Preparation and properties of luffa fiber- and kenaf fiber-filled poly(butylene succinate-co-lactate)/starch blend-based biocomposites

Biodegradable poly(butylene succinate-co-lactate) (PBSL)/starch blends that contain various amounts of starch were prepared. In addition, luffa fiber (LF) and kenaf fiber (KF) were incorporated, individually, into PBSL/starch (70/30) blend to achieve biocomposites. The LF and KF were treated with NaOH_(aq) prior to their addition to the blend. The Young's modulus and flexural modulus of PBSL increased with the addition of starch and increased further after the formation of the biocomposites. The highest Young's modulus increment, which was found in the KF-added system, was up to a 2.2-fold increase compared with neat PBSL. The tensile/flexural/impact strength of PBSL declined after the formation of the blends. With the further addition of LF/KF, the said properties leveled off. The blends exhibited higher complex viscosity and dynamic storage modulus in the melt state than the neat PBSL, and the values further increased in the biocomposites. The crystallization temperature of PBSL slightly decreased in the blends. By contrast, the biocomposites showed an increment in PBSL crystallization temperature, from 73.0 °C (PBSL) to 75.3 °C (KF-added composite), thereby confirming the surface nucleation effect of LF/KF. The blends showed a higher degree of water absorption than PBSL. The formation of biocomposites led to an even higher degree of water absorption. The current approach of including LF/KF in the PBSL/starch blend to enhance the rigidity and biodegradability was advantageous in expanding the applications of PBSL.     

Starch nanoparticles as a bio-nanocatalyst in synthesis of diheteroaryl thioethers

Nanostarch is shown to be a highly efficient, eco-friendly and heterogenous organocatalyst for the synthesis of the diheteroaryl thioethers via one-pot reaction of methylcarbonyls, thiourea and iodine in DMSO. This method offers significant advantages such as available starting materials, higher purity and excellent yield of products, very easy reaction conditions and absence of any tedious purification. Furthermore, because of employing eco-friendly catalyst without using transition metal catalysts, this novel method emerges as a green-approach leading to less harmful residues. Moreover, a mechanism was proposed to rationalize the reaction and the role of starch nanoparticles was also investigated in these transformations.     

Preliminary Study of Cationic Copolymerization of α-Methylstyrene and Isobutyl Vinyl Ether. II

α-Methylstyrene (α-MS) and isobutyl vinyl ether (IBVE) were copolymerized by using the H₂O/EtAlCl₂ initiator system and CH₂Cl₂ and CH₃Cl solvent in the temperature range from -30 to -90°C. As compared to homopolymerization of α-MS, both yields and molecular weights are reduced upon addition of small amounts of IBVE to the feed. The reactivity ratios were calculated by the method of Kelen and Tödös as well as the Fineman and Ross method, and the combined effect of change of solvent and temperature on reactivity ratios was determined. Effects of feed composition and temperature on the copolymer yield, composition, and number-average molecular weight M _n were studied in detail. M _n showed a novel exponential dependence on the IBVE concentration in the feed. The overall activation energies of molecular weight were determined from the Arrhenius plots for both homo-and copolymerization systems. Based on these and the yield data, a speculation is made regarding reaction mechanism for molecular weight control. NMR and DTA data are reported, which establish the random nature of the copolymers.     

天然植物高分子药用胶囊的研究与发展

讨论了天然植物高分子药用胶囊的最新研究与发展,介绍了目前的主要研究成果并提出展望.不仅从化学结构、流变和相变等基础理论方面探讨了各类植物药用胶囊的特性和研制中所遇到的问题,同时对各种胶囊制备设备与工艺的发展及应用中的技术改进进行了综述分析.传统明胶胶囊生产工艺的应用已有160多年的历史,目前植物胶囊生产设备和工艺多是建立在传统明胶胶囊生产的基础上.研究植物胶囊材料的流变和凝胶性能以尽量满足传统明胶的设备与工艺是当今急需解决的难题之一.近年来,随着人们对淀粉结构和改性方法的深入研究(尤其是将淀粉基可生物降解材料的制备技术与传统食品科学的研究成果有效结合),应用高分子科学理论和方法提高淀粉基材料的加工性能,力学性能与稳定性的研究有了突破性进展,为淀粉胶囊的研制提供了理论和技术上的有力支持.使用传统塑料加工的挤出加工法制备植物胶囊,是植物胶囊研究中的重大突破和创新.从原材料来源的充足性和价格上考虑,淀粉是最有潜力替代传统胶囊的原料之一.     

淀粉接枝聚丙烯酰胺阳离子絮凝剂的合成及应用——推荐一个高分子化学综合实验

介绍一个综合化学实验。实验通过淀粉与丙烯酰胺的接枝聚合反应和阳离子化改性,合成了一种新型淀粉接枝聚丙烯酰胺阳离子高分子絮凝剂,进行了结构表征,以人工模拟染料废水和重金属离子废水为实验对象,探究了合成的聚丙烯酰胺、淀粉接枝聚丙烯酰胺和淀粉接枝聚丙烯酰胺阳离子絮凝剂在废水净化中的应用。本实验理论与实践相结合,有助于激发学生的学习兴趣,培养学生的学科交叉融合思维和分析解决问题的能力。     

Characterization and cytotoxicity and antihuman renal cell carcinoma potentials of starch capped-copper oxide nanoparticles synthesized by ultrasonic irradiation: Introducing a novel chemotherapeutic drug

In this research article we have demonstrated the sustainable green synthesis of a novel starch templated CuO NP following a clean and non-hazardous pathway. Ultrasonic irradiation was used to promote the reaction in alkaline medium. The numerous hydroxyl groups present in starch was exploited in the green reduction of immobilized copper ions in situ. They also helped to stabilize the as synthesized Cu NPs by encapsulation or capping. The morphology and physicochemical characteristics were ascertained over an array of analytical techniques like Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Elemental Mapping, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES). Biologically, the nanocomposite exhibited excellent cytotoxicity against human renal cell carcinoma (RCC-GH, CaKi-2 and HEK293) cell lines without affecting the normal (HUVEC) cell line. IC₅₀ values of the nanocomposite were found at 139, 208and 125 against RCC-GH, CaKi-2 and HEK293 cell lines respectively and accordingly, HEK293 afforded the best adenocarcinoma activity.     

Effect of moisture content on the heat-sealing property of starch films from different botanical sources

In this study, we investigated the differences in the crystallinity of starch films (mung bean, water chestnut, sweet potato, and cassava starches) with different moisture contents stored in different humidity conditions (11%, 22%, 33%, 43%, 54%, 75%, and 84%) and evaluated their thermal adhesion and sealing properties. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed an association between the degree of crystallinity and the moisture content in starch films: crystallinity decreased with an increase in the moisture content. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis showed that films with low moisture content failed to completely adhere, but films with a high moisture content and lower crystallinity showed good adherence, with two films perfectly adhered at the same temperature because water molecules acted as a mobility enhancer. The peeling test demonstrated the failure modes of the heat-bound films. The cassava starch film, which had a low amylose content and crystallinity, showed better adhesion compared to other starch films.     

疏水化淀粉衍生物研究进展

淀粉化学品已广泛应用于各行各业,但由于传统淀粉化学品只有单一的亲水性,应用受到限制。淀粉的疏水化改性是提高淀粉化学品应用性能、赋予淀粉新的性能和功能性、进而拓宽淀粉化学品应用领域的重要方法,淀粉的疏水化改性已成为目前国内外的研究热点。本文综述了近年来制备的新的疏水化淀粉衍生物及其制备新工艺和性能研究方面的进展。     

双波长分光光度法同时测定浆料中的聚乙烯醇和淀粉

本文报道了用双波长分光光度法同时测定变性聚乙烯醇和淀粉醋酸酯的一种新方法。分别选择670.0～540.0nm以及590.0～730.0nm波长对测定变性聚乙烯醇和淀粉醋酸酯。变性聚乙烯醇)～32μg/ml,淀粉醋酸酯0～130μg/ml浓度范围内,吸光度差值△A遵循比耳定律。当淀粉醋酸酯与变性聚乙烯醇的浓度比在1.3～16范围内,变性聚乙烯醇和淀粉醋酸酯的样品回收率分别为99.5～105%和97～108%。所拟定的方法可测定浆料中变性聚乙烯醇和淀粉醋酸酯。本法与盐酸水解淀粉法测定的聚乙烯醇含量相吻合。本法简便快速。     

Selective Oxidation of Aldehyde over Hydroxymethyl Group Catalyzed by Gold Nanoparticles in Aqueous Phase

A protocol for selectively oxidizing aldehyde over hydroxymethyl group is developed, using biomass starch protected gold nanoparticles (NPs) as catalyst. The Au NPs show high selectivity that aldehyde is oxidized into carboxylic acid while alcoholic hydroxyl group stays intact in selective oxidation of 4-(hydroxymethyl)-benzaldehyde. The heterogeneous catalysis system is composed of soluble catalysts and insoluble substrate. The gold catalyst is prepared, preserved and applied for catalytic oxidation all in water. After reaction conditions are optimized, H\begin{document}$_2$\end{document}O\begin{document}$_2$\end{document} is found to be the best oxidizing agent with complete conversion. Besides, the gold catalyst displays good versitility for aldehyde derivatives. After reaction completes, organic components are extracted by organic solvent and gold NPs in water are separated and recycled.