Herein, we report a novel class of latex particles composed of a hemicellulose, xyloglucan (XG), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), specially designed to enable a biomimetic modification of cellulose. The formation of the latex particles was achieved utilizing reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) mediated surfactant-free emulsion polymerization employing XG as a hydrophilic macromolecular RAFT agent (macroRAFT). In an initial step, XG was functionalized at the reducing chain end to bear a dithioester. This XG macroRAFT was subsequently utilized in water and chain extended with methyl methacrylate (MMA) as hydrophobic monomer, inspired by a polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) process. This yielded latex nanoparticles with a hydrophobic PMMA core stabilized by the hydrophilic XG chains at the corona. The molar mass of PMMA targeted was varied, resulting in a series of stable latex particles with hydrophobic PMMA content between 22 and 68 wt % of the total solids content (5-10%). The XG-PMMA nanoparticles were subsequently adsorbed to a neutral cellulose substrate (filter paper), and the modified surfaces were analyzed by FT-IR and SEM analyses. The adsorption of the latex particles was also investigated by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), where the nanoparticles were adsorbed to negatively charged model cellulose surfaces. The surfaces were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle (CA) measurements. QCM-D experiments showed that more mass was adsorbed to the surfaces with increasing molar mass of the PMMA present. AFM of the surfaces after adsorption showed discrete particles, which were no longer present after annealing (160 °C, 1 h) and the roughness (Rq) of the surfaces had also decreased by at least half. Interestingly, after annealing, the surfaces did not all become more hydrophobic, as monitored by CA measurements, indicating that the surface roughness was an important factor to consider when evaluating the surface properties following particle adsorption. This novel class of latex nanoparticles provides an excellent platform for cellulose modification via physical adsorption. The utilization of XG as the anchoring molecule to cellulose provides a versatile methodology, as it does not rely on electrostatic interactions for the physical adsorption, enabling a wide range of cellulose substrates to be modified, including neutral sources such as cotton and bacterial nanocellulose, leading to new and advanced materials.

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The current drive for applications of biomass-derived compounds, for energy and advanced materials, has led to a resurgence of interest in the manipulation of plant polymers. The xyloglucans, a family of structurally complex plant polysaccharides, have attracted significant interest due to their intrinsic high affinity for cellulose, both in muro and in technical applications. Moreover, current cell wall models are limited by the lack of detailed structure–property relationships of xyloglucans, due to a lack of molecules with well-defined branching patterns. Here, we have developed a new, broad-specificity “xyloglucan glycosynthase”, selected from active-site mutants of a bacterial endoxyloglucanase, which catalyzed the synthesis of high molar mass polysaccharides, with complex side-chain structures, from suitable glycosyl fluoride donor substrates. The product range was further extended by combination with an Arabidopsis thaliana α(1→2)-fucosyltransferase to achieve the in vitro synthesis of fucosylated xyloglucans typical of dicot primary cell walls. These enzymes thus comprise a toolkit for the controlled enzymatic synthesis of xyloglucans that are otherwise impossible to obtain from native sources. Moreover, this study demonstrates the validity of a chemo-enzymatic approach to polysaccharide synthesis, in which the simplicity and economy of glycosynthase technology is harnessed together with the exquisite specificity of glycosyltransferases to control molecular complexity.

A new material consisting of mm-sized hollow cellulose spheres, for biomedical applications or for the preparation of low weight porous materials has been prepared by a unique solution precipitation (SP) method. The technique is based on three separate steps. In the first step, high molecular mass, non-modified cellulose is dissolved in a suitable solvent. This cellulose solution is then saturated with a suitable gas (CO 2 or N 2 in the present work) and finally this gas-saturated solution is drop-wise added to a water reservoir. In this step, the cellulose is precipitated and a gas bubble is nucleated in the center of the cellulose sphere. When stored in water, the hollow center is filled with water, indicating that the capsule wall is porous in nature. This was also supported by BET-area measurements as well as by high resolution SEM-images of broken capsule walls. The internal void volume of a capsule was about 5 ml and the wall volume was about 8 ml. It was also established that the properties of the cellulose capsules, i.e. wall and void volume, the specific surface area, the average pore size of the capsule wall, the wall density, and the compressive load capacity could be tuned by the choice of cellulose concentration in the solution before precipitation. The capsule wall volume and void volume were also affected by the choice of gas, the gas pressure and the gas dissolution time during the gas saturation step. The response of the cellulose wall of the prepared capsules to changes in pH and ion concentration in the surrounding solution was also investigated. The swelling-shrinking behavior was further investigated by introducing more charges to the capsule wall, via carboxymethylation of the cellulose. This was achieved by using carboxymethylated cellulose which increased the swelling-shrinking effect. The results show a typical polyelectrolyte gel behavior of the capsule wall and the wet modulus of the cellulose wall was determined to be between 0.09-0.2 MPa depending on the charge of the cellulose in the capsule wall.Furthermore, the freeze dried cellulose spheres had a modulus of 1.9-7.4 MPa, depending on the cellulose concentration during the preparation of the spheres. These cellulose capsules are suitable both for the preparation of porous materials, where these larger spheres are joined together in 3D-shaped materials, and for controlled release where the interior of the capsules is filled with active substances and these substances are released by controlling the pores in the capsule walls.