Polymers for Sustainable Packaging

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2024) | Viewed by 2832

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Macromolecular Chemistry & New Polymeric Materials Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747AG Groningen, The Netherlands
Interests: starches; carbohydrates; biopolymers; elastomers

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Guest Editor
Macromolecular Chemistry & New Polymeric Materials Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747AG Groningen, The Netherlands
Interests: renewable polymers; polymer composites; biocatalysis

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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Food Soft Matter Structure and Advanced Manufacturing, College of Food Science and Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Grain Circulation and Safety, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing 210023, China
Interests: starch; biodegradation; resistant starch; SAXS; FTIR

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global packaging market was valued at USD  200 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 4.5% from 2022 to 2030. However, the use of petroleum-based synthetic polymers in packaging poses a significant threat to the environment. With the increasing concerns over population growth, safety, and health, as well as the rising demand for packaged food and consumer goods, the need for sustainable and smart packaging has become more pressing. Adopting renewable resin and cutting-edge technology to enable a closed-loop packaging system is crucial for reducing the carbon footprint and moving towards circularity. Starches are large, structurally diverse molecules that play crucial roles in numerous biological processes. Starch-based biopolymers are environmentally sustainable and possess desirable properties, such as good solubility, multifunctionality, and easy processability, making them a promising alternative to conventional petroleum-based synthetic polymers in packaging.

This Special Issue aims to gather original research papers, communications, and review articles that explore the synthesis, characterization, and applications of starch-based biopolymers, with a particular focus on novel classes of starch-based biopolymers that have potential in sustainable packaging, including thermoplastics, biofoams, hydrogels, ominophobic materials, and elastomers. A broad range of topics will be covered, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Synthetic of starch-based renewable resin;
  • Multi-scale structure characterization;
  • Mechanical and dynamic modeling of packaging;
  • Biodegradable sensor technology;
  • Investigation of biodegradable mechanisms;
  • Barrier properties of starch-based biopolymers;
  • Sustained-release properties of starch-based biopolymers;
  • Safety assessment of starch-based biopolymers;
  • Life-cycle analysis of starch-based biopolymers.

Dr. Xiaohong Lan
Dr. Dina Maniar
Prof. Dr. Xingxun Liu
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

  • starches
  • packaging
  • coating
  • thermoplastics
  • biodegradability
  • life-cycle analysis

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2273 KiB  
Article
Alpha-1,4-transglycosylation Activity of GH57 Glycogen Branching Enzymes Is Higher in the Absence of a Flexible Loop with a Conserved Tyrosine Residue
by Hilda Hubertha Maria Bax, Marc Jos Elise Cornelis van der Maarel and Edita Jurak
Polymers 2023, 15(13), 2777; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15132777 - 22 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 876
Abstract
Starch-like polymers can be created through the use of enzymatic modification with glycogen branching enzymes (GBEs). GBEs are categorized in the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 13 and 57. Both GH13 and GH57 GBEs exhibit branching and hydrolytic activity. While GH13 GBEs are also [...] Read more.
Starch-like polymers can be created through the use of enzymatic modification with glycogen branching enzymes (GBEs). GBEs are categorized in the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 13 and 57. Both GH13 and GH57 GBEs exhibit branching and hydrolytic activity. While GH13 GBEs are also capable of α-1,4-transglycosylation, it is yet unknown whether GH57 share this capability. Among the four crystal structures of GH57 GBEs that have been solved, a flexible loop with a conserved tyrosine was identified to play a role in the branching activity. However, it remains unclear whether this flexible loop is also involved in α-1,4-transglycosylation activity. We hypothesize that GH57 GBEs with the flexible loop and tyrosine are also capable of α-1,4-transglycosylation, similar to GH13 GBEs. The aim of the present study was to characterize the activity of GH57 GBEs to investigate a possible α-1,4-transglycosylation activity. Three GH57 GBEs were selected, one from Thermococcus kodakarensis with the flexible loop and two beta-strands; one from Thermotoga maritima, missing the flexible loop and beta-strands; and one from Meiothermus sp., missing the flexible loop but with the two beta-strands. The analysis of chain length distribution over time of modified maltooctadecaose, revealed, for the first time, that all three GH57 GBEs can generate chains longer than the substrate itself, showing that α-1,4-transglycosylation activity is generally present in GH57 GBEs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Sustainable Packaging)
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15 pages, 2928 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Properties of Fully Biobased Crosslinked Starch Oleate Films
by Laura Boetje, Xiaohong Lan, Jur van Dijken, Michael Polhuis and Katja Loos
Polymers 2023, 15(11), 2467; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15112467 - 26 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1593
Abstract
Starch oleate (degree of substitution = 2.2) films were cast and crosslinked in the presence of air using UV curing (UVC) or heat curing (HC). A commercial photoinitiator (CPI, Irgacure 184) and a natural photoinitiator (NPI, a mixture of biobased 3-hydroxyflavone and n-phenylglycine) [...] Read more.
Starch oleate (degree of substitution = 2.2) films were cast and crosslinked in the presence of air using UV curing (UVC) or heat curing (HC). A commercial photoinitiator (CPI, Irgacure 184) and a natural photoinitiator (NPI, a mixture of biobased 3-hydroxyflavone and n-phenylglycine) were used for UVC. No initiator was used during HC. Isothermal gravimetric analyses, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) measurements, and gel content measurements revealed that all three methods were effective in crosslinking, with HC being the most efficient. All methods increased the maximum strengths of film, with HC causing the largest increase (from 4.14 to 7.37 MPa). This is consistent with a higher degree of crosslinking occurring with HC. DSC analyses showed that the Tg signal flattened as film crosslink densities increased, even disappearing in the case of HC and UVC with CPI. Thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA) indicated that films cured with NPI were least affected by degradation during curing. These results suggest that cured starch oleate films could be suitable for replacing the fossil-fuel-derived plastics currently used in mulch films or packaging applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Sustainable Packaging)
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