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New paper on biopolymers in collaboration with IFF company - Open access
Sustainable Glucan-Based Films for Advanced Applications
Enzymatic polymerisation of sucrose enables the production of nature-identical polysaccharides such as poly α-1,3-glucan—offering a scalable, bio-based route to high-performance materials for industry.
In our research, we investigated how different fluids—including CO₂, O₂, and water (both liquid and vapour)—interact with films made from α-1,3-glucan and its long-chain acid esters. These included two glucan palmitates (GP) and one glucan laurate acetate (GLA), each with varying degrees of substitution (DoS). The results highlight the strong potential of these materials for use in packaging and membrane separation technologies.
We also assessed surface properties through contact angle measurements and explored dimethyl carbonate as a safer, more sustainable alternative to chloroform for film production.
Key findings include:
- Reduced water uptake: The most highly substituted glucan palmitate (GP2) showed a water uptake of approximately 2 g·mm/m²·day at 100% relative humidity—around 400 times lower than unmodified glucan.
- Promising gas permeability: CO₂ and O₂ permeability followed trends similar to cellulose esters, with GP films demonstrating CO₂ permeability values above 100 Barrer (3.34 × 10⁻¹⁴ mol·m/(m²·s·Pa)), making them strong candidates for CO₂ separation processes.
- Structure–property insights: We established a quantitative relationship between material structure and water uptake in both glucan- and cellulose-based systems, providing a valuable tool for evaluating performance in applications where moisture transport is critical.
Together, these results position glucan derivatives as versatile, sustainable materials with significant potential across packaging, barrier coatings, and membrane technologies.
Pubblicato il: 14 maggio 2026
