Biopolymer

Summary

Biopolymers are natural polymers produced by the cells of living organisms. Like other polymers, biopolymers consist of monomeric units that are covalently bonded in chains to form larger molecules. There are three main classes of biopolymers, classified according to the monomers used and the structure of the biopolymer formed: polynucleotides, polypeptides, and polysaccharides. The Polynucleotides, RNA and DNA, are long polymers of nucleotides. Polypeptides include proteins and shorter polymers of amino acids; some major examples include collagen, actin, and fibrin. Polysaccharides are linear or branched chains of sugar carbohydrates; examples include starch, cellulose, and alginate. Other examples of biopolymers include natural rubbers (polymers of isoprene), suberin and lignin (complex polyphenolic polymers), cutin and cutan (complex polymers of long-chain fatty acids), melanin, and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). In addition to their many essential roles in living organisms, biopoly

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopolymer

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This work aims to study the mechanical properties of two kinds of hydrogels, the first is based on natural polymers derived from decellularized bovine cartilage tissue and the second is based on synthetic polymers namely polyethyleneglycole dimethacrylate. In this project, we tried on the one hand to reinforce the hydrogels using fibers and on the other hand to optimize the mechanical properties by studying the influence of the mixing parameters. The first study focused on Polyethylene glycol di-methacrylate hydrogel. We found that higher mixing time resulted in increased strength and stiffness of this hydrogel with a rate of 11%. In a second study we investigated the influence of different NFC fiber concentrations on the young modulus of decellularied extracellular matrix based hydrogels.

2017

Computed Three-Dimensional Atomic Force Microscopy Images of Biopolymers Using the Jarzynski Equality

Marcos Penedo Garcia

Three-dimensional atomic force microscopy (3D-AFM) has resolved three-dimensional distributions of solvent molecules at solid-liquid interfaces at the subnanometer scale. This method is now being extended to the imaging of biopolymer assemblies such as chromosomes or proteins in cells, with the expectation of being able to resolve their three-dimensional structures. Here, we have developed a computational method to simulate 3D-AFM images of biopolymers by using the Jarzynski equality. It is found that some parts of the fiber structure of biopolymers are indeed resolved in the 3D-AFM image. The dependency of 3D-AFM images on the vertical scanning velocity is investigated, and optimum scanning velocities are found. It is also clarified that forces in nonequilibrium processes are measured in 3D-AFM measurements when the dynamics of polymers are slower than the scanning of the probe.

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2022

Silicone elastomer stamp with hydrophilic surface and method for producing the same

Emmanuel Delamarche, Christian Donzel, Bruno Michel, Heiko Wolf

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a silicone elastomer stamp with a hydrophilic surface. SOLUTION: The method for fabricating silicone elastomer stamps with hydrophilic surfaces is provided. The concept of polymer grafting is used to produce the stamps. The stamps thus produced have the great advantage that grafting of a thin hydrophilic polymer on a hydrophobic PDMS surface can render PDMS stamps permanently hydrophilic. With such stamps, it becomes possible to print aqueous or highly polar inks reproducibly over days and weeks.

2002