Interpolymer Complexes Based on Cellulose Ethers: Application

Interpolymer complexes based on cellulose ethers have gained significant interest in recent years due to their versatile applications. These complexes are formed by combining different polymers through non-covalent interactions, resulting in stable structures. This article provides an overview of the various fields where IPCs based on cellulose ethers find application. IPCs based on cellulose ethers show great potential in drug delivery systems. These complexes can encapsulate drugs and enable controlled release, making them suitable for sustained drug delivery. They offer advantages in terms of precise dosage and enhanced therapeutic efficacy. Coatings and adhesives also benefit from IPCs based on cellulose ethers. These complexes can form films with excellent mechanical strength and enhanced water resistance, providing durability and protection. They have applications in various industries where coatings and adhesives play a crucial role. In food packaging, IPCs based on cellulose ethers are highly relevant. These complexes can form films with effective barrier properties against oxygen and water vapor, making them ideal for packaging perishable foods. They help extend to shelf life of food products by minimizing moisture and oxygen transfer. Various methods, such as solvent casting, coacervation, and electrostatic complexation, are employed to synthesize IPCs based on cellulose ethers.

Thermal sensitive microgels with stable and reversible photoluminescence based on covalently bonded quantum dots

In this study, thermal sensitive microgels functionalized with carboxyl groups were synthesized directly from hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and acrylic acid (AA) without using any organic solvent. Furthermore, covalently bonded hybrid microgels with novel thermosensitivity in terms of size and fluorescence were fabricated from these HPC-PAA microgels and cysteamine-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs). The composition of the hybrid microgels were characterized by thermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and coulometric titration. It was verified that the weight percent of CdTe QDs was ca. 40%, and the percent of poly(acrylic acid) varied between 9.0% and 13.6%. Through a systematic study, it was found that both the size and the fluorescent intensity of the microgels decreased as the temperature increased from below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) to above the LCST of the HPC. Different from most reported cases, it was found that the thermal sensitive alteration of the current hybrid microgels' size and fluorescent intensity are reversible. The novel fluorescent properties are deduced to be related to the structural characteristics of the microgels, i.e., the QDs are covalently bonded to the microgels and the dispersion of QDs in the microgels is spatially homogeneous. As a consequence of this special structure, the refractive indexes of the microgels were changed and the surface defects of the QDs were reduced, and therefore affected the fluorescent properties of the resulting hybrid microgels.

The one-pot synthesis of dextran-based nanoparticles and their application in in-situ fabrication of dextran-magnetite nanocomposites

The dextran-based nanoparticles containing carboxyl groups were synthesized by a one-pot approach, without using any organic solvents and surfactants. The resultant dextran-based nanoparticles was used as a host for the growing and organization of Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles. The approach consists of the mixture of ferrous/ferric ions aqueous solution and host nanoparticles and subsequent coprecipitation of ferrous/ferric ions in basic medium. The magnetic nanocomposite material obtained was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction techniques (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The data demonstrate that the carboxyls which can capture cationic ferrous/ferric by electronic interaction in the dextran-based hosts plays a crucial role in fabricating nanocomposites with a homogeneous spatial distribution of magnetite nanoparticles. The magnetic nanocomposites exhibit comparable saturation magnetizations to that of reported Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles, and therefore display great potential in a large scope of biomedical fields.