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Cellulose (Lond) 2021 Apr 8:1-13. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

College of Textile and Clothing, Institute of Functional Textiles and Advanced Materials, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Biomass Fibers Materials and Textiles of Shandong Province, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071 China.

With the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which has incalculable disasters and economic losses, people have given increasing attention to the health and safety of textile and fiber materials. In this study, an eco-friendly, facile, and cost-effective wet-spinning cellulose carbamate fiber technology was developed, and N-halamine regenerated cellulose fiber (RCC-Cl) with rechargeable and rapid bactericidal properties were prepared by the Lewis acid-assisted chlorination method. The chemical properties of the fibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Read More

J Phys Chem B 2021 Apr 6. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Brazilian Nanotechnology National Laboratory (LNNano), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), Campinas, São Paulo 13083-970, Brazil.

Cellulose disassembly is an important issue in designing nanostructures using cellulose-based materials. In this work, we present a combination of experimental and theoretical study addressing the disassembly of cellulose nanofibrils. Through 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl-mediated oxidation processes, combined with atomic force microscopy results, we show the formation of nanofibers with diameters corresponding to that of a single-cellulose polymer chain. Read More

Bioresour Technol 2021 Mar 23;331:125036. Epub 2021 Mar 23.

Centre for Energy and Environment, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302017, India. Electronic address:

Solid state anaerobic digestion (SSAD) of lignocellulosic biomass may be attractive solution for its valorisation. Compared to liquid state anaerobic digestion (LSAD), SSAD can handle higher organic loading rates (OLR), requires a less water and smaller reactor volume. It may require lower energy demand for heating or mixing and has higher volumetric methane productivity. Read More

Nanomaterials (Basel) 2021 Mar 23;11(3). Epub 2021 Mar 23.

Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea.

Chitin (poly--acetyl-D-glucosamine) is the second (after cellulose) most abundant organic polymer. In its deacetylated form-chitosan-becomes a very interesting material for medical use. The chitosan nano-structures whose preparation is described in this article shows unique biomedical value. Read More

ACS Synth Biol 2021 Apr 2. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, 2800, Denmark.

Environmentally friendly sources of energy and chemicals are essential constituents of a sustainable society. An important step toward this goal is the utilization of biomass to supply building blocks for future biorefineries. Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are enzymes that play a critical role in breaking the chemical bonds in the most abundant polymers found in recalcitrant biomass, such as cellulose and chitin. Read More

Materials (Basel) 2021 Feb 13;14(4). Epub 2021 Feb 13.

Department of Production Engineering, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 164, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland.

This paper presents the results of research on biocomposites made of the mixture of post-extraction rapeseed meal, microcrystalline cellulose and various fruit pomace (chokeberry, blackcurrant, apple and raspberry pomace). The biocomposites were made in the process of mechanical thickening by means of a heated mould (die and stamp) which is located between two heating elements installed on a hydraulic press. The presented research combines mechanical engineering and material engineering issues. Read More

Struct Dyn 2021 Jan 10;8(1):014901. Epub 2021 Feb 10.

Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 508060, China.

Trehalose is chosen as a model molecule to investigate the dissolution mechanism of cellulose in NaOH/urea aqueous solution. The combination of neutron total scattering and empirical potential structure refinement yields the most probable all-atom positions in the complex fluid and reveals the cooperative dynamic effects of NaOH, urea, and water molecules in the dissolution process. NaOH directly interacts with glucose rings by breaking the inter- and intra-molecular hydrogen bonding. Read More

Carbohydr Polym 2021 Apr 27;258:117652. Epub 2021 Jan 27.

State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Key Laboratory of Energy Biotechnology, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, PR China. Electronic address:

Breaking the recalcitrant structure of native crystalline cellulose is an energy demanding rate liming step in the production of glucose from cellulosic biomass. Mix-milling of lignocellulosic substrates (with PO) dramatically increased glucose yield. In this work, the changes of physicochemical characteristics (morphology, structure, degree of polymerization (DP), solubility) of cellulose during mix-milling (with PO) are correlated with glucose yield in the subsequent chemical hydrolysis process. Read More

Protein Pept Lett 2021 Feb 15. Epub 2021 Feb 15.

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502324. India.

Background: Production of biofuels from lignocellulosic crop biomass is an alternative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The biofuel production involves collecting biomass, breaking down cell wall components followed by the conversion of sugars to ethanol. The lingo-cellulosic biomass comprises 40-50% cellulose, 20-30% hemicellulose, and 10-25% lignin. Read More

Poult Sci 2021 Feb 18;100(2):765-775. Epub 2020 Nov 18.

Animal Nutrition and Health Group, DSM Nutritional Products Inc., Ringoes, NJ 08551, USA. Electronic address:

This review discusses the complex nature of the primary nonstarch polysaccharide (NSP) in corn with respect to the merit of debranching enzymes. Celluloses, hemicelluloses, and pectins comprise the 3 major categories of NSP that make up nearly 90% of plant cell walls. Across cereals, the hemicellulose arabinoxylan exists as the primary NSP, followed by cellulose, glucans, and others. Read More

Nano Lett 2021 01 5;21(2):952-958. Epub 2021 Jan 5.

Division of Nanomaterials and Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.

Hydrogel materials with high water content and good biocompatibility are drawing more and more attention now, especially for biomedical use. However, it still remains a challenge to construct hydrogel fibers with enough strength and toughness for practical applications. Herein, we report a bio-inspired lotus-fiber-mimetic spiral structure hydrogel bacterial cellulose fiber with high strength, high toughness, high stretchability, and energy dissipation, named biomimetic hydrogel fiber (BHF). Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2020 Dec 29;22(1). Epub 2020 Dec 29.

Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, Brazil.

Cellulose is the most abundant polysaccharide in lignocellulosic biomass, where it is interlinked with lignin and hemicellulose. Bioethanol can be produced from biomass. Since breaking down biomass is difficult, cellulose-active enzymes secreted by filamentous fungi play an important role in degrading recalcitrant lignocellulosic biomass. Read More

Carbohydr Polym 2021 Feb 21;254:117411. Epub 2020 Nov 21.

I2E3 - Institut d'Innovations en Écomatériaux, Écoproduits et Écoénergies à base de biomasse, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières, QC, G9A 5H7, Canada. Electronic address:

Nanofibrillated cellulose films have garnered attention due to their interesting proprieties such as transparency and high mechanical strength. However, they are brittle, very hydrophilic, which is decreasing their potential applications. We have successfully achieved a simple and effective chemical modification based on polymer grafting and through plasticizer additions to increase the performance of the films as well as to improve the compatibility within conventional polymer. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2021 Jan 30;167:202-213. Epub 2020 Nov 30.

The Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Jiangsu Key Lab for the Chemistry & Utilization of Agricultural and Forest Biomass, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address:

The recently identified lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are important auxiliary proteins which contribute to lignocellulose biodegradation by oxidatively cleaving the glycosidic bonds in cellulose and other polysaccharides. The vast differences in terms of substrate specificity and regioselectivity within LPMOs provide us new possibilities to find promising candidates for the use in enzyme cocktails in biorefinery applications. In this study, a highly xyloglucan active family AA9 lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase EpLPMO9A was identified from Eupenicillium parvum 4-14. Read More

Polymers (Basel) 2020 Nov 28;12(12). Epub 2020 Nov 28.

Department of Chemical Engineering, i-Center for Advanced Science and Technology (iCAST), National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan.

To afford an intact double network (sample abbr.: DN) hydrogel, two-step crosslinking reactions of poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (i.e. Read More

Molecules 2020 Nov 17;25(22). Epub 2020 Nov 17.

Experimental Physics 5, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.

Conventional kiln drying of wood operates by the evaporation of water at elevated temperature. In the initial stage of drying, mobile water in the wood cell lumen evaporates. More slowly, water bound in the wood cell walls evaporates, requiring the breaking of hydrogen bonds between water molecules and cellulose and hemicellulose polymers in the cell wall. Read More

Research (Wash D C) 2020 30;2020:3405826. Epub 2020 Sep 30.

Center for Supramolecular Optoelectronics (CSO), Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) and Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China.

The intrinsically rigid and limited strain of most conjugated polymers has encouraged us to optimize the extensible properties of conjugated polymers. Herein, learning from the hydrogen bonds in glucose, which were facilitated to the toughness enhancement of cellulose, we introduced interchain hydrogen bonds to polydiarylfluorene by amide-containing side chains. Through tuning the copolymerization ratio, we systematically investigated their influence on the hierarchical condensed structures, rheology behavior, tensile performances, and optoelectronic properties of conjugated polymers. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020 Dec 9;27(35):44614-44622. Epub 2020 Oct 9.

Department of Biotechnology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India.

This research was carried out with an objective to examine the efficacy of ultrafiltered xylano-pectinolytic enzymes in pulping of sugarcane bagasse. Maximum biopulping was achieved with enzyme dose of xylanase (175 IU / g bagasse) and pectinase (75 IU / g bagasse) at treatment period of 180 min. The temperature, pH, and bagasse to liquid ratio for biopulping experiments were kept constant at 55 C, 8. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2020 Nov 24;163:1659-1668. Epub 2020 Sep 24.

Institute of Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, No. 2 Tiansheng Street, Chongqing 400715, China. Electronic address:

The NP flame retardant ammonium salt of hydroxyethyl hexahydrotristriazine-triphosphoric acid (AHTTPA) was prepared by a one-pot synthesis method under formaldehyde-free and solvent-free conditions. The AHTTPA was finished on the biomolecule of cotton by using the dip-roll-bake method. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR H, C, and P) demonstrated that AHTTPA was successfully synthesized. Read More

Waste Manag 2020 Dec 2;118:45-54. Epub 2020 Sep 2.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran; Industrial Biotechnology Group, Research Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran. Electronic address:

Co-processing of lignocellulosic wastes, e.g., garden and paper wastes, and the organic matters fraction of municipal solid waste (OMSW) in an integrated bioprocess is a possible approach to realize the potential of wastes for biobutanol production. Read More

Nat Commun 2020 08 28;11(1):4321. Epub 2020 Aug 28.

Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, 4058, Basel, Switzerland.

Bacterial colonization of the human intestine requires firm adhesion of bacteria to insoluble substrates under hydrodynamic flow. Here we report the molecular mechanism behind an ultrastable protein complex responsible for resisting shear forces and adhering bacteria to cellulose fibers in the human gut. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS), single-molecule FRET (smFRET), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we resolve two binding modes and three unbinding reaction pathways of a mechanically ultrastable R. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2020 Nov 8;162:1536-1545. Epub 2020 Aug 8.

Tiangong University, 399 Bin Shui West Road, 300387 Tianjin, PR China.

Cellulose nanofibers have been widely applied in many fields because of its unique advantages. However, it is a challenge to prepare cellulose nanofibers by electrospinning directly owing to the special molecular structure of cellulose. This limits the practical applications of cellulose nanofibers. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 Nov 9;743:140630. Epub 2020 Jul 9.

Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2220, Australia; NTT Institute of Hi-Technology, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

An effective pretreatment is the first step to enhance the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass - a source of renewable, eco-friendly and energy-dense materials - for biofuel and biochemical productions. This review aims to provide a comprehensive assessment on the advantages and disadvantages of lignocellulosic pretreatment techniques, which have been studied at the lab-, pilot- and full-scale levels. Biological pretreatment is environmentally friendly but time consuming (i. Read More

Bioconjug Chem 2020 08 16;31(8):1938-1947. Epub 2020 Jul 16.

CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China.

3D bioprinting is one of the latest trends in regenerative medicine due to its capacity for constructing highly organized tissues with living cells. In this work, silk fibroin (SF) together with hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) was used to print bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC)-laden double network (DN) hydrogel for cartilage tissue repair. The β-sheet structure formed among SF molecules was set as the rigid and brittle first network, while the cross-linking of HPMC-MA was set as the soft and ductile second network. Read More

J Agric Food Chem 2020 Aug 29;68(32):8710-8719. Epub 2020 Jul 29.

Department of Forest Biomaterials, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-8005, North Carolina, United States.

Hydrogels were synthesized by a copolymerization reaction of nanofibrillated cellulose (CNF) with acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) and ,-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA) as a cross-linker and their absorption performance as a function of composition was determined. Hydrogels with 4% by weight CNF had swelling of about 250 g/g and with 7% CNF about 200 g/g for water. Thermodynamic and kinetic studies of the reaction pathways and the electronic properties of the cellulose and monomers were investigated through density functional theory calculations. Read More

Nanomaterials (Basel) 2020 Jul 1;10(7). Epub 2020 Jul 1.

PoreLab Center of Excellence, Department of Geoscience and Petroleum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (T-CNFs) were tested as enhanced oil recovery (EOR) agents through core floods and microfluidic experiments. Both particles were mixed with low salinity water (LSW). The core floods were grouped into three parts based on the research objectives. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2020 Nov 13;162:678-684. Epub 2020 Jun 13.

State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan 250353, China.

In this work, we prepared novel cellulosic paper by incorporating tannin into the kraft pulp for potential application in active food packaging. The kraft pulp fibers were firstly periodate oxidized to obtain the dialdehyde cellulosic fibers, and then reacted with varied dosages of tannin to incorporate them into the fibers by covalent bondings between aldehyde groups on cellulose and active hydrogen on tannin. Handsheets were prepared using the tannin incorporated fibers through papermaking process and the properties were characterized. Read More

DNA Res 2020 Apr;27(2)

INRAE, UMR1163, Biodiversity and Biotechnology of Fungi, Aix Marseille University, 13009 Marseille, France.

White-rot (WR) fungi are pivotal decomposers of dead organic matter in forest ecosystems and typically use a large array of hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes to deconstruct lignocellulose. However, the extent of lignin and cellulose degradation may vary between species and wood type. Here, we combined comparative genomics, transcriptomics and secretome proteomics to identify conserved enzymatic signatures at the onset of wood-decaying activity within the Basidiomycota genus Pycnoporus. Read More

Folia Microbiol (Praha) 2020 Dec 4;65(6):937-954. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Department of Genetic Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India.

Biomass feedstock is an efficient and harmless source of energy. There are various sources of feedstock, such as plant, microbial, macro, and microalgae, and agricultural waste. The major component in biomass feedstock material is a polysaccharide, such as cellulose, cellobiose, starch, and alginate. Read More

Poult Sci 2020 Jun 8;99(6):3179-3187. Epub 2020 Apr 8.

Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey.

This study was performed to investigate the effects of lignocellulose supplementation (LS) on performance parameters, egg quality, aerobic bacterial load of eggshell, serum biochemical parameters, and jejunal histomorphological traits of laying hens between 18 and 38 wk of age. A total of 640 pullets at 16 wk of age were allotted to 4 treatment groups as 0 kg (control, CONT), 0.5 kg, 1 kg, and 2 kg LS per ton of feed. Read More