMC1-SG were analyzed. SMC1 produced (22.3 g/L) 3.65-fold more SG than did the wild type. Succinoglycan (SMC1-SG) overproduced by SMC1 was structurally characterized by FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The molecular weights of SG and SMC1-SG were 4.20 × 105 and 4.80 × 105 Da, respectively, as determined by GPC. Based on DSC and TGA, SMC1-SG exhibited a higher endothermic peak (90.9 °C) than that of SG (77.2 °C). Storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) measurements during heating and cooling showed that SMC1-SG had improved thermal behavior compared to that of SG, with intersections at 74.9 °C and 72.0 °C, respectively. The SMC1-SG′s viscosity reduction pattern was maintained even at high temperatures (65 °C). Gelation by metal cations was observed in Fe3+ and Cr3+ solutions for both SG and SMC1-SG. Antibacterial activities of SG and SMC1-SG against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were also observed. Therefore, like SG, SMC1-SG may be a potential biomaterial for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers, 3rd Edition)
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17 pages, 3535 KiB  
Article
Elucidating the Role of Optical Activity of Polymers in Protein–Polymer Interactions
by Samin Jahan, Catherine Doyle, Anupama Ghimire, Diego Combita, Jan K. Rainey, Brian D. Wagner and Marya Ahmed
Polymers 2024, 16(1), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16010065 - 24 Dec 2023
Viewed by 891
Abstract
Proteins are biomolecules with potential applications in agriculture, food sciences, pharmaceutics, biotechnology, and drug delivery. Interactions of hydrophilic and biocompatible polymers with proteins may impart proteolytic stability, improving the therapeutic effects of biomolecules and also acting as excipients for the prolonged storage of [...] Read more.
Proteins are biomolecules with potential applications in agriculture, food sciences, pharmaceutics, biotechnology, and drug delivery. Interactions of hydrophilic and biocompatible polymers with proteins may impart proteolytic stability, improving the therapeutic effects of biomolecules and also acting as excipients for the prolonged storage of proteins under harsh conditions. The interactions of hydrophilic and stealth polymers such as poly(ethylene glycol), poly(trehalose), and zwitterionic polymers with various proteins are well studied. This study evaluates the molecular interactions of hydrophilic and optically active poly(vitamin B5 analogous methacrylamide) (poly(B5AMA)) with model proteins by fluorescence spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy analysis. The optically active hydrophilic polymers prepared using chiral monomers of R-(+)- and S-(−)-B5AMA by the photo-iniferter reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization showed concentration-dependent weak interactions of the polymers with bovine serum albumin and lysozyme proteins. Poly(B5AMA) also exhibited a concentration-dependent protein stabilizing effect at elevated temperatures, and no effect of the stereoisomers of polymers on protein thermal stability was observed. NMR analysis, however, showed poly(B5AMA) stereoisomer-dependent changes in the secondary structure of proteins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers, 3rd Edition)
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