Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.9
3.7
Journals
Environments
Special Issues
Biocidal Polymeric Materials and the Impact on the Environment and...
share announcement

Biocidal Polymeric Materials and the Impact on the Environment and Organisms

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2022) | Viewed by 15110

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Katarzyna Janczak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Łukasiewicz Research Network - Institute for Engineering of Polymer Materials and Dyes, Maria Skłodowska-Curie 55, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Interests: biodegradable materials; polymer materials; testing of polymer materials; material identification
Dr. Aneta Raszkowska – Kaczor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Łukasiewicz Research Network - Institute for Engineering of Polymer Materials and Dyes, Maria Skłodowska-Curie 55, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Interests: biodegradable materials; polymer materials; testing of polymer materials; material identification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Krzysztof Bajer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Łukasiewicz Research Network - Institute for Engineering of Polymer Materials and Dyes, Maria Skłodowska-Curie 55, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Interests: biodegradable materials; polymer materials; testing of polymer materials; material identification

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of scientific work is devoted to the development of polymeric materials with biocidal properties: virucidal, bactericidal, bacteriostatic, fungistatic. On the other hand, it is very important how such materials, often containing antibiotics and nanoparticles of heavy metals, affect the water and soil environment. Therefore, further efforts are needed to develop polymeric materials (packaging, building materials, paints, varnishes, etc.) with biocidal properties: (1) environmentally friendly, non-migrating to the environment, (2) biodegradable or recyclable. In addition, it is also very important to study the impact of existing materials on the environment, in particular (1) the impact on biotic and abiotic factors and (2) the formation of microplastics. This Special Issue aims to present articles on antibacterial polymer materials in the broader environmental aspect.

Dr. Katarzyna Janczak
Dr. Aneta Raszkowska – Kaczor
Dr. Krzysztof Bajer
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. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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

  • biocidal polymeric materials
  • migration of biocidal additives
  • biodegradation of biocidal polymeric materials
  • the influence of biocidal polymers on the environment
  • microplastics from biocidal polymeric materials in the environment

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 3695 KiB  
Article
Bactericidal Properties of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Modified with Commercial Additives Used for Food Protection in the Food Industry
by Katarzyna Janczak, Krzysztof Bajer, Rafał Malinowski, Lauren Wedderburn, Daria Kosmalska and Bogusław Królikowski
Environments 2022, 9(7), 84; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/environments9070084 - 01 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3212
Abstract
This study investigated the influence of commercially available food preservatives: Natamax® (containing natamycin) and Nisaplin® (containing nisin) on the antimicrobial properties of LDPE film, commonly used for food packaging. Studies have shown that the addition of 3% Natamax® or, alternatively, [...] Read more.
This study investigated the influence of commercially available food preservatives: Natamax® (containing natamycin) and Nisaplin® (containing nisin) on the antimicrobial properties of LDPE film, commonly used for food packaging. Studies have shown that the addition of 3% Natamax® or, alternatively, the addition of 5% Nisaplin® provides an LDPE film with effective antimicrobial protection. The applied biocides did not significantly affect the strength and rheological properties of LDPE. However, differences in optical properties were observed. The transparency of the samples decreased slightly with the addition of 3% or 5% Natamax® (by approx. 1% and 3%, respectively). A significant change was observed in the film haze, the addition of 5% Natamax® increased this parameter by approx. 80%, while 5% Nisaplin® increased it by approx. 19%. Both Natamax® and Nisaplin® agents can be successfully used to manufacture food packaging materials with antimicrobial protection. Natamax® showed a stronger bactericidal effect, while Nisaplin® changed other properties less significantly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biocidal Polymeric Materials and the Impact on the Environment and Organisms)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 4205 KiB  
Article
Biodegradable Nonwoven Materials with Antipathogenic Layer
by Longina Madej-Kiełbik, Karolina Gzyra-Jagieła, Jagoda Jóźwik-Pruska, Maria Wiśniewskia-Wrona and Marzena Dymel
Environments 2022, 9(7), 79; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/environments9070079 - 25 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4030
Abstract
Biopolymer composites have received increasing attention for their beneficial properties such as being biodegradable and having less influence to the environment. Biodegradability of materials has become a desired feature due to the growing problems connected with waste management. The aim of the paper [...] Read more.
Biopolymer composites have received increasing attention for their beneficial properties such as being biodegradable and having less influence to the environment. Biodegradability of materials has become a desired feature due to the growing problems connected with waste management. The aim of the paper is to emphasize the importance of biodegradable textile materials, especially nonwoven materials with an anti-pathogenic layer. The article refers to the definitions of biodegradation, degradation and composting processes, as well as presenting methods of testing biodegradability depending on the type of material. The study gives examples of biodegradation of textiles and presents examples of qualitative and quantitative methods used for testing antimicrobial activity of biodegradable nonwovens with an anti-pathogenic layer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biocidal Polymeric Materials and the Impact on the Environment and Organisms)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 2786 KiB  
Article
Polylactide as a Substitute for Conventional Polymers—Biopolymer Processing under Varying Extrusion Conditions
by Daria Kosmalska, Katarzyna Janczak, Aneta Raszkowska-Kaczor, Andrzej Stasiek and Tomasz Ligor
Environments 2022, 9(5), 57; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/environments9050057 - 07 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3576
Abstract
The polymer processing industry is paying more attention to biodegradable materials synthesized from renewable sources. One of the most popular of them is polylactide (PLA). Except the material from which a given product is made, particularly important is the process of manufacturing a [...] Read more.
The polymer processing industry is paying more attention to biodegradable materials synthesized from renewable sources. One of the most popular of them is polylactide (PLA). Except the material from which a given product is made, particularly important is the process of manufacturing a polymer material, processing, use by the consumer, and finally, recycling it. Neither of these steps is indifferent to the environment. The processing of polymers can often lead to material degradation, which affects the properties of the material and leads to the generation of substantial amounts of post-production waste that cannot be reused by processors. The aim of this work is to evaluate selected properties of PLA subjected to the extrusion process under variable extrusion conditions. This is important due to the large losses of material and energy resulting from the extrusion of biodegradable polymers under poorly selected processing conditions, which, apart from the economic effects, has a negative impact on the environment. The research proved that both the temperature and the structure of the plasticizing system as well as the rotational speed of the screws affect the mechanical properties of the final product. For PLA optimization, this process will directly contribute to the improvement of the PLA processing process, and indirectly help to act for the benefit of the environment by reducing the consumption of energy, raw materials, and the amount of post-production waste. The obtained results allowed for the selection of appropriate parameters depending on the expectations regarding the properties of the final product. The conducted research will help to optimize processing processes and reduce the consumption of raw materials, which in the future will also affect the environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biocidal Polymeric Materials and the Impact on the Environment and Organisms)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3848 KiB  
Article
Riboflavin as a Biodegradable Functional Additive for Thermoplastic Polymers
by Natalia Puszczykowska, Piotr Rytlewski, Marek Macko, Kacper Fiedurek and Katarzyna Janczak
Environments 2022, 9(5), 56; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/environments9050056 - 01 May 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3620
Abstract
With continuous development of biodegradable polymers, new areas of applications are intensively researched. Modifications of these polymers are commonly conducted by an extrusion compounding process. While additives are changing desired properties, biodegradability of such composites can be deteriorated. The aim of the work [...] Read more.
With continuous development of biodegradable polymers, new areas of applications are intensively researched. Modifications of these polymers are commonly conducted by an extrusion compounding process. While additives are changing desired properties, biodegradability of such composites can be deteriorated. The aim of the work is to investigate a novel, functional, organic additive, riboflavin (vitamin B-2), in terms of thermal stability, extrusion processability, wettability, surface energy, especially biodegradability, and when compounded with PLA. Additionally, a comparison of unmodified PLA resin, as well as PLA-modified with inorganic talc—which is known for its nucleation promotion in a variety of polymers—to PLA with riboflavin, was presented. Research reveals the outstanding thermal stability of riboflavin and the sufficient extrusion process properties with no significant changes of wettability and, surprisingly, a significant degradation rate as compared to pure PLA or and PLA with talc. The obtained results do not exclude further modifications of PLA depending on the target application, e.g., antimicrobial agents, flame retardants, etc. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biocidal Polymeric Materials and the Impact on the Environment and Organisms)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop