Polymeric Substrates Modification with Biobased Functional Compounds

A special issue of Compounds (ISSN 2673-6918).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 11222

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds—SS Pisa, CNR Research Area, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: polymer functionalization; 2D layered materials; preparation and characterization of functional host–guest inorganic–organic systems; polymer nanocomposites; compatibilization; polymer blending; recycling
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent years have seen growing interest in imparting antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory functionality to polymeric materials and substrates. Plant and plant secondary metabolites, such as carotenoids, glucosinates, and polyphenols, are biobased functional compounds that may have critical applications due to their specific activity. For example, polyphenols have antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and anticarcinogenic properties. They act as scavengers and quenchers of free radicals and as chelating agents of metal species and are used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. In addition, incorporating polyphenols into a polymer matrix can provide newly developed materials for food packaging, personal care and biomedical applications.

This Special Issue aims to offer a collection of articles that present an overview of the various ways of integrating biobased functional compounds within different polymeric materials in bulk or on the surface, including films, electrospun fibers, self-assembled coatings, etc.

In addition to mixing the active compounds with the polymers, functionalization and methods to control the localization and/or the migration of the functional bioactive compounds can be discussed. Moreover, submission of research works dealing with the understanding and rationalization of the interactions of compounds with the polymer substrate is invited to provide essential insights into the concentration and release of retained species, which are critical aspects in food packaging, personal care, biomedical and environmental applications.

Dr. Maria Beatrice Coltelli
Dr. Serena Coiai
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • bioactive compounds
  • functional polymeric substrates
  • antimicrobial
  • antioxidant
  • anti-inflammatory
  • controlled release
  • food packaging
  • personal care
  • biomedical applications

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 482 KiB  
Editorial
Polymeric Substrates Modification with Biobased Functional Compounds
by Maria-Beatrice Coltelli and Serena Coiai
Compounds 2022, 2(3), 196-199; https://doi.org/10.3390/compounds2030016 - 15 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1840
Abstract
Synthetic polymers and biodegradable and biobased polymers are currently the largest class of materials studied and used for various applications due to their unique and peculiar properties [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Substrates Modification with Biobased Functional Compounds)
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Research

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22 pages, 5007 KiB  
Article
Effect of Particle Size on the Physical Properties of PLA/Potato Peel Composites
by Katharina Miller, Corina L. Reichert, Myriam Loeffler and Markus Schmid
Compounds 2024, 4(1), 119-140; https://doi.org/10.3390/compounds4010006 - 1 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1755
Abstract
In recent years, agricultural by-product fillers have been investigated in composites to influence the physical properties of the packaging material, increase biodegradability, and reduce costs. In general, the properties of composites are mainly influenced by the type, amount, and size of fillers. The [...] Read more.
In recent years, agricultural by-product fillers have been investigated in composites to influence the physical properties of the packaging material, increase biodegradability, and reduce costs. In general, the properties of composites are mainly influenced by the type, amount, and size of fillers. The aim of this study was to characterize potato peel particles as a filler in a poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix and to determine the effect of particle size on the physical properties of the composite. Therefore, different fractions of potato peel powder (0–53 μm, 125–250 μm, and 315–500 μm) were incorporated into PLA matrix via compounding and injection-molding. Microscopic analysis of the injection-molded samples revealed that the average particle shape did not differ between the different fractions. Overall, increasing the particle size of potato peel particles resulted in increased stiffness and decreased ductility. The cold crystallization temperature and water vapor transmission rate of the composites were independent of particle size but increased upon the incorporation of potato peel particles. In conclusion, the effect of particle incorporation on packaging-related properties was higher than the effect of using different particle size fractions. This means that potato peel particles, regardless of their particle size distribution, are promising fillers for composites, with the potential to improve biodegradability, maintain some level of protection for the packaged product, and reduce the cost of the composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Substrates Modification with Biobased Functional Compounds)
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17 pages, 8644 KiB  
Article
Agro-Waste Bean Fibers as Reinforce Materials for Polycaprolactone Composites
by Cristina De Monte, Leonardo Arrighetti, Lucia Ricci, Alessandra Civello and Simona Bronco
Compounds 2023, 3(3), 504-520; https://doi.org/10.3390/compounds3030036 - 1 Sep 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1863
Abstract
The agrifood industry shows one of the widest ranges of possible end products from crops, such as fruits, legumes, cereals, and tubers. The raw material is generally collected and processed industrially, producing a significant amount of organic waste. The overall picture is made [...] Read more.
The agrifood industry shows one of the widest ranges of possible end products from crops, such as fruits, legumes, cereals, and tubers. The raw material is generally collected and processed industrially, producing a significant amount of organic waste. The overall picture is made more complex by the wide variety of nature and composition, and by the difficulty identifying the possible uses of the wastes coming from the processing industry. Such wastes are often disposed of in landfills or treated in waste-to-energy plants depending on the area where they are produced. The circular economy approach has suggested numerous possible generic strategies to improve waste management, involving the exploitation of waste to obtain new value-added products. The use of fibers from legume waste from the canning industry in the bioplastics production sector is a promising and relatively little explored line, particularly for the fibers of beans and green beans. With this in mind, in this article, green bean and borlotti bean fibers obtained from the treatment of wastes were used as reinforcing material for polycaprolactone (PCL)-based biocomposites by melt blending. Analyses were carried out about the morphological, spectroscopic, thermal, and mechanical properties of the starting and the obtained materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Substrates Modification with Biobased Functional Compounds)
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Review

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20 pages, 42810 KiB  
Review
Active Ingredients and Carriers in Nutritional Eco-Cosmetics
by Pierfrancesco Morganti, Alka Lohani, Alessandro Gagliardini, Gianluca Morganti and Maria-Beatrice Coltelli
Compounds 2023, 3(1), 122-141; https://doi.org/10.3390/compounds3010011 - 20 Jan 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4447
Abstract
Beauty and personal care became a significant part of the global economy for two reasons: (1) The elderly growing in the global population and (2) the desire of women and men to appear younger and more attractive. Thus, both young and old people [...] Read more.
Beauty and personal care became a significant part of the global economy for two reasons: (1) The elderly growing in the global population and (2) the desire of women and men to appear younger and more attractive. Thus, both young and old people are looking for revolutionary nutritional eco-cosmetics (combined use of cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals) manufactured by natural active ingredients, using biopolymers as substrates, and made by innovative and sustainable technologies. Consequently, the market of both cosmetics and diet supplements is continually growing together with the request of natural active ingredients, including bio-peptides and biological macromolecules such as chitin and lignin. Therefore, both consumers and industry need to recover innovative active ingredients and carriers (vehicles), naturally derived and supported by advanced methods for controlling their effectiveness and safeness on skin and mucous membrane layers. The use of selected bio-ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid and bio-mimetic peptides, obtained by advanced, innovative and sustainable bio nanotechnologies, will be of interest to develop smart cosmeceutical and nutraceutical formulations. Innovation is considered the key business strategy to drive sustainable economic growth. For trying to reduce waste and produce sustainable, biodegradable and innovative products, the realization of new non-woven tissues, used as carriers for making innovative cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals was considered. Both carriers and active ingredients have been obtained from food waste to reduce loss and pollution. This review will report a brief description of the skin functions, trying also to focus and discuss some of the active ingredients and carriers used in nutritional eco-cosmetics to clarify the supposed mechanism of action, effectiveness and safeness of both active ingredients and carriers, as well as the supposed activity of beauty and personal care products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Substrates Modification with Biobased Functional Compounds)
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