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Special Issue "Biopolymers: Structure-Function Relationship and Application II"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 March 2024 | Viewed by 5923

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhaojun Wang

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Guest Editor

State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
Interests: food engineering; extrusion processing; plant proteins

Dr. Huihuang Ding

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Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Interests: biopolymer; food hydrocolloid; dietary fiber; rheology; agricultural byproduct utilization; structure–function correlation; biological hydrolysis; anaerobic digestion; biochemical methane potential; membrane bioreactor; membrane aerated biofilm reactor
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biopolymers have been widely applied in food, pharmaceutical and environmental industries, showing great potential with regard to their health benefits, effectiveness, and sustainability.

Structural characterization helps us to better understand biopolymers or their hydrolysates/derivatives at the molecular level. An in-depth understanding of the structure–function relationship of biopolymers could be the key to help transfer theoretical studies to industrial applications.

This Special Issue covers the structural characterization (e.g., chemical composition, linkage type, substitution, or conformation), physicochemical properties (e.g., rheology, or emulsifying/biofilm-forming/binding capacities), and bioactivity (e.g., immunomodulation, diabetes and blood sugar control, anticancer, or antibacterial/antivirus activities) of biopolymers from various sources.

The establishment of the correlations between the strucutral features and functionalities of biopolymers is highly encouraged. Biopolymers used as carriers or encapsulation matrices to deliver biologically active components are also included in the scope of this Special Issue.

Dr. Zhaojun Wang
Dr. Huihuang Ding
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

carbohydrate polymers
food hydrocolloids
dietary fibers
protein
structure
conformation
physicochemical properties
rheology
functionality
bioactivity

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Preheating Whey Protein Concentrate on the Stability of Purple Sweet Potato Anthocyanins

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Polymers 2023, 15(15), 3315; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15153315 - 06 Aug 2023

Viewed by 517

Abstract

Anthocyanins (ANs) have strong antioxidant activities and can inhibit chronic diseases, but the instability of ANs limits their applications. The conservation of preheating whey protein concentrate (WPC) on the stability of purple sweet potato ANs was investigated. The retention of ANs in WPC-ANs was 85.88% after storage at 25 °C for 5 h. WPC-ANs had higher retention of ANs in heating treatment. The retention rates of ANs in WPC-ANs exposed to light and UV lamps for 6 h were 78.72% and 85.76%, respectively. When the concentration of H₂O₂ was 0.50%, the retention rate of ANs in the complexes was 62.04%. WPC-ANs’ stability and antioxidant activity were improved in simulated digestive juice. The WPC-ANs connection was static quenching, and the binding force between them was a hydrophobic interaction at one binding site, according to the fluorescence quenching spectroscopy. UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis further indicated that the secondary structure and microenvironment of amino acid residues in WPC can be impacted by the preheating temperature and preheating times of WPC. In conclusion, preheating WPC can successfully preserve the stability of purple sweet potato ANs by binding to them through a non-covalent interaction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopolymers: Structure-Function Relationship and Application II)

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Open AccessArticle

The Use of Essential Oil Embedded in Polylactic Acid/Chitosan-Based Film for Mango Post-Harvest Application against Pathogenic Fungi

Ahmad Anas Nagoor Gunny

Siew Juan Leem

Muaz Mohd Zaini Makhtar

Nor’Izzah Zainuddin

Muhammad Huzaifah Mohd Roslim

Raja Hasnida Raja Hashim

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Polymers 2023, 15(12), 2722; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15122722 - 18 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 544

Abstract

Mango has a high global demand. Fruit fungal disease causes post-harvest mango and fruit losses. Conventional chemical fungicides and plastic prevent fungal diseases but they are hazardous to humans and the environment. Direct application of essential oil for post-harvest fruit control is not a cost-effective approach. The current work offers an eco-friendly alternative to controlling the post-harvest disease of fruit using a film amalgamated with oil derived from Melaleuca alternifolia. Further, this research also aimed to assess the mechanical, antioxidant, and antifungal properties of the film infused with essential oil. ASTM D882 was performed to determine the tensile strength of the film. The antioxidant reaction of the film was assessed using the DPPH assay. In vitro and in vivo tests were used to evaluate the inhibitory development of the film against pathogenic fungi, by comparing the film with different levels of essential oil together with the treatment of the control and chemical fungicide. Disk diffusion was used to evaluate mycelial growth inhibition, where the film incorporated with 1.2 wt% essential oil yielded the best results. For in vivo testing of wounded mango, the disease incidence was successfully reduced. For in vivo testing of unwounded mango to which the film incorporated with essential oil was applied, although some quality parameters such as the color index were not significantly affected, weight loss was reduced, soluble solid content was increased, and firmness was increased, compared to the control. Thus, the film incorporated with essential oil (EO) from M. alternifolia can be an environmentally friendly alternative to the conventional approach and the direct application of essential oil to control post-harvest disease in mango. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopolymers: Structure-Function Relationship and Application II)

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Open AccessArticle

Pluronic F127 and P104 Polymeric Micelles as Efficient Nanocarriers for Loading and Release of Single and Dual Antineoplastic Drugs

Ramón A. Gutiérrez-Saucedo

Julio C. Gómez-López

Adrián A. Villanueva-Briseño

Antonio Topete

J. F. Armando Soltero-Martínez

Eduardo Mendizábal

Carlos F. Jasso-Gastinel

Pablo Taboada

and

Edgar B. Figueroa-Ochoa

Polymers 2023, 15(10), 2249; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15102249 - 10 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1123

Abstract

The potential application of biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric micelles formed by Pluronic F127 and P104 as nanocarriers of the antineoplastic drugs docetaxel (DOCE) and doxorubicin (DOXO) is presented in this work. The release profile was carried out under sink conditions at 37 °C and analyzed using the Higuchi, Korsmeyer–Peppas, and Peppas–Sahlin diffusion models. The cell viability of HeLa cells was evaluated using the proliferation cell counting kit CCK-8 assay. The formed polymeric micelles solubilized significant amounts of DOCE and DOXO, and released them in a sustained manner for 48 h, with a release profile composed of an initial rapid release within the first 12 h followed by a much slower phase the end of the experiments. In addition, the release was faster under acidic conditions. The model that best fit the experimental data was the Korsmeyer–Peppas one and denoted a drug release dominated by Fickian diffusion. When HeLa cells were exposed for 48 h to DOXO and DOCE drugs loaded inside P104 and F127 micelles, they showed lower IC₅₀ values than those reported by other researchers using polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers or liposomes as alternative carriers, indicating that a lower drug concentration is needed to decrease cell viability by 50%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopolymers: Structure-Function Relationship and Application II)

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Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Crosslinked Injectable Mussel-Inspired Hydrogels with Adhesive, Self-Healing, and Biodegradation Properties

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Polymers 2023, 15(8), 1876; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15081876 - 14 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1238

Abstract

The non-invasive tissue adhesives with strong tissue adhesion and good biocompatibility are ideal for replacing traditional wound treatment methods such as sutures and needles. The self-healing hydrogels based on dynamic reversible crosslinking can recover their structure and function after damage, which is suitable for the application scenario of tissue adhesives. Herein, inspired by mussel adhesive proteins, we propose a facile strategy to achieve an injectable hydrogel (DACS hydrogel) by grafting dopamine (DOPA) onto hyaluronic acid (HA) and mixing it with carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) solution. The gelation time and rheological and swelling properties of the hydrogel can be controlled conveniently by adjusting the substitution degree of the catechol group and the concentration of raw materials. More importantly, the hydrogel exhibited rapid and highly efficient self-healing ability and excellent biodegradation and biocompatibility in vitro. Meanwhile, the hydrogel exhibited ~4-fold enhanced wet tissue adhesion strength (21.41 kPa) over the commercial fibrin glue. This kind of HA-based mussel biomimetic self-healing hydrogel is expected to be used as a multifunctional tissue adhesive material. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopolymers: Structure-Function Relationship and Application II)

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Open AccessArticle

Bio-Based Polyurethane Foams for the Removal of Petroleum-Derived Pollutants: Sorption in Batch and in Continuous-Flow

Fabrizio Olivito

Vincenzo Algieri

Antonio Jiritano

Matteo Antonio Tallarida

Paola Costanzo

Loredana Maiuolo

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Antonio De Nino

Polymers 2023, 15(7), 1785; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15071785 - 03 Apr 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1162

Abstract

In this paper, we evaluated the potential of two synthesized bio-based polyurethane foams, PU1 and PU2, for the removal of diesel and gasoline from water mixtures. We started the investigation with the experiment in batch. The total sorption capacity S (g/g) for the diesel/water system was slightly higher with respect to gasoline/water, with a value of 62 g/g for PU1 and 65 g/g for PU2. We found that the sorption follows a pseudo second-order kinetic model for both the materials. The experimental data showed that the best isotherm models were obtained with Langmuir and Redlich–Peterson models. In addition, to provide an idea of the process scalability for future industrial applications, we tested the sorption capacity of the foams using a continuous-flow of the same oil/water mixtures and we obtained performances even better with respect to the batch test. The regeneration can be performed up to 50 times by centrifuge, without losing efficacy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopolymers: Structure-Function Relationship and Application II)

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Open AccessArticle

Effects of Process Parameters on the Fibrous Structure and Textural Properties of Calcium Caseinate Extrudates

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Polymers 2023, 15(5), 1292; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15051292 - 03 Mar 2023

Viewed by 840

Abstract

Textured calcium caseinate extrudates are considered promising candidates in producing fish substitutes. This study aimed to evaluate how the moisture content, extrusion temperature, screw speed, and cooling die unit temperature of the high-moisture extrusion process affect the structural and textural properties of calcium caseinate extrudates. With an increase in moisture content from 60% to 70%, there was a decrease in the cutting strength, hardness, and chewiness of the extrudate. Meanwhile, the fibrous degree increased considerably from 1.02 to 1.64. The hardness, springiness, and chewiness showed a downward trend with the rise in extrusion temperature from 50 °C to 90 °C, which contributed to the reduction in air bubbles in the extrudate. Screw speed showed a minor effect on fibrous structure and textural properties. A low temperature (30 °C) in all cooling die units led to damaged structure without mechanical anisotropy, which resulted from fast solidification. These results show that the fibrous structure and textural properties of calcium caseinate extrudates can be effectively manipulated by adjusting the moisture content, extrusion temperature, and cooling die unit temperature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopolymers: Structure-Function Relationship and Application II)

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Special Issue "Biopolymers: Structure-Function Relationship and Application II"

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