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Polymers
Special Issues
Advances in Biopolymers: Innovative Production Processes, Purification and Characterization Methods
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Advances in Biopolymers: Innovative Production Processes, Purification and Characterization Methods

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 (20 April 2022) | Viewed by 16260

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Odile Francesca Restaino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Interests: biotechnological applications of microorganisms; fermentative production of biomolecules; microbial polysaccharides
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural, natural-like, and synthetic biopolymers are widely employed in numerous industrial fields from surgical and biomedical applications to pharmaceutical products, including drug coating and carrier, and from classical usage in food science and agriculture to innovative applications in nanoscience and enviromental bioremediation. The production of structural tailored-cut biopolymers for specific purposes is challenging, and innovative biotechnological and synthetic processes are requested more and more often. At the same time, new purification and characterization methods are essential to better define the biopolymer structures and their potentialities of applications.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect recent developments in the field of novel production processes and new methods of purification and characterization of biopolymers with innovative industrial applications.

Dr. Odile Francesca Restaino
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. 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

  • biomedicine
  • bioremediation
  • drug carrier
  • industrial applications
  • nanoscience
  • pharmaceutical
  • structural tailored-cut biopolymers

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2995 KiB  
Article
Influence of the Carbon and Nitrogen Sources on Diabolican Production by the Marine Vibrio diabolicus Strain CNCM I-1629
by Christine Delbarre-Ladrat, Corinne Sinquin, Laetitia Marchand, Sandrine Bonnetot, Agata Zykwinska, Véronique Verrez-Bagnis and Sylvia Colliec-Jouault
Polymers 2022, 14(10), 1994; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14101994 - 13 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1762
Abstract
Recent advances in glycobiotechnology show that bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS) presenting glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-like properties can provide a valuable source of bio-active macromolecules for industrial applications. The HE800 EPS, named diabolican, is a marine-derived anionic high-molecular-weight polysaccharide produced by Vibrio diabolicus CNCM I-1629 which displays [...] Read more.
Recent advances in glycobiotechnology show that bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS) presenting glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-like properties can provide a valuable source of bio-active macromolecules for industrial applications. The HE800 EPS, named diabolican, is a marine-derived anionic high-molecular-weight polysaccharide produced by Vibrio diabolicus CNCM I-1629 which displays original structural features close to those of hyaluronic acid. We investigated the impact of carbon and nitrogen substrates on both Vibrio diabolicus growth and diabolican production. Both substrates were screened by a one-factor-at-a-time method, and experimental designs were used to study the effect of glucose, mannitol, and ammonium acetate various concentrations. Results showed that the medium composition affected not only the bacterium growth and EPS yield, but also the EPS molecular weight (MW). EPS yields of 563 and 330 mg L−1 were obtained in the presence of 69.3 g L−1 glucose and 24.6 g L−1 mannitol, respectively, both for 116.6 mM ammonium acetate. MW was the highest, with 69.3 g L−1 glucose and 101.9 mM ammonium acetate (2.3 × 106 g mol−1). In parallel, the bacterial maximum specific growth rate was higher when both carbon and nitrogen substrate concentrations were low. This work paves the way for the optimization of marine exopolysaccharide production of great interest in the fields of human health and cosmetics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biopolymers: Innovative Production Processes, Purification and Characterization Methods)
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22 pages, 2185 KiB  
Article
Exploiting Potential Biotechnological Applications of Poly-γ-glutamic Acid Low Molecular Weight Fractions Obtained by Membrane-Based Ultra-Filtration
by Odile Francesca Restaino, Sondos Hejazi, Domenico Zannini, Concetta Valeria Lucia Giosafatto, Prospero Di Pierro, Elisabetta Cassese, Sergio D’ambrosio, Gabriella Santagata, Chiara Schiraldi and Raffaele Porta
Polymers 2022, 14(6), 1190; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14061190 - 16 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2595
Abstract
Since the potentialities of applications of low molecular weight poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) chains have been so far only partially explored, the separation of diverse molecular families of them, as well as their characterization for potential bioactivity and ability to form films, were investigated. [...] Read more.
Since the potentialities of applications of low molecular weight poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) chains have been so far only partially explored, the separation of diverse molecular families of them, as well as their characterization for potential bioactivity and ability to form films, were investigated. Two different approaches based on organic solvent precipitation or on ultra- and nano-filtration membrane-based purification of inexpensive commercial material were employed to obtain size-specific γ-PGA fractions, further characterized by size exclusion chromatography equipped with a triple detector array and by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography to assess their average molecular weight and their concentration. The γ-PGA low molecular weight fractions, purified by ultra-filtration, have been shown both to counteract the desiccation and the oxidative stress of keratinocyte monolayers. In addition, they were exploited to prepare novel hydrocolloid films by both solvent casting and thermal compression, in the presence of different concentrations of glycerol used as plasticizer. These biomaterials were characterized for their hydrophilicity, thermal and mechanical properties. The hot compression led to the attainment of less resistant but more extensible films. However, in all cases, an increase in elongation at break as a function of the glycerol content was observed. Besides, the thermal analyses of hot compressed materials demonstrated that thermal stability was increased with higher γ-PGA distribution po-lymer fractions. The obtained biomaterials might be potentially useful for applications in cosmetics and as vehicle of active molecules in the pharmaceutical field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biopolymers: Innovative Production Processes, Purification and Characterization Methods)
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11 pages, 1603 KiB  
Communication
Conformational Behavior, Topographical Features, and Antioxidant Activity of Partly De-Esterified Arabinoxylans
by Yubia De Anda-Flores, Elizabeth Carvajal-Millan, Jaime Lizardi-Mendoza, Agustin Rascon-Chu, Judith Tanori-Cordova, Ana Luisa Martínez-López, Alexel J. Burgara-Estrella and Martin R. Pedroza-Montero
Polymers 2021, 13(16), 2794; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13162794 - 20 Aug 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1906
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effect of arabinoxylans (AX) partial de-esterification with feruloyl esterase on the polysaccharide conformational behavior, topographical features, and antioxidant activity. After enzyme treatment, the ferulic acid (FA) content in AX was reduced from 7.30 to 5.48 µg FA/mg [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the effect of arabinoxylans (AX) partial de-esterification with feruloyl esterase on the polysaccharide conformational behavior, topographical features, and antioxidant activity. After enzyme treatment, the ferulic acid (FA) content in AX was reduced from 7.30 to 5.48 µg FA/mg polysaccharide, and the molecule registered a small reduction in radius of gyration (RG), hydrodynamic radius (Rh), characteristic ratio (C∞), and persistence length (q). A slight decrease in α and a small increase in K constants in the Mark–Houwink–Sakurada equation for partially de-esterified AX (FAX) suggested a reduction in molecule structural rigidity and a more expanded coil conformation, respectively, in relation to AX. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra of AX and FAX presented a pattern characteristic for this polysaccharide. Atomic force microscopy topographic analysis of FAX showed a more regular surface without larger hollows in relation to AX. The antioxidant activity of FAX, compared to AX, was reduced by 30 and 41% using both 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS+) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) methods, respectively. These results suggest that feruloyl esterase treatment of AX could offer a strategy to tailor AX chains conformation, morphological features, and antioxidant activity, impacting the development of advanced biomaterials for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biopolymers: Innovative Production Processes, Purification and Characterization Methods)
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14 pages, 3944 KiB  
Article
Carbon Based Polymeric Nanocomposites for Dye Adsorption: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application
by Moonis Ali Khan, Ramendhirran Govindasamy, Akil Ahmad, Masoom Raza Siddiqui, Shareefa Ahmed Alshareef, Afnan Ali Hussain Hakami and Mohd Rafatullah
Polymers 2021, 13(3), 419; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13030419 - 28 Jan 2021
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 2880
Abstract
Agglomeration and restacking can reduce graphene oxide (GO) activity in a wide range of applications. Herein, GO was synthesized by a modified Hummer’s method. To minimize restacking and agglomeration, in situ chemical oxidation polymerization was carried out to embed polyaniline (PANI) chains at [...] Read more.
Agglomeration and restacking can reduce graphene oxide (GO) activity in a wide range of applications. Herein, GO was synthesized by a modified Hummer’s method. To minimize restacking and agglomeration, in situ chemical oxidation polymerization was carried out to embed polyaniline (PANI) chains at the edges of GO sheets, to obtain GO-PANI nanocomposite. The GO-PANI was tested for the adsorptive removal of brilliant green (BG) from an aqueous solution through batch mode studies. Infrared (FT-IR) analysis revealed the dominance of hydroxyl and carboxylic functionalities over the GO-PANI surface. Solution pH-dependent BG uptake was observed, with maximum adsorption at pH 7, and attaining equilibrium in 30 min. The adsorption of BG onto GO-PANI was fit to the Langmuir isotherm, and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, with a maximum monolayer adsorption capacity (qm) of 142.8 mg/g. An endothermic adsorption process was observed. Mechanistically, π-π stacking interaction and electrostatic interaction played a critical role during BG adsorption on GO-PANI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biopolymers: Innovative Production Processes, Purification and Characterization Methods)
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Review

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25 pages, 2518 KiB  
Review
Review on the Impact of Polyols on the Properties of Bio-Based Polyesters
by Kening Lang, Regina J. Sánchez-Leija, Richard A. Gross and Robert J. Linhardt
Polymers 2020, 12(12), 2969; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12122969 - 12 Dec 2020
Cited by 41 | Viewed by 6155
Abstract
Bio-based polyol polyesters are biodegradable elastomers having potential utility in soft tissue engineering. This class of polymers can serve a wide range of biomedical applications. Materials based on these polymers are inherently susceptible to degradation during the period of implantation. Factors that influence [...] Read more.
Bio-based polyol polyesters are biodegradable elastomers having potential utility in soft tissue engineering. This class of polymers can serve a wide range of biomedical applications. Materials based on these polymers are inherently susceptible to degradation during the period of implantation. Factors that influence the physicochemical properties of polyol polyesters might be useful in achieving a balance between durability and biodegradability. The characterization of these polyol polyesters, together with recent comparative studies involving creative synthesis, mechanical testing, and degradation, have revealed many of their molecular-level differences. The impact of the polyol component on the properties of these bio-based polyesters and the optimal reaction conditions for their synthesis are only now beginning to be resolved. This review describes our current understanding of polyol polyester structural properties as well as a discussion of the more commonly used polyol monomers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biopolymers: Innovative Production Processes, Purification and Characterization Methods)
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