This Special Issue of the journal arises from the need to highlight the developments in the field of membrane research and membrane processes that have been emerging in recent years by researchers and research groups based in the Iberian Peninsula [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanotechnology advances are rapidly spreading through the food science field; however, their major application has been focused on the development of novel packaging materials reinforced with nanoparticles. Bionanocomposites are formed with a bio-based polymeric material incorporated with components at a nanoscale size. These bionanocomposites can also be applied to preparing an encapsulation system aimed at the controlled release of active compounds, which is more related to the development of novel ingredients in the food science and technology field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFspp. are crops well adapted to adverse environments and have great economic potential. Their constituents, including fruits, cladodes, and flowers, have a high nutritional value and are rich in value-added compounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTomato pomace is a low-cost, renewable resource that has been studied for the extraction of the biopolyester cutin, which is mainly composed of long-chain hydroxy fatty acids. These are excellent building blocks to produce new hydrophobic biopolymers. In this work, the monomers of cutin were extracted and isolated from tomato pomace and utilized to produce cutin-based films.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDicarboxymethyl cellulose (DCMC) was synthesized and tested for protein adsorption. The prepared polymer was characterized by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) to confirm the functionalization of cellulose. This work shows that protein adsorption onto DCMC is charge dependent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembrane research in Portugal is aligned with global concerns and expectations for sustainable social development, thus progressively focusing on the use of natural resources and renewable energy. This review begins by addressing the pioneer work on membrane science and technology in Portugal by the research groups of - (IST), - (FCT NOVA) and - (FEUP) aiming to provide an historical perspective on the topic. Then, an overview of the trends and challenges in membrane processes and materials, mostly in the last five years, involving Portuguese researchers, is presented as a contribution to a more sustainable water-energy-material-food nexus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProtein crystallization still remains mostly an empirical science, as the production of crystals with the required quality for X-ray analysis is dependent on the intensive screening of the best protein crystallization and crystal's derivatization conditions. Herein, this demanding step was addressed by the development of a high-throughput and low-budget microfluidic platform consisting of an ion exchange membrane (117 Nafion membrane) sandwiched between a channel layer (stripping phase compartment) and a wells layer (feed phase compartment) forming 75 independent micro-contactors. This microfluidic device allows for a simultaneous and independent screening of multiple protein crystallization and crystal derivatization conditions, using Hen Egg White Lysozyme (HEWL) as the model protein and Hg as the derivatizing agent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCorn fiber from the corn starch industry is a by-product produced in large quantity that is mainly used in animal feed formulations, though it is still rich in valuable components, such as arabinoxylans, with proven film-forming ability. During arabinoxylans' recovery under alkaline extraction, a dark-colored biopolymer fraction is obtained. In this work, a purified arabinoxylan extract from corn fiber with an intense brownish color was decolorized using hydrogen peroxide as the decolorizing agent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntelligent food packaging is emerging as a novel technology, capable of monitoring the quality and safety of food during its shelf-life time. This technology makes use of indicators and sensors that are applied in the packaging and that detect changes in physiological variations of the foodstuffs (due to microbial and chemical degradation). These indicators usually provide information, e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe continuous petroleum-based plastics manufacturing generates disposal issues, spreading the problem of plastic pollution and its rise in the environment. Recently, innovative techniques and scientific research promoted biopolymers as the primary alternative for traditional plastics, raising and expanding global bioplastic production. Due to its unmatched biological and functional attributes, chitosan (Ch) has been substantially explored and employed as a biopolymeric matrix.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we report the impact of the magnetic field on protein permeability through magnetic-responsive, block copolymer, nanocomposite membranes with hydrophilic and hydrophobic characters. The hydrophilic nanocomposite membranes were composed of spherical polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized through polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) with iron oxide NPs coated with quaternized poly(2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate. The hydrophobic nanocomposite membranes were prepared via nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) containing poly (methacrylic acid) and meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid-coated superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPNPs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCorn fiber, a by-product of the starch industry, is presently incorporated in animal feed. However, it has arabinoxylans as added-value components (besides ferulic acid) that should be valorized. In this work, the raw material, a fraction enriched in arabinoxylans from corn fiber, previously produced by alkaline extraction from corn fiber and pre-concentrated by ultrafiltration, was further purified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChitosan-based composites play an important role in food packaging applications and can be used either as films or as edible coatings. Due to their high costs and lower performance (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA novel cellulose-based cross-linked polymer, dicarboxymethyl cellulose (DCMC), has been synthesized and used for methylene blue (MB) removal. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nitrogen porosimetry, and optical microscopy were employed to characterize the structure of the cellulose-based adsorbent. The number of carboxylate groups per gram of polymer (CG) was calculated with sodium content determined by ICP-AES.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl
October 2019
To accomplish a rapid wound healing it is necessary to develop an asymmetric membrane with interconnected pores consisting of a top layer that prevents rapid dehydration of the wound and bacteria penetration and a sub-layer with high absorption capacity and bactericidal properties. Polycaprolactone (PCL)/polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) asymmetric membranes loaded with the bactericidal monoterpene carvacrol (CRV) were synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Mechanical properties in dry and wet conditions and fluid handling behavior were also assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembrane distillation (MD) has recently gained considerable attention as a valid process for the production of fresh-water due to its ability to exploit low grade waste heat for operation and to ensure a nearly feed concentration-independent production of high-purity distillate. Limitations have been related to polarization phenomena negatively affecting the thermal efficiency of the process and, as a consequence, its productivity. Several theoretical models have been developed to predict the impact of the operating conditions of the process on the thermal polarization, but there is a lack of experimental validation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article presents the synthesis of poly(methacrylic acid)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) diblock copolymer via polymerization-induced self-assembly in the presence of iron-oxide nanoparticles. Detailed phase diagrams with and without inorganic nanoparticles were constructed. Scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray photometry studies confirme the decoration of the polymeric nanoparticles with the iron-oxide nanoparticles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this work is the development and characterisation of new hybrid polysaccharide (FucoPol) membranes. These membranes were prepared by incorporation of a SiO network homogeneously dispersed by using a sol-gel method with GPTMS as a crosslinker silica precursor. They were further crosslinked with CaCl for reinforcement of mechanical properties and improvement of their permeation performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlasma deposition, liquid flame spray (LFS) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) were used to form inorganic coatings in new exopolysaccharide (FucoPol) biodegradable films. Coated films were characterised in terms of surface, optical and barrier properties in order to evaluate their potential use in food packaging. FucoPol films presented dense and homogeneous surface with instant water contact angle of 95̊.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, the concentration process of three different tea extracts (medicinal Rosil No. 6, Black, and Forest Fruit teas) using the osmotic evaporation (OE) process, was studied. The effect of the OE process on the content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity was evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
November 2016
To address the industry's interest in finding novel biobased glues, the adhesive properties of the bacterial polysaccharide FucoPol were evaluated through shear bond strength tests. A FucoPol solution was used to bond different materials, namely, wood, glass, cardboard and cellulose acetate film. The shear strength was compared to that of the same adherends bonded with commercial synthetic glues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBilayer films of FucoPol and chitosan were prepared and characterized in terms of optical, morphologic, hygroscopic, mechanical and barrier properties, to evaluate their potential application in food packaging. Bilayer films have shown dense and homogeneous layers, and presented enhanced properties when comparing to monolayer FucoPol films. Though, a high swelling degree in contact with liquid water (263.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlastic packaging is essential nowadays. However, the huge environmental problem caused by landfill disposal of non-biodegradable polymers in the end of life has to be minimized and preferentially eliminated. The solution may rely on the use of biopolymers, in particular polysaccharides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, the solution properties of the bacterial fucose-rich polysaccharide, FucoPol, were studied. The effect of pH (3.5-10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, a supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) was prepared by impregnating a PVDF membrane with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([BMIM][DCA]) ionic liquid. This membrane was tested for its permeability to pure gases (CO2, N2 and O2) and ideal selectivities were calculated. The SILM performance was also compared to that of Ion-Jelly® membranes, a new type of gelled membranes developed recently.
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