48,966 research outputs found
Biobased materials for skin-contact products promoted by POLYBIOSKIN project
No full textThe skin is the body outermost tissue and acts as a barrier and defense line to protect our organs [...]
Polymeric Substrates Modification with Biobased Functional Compounds
No full textEditorial to the Special Issue "Polymeric Substrates Modification with Biobased Functional Compounds
Chitin and lignin waste in the circular economy
No full textFood and packaging waste, produced by food industries and consumers, cause an increasing pollution if not correctly managed. Recycling opportunities must be exploited to maintain our health and wellbeing, preserving the planet' natural raw materials and biodiversity for the future generations. Thus, the necessity to transform the linear economy, cause of people inequality and waste, in a circular economy based on economic prosperity, cultural vitality, social equity and environmental sustainability. For a sustainable community development, it will be necessary to recycle the industrial and agricultural waste and redesign and manufacture new products taking into account their end of life management and considering, through Life Cycle Assessment investigations, to maintain a low consume of energy and water. Among the different waste materials recovered worldwide, chitin and lignin, obtainable from food and agroforestry by-products respectively, represent the greatest source of natural raw materials available at low cost and underutilized. By many studies it has been shown that both chitin, lignin and the relative complexes, may be electro-spun with other natural polysaccharides to obtain antibacterial, immunomodulant, antioxidant and skin-repairing non-woven tissues. These innovative tissues, embedded by selected active ingredients, may be used to make facial beauty masks and/or advanced medications
An introduction to the circular economy
No full textThis book tries to debate on the significance of circular economy, underlying the necessity to change our way of producing, consuming, and traveling on a daily basis. The passage from a linear economy to a circular economy will help us to reduce the degradation of the environment for avoiding future disastrous consequences, such as depletion of biodiversity, scarcity of raw materials and drinking water, rising waters, etc. The circular economy, therefore, involves designing a product so that it can be recycled or its components reused. Reuse consists of introducing the product back into the economic circuit in its original condition; repair makes it possible to fix a broken good; and recovery consists of reusing its components. This is the significance of the so-called 3R strategy, illustrated in this book
Biobased and biodegradable rigid and flexible polymeric packaging
No full textThe present chapter is dedicated to the potentialities and opportunities of biobased and biodegradable polymeric materials currently available on the market for producing packaging. After some definitions considering regulatory and standardization aspects, these materials are described and classified. Biopolyesters and biopolymers are mainly used for these products in the form of blends or biocomposites, often in combination with additives based on biobased molecules. For flexible packaging blown film extrusion or flat die extrusion of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) based materials or starch based materials are currently the main options on the market. For rigid packaging, obtained mainly by injection molding or thermoforming, PLA blends or composites are the more promising alternatives, because of their good balance of properties and cost. The control of their processability and final properties is thus fundamental
Biobased Tissues for Innovative Cosmetic Products: Polybioskin as an EU Research Project
No full textTextiles and nonwoven tissues made of petrol-derived polymer fibers, interact with the skin functions in a dynamic pattern, and could provoke injury and inflammation. The safety aspects of polymer fibers, related to their biological characteristics, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility and antigenicity, indeed, are of great importance for biomedical applications [20,23,27].Therefore, the necessity of using biobased polymer fibers and nonwoven tissues, characterized for their protective effectiveness and free of undesirable side effects such as cytotoxicity or allergic, sensitizing and irritating reactions, drives the cosmetic market. These natural tissues, the production of which has been increased by the use of nanotechnology, are made of bio-fibers able to sense and hinder different stimuli elicited from outside and inside the skin. The production of these polymer fibers and non-woven tissue is the aim of the PolyBioSkin project that specifically focuses on the development and fabrication of innovative sanitary, cosmetic and wound care products provided with innovative behavior and functionality. Of course, the success of the proposed products will be connected with the advanced composite materials produced, their human safety and effectiveness, to be tested both in vitr
Natural Polymers and Cosmeceuticals for a Healthy and Circular Life: The Examples of Chitin, Chitosan, and Lignin
No full textThe present review considers the design and introduction of new cosmeceuticals in the market, based on natural polymers and active molecules extracted from biomass, in a biomimetic strategy, starting with a consideration of the biochemical mechanisms, followed by natural precision biopolymer production. After introducing the contest of nanobiotechnology in relationship with its applicability for skin contact products and classifying the currently available sustainable polymers, some widely selected abundant biopolymers (chitin, chitosan, and lignin), showing specific functionalities (anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, etc.), are described, especially considering the possibility to combine them in nanostructured tissues, powders, and coatings for producing new cosmeceuticals, but with potentialities in other sectors, such as biomedical, personal care, and packaging sectors. After observing the general increase in market wellness and beauty forecasts over the next few years, parallelisms between nano and macro scales have suggested that nanobiotechnology application expresses the necessity to follow a better way of producing, selecting, and consuming goods that will help to transform the actual linear economy in a circular economy, based on redesigning, reducing, recycling, and reusing
Modification of PLA-based films by grafting or coating
No full textRecently, the demand for the use of natural polymers in the cosmetic, biomedical, and sanitary sectors has been increasing. In order to meet specific functional properties of the products, usually, the incorporation of the active component is required. One of the main problems is enabling compatibility between hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. Therefore, surface modification is necessary. Poly(lactide) (PLA) is a natural polymer that has attracted a lot ofattention in recent years. It is bio-based, can be produced from carbohydrate sources like corn, and it is biodegradable. The main goal of this work was the functionalization of PLA, inserting antiseptic and anti-inflammatory nanostructured systems based on chitin nanofibrils–nanolignin complexes ready to be used in the biomedical, cosmetics, and sanitary sectors. The specific challenge of this investigation was to increase the interaction between the hydrophobic PLA matrix with hydrophilic chitin–lignin nanoparticle complexes. First, chemical modification via the “grafting from” method using lactide oligomers was performed. Then, active coatings with modified and unmodified chitin–lignin nanoparticle complexes were prepared and applied on extruded PLA-based sheets. The chemical, thermal, and mechanical characterization of prepared samples was carried out and the obtained results were discussed
Skin-compatible biobased beauty masks prepared by extrusion
No full textIn the cosmetic sector, natural and sustainable products with a high compatibility with skin, thus conjugating wellness with a green-oriented consumerism, are required by the market. Poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA)/starch blends represent a promising alternative to prepare flexible films as support for innovative beauty masks, wearable after wetting and releasing starch and other selected molecules. Nevertheless, preparing these films by extrusion is difficult due to the high viscosity of the polymer melt at the temperature suitable for processing starch. The preparation of blends including poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) or poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) was investigated as a strategy to better modulate melt viscosity in view of a possible industrial production of beauty mask films. The release properties of films in water, connected to their morphology, was also investigated by extraction trials, infrared spectroscopy and stereo and electron microscopy. Then, the biocompatibility with cells was assessed by considering both mesenchymal stromal cells and keratinocytes. All the results were discussed considering the morphology of the films. This study evidenced the possibility of modulating thanks to the selection of composition and the materials processing of the properties necessary for producing films with tailored properties and processability for beauty masks
Chitosan and nano-structured chitin for biobased anti-microbial treatments onto cellulose based materials
No full textCellulosic board-based packaging is very widely used in commercial products, especially in the food and personal care sectors. The use of biomolecules with antimicrobial properties can improve the shelf life of the packed perishable product and ensure a greater product safety. Chitin and chitosan are polysaccharides derived from natural resources with antimicrobial properties that are suitable also for food contact applications. In this paper the preparation of chitosan and chitin-based treatments were studied to treat board. Different mixtures, mainly based on chitin or on chitosan, were used to prepare films by solvent casting analysing the effect of the solvent, drying temperature and the addition of a plasticizer onto tensile properties. The study allowed selecting suitable compositions for board treatments. Results of bending stiffness tests and water absorptiveness indicated that the treatment based on chitin was the most promising, because of its better capacity of not modifying the board properties and thickness ascribed to its good capability of linking to cellulosic fibres. These treatments resulted effective in reducing the growth of bacteria and moulds on the boards; therefore, they reduced the number of bacteria present in starch-based food packed in treated board, thus showing the possibility of effectively improve the shelf life of perishable products
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