Dry Bacterial Cellulose and Carboxymethyl Cellulose formulations with interfacial-active performance: processing conditions and redispersion

Dry or powdered formulations of food additives facilitate transportation, storage, preservation and handling. In this work, dry formulations of bacterial cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose (BC:CMC), easily redispersible and preserving the functionality of the never-dried dispersions are reported. Different processing parameters and their effect on the materials properties were evaluated, namely: (i) wet-grinding of BC (Hand-blender, Microcut Head Impeller, High-pressure Homogenizer), (ii) drying of BC:CMC mixtures (fast drying at130 °C and slow drying at 80 °C) and subsequent (iii) comminution to different particle sizes. The dispersibility of the obtained BC:CMC powders was evaluated, and their functionality after redispersion was assessed by measuring the dynamic viscosity, the effect in oil/water interfacial tension (liquidliquid system) and the stabilization of cocoa in milk (solidliquid system). The size of BC fibre bundles was of paramount relevance to its stabilizing ability in multiphasic systems. A more extensive wet-grinding of the BC fibres was accompanied by a loss in the BC:CMC functionality, related to the increasingly smaller size of the BC bundles. Indeed, as the Dv (50) of the wet BC bundles was reduced from 1228 to 55 µm, the BC:CMC viscosity profile dropped and the effect on interfacial tension decreased. This effect was observed both on the never-dried and dry BC:CMC formulations. On the other hand, the drying method did not play a major effect in the materials properties. In a benchmarking study, the BC:CMC formulations, at a low concentration (0.15%), had better stabilizing ability of the cocoa particles than several commercial cellulose products.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-020-03211-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.This study was supported by FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2019 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Daniela Martins also gratefully acknowledges FCT for the PhD scholarship, reference SFRH/BD/115917/2016.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nanocomposites of bacterial cellulose nanofibers and chitin nanocrystals: fabrication, characterization and bactericidal activity

An environmentally friendly approach was implemented for the production of nanocomposites with bactericidal activity, using bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers and chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs). The antibacterial activity of ChNCs prepared by acid hydrolysis, TEMPO-mediated oxidation or partial deacetylation of α-chitin powder was assessed and the structure of the ChNC nanoparticles was characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and solid-state 13C-NMR. The partially deacetylated ChNCs (D-ChNC) showed the strongest antibacterial activity, with 99 ± 1% inhibition of bacterial growth compared to control samples. Nanocomposites were prepared from BC nanofibers and D-ChNC by (i) in situ biosynthesis with the addition of D-ChNC nanoparticles in the culture medium of Acetobacter aceti, and (ii) post-modification by mixing D-ChNC with disintegrated BC in an aqueous suspension. The structure and mechanical properties of the BC/D-ChNC nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and an Instron universal testing machine. The bactericidal activity of the nanocomposites increased with the D-ChNC content, with a reduction in bacterial growth by 3.0 log units when the D-ChNC content was 50%. D-ChNC nanoparticles have great potential as substitutes for unfriendly antimicrobial compounds such as heavy metal nanoparticles and synthetic polymers to introduce antibacterial properties to cellulosic materials.Núria Butchosa, Christian Brown, Per Tomas Larsson, Lars A. Berglund, Vincent Bulone and Qi Zho

Glycan-Functionalized Fluorescent Chitin Nanocrystals for Biorecognition Applications

A new platform based on chitin nanocrystals has been developed for biorecognition applications. TEMPO-oxidized chitin nanocrystals (TCNs) were labeled with a fluorescent imidazoisoquinolinone dye, and simultaneously conjugated with carbohydrate ligands, resulting in dually functionalized TCNs. The biorecognition properties of the nanocrystals were probed with lectins and bacteria, resulting in selective interactions with their corresponding cognate carbohydrate-binding proteins, as visualized by optical, fluorescence, STEM, and TEM imaging. This represents a new approach to multifunctional nanomaterials based on naturally occurring polymers, holding high potential for biomedical applications

Synthesis of Multifunctional Cellulose Nanocrystals for Lectin Recognition and Bacterial Imaging

Multifunctional cellulose nanocrystals have been synthesized and applied as a new type of glyconanomaterial in lectin binding and bacterial imaging. The cellulose nanocrystals were prepared by TEMPO-mediated oxidation and acidic hydrolysis, followed by functionalization with a quinolone fluorophore and carbohydrate ligands. The cellulose nanocrystals were subsequently applied in interaction studies with carbohydrate-binding proteins and in bacterial imaging. The results show that the functional cellulose nanocrystals could selectively recognize the corresponding cognate lectins. In addition, mannosylated nanocrystals were shown to selectively interact with FimH-presenting E. coli, as detected by TEM and confocal fluorescence microscopy. These glyconanomaterials provide a new application of cellulose nanocrystals in biorecognition and imaging

Controlled release of carvacrol and curcumin: bio-based food packaging by synergism action of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanocrystals and cyclodextrin

International audienceOxidized cellulose nanocrystals with sodium carboxylate groups (TOCNC-COONa) and with free carboxyl groups (TOCN-COOH) were prepared and then chemically modified with beta-cyclodextrin (βCD) and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) to prepare materials able to load and release antibacterial molecules over a prolonged period of time. The materials were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, and the CD content of modified TOCNCs determined by phenolphthalein colorimetry. The extent of grafting was also assessed by QCM-D and microscopy was used to ascertain and compare the morphology of both TOCNC-COONa/HPβCD and TOCNC-COOH/HPβCD. Then, carvacrol and curcumin were entrapped by the attached HPβCD and their prolonged release confirmed, as compared to neat material. The combined effects of HPβCD and carvacrol on the antimicrobial properties of TOCNC-COOH films were finally evaluated