Ex Situ Reconstitution of the Plant Biopolyester Suberin
as a Film
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Abstract
Biopolymers often have unique properties
of considerable interest
as a basis for new materials. It is however not evident how to extract
them from plants without destroying their chemical skeleton and inherent
properties. Here we report the ex situ reconstitution of the biopolyester
suberin as a new waterproof and antimicrobial material. In plant cell
walls, suberin, a cross-linked network of aromatic and aliphatic monomers,
builds up a hydrophobic protective and antimicrobial barrier. Recently
we succeeded in extracting suberin from the plant cell wall using
the ionic liquid cholinium hexanoate. During extraction the native
three-dimensional structure of suberin was partially preserved. In
this study, we demonstrate that this preservation is the key for its
ex situ reconstitution. Without any chemical additives or purification,
the suberin composing macromolecules undergo self-association on the
casting surface forming a film. Suberin films obtained show barrier
properties similar to those of the suberin barrier in plants, including
a potentially broad bactericidal effect