Graft copolymers of alginate backbone and N-isopropylacrylamide/N-tert-butylacrylamide random copolymer, P(NIPAMx-co-NtBAMy), side chains (stickers) with various NtBAM content were designed and explored in aqueous media. Self-assembling thermoresponsive hydrogels are formed upon heating, in all cases, through the hydrophobic association of the P(NIPAMx-co-NtBAMy) sticky pendant chains. The rheological properties of the formulations depend remarkably on the NtBAM hydrophobic content, which regulates the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and, in turn, the stickers’ thermo-responsiveness. The gelation point, Tgel, was shifted to lower temperatures from 38 to 20 °C by enriching the PNIPAM chains with 20 mol % NtBAM, shifting accordingly to the gelation temperature window. The consequences of the Tgel shift to the hydrogels’ rheological properties are significant at room and body temperature. For instance, at 37 °C, the storage modulus increases about two orders of magnitude and the terminal relaxation time increase about 10 orders of magnitude by enriching the stickers with 20 mol % hydrophobic moieties. Two main thermo-induced behaviors were revealed, characterized by a sol–gel and a weak gel–stiff gel transition for the copolymer with stickers of low (0.6 mol %) and high (14, 20 mol %) NtBAM content, respectively. The first type of hydrogels is easily injectable, while for the second one, the injectability is provided by shear-thinning effects. The influence of the type of media (phosphate buffer (PB), phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM)) on the hydrogel properties was also explored and discussed. The 4 wt % NaALG-g-P(NIPAM80-co-NtBAM20)/DMEM formulation showed excellent shear-induced injectability at room temperature and instantaneous thermo-induced gel stiffening at body temperature, rendering it a good candidate for cell transplantation potential applications.

Polysaccharide-based graft copolymers bearing thermo-responsive grafting chains, exhibiting LCST, have been designed to afford thermo-responsive injectable hydrogels. The good performance of the hydrogel requires control of the critical gelation temperature, Tgel. In the present article, we wish to show an alternative method to tune Tgel using an alginate-based thermo-responsive gelator bearing two kinds of grafting chains (heterograft copolymer topology) of P(NIPAM86-co-NtBAM14) random copolymers and pure PNIPAM, differing in their lower critical solution temperature (LCST) about 10 °C. Interestingly, the Tgel of the heterograft copolymer is controlled from the overall hydrophobic content, NtBAM, of both grafts, implying the formation of blended side chains in the crosslinked nanodomains of the formed network. Rheological investigation of the hydrogel showed excellent responsiveness to temperature and shear. Thus, a combination of shear-thinning and thermo-thickening effects provides the hydrogel with injectability and self-healing properties, making it a good candidate for biomedical applications.

In the present work, direct incorporation of bioactive compounds onto the surface and interlayer of nanoclays before their incorporation into the final polymeric film was conducted, based on a green methodology developed by our group that is compatible with food packaging. This will lead to the higher thermal stability and the significant reduction of the loss of activity of the active ingredients during packaging configuration. On this basis, the essential oil (EO) components carvacrol (C), thymol (T) as well as olive leaf extract (OLE), which is used for the first time, were incorporated onto organo-modified montmorillonite (O) or inorganic bentonite (B) through the evaporation/adsorption method. The prepared bioactive nanocarriers were further mixed with low-density polyethylene (LDPE), via melt compounding, in order to prepare films for potential use as fresh fruit and vegetable packaging material. Characterization of the bioactive nanocarriers and films were performed through XRD, TGA, tensile, antimicrobial and antioxidant tests. Films with organically modified montmorillonite loaded with carvacrol (OC), thymol (OT) and olive leaf extract (OOLE) at 5% wt. showed better results in terms of mechanical properties. The films with polyethylene and organically modified montmorillonite loaded with carvacrol or thymol at 20% wt. (PE_OC20 and PE_OT20), as well as with olive leaf extract at 5 or 10 %wt., clay:bioactive substance ratio 1:0.5 and 10% compatibilizer (PE_OOLE5_MA10 and PE_OOLE10_MA10) exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. The resulting films displayed outstanding antimicrobial properties against Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) with the best results appearing in the films with 10% OC and OT.