Macromol Biosci
Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-H121 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan.
Published: September 2020
Multicomponent systems for self-assembled molecular gels provide huge opportunities to generate collective or new functions that are not inherent in individual single-component gels. However, gelation tends to require careful and complicated procedures, because, among a myriad of kinetically trapped structures related to the degree of mixing of multiple components over a wide range of scales, from molecular level to macroscopic scale, a limited number of structures that exhibit the desired function need to be constructed. This study presents a simple method for the construction of double-network (DN) hydrogels with improved stiffness composed of crystalline cellulose oligomers and gelatin. The pH-triggered self-assembly of cellulose oligomers leads to the formation of robust networks composed of crystalline nanofibers in the presence of dissolved gelatin, followed by cooling to allow for the formation of soft gelatin networks. The resultant DN hydrogels exhibit improved stiffness; the improvement in gel stiffness with double networking is comparable to that of previously reported DN hydrogels produced via a time-consuming enzymatic reaction.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mabi.202000187 | DOI Listing |
Carbohydr Polym
March 2025
Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Almas Allé 5, Uppsala 75651, Sweden. Electronic address:
Chitin is the second most abundant biopolymer in nature after cellulose and is composed of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) connected via β(1 → 4)-glycosidic bonds. Despite its prominence in nature and diverse roles in pharmaceutical and food technological applications, there is still a need to develop methods to study structure and function of chitin and its corresponding oligomers. Efforts have been made to analyse chitin oligomers by NMR spectroscopy, but spectral overlap has prevented any differentiation between the interior residues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
December 2024
State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510640, China.
Cellulose biocomposites have emerged as attractive alternatives to fossil-based plastics because of their excellent renewability and biodegradability; however, their water resistance and mechanical properties remain challenging. Herein, a cellulose- containing bioplastic with high a reinforcement content, water stability, and toughness is reported. Lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers (LCNF) were prepared by pretreating eucalyptus wood powder with a deep eutectic solvent and high-pressure homogenization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
December 2024
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Zeolites are crystalline microporous aluminosilicates widely used as solid acids in catalytic routes to clean and sustainable energy carriers and chemicals from biogenic and fossil feedstocks. This study addresses how zeolites act as weak polyprotic acids and dissociate to form extra-crystalline hydronium (HO) ions in liquid water. The extent of their dissociation depends on the energy required to form the conjugate framework anions, which becomes unfavorable as the extent of dissociation increases intracrystalline charge densities because repulsive interactions ultimately preclude the detachment of all protons as catalytically relevant HO(aq) ions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiopolymers
January 2025
The University of Belgrade, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, Belgrade, Serbia.
Silicon (Si) is a highly abundant mineral in Earth's crust. It plays a vital role in plant growth, providing mechanical support, enhancing grain yield, facilitating mineral nutrition, and aiding stress response mechanisms. The intricate relationship between silicification and lignin chemistry significantly impacts cell wall structure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Chromatogr A
November 2024
Lund University, Department of Chemistry, Centre for Analysis and Synthesis, P.O. Box 124, SE-22100, Lund, Sweden.
With the increased interest in lignin valorization, the analytical challenge to separate a complex mixture of a vast number of phenolics has made chromatography an indispensable step in lignin analysis. High-resolution separations, such as gas chromatography, reversed-phase liquid chromatography and supercritical fluid chromatography have typically been targeting low-molecular-weight compounds, while larger lignin oligomers have received less attention. These compounds have proven to be difficult to separate due to the inherent complexity of the high-molecular-weight fraction of lignins, in fact, even high-resolving linear reversed-phase gradients elute them as one wide zone.
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