Mucus is a porous biopolymer matrix that coats all wet epithelia in the human body and serves as the first line of defense against many pathogenic bacteria and viruses. However, under certain conditions viruses are able to penetrate this infection barrier, which compromises the protective function of native mucus. Here, we find that isolated porcine gastric mucin polymers, key structural compon...

We create tailored microstructures, consisting of complexes of lipid membranes with self-assembled biopolymer shells, to study the fundamental properties and interactions of these basic components of living cells. We measure the mechanical response of these artificial structures at the micrometer scale, using optical tweezers and single-particle tracking. These systems exhibit rich dynamics tha...

Biopolymers are polymer structures produced by living organisms. These molecules, like synthetic polymers, are built from monomers. There are three main classes of biopolymers based on the chemical nature of themonomeric units and the structure of the biopolymer formed. Polypeptides are chains of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Proteins consist of one ormore polypeptide chains fol...

Emerging applications of hydrogels such as soft robotics and cartilage tissue scaffolds require hydrogels with enhanced mechanical performance. We report the development of a robust biopolymer based ionic-covalent entanglement network hydrogel made from calcium cross-linked gellan gum and genipin cross-linked gelatin. The ratio of the two polymers and the cross-linker concentrations significant...

The formulation of a novel delivery system for ellagic acid formulated via layer-by-layer (Lb-L) electrostatic deposition of biopolymers onto soybean lecithin liposomes was achieved. Optimization of parameters affecting the formulation of biopolymer-coated liposomes was carried out by monitoring changes on its size, surface charge and morphology. Ellagic acid was loaded into the liposome core a...

The industrial implementation of costand eco-efficient production of bio-based polymeric materials such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) or polylactic acid (PLA) requires the comprehension of all process steps. The article at hand provides an insight into recent advances in allocation, pretreatment and utilization of raw materials available for biopolymer production in different areas of the wor...

The nonbiodegradable and nonrenewable nature of plastic packaging has led to a renewed interest in packaging materials based on bio-nanocomposites (biopolymer matrix reinforced with nanoparticles such as layered silicates). One of the reasons for unique properties of bio-nanocomposites is the difference in physics at nanoscale as compared to that at macroscale. Therefore, the effect of nanoscal...

Biomedical applications ranging from tissue engineering to drug delivery systems require versatile biomaterials based on the scalable and tunable production of biopolymer nanofibers under physiological conditions. These requirements can be successfully met by a novel extrusion process through nanoporous aluminum oxide templates, which is presented in this study. With this simple method we are a...

BACKGROUND Many researchers have tried to enhance materials functions in different aspects of science using nano-modification method, and in many cases the results have been encouraging. To evaluate the histopathological responses of the micro-/nano-size cement-type biomaterials derived from calcium silicate-based composition with addition of nano tricalcium aluminate (3CaO.Al2O3) on bone heali...