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Bio‐inspired and biodegradable quantum optics scenarios constitute a pathway toward environmentally friendly front‐end technologies. Such an inspiring perspective necessitates the replacement of classic gain materials with a biological counterpart like photoluminescent bacteria. It is easy to imagine that, in this case, a planar and cell‐viable substitute of classic bulk solid‐states resonators can be highly beneficial. In this paper a micro‐ and nano‐photonic structuration of both a standard and a functionalized version of a typical bacterial growth medium (Luria‐Bertani Agar – LBA) is successfully realized. Three structures belonging to the categories of photonic crystals are replicated, such as quasi‐crystals and meta‐surfaces, demonstrating how the proposed media can be used as templates for high‐end photonic applications. The optical quality of the replicated structures is confirmed by far‐field diffraction measurements. The structured growth media allow for a broad control of the surface wettability by accessing a so‐called Wenzel state, in which the original hydrophilicity of a material is increased due to the photonic structuration. Finally, the suitability of the nano‐structured LBA as a plasmonic platform is evidenced. The proposed micro‐and nano‐structured photonic growth media constitute the first, fundamental step toward quantum optical frameworks from biological media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication of pectin-cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) biocomposites has been systematically investigated by blending both polysaccharides at different relative concentrations. Circular free-standing films with a diameter of 9 cm were prepared by simple solution of these carbohydrates in water followed by drop-casting and solvent evaporation. The addition of pectin allows to finely tune the properties of the biocomposites. Textural characterization by AFM showed fibrous morphology and an increase in fiber diameter with pectin content. XRD analysis demonstrated that pectin incorporation also reduced the degree of crystallinity though no specific interaction between both polysaccharides was detected, by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The optical properties of these biocomposites were characterized for the first time and it was found that pectin in the blend reduced the reflectance of visible light and increased UV absorbance. Thermal stability, analyzed by TGA, was improved with the incorporation of pectin. Finally, pectin-cellulose nanocrystal biocomposites showed a good biodegradability in seawater, comparable to other common bioplastics such as cellulose and low-molecular weight polylactide, among others. • Pectin and CNC have been blended at different proportions to form biocomposites. • No interaction between both polysaccharides was detected by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. • Pectin modifies morphology, crystallinity, physical properties, and biodegradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ε-caprolactone-p-coumaric acid copolymers at different mole ratios (ε-caprolactone:p-coumaric acid 1:0, 10:1, 8:1, 6:1, 4:1, and 2:1) were synthesized by melt-polycondensation and using 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid as catalyst. Chemical analysis by NMR and GPC showed that copolyesters were formed with decreasing molecular weight as p-coumaric acid content was increased. Physical characteristics, such as thermal and mechanical properties, as well as water uptake and water permeability, depended on the mole fraction of p-coumaric acid. The p-coumarate repetitive units increased the antioxidant capacity of the copolymers, showing antibacterial activity against the common pathogen Escherichia coli. In addition, all the synthesized copolyesters, except the one with the highest concentration of the phenolic acid, were cytocompatible and hemocompatible, thus becoming potentially useful for skin regeneration applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) has probably been one of the most utilized pharmaceutical polymers with applications ranging from a blood plasma substitute to nanoparticle drug delivery, since its synthesis in 1939. It is a highly biocompatible, non-toxic and transparent film forming polymer. Although high solubility of PVP in aqueous environment is advantageous, it still poses several problems for some applications in which sustained targeting and release are needed or hydrophobic drug inclusion and delivery systems are to be designed. In this study, we demonstrate that a common dietary phenolic antioxidant, p-coumaric acid (PCA), can be combined with PVP covering a wide range of molar ratios by solution blending in ethanol, forming new transparent biomaterial films with antiseptic and antioxidant properties. PCA not only acts as an effective natural plasticizer but also establishes H-bonds with PVP increasing its resistance to water dissolution. PCA could be released in a sustained manner up to a period of 3 days depending on the PVP/PCA molar ratio. Sustained drug delivery potential of the films was studied using methylene blue and carminic acid as model drugs, indicating that the release can be controlled. Antioxidant and remodeling properties of the films were evaluated in vitro by free radical cation scavenging assay and in vivo on a murine model, respectively. Furthermore, the material resorption of films was slower as PCA concentration increased, as observed from the in vivo full-thickness excision model. Finally, the antibacterial activity of the films against common pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and the effective reduction of inflammatory agents such as matrix metallopeptidases were demonstrated. All these properties suggest that these new transparent PVP/PCA films can find a plethora of applications in pharmaceutical sciences including skin and wound care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The valorization of vegetable waste can create opportunities to produce new valuable bioplastics. In this study, a one-step process to fully convert a variety of vegetable waste materials into bioplastic films is reported. The process is carried out in a diluted aqueous HCl solution at room temperature, it is easily scalable, and with no environmental concerns associated with the use of organic or dangerous chemicals. The generated bioplastics are completely biodegradable and environmentally friendly. Freestanding, flexible bioplastic films were obtained from vegetable waste like carrot, parsley, radicchio and cauliflower. They have similar mechanical properties with other bioplastics, like thermoplastic starch, and showed to have little migration in a food simulant. The color and the functional properties (i.e. antioxidant capability) of the starting vegetables are preserved in the bioplastics, thanks to the mild conditions of the fabrication process. The new conversion process allows the blending of the bioplastics with other natural or synthetic polymers, in order to improve their mechanical and gas barrier properties, like the oxygen permability (OP), thus expanding their field of applications. Poly vinyl alcohol (PVA)/carrot bioplastic film showed an OP of 31.2 cm3μm m−2 day−1 kPa−1, which is lower than the OP for other synthetic films, like high density polyethylene films (HDPE), and similar to edible materials like chitosan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New seaweed-based biomaterials have been prepared using a simple method based on the selective dissolution in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) of specific polymers and bioactive substances from red, green, and brown seaweeds. Depending on the seaweed's origin, the properties were found to be different, especially the mechanical ones. Furthermore, the samples were fully biodegradable in seawater in one month. Moreover, the antioxidant capacity of the biomaterials was highly increased respect to the pristine materials, demonstrating a selective extraction during the process of solubilization. Finally, biocompatibility and anti-inflammatory experiments demonstrated the non-toxicity of the biomaterials prepared from brown seaweed and a similar anti-inflammatory effect to commercial available drugs, confirming the potential application of the prepared biomaterials for the fabrication of biomedical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticles, named cutinsomes, have been prepared from aleuritic (9,10,16-trihidroxipalmitic) acid and tomato fruit cutin monomers (a mixture of mainly 9(10),16-dihydroxypalmitic acid (85%, w/w) and 16-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid (7.5%, w/w)) with pectin in aqueous solution. The process of formation of the nanoparticles of aleuritic acid plus pectin has been monitored by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, while their chemical and morphological characterization was analyzed by ATR-FTIR, TEM, and non-contact AFM. The structure of these nanoparticles can be described as a lipid core with a pectin shell. Pectin facilitated the formation of nanoparticles, by inducing their aggregation in branched chains and favoring the condensation between lipid monomers. Also, pectin determined the self-assembly of cutinsomes on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces, causing their opening and forming interconnected structures. In the case of cutin monomers, the nanoparticles are fused, and the condensation of the hydroxy fatty acids is strongly affected by the presence of the polysaccharide. The interaction of pectin with polyhydroxylated fatty acids could be related to an initial step in the formation of the plant biopolyester cutin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioplasticswith a wide range of mechanical properties were directlyobtained from industrially processed edible vegetable and cereal wastes.As model systems, we present bioplastics synthesized from wastes ofparsley and spinach stems, rice hulls, and cocoa pod husks by digestingin trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), casting, and evaporation. In this way,amorphous cellulose-based plastics are formed. Moreover, many othernatural elements present in these plants are carried over into thebioplastics rendering them with many exceptional thermo-physical properties.Here, we show that, due to their broad compatibility with cellulose,amorphous cellulose can be naturally plasticized with these bioplasticsby simply mixing during processing. Comparison of their mechanicalproperties with that of various petroleum based synthetic polymersindicates that these bioplastics have equivalent mechanical propertiesto the nondegrading ones. This opens up possibilities for replacingsome of the nondegrading polymers with the present bioplastics obtainedfrom agro-waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this context, the works published in this Special Issue have addressed such a topic from different perspectives, including bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based polymers [[3], [8], [12]], bioplastics for packaging [[2], [4], [10]] and other industrial uses [[6]], and sustainable food waste management and biorefinery [[1], [5], [11]]. 31963296 10 Correa-Pacheco Z.N., Black-Solís J.D., Ortega-Gudiño P., Sabino-Gutiérrez M.A., Benítez-Jiménez J.J., Barajas-Cervantes A., Bautista-Baños S., Hurtado-Colmenares L.B. Preparation and Characterization of Bio-Based PLA/PBAT and Cinnamon Essential Oil Polymer Fibers and Life-Cycle Assessment from Hydrolytic Degradation. The valorization of biomass from different renewable resources (i.e., agriculture, food, forestry, fishery, etc.) by green processes to produce multifunctional polymers with potential industrial applications is a smart strategy to substitute non-biodegradable petroleum-based plastics [[1], [3], [5], [7], [9], [11]]. Correa-Pacheco et al. prepared bio-based cinnamon essential oil-containing PLA/PBAT fibers by melt mixing of both polymers and subsequent extrusion where the essential oil was incorporated [[10]]. [Extracted from the article]

Metals used for food canning such as aluminum (Al), chromium-coated tin-free steel (TFS) and electrochemically tin-plated steel (ETP) were coated with a 2–3-µm-thick layer of polyaleuritate, the polyester resulting from the self-esterification of naturally-occurring 9,10,16-trihydroxyhexadecanoic (aleuritic) acid. The kinetic of the esterification was studied by FTIR spectroscopy; additionally, the catalytic activity of the surface layer of chromium oxide on TFS and, in particular, of tin oxide on ETP, was established. The texture, gloss and wettability of coatings were characterized by AFM, UV-Vis total reflectance and static water contact angle (WCA) measurements. The resistance of the coatings to solvents was also determined and related to the fraction of unreacted polyhydroxyacid. The occurrence of an oxidative diol cleavage reaction upon preparation in air induced a structural modification of the polyaleuritate layer and conferred upon it thermal stability and resistance to solvents. The promoting effect of the tin oxide layer in such an oxidative cleavage process fosters the potential of this methodology for the design of effective long-chain polyhydroxyester coatings on ETP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The materials commonly used to fabricate thermoelectric devices are tellurium, lead, and germanium. These materials ensure the best thermoelectric performance, but exhibit drawbacks in terms of availability, sustainability, cost, and manufacturing complexity. Moreover, they do not guarantee a safe and cheap implementation in wearable thermoelectric applications. Here, p‐Type and n‐type flexible thermoelectric textiles are produced with sustainable and low‐cost materials through green and scalable processes. Cotton is functionalized with inks made with biopolyester and carbon nanomaterials. Depending on the nanofiller, i.e., graphene nanoplatelets, carbon nanotubes, or carbon nanofibers, positive or negative Seebeck coefficient values are obtained, resulting in a remarkable electrical conductivity value of 55 S cm−1 using carbon nanotubes. The best bending and washing stability are registered for the carbon nanofiber‐based biocomposites, which increase their electrical resistance by 5 times after repeated bending cycles and only by 30% after washing. Finally, in‐plane flexible thermoelectric generators coupling the best p‐ and n‐type materials are fabricated and analysed, resulting in an output voltage of ≈1.65 mV and a maximum output power of ≈1.0 nW by connecting only 2 p/n thermocouples at a temperature difference of 70 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All-cellulose composites with a potential application as food packaging films were prepared by dissolving microcrystalline cellulose in a mixture of trifluoroacetic acid and trifluoroacetic anhydride, adding cellulose nanofibers, and evaporating the solvents. First, the effect of the solvents on the morphology, structure, and thermal properties of the nanofibers was evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. An important reduction in the crystallinity was observed. Then, the optical, morphological, mechanical, and water barrier properties of the nanocomposites were determined. In general, the final properties of the composites depended on the nanocellulose content. Thus, although the transparency decreased with the amount of cellulose nanofibers due to increased light scattering, normalized transmittance values were higher than 80% in all the cases. On the other hand, the best mechanical properties were achieved for concentrations of nanofibers between 5 and 9 wt.%. At higher concentrations, the cellulose nanofibers aggregated and/or folded, decreasing the mechanical parameters as confirmed analytically by modeling of the composite Young's modulus. Finally, regarding the water barrier properties, water uptake was not affected by the presence of cellulose nanofibers while water permeability was reduced because of the higher tortuosity induced by the nanocelluloses. In view of such properties, these materials are suggested as food packaging films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing multi‐functional green conductive materials is instrumental in reducing electronic waste. In article 1800069, Pietro Cataldi, Ilker S. Bayer and co‐workers use crop ingredients and graphene to produce flexible conductors using the bio‐advantaged approach. The conductive nanocomposite can be regarded as "plant‐e‐tronics" with promising applications such as electromagnetic interference shielding, wireless antennas and photovoltaics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's fast‐paced and well‐connected world, consumer electronics are evolving rapidly. As a result, the amount of discarded electronic devices is becoming a major health and environmental concern. The rapid expansion of flexible electronics has the potential to transform consumer electronic devices from rigid phones and tablets to robust wearable devices. This means increased use of plastics in consumer electronics and the potential to generate more persistent plastic waste for the environment. Hence, today, the need for flexible biodegradable electronics is at the forefront of minimizing the mounting pile of global electronic waste. A "bioadvantaged" approach to develop a biodegradable, flexible, and application‐adaptable electronic components based on crop components and graphene is reported. More specifically, by combining zein, a corn‐derived protein, and aleuritic acid, a major monomer of tomato cuticles and sheellac, along with graphene, biocomposite conductors having low electrical resistance (≈10 Ω sq−1) with exceptional mechanical and fatigue resilience are fabricated. Further, a number of high‐performance electronic applications, such as THz electromagnetic shielding, flexible GHz antenna construction, and flexible solar cell electrode, are demonstrated. Excellent performance results are measured from each application comparable to conventional nondegrading counterparts, thus paving the way for the concept of "plant‐e‐tronics" towards sustainability. Sustainable materials for consumer electronics are imperative to address the ever‐increasing e‐waste problem. Here a simple bioadvantaged plant electronics material is shown by direct mixing/polymerization of crop proteins monomers in the presence of graphene to create various flexible plant‐e‐tronics applications such as wireless antennas, electromagnetic interference shielding, and photovoltaics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]