The mechanism of lignin nanoprecipitation and subsequent self-assembly was elucidated by studying generation of lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) from aqueous ethanol. LNP formation was found to follow a kinetically controlled nucleation-growth mechanism in which large lignin molecules formed the initial critical nuclei. Using this information, we demonstrate entrapment of budesonide in LNPs and subsequent pH-triggered and surfactant-responsive release of this synthetic anti-inflammatory corticosteroid. Overall, our results not only provide a promising intestinal delivery system for budesonide but also deliver fundamental mechanistic understanding for the entrapment of actives in LNPs with controlled size and release properties.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b01652 | DOI Listing |
Green Chem
January 2025
Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University SE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
Lignin has emerged as a sustainable alternative to fossil-based polymers in advanced materials such as photonics. However, current methods for preparing photonic lignin materials are limited by non-benign organic solvents and low production yields. In this work, we present a highly efficient process that enables the production of photonic glasses with yields ranging from 48% to 72%, depending on the size of the lignin nanoparticles obtained from herbaceous soda lignin, softwood kraft lignin, and hardwood organosolv lignin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
January 2025
School of Food Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, 410128, Hunan, China. Electronic address:
This study explored a facile method for converting macadamia nutshells into bio-based nanomaterials, including cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and lignin nanoparticles (LNPs), through deep eutectic solvent (DES) pretreatment coupled with a nanofabrication strategy. Comparisons of the physicochemical, morphological, and structural properties of the CNF and LNPs produced through acidic choline chloride/oxalic acid dihydrate (ACDES) and alkaline KCO/glycerol DES (ALDES) pretreatments were conducted using SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA, GPC and 2D NMR. The CNFs obtained from ACDES pretreatment (ACCNFs) exhibited uniform and long filament-like structures with shorter whisker-like nanocrystals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntioxidants (Basel)
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, College of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.
Plants have evolved complex mechanisms to cope with diverse abiotic stresses, with the phenylpropanoid pathway playing a central role in stress adaptation. This pathway produces an array of secondary metabolites, particularly polyphenols, which serve multiple functions in plant growth, development, regulating cellular processes, and stress responses. Recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying phenylpropanoid metabolism have revealed complex regulatory networks involving MYB transcription factors as master regulators and their interactions with stress signaling pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMacromol Rapid Commun
January 2025
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Copenhagen, 1958, Denmark.
Lignin's complex and heterogeneous molecular structure poses significant challenges for accurate molar mass determination, which is important for its utilization in industrial applications, such as biochemicals, nanoparticles, biobased binders, and biofuels. This study evaluates the potential of Taylor Dispersion Analysis (TDA) for measuring lignin size and compares it with size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) NMR. Using dual Gaussian fitting, flow-induced dispersion analysis (FIDA), a TDA-based method, successfully determined the average hydrodynamic radii of multiple species in solvent-fractionated soda grass lignin samples, producing results consistent with DOSY.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
January 2025
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address:
Curcumin has a great effect on alleviating oxidative stress, but its poor stability and low biocompatibility limit its application in therapeutic field. In order to overcome these limitations of curcumin, in this study, curcumin was grafted to lignin by esterification, and then prepared into nanoparticles. The results showed that the photothermal stability of curcumin was effectively improved.
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