Starch-fibers composites, a study of all-polysaccharide foams from microwave foaming to biodegradation.

Sustainable composite foams based on rice starch and cellulosic long fibers were successfully fabricated using microwave irradiation. They were presented as a promising method to recycle some of the textile industry waste. A deep study of the processability and functionality of the composites revealed the performance improvement of starch with the addition of long cellulosic fibers, especially with 6 wt% of Arbocel®, in terms of foamability, water, and mechanical resistance features.

In Situ Monitoring of Block Copolymer Self-Assembly via Solvent Exchange through Controlled Dialysis with Light and Neutron Scattering Detection.

Solution self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers (BCs) is typically performed by a solvent-to-water exchange. However, BC assemblies are often trapped in metastable states depending on the mixing conditions such as the magnitude and rate of water addition. BC self-assembly can be performed under near thermodynamic control by dialysis, which accounts for a slow and gradual water addition.

Switchable Lipids: From Conformational Switch to Macroscopic Changes in Lipid Vesicles.

It has been shown that the use of conformationally pH-switchable lipids can drastically enhance the cytosolic drug delivery of lipid vesicles. Understanding the process by which the pH-switchable lipids disturb the lipid assembly of nanoparticles and trigger the cargo release is crucial to optimize the rational design of pH-switchable lipids. Here, we gather morphological observations (FF-SEM, Cryo-TEM, AFM, confocal microscopy), physicochemical characterization (DLS, ELS), as well as phase behavior studies (DSC, H NMR, Langmuir isotherm, and MAS NMR) to propose a mechanism of pH-triggered membrane destabilization.

Tear of lipid membranes by nanoparticles.

Health concerns associated with the advent of nanotechnologies have risen sharply when it was found that particles of nanoscopic dimensions reach the cell lumina. Plasma and organelle lipid membranes, which are exposed to both the incoming and the engulfed nanoparticles, are the primary targets of possible disruptions. However, reported adhesion, invagination and embedment of nanoparticles (NPs) do not compromise the membrane integrity, precluding direct bilayer damage as a mechanism for toxicity.

Hybrid polymer/lipid vesicles: Influence of polymer architecture and molar mass on line tension.

Hybrid polymer/lipid vesicles are self-assembled structures that have been the subject of an increasing number of studies in recent years. They are particularly promising tools in the development of cell membrane models because they offer the possibility to fine-tune their membrane structure by adjusting the distribution of components (presence or absence of "raft-like" lipid domains), which is of prime importance to control their membrane properties. Line tension in multiphase membranes is known to be a key parameter on membrane structuration, but remains unexplored, either experimentally or by computer modeling for hybrid polymer/lipid vesicles.