scholarly journals Lignin as an Active Biomaterial: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Nissa Nurfajrin Solihat ◽  
Fahriya Puspita Sari ◽  
Faizatul Falah ◽  
Maya Ismayati ◽  
Muhammad Adly Rahandi Lubis ◽  
...  

Lignin is the second most naturally abundant biopolymer in the cell wall of lignocellulosic compound (15-35%) after cellulose.Lignin can be generated in massive amounts as by-products in biorefineries and pulp and paper industries through differing processes. Most lignin is utilized as generating energy and has always been treated as waste. Due to the high amount of phenolic compounds in lignin, it is considered as a potential material for various polymers, building blocks, and biomaterials production. Even though lignin can be utilized in the form of isolated lignin directly, the modification of lignin can increase the wide range of lignin applications. Lignin-based copolymers and modified lignin show better miscibility with another polymeric matrix, outstanding to the enhanced performance of such lignin-based polymer composites.This article summarizes the properly updated information of lignin’s potential applications, such as bio-surfactant, active packaging, antimicrobial agent, and supercapacitor.Keywords: active packaging, antimicrobial agent, bio-surfactant, lignin, supercapacitor

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Smith ◽  
Verena Schüller ◽  
Carsten Forthmann ◽  
Robert Schreiber ◽  
Philip Tinnefeld ◽  
...  

Nanometer-sized polyhedral wire-frame objects hold a wide range of potential applications both as structural scaffolds as well as a basis for synthetic nanocontainers. The utilization of DNA as basic building blocks for such structures allows the exploitation of bottom-up self-assembly in order to achieve molecular programmability through the pairing of complementary bases. In this work, we report on a hollow but rigid tetrahedron framework of 75 nm strut length constructed with the DNA origami method. Flexible hinges at each of their four joints provide a means for structural variability of the object. Through the opening of gaps along the struts, four variants can be created as confirmed by both gel electrophoresis and direct imaging techniques. The intrinsic site addressability provided by this technique allows the unique targeted attachment of dye and/or linker molecules at any point on the structure's surface, which we prove through the superresolution fluorescence microscopy technique DNA PAINT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2058 (1) ◽  
pp. 012004
Author(s):  
Anton A Popov ◽  
Ivan V Zelepukin ◽  
Gleb V Tikhonowski ◽  
Elena A Popova-Kuznecova ◽  
Gleb I Tselikov ◽  
...  

Abstract Plasmonic nanostructures offer wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic functionalities for biomedical applications. Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) present one of the most explored nanomaterial in this field, while titanium nitride nanoparticles (TiN NPs) is a new promising nanomaterial with superior plasmonic properties for biomedicine. However conventional chemical techniques for the synthesis of these nanomaterials cannot always match stringent requirements for toxicity levels and surface conditioning. Laser-synthesized Au and TiN NPs offer exceptional purity (no contamination by by-products or ligands) and unusual surface chemistry. Therefore, these NPs present a viable alternative to chemically synthesized counterparts. This work presents comparative analysis of pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of laser-synthesized 20 nm Au and TiN NPs under intravenous administration in mice model. Our data show that Au NPs and bare TiN NPs are rapidly eliminated from the blood circulation and accumulate preferentially in liver and spleen, while coating of TiN NPs by hydrophilic polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) significantly prolongates blood circulation time and improves delivery of the NPs to tumor. We finally discuss potential applications of laser synthesized Au NPs in SERS, SEIRA and electrocatalysis, while TiN nanoparticles are considered as promising agents for photothermal therapy and photoacoustic imaging.


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Domiński ◽  
Tomasz Konieczny ◽  
Piotr Kurcok

Supramolecular hydrogels that are based on inclusion complexes between α-cyclodextrin and (co)polymers have gained significant attention over the last decade. They are formed via dynamic noncovalent bonds, such as host–guest interactions and hydrogen bonds, between various building blocks. In contrast to typical chemical crosslinking (covalent linkages), supramolecular crosslinking is a type of physical interaction that is characterized by great flexibility and it can be used with ease to create a variety of “smart” hydrogels. Supramolecular hydrogels based on the self-assembly of polypseudorotaxanes formed by a polymer chain “guest” and α-cyclodextrin “host” are promising materials for a wide range of applications. α-cyclodextrin-based polypseudorotaxane hydrogels are an attractive platform for engineering novel functional materials due to their excellent biocompatibility, thixotropic nature, and reversible and stimuli-responsiveness properties. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current progress in the chemistry and methods of designing and creating α-cyclodextrin-based supramolecular polypseudorotaxane hydrogels. In the described systems, the guests are (co)polymer chains with various architectures or polymeric nanoparticles. The potential applications of such supramolecular hydrogels are also described.


Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1584
Author(s):  
Jinzhao Li ◽  
Junyu Li ◽  
Shudao Zhou ◽  
Fei Yi

Photodetectors are the essential building blocks of a wide range of optical systems. Typical photodetectors only convert the intensity of light electrical output signals, leaving other electromagnetic parameters, such as the frequencies, phases, and polarization states unresolved. Metasurfaces are arrays of subwavelength structures that can manipulate the amplitude, phase, frequency, and polarization state of light. When combined with photodetectors, metasurfaces can enhance the light-matter interaction at the pixel level and also enable the detector pixels to resolve more electromagnetic parameters. In this paper, we review recent research efforts in merging metasurfaces with photodetectors towards improved detection performances and advanced detection schemes. The impacts of merging metasurfaces with photodetectors, on the architecture of optical systems, and potential applications are also discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hueyling Tan

Molecular self-assembly is ubiquitous in nature and has emerged as a new approach to produce new materials in chemistry, engineering, nanotechnology, polymer science and materials. Molecular self-assembly has been attracting increasing interest from the scientific community in recent years due to its importance in understanding biology and a variety of diseases at the molecular level. In the last few years, considerable advances have been made in the use ofpeptides as building blocks to produce biological materials for wide range of applications, including fabricating novel supra-molecular structures and scaffolding for tissue repair. The study ofbiological self-assembly systems represents a significant advancement in molecular engineering and is a rapidly growing scientific and engineering field that crosses the boundaries ofexisting disciplines. Many self-assembling systems are rangefrom bi- andtri-block copolymers to DNA structures as well as simple and complex proteins andpeptides. The ultimate goal is to harness molecular self-assembly such that design andcontrol ofbottom-up processes is achieved thereby enabling exploitation of structures developed at the meso- and macro-scopic scale for the purposes oflife and non-life science applications. Such aspirations can be achievedthrough understanding thefundamental principles behind the selforganisation and self-synthesis processes exhibited by biological systems.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Balliu ◽  
Aaltje Roelofje Femmigje Strijker ◽  
Michael Oschmann ◽  
Monireh Pourghasemi Lati ◽  
Oscar Verho

<p>In this preprint, we present our initial results concerning a stereospecific Pd-catalyzed protocol for the C3 alkenylation and alkynylation of a proline derivative carrying the well utilized 8‑aminoquinoline directing group. Efficient C–H alkenylation was achieved with a wide range of vinyl iodides bearing different aliphatic, aromatic and heteroaromatic substituents, to furnish the corresponding C3 alkenylated products in good to high yields. In addition, we were able show that this protocol can also be used to install an alkynyl group into the pyrrolidine scaffold, when a TIPS-protected alkynyl bromide was used as the reaction partner. Furthermore, two different methods for the removal of the 8-aminoquinoline auxiliary are reported, which can enable access to both <i>cis</i>- and <i>trans</i>-configured carboxylic acid building blocks from the C–H alkenylation products.</p>


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherif Tawfik ◽  
Olexandr Isayev ◽  
Catherine Stampfl ◽  
Joseph Shapter ◽  
David Winkler ◽  
...  

Materials constructed from different van der Waals two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures offer a wide range of benefits, but these systems have been little studied because of their experimental and computational complextiy, and because of the very large number of possible combinations of 2D building blocks. The simulation of the interface between two different 2D materials is computationally challenging due to the lattice mismatch problem, which sometimes necessitates the creation of very large simulation cells for performing density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. Here we use a combination of DFT, linear regression and machine learning techniques in order to rapidly determine the interlayer distance between two different 2D heterostructures that are stacked in a bilayer heterostructure, as well as the band gap of the bilayer. Our work provides an excellent proof of concept by quickly and accurately predicting a structural property (the interlayer distance) and an electronic property (the band gap) for a large number of hybrid 2D materials. This work paves the way for rapid computational screening of the vast parameter space of van der Waals heterostructures to identify new hybrid materials with useful and interesting properties.


2020 ◽  
Vol 09 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minita Ojha ◽  
R. K. Bansal

Background: During the last two decades, horizon of research in the field of Nitrogen Heterocyclic Carbenes (NHC) has widened remarkably. NHCs have emerged as ubiquitous species having applications in a broad range of fields, including organocatalysis and organometallic chemistry. The NHC-induced non-asymmetric catalysis has turned out to be a really fruitful area of research in recent years. Methods: By manipulating structural features and selecting appropriate substituent groups, it has been possible to control the kinetic and thermodynamic stability of a wide range of NHCs, which can be tolerant to a variety of functional groups and can be used under mild conditions. NHCs are produced by different methods, such as deprotonation of Nalkylhetrocyclic salt, transmetallation, decarboxylation and electrochemical reduction. Results: The NHCs have been used successfully as catalysts for a wide range of reactions making a large number of building blocks and other useful compounds accessible. Some of these reactions are: benzoin condensation, Stetter reaction, Michael reaction, esterification, activation of esters, activation of isocyanides, polymerization, different cycloaddition reactions, isomerization, etc. The present review includes all these examples published during the last 10 years, i.e. from 2010 till date. Conclusion: The NHCs have emerged as versatile and powerful organocatalysts in synthetic organic chemistry. They provide the synthetic strategy which does not burden the environment with metal pollutants and thus fit in the Green Chemistry.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 381
Author(s):  
Alessandro Nanni ◽  
Mariafederica Parisi ◽  
Martino Colonna

The plastic industry is today facing a green revolution; however, biopolymers, produced in low amounts, expensive, and food competitive do not represent an efficient solution. The use of wine waste as second-generation feedstock for the synthesis of polymer building blocks or as reinforcing fillers could represent a solution to reduce biopolymer costs and to boost the biopolymer presence in the market. The present critical review reports the state of the art of the scientific studies concerning the use of wine by-products as substrate for the synthesis of polymer building blocks and as reinforcing fillers for polymers. The review has been mainly focused on the most used bio-based and biodegradable polymers present in the market (i.e., poly(lactic acid), poly(butylene succinate), and poly(hydroxyalkanoates)). The results present in the literature have been reviewed and elaborated in order to suggest new possibilities of development based on the chemical and physical characteristics of wine by-products.


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