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Review
. 2018 May 15;11(5):795.
doi: 10.3390/ma11050795.

Nanocomposites Based on Biodegradable Polymers

Ilaria Armentano  1 , Debora Puglia  2 , Francesca Luzi  3 , Carla Renata Arciola  4   5 , Francesco Morena  6 , Sabata Martino  7 , Luigi Torre  8
Affiliations
Review

Nanocomposites Based on Biodegradable Polymers

Ilaria Armentano et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

In the present review paper, our main results on nanocomposites based on biodegradable polymers (on a time scale from 2010 to 2018) are reported. We mainly focused our attention on commercial biodegradable polymers, which we mixed with different nanofillers and/or additives with the final aim of developing new materials with tunable specific properties. A wide list of nanofillers have been considered according to their shape, properties, and functionalization routes, and the results have been discussed looking at their roles on the basis of different adopted processing routes (solvent-based or melt-mixing processes). Two main application fields of nanocomposite based on biodegradable polymers have been considered: the specific interaction with stem cells in the regenerative medicine applications or as antimicrobial materials and the active role of selected nanofillers in food packaging applications have been critically revised, with the main aim of providing an overview of the authors' contribution to the state of the art in the field of biodegradable polymeric nanocomposites.

Keywords: biodegradable polymer; nanocomposite; nanofiller.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Electron microscopy images of the main used nanofillers: silver nanoparticles (a), single-walled carbon nanotubes (b), carbon nanofibers (c), nanohydroxyapatite (d), cellulose nanocrystals (e), and lignin nanoparticles (f). Adapted with permission from [9,10,11,12].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cartoon shows how advancements in engineering materials combat bacteria biofilm formation and in turn permit the growth and differentiation of stem/primary cells for biomedical purposes. The “purple” square represents a basic polymer with specific antibacterial modifications to block bacterial growth and the biofilm accumulation and allow the growth and differentiation of stem cells. The “green” square represents a basic polymer (without antibacterial modifications) that is suitable for stem cell growth/differentiation and floating bacteria.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) FESEM investigation of CNC extracted from pre-treated kiwi fibres and UV–vis analysis of PVA-based formulation; (b) antioxidant activities of migrating substances for different PLA nanocomposite films immersed directly in the methanol solution for 24 h: monitoring of the absorbance for band at 517 nm and colour variation of the DPPH methanol solution (reprinted with permission from [137,148,149]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Armentano I., Dottori M., Fortunati E., Mattioli S., Kenny J.M. Biodegradable polymer matrix nanocomposites for tissue engineering: A review. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 2010;95:2126–2146. doi: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2010.06.007. - DOI
    1. Armentano I., Bitinis N., Fortunati E., Mattioli S., Rescignano N., Verdejo R., Lopez-Manchado M.A., Kenny J.M. Multifunctional nanostructured PLA materials for packaging and tissue engineering. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2013;38:1720–1747. doi: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2013.05.010. - DOI
    1. Peponi L., Puglia D., Torre L., Valentini L., Kenny J.M. Processing of nanostructured polymers and advanced polymeric based nanocomposites. Mater. Sci. Eng. R. 2014;85:1–46. doi: 10.1016/j.mser.2014.08.002. - DOI
    1. Fortunati E., Puglia D., Armentano I., Valdés A., Ramos M., Juárez N. Multifunctional antimicrobial nanocomposites for food packaging applications. Food Preserv. 2017;2:265–303. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-804303-5.00008-0. - DOI
    1. Armentano I., Rescignano N., Fortunati E., Mattioli S., Morena F., Martino S. Multifunctional nanostructured biopolymeric materials for therapeutic applications. In: Grumezescu A.M., Ficai D., editors. Nanostructures for Novel Therapy: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications. A Volume in Micro and Nano Technologies. Elsevier; Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 2017. pp. 107–135.

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