Tailor-made functional surfaces based on cellulose-derived materials

Abstract

As one of the most abundant natural materials in nature, cellulose has revealed enormous potential for the construction of functional materials thanks to its sustainability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Among many fascinating applications, functional surfaces based on cellulose-derived materials have attracted increasing interest recently, as platforms for diagnostics, sensoring, robust catalysis, water treatment, ultrafiltration, and anti-microbial surfaces. This mini-review attempts to cover the general methodology for the fabrication of functional cellulose surface and a few popular applications including bioactive and non-adhesive (i.e., anti-fouling and anti-microbial) surfaces.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates: opening doors for a sustainable future

“…2 The general molecular structure of PHAs is presented in Figure 1b. Depending on the carbon numbers in the monomeric constituents, PHAs can be classified as short-chain-length PHAs (C 3 -C 5 ), which consists of 3-5 carbon monomers, and mediumchain-length PHAs (MCL-PHA, C 6 -C 14 ), which consists of 6-14 carbon monomers in the 3-hydroxyalkanoate units (Figure 1b). 3,4 For example, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), poly(3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHV) and their copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) are typical examples of short-chain-length PHAs, whereas poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (PHO) and poly(3-hydroxynonanoate) (PHN), which are primarily formed as copolymers with 3-hydroxyhexanoate (HHx), 3-hydroxyheptanoate (HH) and/or 3-hydroxydecanoate (HD), are typical examples of MCL-PHAs.…”

Biorecognition antifouling coatings in complex biological fluids: a review of functionalization aspects

“…The popular antifouling strategies include the coatings with functionalizable hydrophilic polymers like oligo-and polysaccharides, [58][59][60][61] and various architectures containing an oligo(ethylene glycol) moiety (OEG). 55,[62][63][64][65][66] The carboxymethyl dextran platform enables efficient binding of high amounts of BEs via its carboxyl groups, but its architecture makes it prone to nonspecific adsorption from undiluted complex media.…”

Microalgae as Contributors to Produce Biopolymers

“…Cellulose, lignin, amylose, amylopectin, poly(lactic acid), and polycaprolactone are biodegradable polymers commonly used in blends with PHAs that result in improvements in the properties of PHAs [ 44 ]. Cellulose derivatives, e.g., ethyl cellulose, cellulose propionate, and cellulose acetate butyrate, were recognized as having high compatibility with PHAs, which make them attractive biomaterials for blending [ 45 ]. As previously discussed, most of the scl-PHAs exhibit high brittle behavior and crystallinity, and the latter property is incompatible with the high polymer flexibility required for application in the production of biomaterials.…”