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Polymers
Special Issues
Natural Polymers: Design, Characterization and Applications
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Special Issue "Natural Polymers: Design, Characterization and Applications"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2023 | Viewed by 1871

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Pornchai Rachtanapun

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Guest Editor
Division of Packaging Technology, School of Agro-Industry, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Chiang Mai University, Muang, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Interests: natural materials; biopolymers; nanocomposites and nanocoating; active and intelligent packaging; smart packaging; agricultural waste
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Kittisak Jantanasakulwong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agro-Industry, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Interests: biopolymers; polymer blends; polymer composites; polymer physics; polymer chemistry; polymer packaging
Dr. Sarinthip Thanakkasaranee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agro-Industry, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Interests: natural biopolymers; polymer nanocomposites; polymer blends; melt extrusion; smart packaging; active packaging; phase change materials
Prof. Dr. Paul Topham

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Aston Institute of Materials Research (AIMR), Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Interests: polymer science; synthesis; block copolymer self-assembly; organic photovoltaics; polymer nanotechnology; electrospinning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Synthetic polymers are commonly used to make functional materials such as engineering materials, medicinal materials and packaging materials. However, the use of synthetic polymers has a significant impact on the environment due to their non-degradability. Thus, the design and development of functional materials based on natural polymers are driven to solve such an issue.

Thus, we have created a Special Issue on the topic, "Natural Polymers: Design, Characterization, and Applications", which is available to academics and scientists from all over the world who want to contribute to polymer science. This Special Issue has a broad scope, including the design and modification of natural polymers, polymer composites/nanocomposites, polymer blends, and polymer synthesis and polymer coating in the development of a variety of applications such as in biomedicals, pharmaceuticals, food and non-food packaging, tissue engineering, etc. Characterizations (chemical, physical, thermal and mechanical properties) and processing (film solution casting, blown film extrusion, cast film extrusion, 3D printing and electrospinning) of natural polymers are considered. All types of natural polymers such as chitosan, cellulose, starch, latex, protein, collagen, pectin and their derivatives are also considered. 

The scope of the Special Issue will be broad, with a focus on the design and fabrication of natural polymers via crucial and creative methods for cutting-edge applications.

Prof. Dr. Pornchai Rachtanapun
Dr. Kittisak Jantanasakulwong
Dr. Sarinthip Thanakkasaranee
Prof. Dr. Pual Topham
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 2400 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

  • chitosan
  • cellulose
  • starch
  • latex
  • protein
  • natural polymer nanocomposites
  • natural polymer blends
  • natural polymer coating
  • natural polymer-based 3D printing
  • food and non-food packaging materials
  • biomedical materials
  • pharmaceutical materials

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Article
Surface Modification and Mechanical Properties Improvement of Bamboo Fibers Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Treatment
by
Choncharoen Sawangrat
,
Parichat Thipchai
,
Kannikar Kaewapai
,
Kittisak Jantanasakulwong
,
Jonghwan Suhr
,
Pitiwat Wattanachai
and
Pornchai Rachtanapun
Polymers 2023, 15(7), 1711; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15071711 - 29 Mar 2023
Viewed by 598
Abstract
The effect of argon (Ar) and oxygen (O2) gases as well as the treatment times on the properties of modified bamboo fibers using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma at generated power of 180 W were investigated. The plasma treatment of bamboo [...] Read more.
The effect of argon (Ar) and oxygen (O2) gases as well as the treatment times on the properties of modified bamboo fibers using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma at generated power of 180 W were investigated. The plasma treatment of bamboo fibers with inert gases leads to the generation of ions and radicals on the fiber surface. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed that the functional groups of lignin and hemicellulose were reduced owing to the removal of the amorphous portion of the fibers by plasma etching. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) results in an increased crystallinity percentage. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results showed the oxygen/carbon (O/C) atomic concentration ratio increased with increasing treatment time. The fiber weight loss percentage increased with increased treatment time. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that partial etching of the fiber surface led to a higher surface roughness and area and that the Ar + O2 gas plasma treatment provided more surface etching than the Ar gas treatment because of the oxidation reaction of the O2 plasma. The mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced epoxy (FRE) matrix composites revealed that the F(tr)RE-Ar (30) samples showed a high tensile strength, whereas the mechanical properties of the F(tr)RE-Ar + O2 sample decreased with increased treatment time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Polymers: Design, Characterization and Applications)
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Article
Effective Endotoxin Removal from Chitosan That Preserves Chemical Structure and Improves Compatibility with Immune Cells
by
Sophie L. Reay
,
Emma L. Jackson
,
Daniel Salthouse
,
Ana Marina Ferreira
,
Catharien M. U. Hilkens
and
Katarina Novakovic
Polymers 2023, 15(7), 1592; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15071592 - 23 Mar 2023
Viewed by 948
Abstract
Chitosan is one of the most researched biopolymers for healthcare applications, however, being a naturally derived polymer, it is susceptible to endotoxin contamination, which elicits pro-inflammatory responses, skewing chitosan’s performance and leading to inaccurate conclusions. It is therefore critical that endotoxins are quantified [...] Read more.
Chitosan is one of the most researched biopolymers for healthcare applications, however, being a naturally derived polymer, it is susceptible to endotoxin contamination, which elicits pro-inflammatory responses, skewing chitosan’s performance and leading to inaccurate conclusions. It is therefore critical that endotoxins are quantified and removed for in vivo use. Here, heat and mild NaOH treatment are investigated as facile endotoxin removal methods from chitosan. Both treatments effectively removed endotoxin to below the FDA limit for medical devices (<0.5 EU/mL). However, in co-culture with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), only NaOH-treated chitosan prevented TNF-α production. While endotoxin removal is the principal task, the preservation of chitosan’s structure is vital for the synthesis and lysozyme degradation of chitosan-based hydrogels. The chemical properties of NaOH-treated chitosan (by FTIR-ATR) were significantly similar to its native composition, whereas the heat-treated chitosan evidenced macroscopic chemical and physical changes associated with the Maillard reaction, deeming this treatment unsuitable for further applications. Degradation studies conducted with lysozyme demonstrated that the degradation rates of native and NaOH-treated chitosan-genipin hydrogels were similar. In vitro co-culture studies showed that NaOH hydrogels did not negatively affect the cell viability of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs), nor induce phenotypical maturation or pro-inflammatory cytokine release. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Polymers: Design, Characterization and Applications)
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