Functional Properties and Molecular Degradation of Schizostachyum Brachycladum Bamboo Cellulose Nanofibre in PLA-Chitosan Bionanocomposites

Abstract

The degradation and mechanical properties of potential polymeric materials used for green manufacturing are significant determinants. In this study, cellulose nanofibre was prepared from Schizostachyum brachycladum bamboo and used as reinforcement in the PLA/chitosan matrix using melt extrusion and compression moulding method. The cellulose nanofibre(CNF) was isolated using supercritical carbon dioxide and high-pressure homogenisation. The isolated CNF was characterised with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), FT-IR, zeta potential and particle size analysis. The mechanical, physical, and degradation properties of the resulting biocomposite were studied with moisture content, density, thickness swelling, tensile, flexural, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, and biodegradability analysis. The TEM, FT-IR, and particle size results showed successful isolation of cellulose nanofibre using this method. The result showed that the physical, mechanical, and degradation properties of PLA/chitosan/CNF biocomposite were significantly enhanced with cellulose nanofibre. The density, thickness swelling, and moisture content increased with the addition of CNF. Also, tensile strength and modulus; flexural strength and modulus increased; while the elongation reduced. The carbon residue from the thermal degradation and the glass transition temperature of the PLA/chitosan/CNF biocomposite was observed to increase with the addition of CNF. The result showed that the biocomposite has potential for green and sustainable industrial application.

Insights into the Role of Biopolymer Aerogel Scaffolds in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

“…The three-dimension of the tissue scaffold should be adequately designed in terms of architecture as well as physicochemical properties. Some biopolymeric aerogels can dissolve in aqueous solution and transform into soft hydrogels and have been found to be good candidates to mimic some tissue environments [ 103 , 104 ]. Mahumane et al [ 105 ] suggested that the tissue scaffold should be designed with pores that are small enough to support three dimensions of cell–cell contacts and at the same time large enough to allow nutrients, oxygen, and bioactive factor diffusion to ensure the survival and growth of cells.…”

Antimicrobial Food Packaging with Biodegradable Polymers and Bacteriocins

“…Compared with other aliphatic polyesters, PLA has excellent properties, such as mechanical strength, high modulus, biodegradability, biocompatibility, bioabsorbability, transparency, low toxicity, and ease of manufacturing process [ 22 , 141 , 142 ]. Due to these properties, PLA has many applications, such as agricultural films, biomedical devices, packaging, and the automotive industry [ 10 , 143 , 144 ].…”

“…A good example of using PLA to create films with antimicrobial properties is its combination with chitosan [ 15 , 142 ]. PLA also obtains better mechanical properties and better barrier properties.…”

“…PLA also obtains better mechanical properties and better barrier properties. The mechanism of combining these two biocomponents is based on the use of amphiphilic properties of chitosan and hydrophobic properties of PLA [ 142 ]. The application of the obtained composite as food packaging material is mainly based on the mechanism of chitosan influence [ 15 ].…”

“…The obtained PLA/chitosan composite film is an interesting alternative to plastics [ 142 , 156 ]. On the one hand, PLA has similar properties to synthetic films, and on the other hand, it is a biodegradable filler similar to the chitosan biopolymer [ 142 ].…”