An ultra-light antibacterial bagasse-AgNP aerogel.

This study reported the direct utilization of bagasse as an ultra-light aerogel with AgNPs for the first time. Firstly, AgNPs were synthesized in situ using a green route with bagasse, a by-product of the refined sugar industry. During the reaction, the crystalline region of cellulose in bagasse was destroyed, and some groups of bagasse were partly oxidized into C[double bond, length as m-dash]O of ketone, which confirms the reducing capacity of bagasse. Then, the obtained bagasse-AgNP composite was dissolved in EmimAc to prepare an aerogel with AgNPs. The aerogel piled up in slices, and its weight after swelling in water was about 19 times the dry weight, and the aerogel did not crush a flower branch because its density was only 0.035 g cm-3, although the mole and mass ratios of the Ag atom were 5.26% and 29.94% in the aerogel, respectively. Furthermore, the obtained aerogel showed a strong antibacterial effect, especially against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. This study not only provides an interesting way for bagasse to be applied directly, but also develops an antibacterial biomass-based ultra-light aerogel without AgNP dissociation.

Facile fabrication and selective detection for cysteine of xylan/Au nanoparticles composite.

This work reported a facile and green method to prepare highly stable and uniformly distributed Au nanoparticles (AuNPs), using biopolymer xylan as stabilizing and reducing agent. Full characterizations were performed and the results revealed that AuNPs were well dispersed with the diameters of 10-30nm. The optimal condition was as follows: the ratio of xylan to HAuCl4 was 150mg:15mg, reaction temperature was 80°C and reaction time was 40min. The xylan/AuNPs composite exhibited highly selective and sensitive sensing of cysteine in aqueous solution, it could distinguish cysteine among dozens kinds of amino acids, and the limit of detection (LOD) for cysteine was calculated as 0.57µM. Besides, the xylan/AuNPs composite was applied for Cys detection in human serum. This study provides a new way for high-value utilization of the rich biomass resource and a cheap, rapid and simple method for Cys detection in real biological samples.

High-value utilization of lignin to synthesize Ag nanoparticles with detection capacity for Hg²âº.

This study reports the rapid preparation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from Tollens' reagent under microwave irradiation. In the synthesis, lignin with reducing groups and spatial three-dimensional structure was used as reducing and stabilizing agents without other chemical reagents, and the effects of the ratio of lignin to Ag(+), reaction temperature, and heating time on the synthesis of AgNPs were investigated. The obtained AgNPs were further characterized by UV-vis, Malvern particle size, TEM, XRD, and XPS analyses. The structural changes of lignin before and after reaction were also studied by FT-IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, and GC-MS. The results revealed that the obtained AgNPs were mostly spherical with diameters of around 24 nm. The optimum reaction conditions were a ratio 50 mg of lignin to 0.3 mM of Ag(+), a microwave irradiation temperature of 60 °C, and a heating time of 10 min. Moreover, AgNPs redispersed well in water and ethanol after centrifugation for the removal of lignin. During the formation of AgNPs, lignin was oxidized, and the side chains of lignin were partly disrupted into small molecules, such as hydrocarbon and alcohol. The resultant lignin-AgNPs showed highly selective sensing detection for Hg(2+), and the color of the lignin-AgNP solution containing Hg(2+) decreased gradually with increasing amounts of Hg(2+) within seconds, but the other 19 metal ions had little effect on the color and surface plasmon absorption band of the lignin-AgNPs. Also, there was a linear relationship between the absorbance and Hg(2+) concentration, with a limit of detection concentration of 23 nM. This study provides not only a new way to take advantage of agricultural and forestry residues, but also a green and rapid method for the synthesis of AgNPs to detect the toxic ion Hg(2+) selectively and sensitively.

Preparation of cellulose-graft-poly(ɛ-caprolactone) nanomicelles by homogeneous ROP in ionic liquid.

Self-associating cellulose-graft-poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (cellulose-g-PCL) copolymers were successfully synthesized via homogeneous ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ɛ-CL onto softwood dissolved pulp substrate in ionic liquid 1-N-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl). An organic catalyst N,N-dimethylamino-4-pyridine (DMAP) was compared with the traditional metal-based catalyst (Sn(Oct)(2)) as the catalyst of the reaction, and exhibited higher catalytic activity. By controlling the cellulose:ɛ-CL feed ratio and reaction temperature, the molecular architecture of the copolymers can be altered, as evidenced by FT-IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, TGA and XRD. The self-assembly behavior of the copolymers in water was investigated and characterized using fluorescence probe, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and SEM. The results showed that the cellulose-g-PCL copolymers could form nanosized micelles (approximately 20-100 nm) in water, and the micelle size and critical micelle concentration (CMC) can be controlled by varying the grafting ratio of PCL. These cellulose-based nanomicelles are expected to be useful in broad application fields.

Self-assembly and paclitaxel loading capacity of cellulose-graft-poly(lactide) nanomicelles.

A series of amiphiphilic cellulose-based graft copolymers (MCC-g-PLA) with various molecular factors were synthesized in ionic liquid BmimCl and characterized by FT-IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, XRD, and TGA. Their solubility in a variety of solvents was compared. The prepared MCC-g-PLA copolymers can self-assemble into spherical nanomicelles (10-50 nm) in aqueous solution. The self-assembly behaviors of the MCC-g-PLA copolymers were systematically investigated by fluorescence probe. Furthermore, the hydrophobic antitumor drug paclitaxel (PTX) was successfully encapsulated into the MCC-g-PLA micelles. The drug encapsulation efficiency and loading content were found to be as high as 89.30% (w/w) and 4.97%, respectively. Results in this study not only suggest a promising cellulose-based antitumor drug carrier but also provide information for property-directed synthesis of the cellulose graft PLA copolymers.