Characteristics and advantages of surface-initiated graft-polymerization as a way of “grafting from” method for graft-polymerization of functional monomers on solid particles

Synthesis and Anticancer Activity of Bagasse Xylan/Resveratrol Graft-Esterified Composite Nanoderivative

Biomass materials are high-quality raw materials for the preparation of natural, green and highly active functional materials due to their rich active groups, wide sources and low toxicity. Bagasse xylan (BX) and resveratrol (Res) were used as raw materials to introduce ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) via grafting reaction to obtain the intermediate product BX/Res-g-EGDMA. The intermediate was esterified with 3-carboxyphenylboronic acid (3-CBA) to obtain the target product 3-CBA-BX/Res-g-EGDMA. The BX/Res-composite-modified nanoderivative with antitumor activity was synthesized with the nanoprecipitation method. The effects of the reaction conditions on the grafting rate (G) of BX/Res-g-EGDMA and the degree of substitution (DS) of 3-CBA-BX/Res-g-EGDMA were investigated using single-factor experiments. The results showed that under the optimized process conditions, G and DS reached 142.44% and 0.485, respectively. The product was characterized with FTIR, XRD, TG-FTC, ¹H NMR and SEM, and its anticancer activity was simulated and tested. The results showed that 3-CBA-BX/Res-g-EGDMA had a spherical structure with an average particle size of about 100 nm and that its crystalline structure and thermal stability were different from those of the raw materials. In addition, 3-CBA-BX/Res-g-EGDMA showed the best docking activity with 2HE7 with a binding free energy of −6.3 kJ/mol. The inhibition rate of 3-CBA-BX/Res-g-EGDMA on MGC80-3 (gastric cancer cells) reached 36.71 ± 4.93%, which was 18 times higher than that of BX. Therefore, this material could be a potential candidate for biomedical applications.

Bagasse Cellulose Composite Superabsorbent Material with Double-Crosslinking Network Using Chemical Modified Nano-CaCO3 Reinforcing Strategy

To improve the salt resistance of superabsorbent materials and the gel strength of superabsorbent materials after water absorption, a bagasse cellulose-based network structure composite superabsorbent (CAAMC) was prepared via graft copolymerization of acrylamide/acrylic acid (AM/AA) onto bagasse cellulose using silane coupling agent modified nano-CaCO₃ (MNC) and N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) as a double crosslinker. The acrylamide/acrylic acid was chemically crosslinked with modified nano-CaCO₃ by C-N, and a stable double crosslinked (DC) network CAAMC was formed under the joint crosslinking of N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide and modified nano-CaCO₃. Modified nano-CaCO₃ plays a dual role of crosslinking agent and the filler, and the gel strength of composite superabsorbent is two times higher than that of N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide single crosslinking. The maximum absorbency of CAAMC reached 712 g/g for deionized water and 72 g/g for 0.9 wt% NaCl solution. The adsorption process of CAAMC was simulated by materials studio, and the maximum adsorption energy of amino and carboxyl groups for water molecules is −2.413 kJ/mol and −2.240 kJ/mol, respectively. According to the results of CAAMC soil water retention, a small amount of CAAMC can greatly improve the soil water retention effect.