Enhanced mechanical performance of biocompatible hemicelluloses-based hydrogel via chain extension.

Hemicelluloses are widely used to prepare gel materials because of their renewability, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. Here, molecular chain extension of hemicelluloses was obtained in a two-step process. Composite hydrogels were prepared via free radical graft copolymerization of crosslinked quaternized hemicelluloses (CQH) and acrylic acid (AA) in the presence of crosslinking agent N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA). This chain extension strategy significantly improved the mechanical performance of the resulting hydrogels. The crosslinking density, compression modulus, and swelling capacities of hydrogels were tuned by changing the AA/CQH and MBA/CQH contents. Moreover, the biocompatibility test suggests that the hemicelluloses-based hydrogels exhibited no toxicity to cells and allowed cell growth. Taken together, these properties demonstrated that the composite hydrogels have potential applications in the fields of water absorbents, cell culture, and other functional biomaterials.

Facile approach to prepare drug-loading film from hemicelluloses and chitosan.

This study introduces a facile and green route to fabricate film from bio-based polymers. The film has been prepared by the cross-linking reaction of quaternized hemicelluloses (QH) and chitosan (CHO) with epichlorohydrin (ECH) as crosslinker. It exhibits an excellently mechanical performance as a result of its high tensile strength (up to 37MPa). Importantly, the roughness of film was 2-5nm in the area of 400nm, and smooth surface with pores were presented on the film based on the results of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). Ciprofloxacin was utilized as a mode compound to investigate the loading behavior of the film, and the highest loading concentration was about 18%. The drug release was about 20% in film1 in comparison to only 15% in film3 within 48h. Furthermore, the results of a 293T cell viability assay indicated its good biocompatibility and non-toxicity.

Hemicelluloses/montmorillonite hybrid films with improved mechanical and barrier properties.

A facile and environmentally friendly method was introduced to incorporate montmorillonite (MMT) as an inorganic phase into quaternized hemicelluloses (QH) for forming hemicellulose-based films. Two fillers, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitin nanowhiskers (NCH), were added into the hemicelluloses/MMT hybrid matrices to prepare hybrid films, respectively. The hybrid films were nanocomposites with nacre-like structure and multifunctional characteristics including higher strength and good oxygen barrier properties via the electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions. The addition of PVA and NCH could induce changes in surface topography, and effectively enhance mechanical strength, thermal stability, transparency, and oxygen barrier properties. The tensile strengths of the composite films FPVA(0.3), FPVA(0.5), and FNCH(0.8) were 53.7, 46.3, and 50.1 MPa, respectively, which were 171%, 134%, and 153% larger than the FQH-MMT film (19.8 MPa). The tensile strength, and oxygen transmission rate of QH-MMT-PVA film were better than those of quaternized hemicelluloses/MMT films. Thus, the proper filler is very important for the strength of the hybrid film. These results provide insights into the understanding of the structural relationships of hemicellulose-based composite films in coating and packaging application for the future.

Fractionation of bamboo hemicelluloses by graded saturated ammonium sulphate.

The hemicelluloses were isolated with 10% KOH at 25°C from dewaxed and delignified bamboo powder. The alkali-soluble hemicelluloses from Sinocalamus affinis were fractionated by ammonium sulphate precipitation method. The bamboo alkali-soluble hemicelluloses yielded seven hemicellulosic fractions obtained at 0, 5, 15, 25, 40, 55, and 70% saturation with ammonium sulphate. It was found that the more branched hemicelluloses were precipitated at higher ammonium sulphate concentrations (55 and 70%), the more linear hemicelluloses were precipitated at lower ammonium sulphate concentrations (0, 5, 15, 25, and 40%). The molecular weights of hemicellulosic fractions become lower from 35,270 (H0) to 18,680 (H70)gmol(-1) with the increasing concentrations of saturated ammonium sulphate from 0 to 70%. Based on the FT-IR, (1)H, (13)C and 2D HSQC NMR studies, the alkali-soluble hemicelluloses were 4-O-methyl-glucuronoarabinoxylans composed of the (1→4)-linked ß-d-xylopyranosyl backbone with branches at O-3 of α-L-arabinofuranosyl or at O-2 of 4-O-methyl-α-d-glucuronic acid.

Preparation and Characterization of Blended Films from Quaternized Hemicelluloses and Carboxymethyl Cellulose.

Utilization of hemicelluloses from biomass energy is an important approach to explore renewable resources. A convenient, quick, and inexpensive method for the preparation of blended films from quaternized hemicelluloses (QH) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was introduced into this study. QH and CMC solution were first mixed to form homogeneous suspension, and then were dried under vacuum to fabricate the blended films. The FT-IR and XRD results indicated that the linkage between QH and CMC was due to the hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction. From the results of mechanical properties and water vapor permeability (WVP), the tensile strength of the blended films increased with the QH/CMC content ratio increasing in appropriate range, and the WVP of the blended films decreased. The maximum value of tensile strength of blend film achieved was 27.4 MPa. In addition, the transmittances of the blended films increased with the decreasing of QH/CMC content ratio. When the weight ratio (QH: CMC) was 1:1.5, the blend film showed the best light transmittance (45%). All the results suggested that the blended films could be used in areas of application in the coating and packaging fields from the good tensile strength, transmittance, and low WVP.