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Polymers
Special Issues
Functional Cellulose/Chitosan Materials
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Functional Cellulose/Chitosan Materials

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 (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 14094

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Thomas Luxbacher

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
2. Anton Paar GmbH, Anton Paar Str. 20, 8054 Graz, Austria
Interests: material surface characterization; zeta potential; surface charge; solid–water interface
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Lidija Fras Zemljič

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
Interests: functionalization of materials; medical devices; medical textiles; polysaccharides; adsorption; colloids; surface chemistry; chitosan; interaction studies; charging behaviour
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cellulose is one of the most abundant biopolymers, and its applications in the fields of papermaking and textiles have a long history. Cellulose and its derivatives have also received attention for their use in state-of-the-art membrane technology or food packaging. Due to its exceptional properties, such as high hydrophilicity and mechanical strength, cellulose is also an ideal starting material for functionalization with the aim of achieving antimicrobial properties of materials and, thus, the manufacture of medical devices. According to new research trends, it could also become a preferred material for printing—potentially a renewable, biodegradable alternative to polymers currently used in 3D printing. The formation of nanocellulose has paved the way for cellulose to contribute to the exciting world of nanomaterials. The sustainability and biodegradability of cellulose products are self-evident.

Chitosan as another member of the family of polysaccharides persuades with its antimicrobial behavior and biocompatibility and is widely used in various fields of applications, such as biomaterials, food packaging or pharmaceuticals.

The combination of both cellulose and chitosan and of their derivatives opens up a tremendous field for materials science with exciting applications.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect contributions, which inform about the latest developments in the preparation, characterization, and application of cellulose–chitosan composites. We invite experts in the preparation, characterization, and application of cellulose- and chitosan-based materials with a preference for cellulose–chitosan blends to share their scientific news. New findings and analytical approaches in the field of interaction studies between cellulose and chitosan to better understand the final properties of composite materials are also very welcome. Young scientists are especially encouraged to present the work of their PhD thesis or post-doctoral research.

Dr. Thomas Luxbacher
Prof. Lidija Fras Zemljič
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

  • biomaterials
  • antimicrobial
  • nanocrystals
  • microspheres
  • biodegradables
  • cellulose
  • chitosan
  • composites
  • interactions

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 4130 KiB  
Article
Active Cellulose Acetate/Chitosan Composite Films Prepared Using Solution Blow Spinning: Structure and Electrokinetic Properties
by Ana Kramar, Thomas Luxbacher, Nasrin Moshfeghi Far and Javier González-Benito
Polymers 2023, 15(15), 3276; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15153276 - 02 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1370
Abstract
Cellulose acetate (CA), a very promising derivative of cellulose, has come into the focus of research due to its highly desired good film-forming ability for food packaging applications. Frequently, this derivative is used in combination with other compounds (polymers, nanoparticles) in order to [...] Read more.
Cellulose acetate (CA), a very promising derivative of cellulose, has come into the focus of research due to its highly desired good film-forming ability for food packaging applications. Frequently, this derivative is used in combination with other compounds (polymers, nanoparticles) in order to obtain active materials. Here, we report the preparation of thin films made of cellulose acetate loaded with chitosan (CS) using the solution blow spinning (SBS) method. Films are prepared by SBS processing of the polymers mixture solution, considering the following variables: (i) the concentration of cellulose acetate and chitosan in the solution and (ii) the solvent system consisting of acetic or formic acid. The prepared materials are characterized in terms of physical properties, roughness (optical profilometer), porosity, wettability (contact angle measurements), chemical structure (Fourier transform infrared spectrometry), and electrokinetic properties (zeta potential). SBS enables the preparation of CA/CS films with high water vapor permeability, high porosity, and also higher water contact angle compared with pure CA films. The electrokinetic properties of composites are influenced by the inclusion of chitosan, which causes a shift of the isoelectric point (IEP) towards higher pH values, but the magnitude of the shift is not in correlation with chitosan concentration. Adsorption kinetic studies using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein reveal that chitosan modified cellulose acetate films manifest low affinity towards proteins that suggests prevention of biofilm formation on its surface. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Cellulose/Chitosan Materials)
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21 pages, 11405 KiB  
Article
Carboxymethyl Cellulose-Based Polymers as Promising Matrices for Ficin Immobilization
by Andrey V. Sorokin, Svetlana S. Goncharova, Maria S. Lavlinskaya, Marina G. Holyavka, Dzhigangir A. Faizullin, Maxim S. Kondratyev, Sergey V. Kannykin, Yuriy F. Zuev and Valeriy G. Artyukhov
Polymers 2023, 15(3), 649; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15030649 - 27 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1424
Abstract
The present work is devoted to research on the interaction between carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt and its derivatives (graft copolymer of carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt and N,N-dimethyl aminoethyl methacrylate) with cysteine protease (ficin). The interaction was studied by FTIR and [...] Read more.
The present work is devoted to research on the interaction between carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt and its derivatives (graft copolymer of carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt and N,N-dimethyl aminoethyl methacrylate) with cysteine protease (ficin). The interaction was studied by FTIR and by flexible molecular docking, which have shown the conjugates’ formation with both matrices. The proteolytic activity assay performed with azocasein demonstrated that the specific activities of all immobilized ficin samples are higher in comparison with those of the native enzyme. This is due to the modulation of the conformation of ficin globule and of the enzyme active site by weak physical interactions involving catalytically valuable amino acids. The results obtained can extend the practical use of ficin in biomedicine and biotechnology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Cellulose/Chitosan Materials)
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15 pages, 2109 KiB  
Article
Simple and Fast One-Pot Cellulose Gel Preparation in Aqueous Pyrrolidinium Hydroxide Solution–Cellulose Solvent and Antibacterial Agent
by Elisabeth R. D. Seiler, Kohei Koyama, Tomoyuki Iijima, Tamao Saito, Yuko Takeoka, Masahiro Rikukawa and Masahiro Yoshizawa-Fujita
Polymers 2021, 13(12), 1942; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13121942 - 11 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2464
Abstract
Cellulose is the main component of biomass and is the most abundant biopolymer on earth; it is a non-toxic, low-cost material that is biocompatible and biodegradable. Cellulose gels are receiving increasing attention as medical products, e.g., as wound dressings. However, the preparation of [...] Read more.
Cellulose is the main component of biomass and is the most abundant biopolymer on earth; it is a non-toxic, low-cost material that is biocompatible and biodegradable. Cellulose gels are receiving increasing attention as medical products, e.g., as wound dressings. However, the preparation of cellulose hydrogels employing unmodified cellulose is scarcely reported because of the cumbersome dissolution of cellulose. In previous studies, we developed the new promising cellulose solvent N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium hydroxide in an aqueous solution, which can dissolve up to 20 wt% cellulose within a short time at room temperature. In this study, we employed this solvent system and investigated the gelation behavior of cellulose after crosslinker addition. The swelling behavior in water (swelling ratio, water uptake), the mechanical properties under compression, and the antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis were investigated. We have developed a simple and fast one-pot method for the preparation of cellulose gels, in which aqueous pyrrolidinium hydroxide solution was acting as the solvent and as an antibacterial reagent. The pyrrolidinium hydroxide content of the gels was controlled by adjustment of the water volume employed for swelling. Simple recovery of the solvent system was also possible, which makes this preparation method environmentally benign. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Cellulose/Chitosan Materials)
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Review

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42 pages, 6275 KiB  
Review
Harnessing Nature’s Ingenuity: A Comprehensive Exploration of Nanocellulose from Production to Cutting-Edge Applications in Engineering and Sciences
by Abd Ghafar Nurhanis Sofiah, Jagadeesh Pasupuleti, Mahendran Samykano, Kumaran Kadirgama, Siaw Paw Koh, Sieh Kieh Tiong, Adarsh Kumar Pandey, Chong Tak Yaw and Sendhil Kumar Natarajan
Polymers 2023, 15(14), 3044; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15143044 - 14 Jul 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2582
Abstract
Primary material supply is the heart of engineering and sciences. The depletion of natural resources and an increase in the human population by a billion in 13 to 15 years pose a critical concern regarding the sustainability of these materials; therefore, functionalizing renewable [...] Read more.
Primary material supply is the heart of engineering and sciences. The depletion of natural resources and an increase in the human population by a billion in 13 to 15 years pose a critical concern regarding the sustainability of these materials; therefore, functionalizing renewable materials, such as nanocellulose, by possibly exploiting their properties for various practical applications, has been undertaken worldwide. Nanocellulose has emerged as a dominant green natural material with attractive and tailorable physicochemical properties, is renewable and sustainable, and shows biocompatibility and tunable surface properties. Nanocellulose is derived from cellulose, the most abundant polymer in nature with the remarkable properties of nanomaterials. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the methods used for nanocellulose preparation, structure–property and structure–property correlations, and the application of nanocellulose and its nanocomposite materials. This article differentiates the classification of nanocellulose, provides a brief account of the production methods that have been developed for isolating nanocellulose, highlights a range of unique properties of nanocellulose that have been extracted from different kinds of experiments and studies, and elaborates on nanocellulose potential applications in various areas. The present review is anticipated to provide the readers with the progress and knowledge related to nanocellulose. Pushing the boundaries of nanocellulose further into cutting-edge applications will be of particular interest in the future, especially as cost-effective commercial sources of nanocellulose continue to emerge. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Cellulose/Chitosan Materials)
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27 pages, 1427 KiB  
Review
Novel Features of Cellulose-Based Films as Sustainable Alternatives for Food Packaging
by Sofia Romão, Ana Bettencourt and Isabel A. C. Ribeiro
Polymers 2022, 14(22), 4968; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14224968 - 16 Nov 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4850
Abstract
Packaging plays an important role in food quality and safety, especially regarding waste and spoilage reduction. The main drawback is that the packaging industry is among the ones that is highly dependent on plastic usage. New alternatives to conventional plastic packaging such as [...] Read more.
Packaging plays an important role in food quality and safety, especially regarding waste and spoilage reduction. The main drawback is that the packaging industry is among the ones that is highly dependent on plastic usage. New alternatives to conventional plastic packaging such as biopolymers-based type are mandatory. Examples are cellulose films and its derivatives. These are among the most used options in the food packaging due to their unique characteristics, such as biocompatibility, environmental sustainability, low price, mechanical properties, and biodegradability. Emerging concepts such as active and intelligent packaging provides new solutions for an extending shelf-life, and it fights some limitations of cellulose films and improves the properties of the packaging. This article reviews the available cellulose polymers and derivatives that are used as sustainable alternatives for food packaging regarding their properties, characteristics, and functionalization towards active properties enhancement. In this way, several types of films that are prepared with cellulose and their derivatives, incorporating antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds, are herein described, and discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Cellulose/Chitosan Materials)
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