Blends Containing Amphiphilic Biopolymers. Compatibility Behavior

: This mini-review deals with the miscibility behavior of two biopolymers, chitosan, and alginate. It is well known that the miscibility in multifunctional polymers blends is favored due to specific interactions, which origin a negative heat of mixing. Particular interest is focused on functionalized polymers because they are the most suitable way to obtain interacting polymers, producing a single-phase material. Due to the polyfunctionality of chitosan (CS) and other biopolymers, they can be taken into account as a basis of a strongly interacting polymer. They would allow obtaining compatible polymeric materials. For this reason, blends containing CS with different vinyl polymers have been studied. The most significant polymeric blends with these natural polymers will be analyzed in this review. Chitosan is obtained from the biopolymer chitin through sequential processes of demineralization, deproteinization, and deacetylation. The native chitin is obtained by direct separation from the marine crustaceans shell, abundant on the sea coasts. Some classic results that relate to the polymeric blends containing amphiphilic polymers will be discussed. Another biopolymer of the coast is Sodium Alginate (SA). Alginate also allows the formation of compatible polymer blends. Results in this regard will also be analyzed in this review.

Design, Characterisation and Applications of Cellulose-Based Thin Films, Nanofibers and 3D Printed Structures: A Laboratory Manual

The introduction of the Laboratory Manual gives the theoretical bases on cellulose and its derivatives, which are used as starting polymers for the preparation of multifunctional polymers with three different advanced techniques - spin coating, electrospinning and 3D printing. In the following, each technique is presented in a separate Lab Exercise. Each exercise covers the theoretical basics on techniques for polymer processing and methods for their characterisation, with an emphasis on the application of prepared materials. The experimental sections contain all the necessary information needed to implement the exercises, while the added results provide students with the help to implement correct and successful exercises and interpret the results.

Correction: Mechanochemical activation of disulfide-based multifunctional polymers for theranostic drug release

Correction for ‘Mechanochemical activation of disulfide-based multifunctional polymers for theranostic drug release’ by Zhiyuan Shi et al., Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 1668–1674, DOI: 10.1039/D0SC06054B.

A novel multifunctional flame retardant MXene/nanosilica hybrid for poly(vinyl alcohol) with simultaneously improved mechanical properties

A new MXene-based flame retardant and a new strategy for the synthesis of multifunctional polymers.

Mechanochemical activation of disulfide-based multifunctional polymers for theranostic drug release

A theranostic approach for the mechanochemically induced release of drugs is presented to track drug release and uptake in real-time.