An official website of the United States government
The combination of protein and polysaccharides with magnetic materials has been implemented in biomedical applications for decades. Proteins such as silk, collagen, and elastin and polysaccharides such as chitosan, cellulose, and alginate have been heavily used in composite biomaterials. The wide diversity in the structure of the materials including their primary monomer/amino acid sequences allow for tunable properties. Various types of these composites are highly regarded due to their biocompatible, thermal, and mechanical properties while retaining their biological characteristics. This review provides information on protein and polysaccharide materials combined with magnetic elements in the biomedical space showcasing the materials used, fabrication methods, and their subsequent applications in biomedical research.
more »
« less
Protein–Polysaccharide Composite Materials: Fabrication and Applications
Protein–polysaccharide composites have been known to show a wide range of applications in biomedical and green chemical fields. These composites have been fabricated into a variety of forms, such as films, fibers, particles, and gels, dependent upon their specific applications. Post treatments of these composites, such as enhancing chemical and physical changes, have been shown to favorably alter their structure and properties, allowing for specificity of medical treatments. Protein–polysaccharide composite materials introduce many opportunities to improve biological functions and contemporary technological functions. Current applications involving the replication of artificial tissues in tissue regeneration, wound therapy, effective drug delivery systems, and food colloids have benefited from protein–polysaccharide composite materials. Although there is limited research on the development of protein–polysaccharide composites, studies have proven their effectiveness and advantages amongst multiple fields. This review aims to provide insight on the elements of protein–polysaccharide complexes, how they are formed, and how they can be applied in modern material science and engineering.
more »
« less
- PAR ID:
- 10147197
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Polymers
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2073-4360
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 464
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
null (Ed.)Natural biomacromolecules such as structural proteins and polysaccharides are composed of the basic building blocks of life: amino acids and carbohydrates. Understanding their molecular structure, self-assembly and interaction in solvents such as ionic liquids (ILs) is critical for unleashing a flora of new materials, revolutionizing the way we fabricate multi-structural and multi-functional systems with tunable physicochemical properties. Ionic liquids are superior to organic solvents because they do not produce unwanted by-products and are considered green substitutes because of their reusability. In addition, they will significantly improve the miscibility of biopolymers with other materials while maintaining the mechanical properties of the biopolymer in the final product. Understanding and controlling the physicochemical properties of biopolymers in ionic liquids matrices will be crucial for progress leading to the ability to fabricate robust multi-level structural 1D fiber materials. It will also help to predict the relationship between fiber conformation and protein secondary structures or carbohydrate crystallinity, thus creating potential applications for cell growth signaling, ionic conductivity, liquid diffusion and thermal conductivity, and several applications in biomedicine and environmental science. This will also enable the regeneration of biopolymer composite fiber materials with useful functionalities and customizable options critical for additive manufacturing. The specific capabilities of these fiber materials have been shown to vary based on their fabrication methods including electrospinning and post-treatments. This review serves to provide basic knowledge of these commonly utilized protein and polysaccharide biopolymers and their fiber fabrication methods from various ionic liquids, as well as the effect of post-treatments on these fiber materials and their applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical research, wound healing, environmental filters and sustainable and green chemistry research.more » « less
-
This study critically appraises employing chitosan as a composite with bentonite, biochar, or both materials as an alternative to conventional barrier materials. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the studies reporting chitosan-bentonite composite (CBC), chitosan amended biochar (CAB), and chitosan-bentonite-biochar composite (CBBC) for effective removal of various contaminants. The study aims to review the synthesis of these composites, identify fundamental properties affecting their adsorption capacities, and examine how these properties affect or enhance the removal abilities of other materials within the composite. Notably, CBC composites have the advantage of adsorbing both cationic and anionic species, such as heavy metals and dyes, due to the cationic nature of chitosan and the anionic nature of montmorillonite, along with the increased accessible surface area due to the clay. CAB composites have the unique advantage of being low-cost sorbents with high specific surface area, affinity for a wide range of contaminants owing to the high surface area and microporosity of biochar, and abundant available functional groups from the chitosan. Limited studies have reported the utilization of CBBC composites to remove various contaminants. These composites can be prepared by combining the steps employed in preparing CBC and CAB composites. They can benefit from the favorable adsorption properties of all three materials while also satisfying the mechanical requirements of a barrier material. This study serves as a knowledge base for future research to develop novel composite barrier materials by incorporating chitosan and biochar as amendments to bentonite.more » « less
-
Thermoset polymer composites, known for their outstanding thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties, have found applications in diverse fields, including aerospace and automotive industries. These polymers, once cured, cannot be recycled, making the end-of-life management of these composites very difficult and posing an environmental challenge. Conventional recycling methods are unsuitable for thermosets, forcing their accumulation in landfills and raising environmental concerns. One possible solution to overcome this concern is to use resins or curing agents, or both, made from biodegradable materials. This study explores the fabrication and characterization of polymer composites using a commercially available green curing agent made from biomass. The composite laminates were fabricated using HVARTM (Heated Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding) process. In this process, heat pads are used to increase the temperature of both the epoxy resin and the plain weave carbon fiber laminate to a desired temperature, providing ease of flow to the resin. Small coupons were cut from the laminate using a water jet machine to study the flexural behavior of the composite in accordance with ASTM testing standards and compared with composite coupons fabricated using conventional epoxy resin.more » « less
-
Nowadays, non-volatile memory technologies have been widely applied in different areas. Of these memory technologies, non-volatile resistive random access memory (ReRAM) is attractive because of its simple device architecture and fabrication process, high scalability and data density, good performances in terms of switching speed, high power efficiency and reasonably wide memory window. In order to address the issues of disposable and degradation of electronic waste by typical ReRAM with the active layer made of inorganic oxide materials and fossil-fuel based polymeric materials, a green and sustainable strategy has been adopted in producing ReRAM by using natural organic-based materials based on protein and carbohydrate, such as honey, fructose, aloe vera, etc. Among these materials, pectin-polysaccharide thin film has demonstrated promising resistive switching characteristics. The two ranges of pectin concentrations that have been investigated are ³5 mg/ml and £1.5 mg/ml, and it showed that pectin with concentration <1.5 mg/ml reveals a higher ON/OFF ratio. However, the resistive switching characteristics with pectin concentration between 1.5 mg/ml and 5 mg/ml have yet been explored and reported. In this work, pectin with concentrations of 1.5~5 mg/ml were prepared from pectin-polysaccharide solution into the active switching layer, and ReRAM devices with such pectin resistive switching layer were fabricated. The pectin-polysaccharide solution, pectin resistive film, and ReRAM devices were systematically investigated. Surface tension and contact angle of pectin-polysaccharide precursor solutions as a function of pectin concentration on the substrate were measured by a goniometer. Surface topography of solidified thin films was characterized by an atomic force microscope (AFM) and a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Chemical functional groups of the pectin-polysaccharide precursor solutions and solidified thin films were examined by a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The resistive switching behaviors were characterized and compared by electrical measurement. The results show that 4 mg/ml recorded the highest ON/OFF ratio compared to ever reported values, as well as desirable memory window, non-volatility in retention, and stability over 100 cycles. This study proves that pectin-polysaccharide is a promising green and sustainable bio-organic material for non-volatile ReRAM for electronic applications such as in emerging neuromorphic computing systems.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020464
