Journal of Polymer Research最新文献

{"title":"Comparison of different surface coatings for enhancing cytocompatibility of 3D printed PCL scaffolds in tissue engineering applications","authors":"Yingchun Wan,&nbsp;Huiting Ma,&nbsp;Xiuyin Shen,&nbsp;Xin Luo,&nbsp;Hai Tang,&nbsp;Shaoxin Ye,&nbsp;Shuzhen Wu,&nbsp;Dazhi Fan,&nbsp;Jiaming Rao,&nbsp;Dongxin Lin,&nbsp;Gengdong Chen,&nbsp;Pengsheng Li,&nbsp;Zixing Zhou,&nbsp;Xiaoling Guo,&nbsp;Zhengping Liu","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05168-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05168-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Polycaprolactone (PCL) is widely used in tissue engineering because of its mechanical strength and biodegradability. However, its hydrophobicity limits cell affinity, necessitating surface modifications such as surface coating to improve cell adhesion and growth. Despite investigations of different surface coating materials, there is a lack of directly comparable data on their efficacy under identical conditions. Here, 3D printed PCL scaffolds were prepared using fused deposition modeling, followed by dip coating with hyaluronic acid (HA), collagen (COL), gelatin (GL) and oxidative self-polymerization coating with polydopamine (PDA). The effectiveness of these materials in enhancing the cell compatibility of PCL scaffolds was compared. To evaluate cytocompatibility, the scaffolds were co-cultured with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs), followed by a series of assays including CCK-8 viability assay, live/dead staining, and cytoskeleton staining. The results demonstrated that all coatings enhanced the cytocompatibility of PCL scaffolds, with the following ranking of effectiveness: HA ≈ COL &lt; GL &lt; PDA. Notably, the PDA and GL coatings significantly outperformed the HA and COL coatings, indicating that simple gelatin dip coating and PDA oxidation self-polymerization effectively improved the cytocompatibility of PCL scaffolds. This information provides a basis for selecting an appropriate surface-coating approach for tissue engineering.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149338170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sequential preparation of styrene/vinyltriethoxysilane-derived precursors for hybrid and porous materials","authors":"Juan Lopez,&nbsp;Leon Perez","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05131-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05131-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Styrene/vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES)-derived precursors provide a direct platform for producing organic–inorganic hybrids and porous solids. Here, polystyrene was first generated with n-butyllithium under anionic conditions, followed by sequential addition of VTES and acid-catalyzed sol–gel conversion. FTIR of the recovered precursors, solid-state ²⁹Si MAS NMR of a representative hybrid, and composition-dependent TGA residues collectively support the presence, retention, and subsequent condensation of VTES-derived material. After acid treatment, SAXS, SEM, TGA, and DSC indicate weakly ordered nanostructured hybrids with short-range compositional correlations, multiscale heterogeneity, and extensively condensed T²/T³ silsesquioxane environments. Exploratory post-treatments produced a moderately porous silica-rich material from the 1:1 hybrid (51.7 m² g⁻¹) and a higher-surface-area carbon-rich solid after carbonization of the 7:3 hybrid and HF etching (561.9 m² g⁻¹). The results demonstrate the versatility of the precursor-to-material route while identifying condensation-induced heterogeneity as a principal limitation for molecular-level architectural assignment.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10965-026-05131-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149339504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of reduced graphene oxide and maleic anhydride compatibilization on the curing, morphological, and pre-/post-aging mechanical properties of EPDM/NBR blends","authors":"Luana Decheti Gaike,&nbsp;Marly Antonia Maldaner Jacobi,&nbsp;Janaina da Silva Crespo,&nbsp;João Maia,&nbsp;Douglas Alexandre Simon,&nbsp;Eveline Bischoff","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05158-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05158-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigates the development of elastomeric composites based on ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) and nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) reinforced with reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Given the limited literature on the combined use of rGO and compatibilizing agents in EPDM/NBR systems, this research focused on the effect of a maleic anhydride-grafted ethylene elastomer (E–g-MA) in EPDM, NBR and a 70/30 EPDM/NBR blend prepared using two-roll mill mixing. The rGO was characterized through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with quantitative energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis, while the elastomer compounds were evaluated for cure characteristics, morphology, chemical resistance and mechanical properties before and after accelerated aging. SEM micrographs revealed that the combination of E–g-MA and rGO reduced the number of pull-out voids and produced a more homogeneous fracture surface in EPDM and in the EPDM/NBR blend. At higher E–g-MA and rGO content (1 phr), tensile strength improved 127% for EPDM and 81% for the blend, and the elongation at break of EPDM increased from 216 to 490%. Welch's ANOVA with Games-Howell post-hoc tests (α = 0.05) confirmed that these differences are statistically significant. For NBR, neither additive significantly changed the tensile properties, although 1 phr of rGO reduced the volume change in propanone from 70 to 41%. After accelerated aging, EPDM/NBR/1E-g-MA/1rGO reached a tensile strength of 5.1 MPa, compared with 2.2 MPa for the neat blend. This composite also showed a lower volume change than the neat blend after immersion (16% versus 31% in propanone and 194% versus 229% in fuel oil), whereas EPDM/1E-g-MA/1rGO showed increased swelling in propanone. These findings indicate that combining rGO and E–g-MA is an effective strategy for improving the strength and aging behavior of EPDM/NBR composites, although the reduced resistance of EPDM to polar solvents at the highest loading should be considered.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10965-026-05158-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149339308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hydroxyl-rich bio-based polyol precursors from corn stalk holocellulose: phosphoric acid-catalyzed liquefaction and kinetic analysis","authors":"Yan Zhang,&nbsp;Zhuangzhi Gao,&nbsp;Xu Chen","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05173-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05173-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Corn stalk holocellulose (CSHC) represents a carbohydrate-rich fraction of agricultural residues with potential for conversion into bio-based polymer precursors. In this study, CSHC was extracted by delignification pretreatment and subsequently liquefied in a phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄)-catalyzed diethylene glycol (DEG)/glycerol (Gl) binary solvent system. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, liquid-to-solid ratio, catalyst loading, and solvent composition on liquefaction efficiency were systematically investigated. Under the optimized conditions of 175 °C, 60 min, a liquid-to-solid ratio of 5:1, 9% H₃PO₄, and a DEG: Gl ratio of 1:2, the liquefaction yield reached 96.56%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analyses confirmed that the holocellulosic framework was effectively disrupted during liquefaction, accompanied by the formation of oxygen-containing liquid products and thermally more stable solid residues. The resulting bio-oil exhibited a relatively low viscosity of 434.8 mPa·s and a high hydroxyl value of 684.43 mg KOH/g, suggesting its potential as a hydroxyl-rich bio-based polyol precursor. Kinetic analysis further indicated that the liquefaction process could be approximately described by a pseudo-first-order model within the initial reaction stage, with an apparent activation energy of 52.3 kJ·mol^− 1. In addition, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis identified 37 organic compounds in the bio-oil, with alcohols accounting for 81.90 wt%, and a molecular-level pathway network involving depolymerization, dehydration, retro-aldol condensation, and esterification was proposed. These results provide useful insights into the efficient conversion of CSHC and offer a basis for developing agricultural-residue-derived polyol precursors for polymer applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149339506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Research on the application of phosphorus-nitrogen flame retardant system in high-temperature resistant nylon PA6T/610","authors":"L. Hongjiao,&nbsp;Yuhao Yang,&nbsp;Xiuling Cao,&nbsp;Yufeng Tan,&nbsp;Lingyu Li,&nbsp;Zhenzhen Tan,&nbsp;Zejun Pu,&nbsp;Jiachun Zhong,&nbsp;Chihan Meng,&nbsp;Qiuxia Peng","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05161-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05161-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The copolymer of high-temperature resistant nylon PA6T has excellent comprehensive properties and is widely applied. However, there are relatively few studies on its flame retardant modification. In this paper, the prepolymer of PA6T/610 was synthesized by the high-temperature and high-pressure solution polycondensation method. Then, it was mixed with disodium phosphate type flame retardant (MB) and nitrogen-based flame retardant melamine cyanurate (MA), and the molecular chains were expanded by melting and thickening through a screw extruder. Finally, a flame-retardant and high-temperature-resistant nylon composite material was obtained. Firstly, the successful preparation of the copolyamide PA6T/610 was confirmed through infrared spectroscopy (IR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H NMR). Then, the cross-sectional morphology of the flame-retardant composite material was observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and it was found that the flame retardant had good dispersibility. The results of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermogravimetric-infrared analysis (TG-IR), and differential scanning calorimetry analysis (DSC) showed that the thermal stability of the PA6T/610 flame-retardant composite material was excellent, with an initial decomposition temperature exceeding 400 ℃ and a melting point exceeding 280 ℃. Through vertical combustion testing, it was found that when 5 wt% of the flame retardants MA and MB were added simultaneously, the UL-94 rating of the sample reached V0, and the limit oxygen index (LOI) reached 30.6 vol%. In the cone calorimeter test (CCT), the sample with 8 wt% of the flame retardants MA and MB added simultaneously had a peak heat release rate (PHRR) that was 39% lower than that of the PA6T/610 sample, and the total heat release (THR) was 29% lower. The results of the mechanical property tests show that the addition of the flame retardant slightly reduced the tensile strength and impact toughness of the material, while the bending strength slightly increase.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149339349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Balancing strength, toughness, and thermal stability in bismaleimide resins through sequential TAIC and VTBN modification","authors":"Chuanqi Song,&nbsp;Yuguang Man,&nbsp;Chunxiu Hu,&nbsp;Zhou Yang,&nbsp;Siyuan Peng,&nbsp;Renrui Liu,&nbsp;Tao Yang,&nbsp;Xiaorui Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05169-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05169-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Bismaleimide (BMI) resins are widely used in high-performance composite materials owing to their excellent thermal stability and mechanical properties. However, their inherent brittleness and poor processability significantly limit their applications in fields that require high toughness and structural reliability. To address these challenges, a molecular design strategy was developed to enhance the toughness and mechanical strength of BMI resins. Bisphenol A bisallyl ether (BBE) was first incorporated into the BMI backbone to extend the polymer chains. Subsequently, triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC) was introduced as a cross-linking agent to construct a stable three-dimensional network. Finally, vinyl-terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber (VTBN) was introduced as a flexible modifier. The optimal formulation of the base BBT resin was achieved with a TAIC content of 15 wt%. This composition exhibited a thermal decomposition temperature (Td_5%) of 427.79 ℃ and a T_d30% of 470.32 ℃. The corresponding mechanical properties included a maximum flexural strength of 84.52 MPa and a tensile strength of 38.45 MPa; however, the impact strength decreased continuously with increasing cross-link density. The incorporation of flexible VTBN segments into the rigid BMI matrix markedly enhanced the mechanical properties. The optimal performance was reached at a VTBN content of 5 wt%, yielding an impact strength of 35.8 kJ/m², a tensile strength of 53.4 MPa, and a flexural strength of 189.8 MPa. This composition exhibited the most favorable combined mechanical properties among the investigated VTBN loadings. Changes in network constraints and the incorporation of flexible segments jointly influence performance. At the optimal VTBN loading of 5 wt%, the modified resin retained a T_d5% of 420.97 ℃, despite a reduction in thermal stability compared with the BBT matrix. These results highlight the importance of balancing mechanical enhancement and thermal resistance when designing high-performance BMI-based resins. This approach offers a promising new pathway for the development of high-performance BMI-based composite materials.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149339483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular origins of shape memory and cyclic fixity degradation in cold-drawn poly(Lactic Acid): a multi-scale raman crystallinity and FTIR study","authors":"Muhamad Ghani Farhan,&nbsp;Irfan Dwi Aditya,&nbsp;Widayani Sutrisno,&nbsp;Acep Purqon","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05148-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05148-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Shape memory polymers based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) hold strong potential for biodegradable biomedical devices, yet the molecular mechanism governing thermally induced shape memory in cold-programmed neat PLA remains incompletely understood. Here, we present a multi-scale investigation of melt-cast neat PLA programmed via cold drawing, combining Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), thermomechanical cycling, and FTIR/Raman spectroscopy across five deformation-recovery cycles. DSC (with second-heating confirmation) revealed a glass transition onset at <span>({T}_{g})</span> = 62.3 °C and a low crystallinity (<span>({X}_{C})</span> ≈ 8.1%), while sigmoid fitting of the recovery profile gave a switching temperature <span>({T}_{sw})</span> = 56.3 °C (<span>({R}^{2})</span> = 0.996), consistent with <span>({T}_{g})</span> within a physically expected offset. Complete shape recovery (<span>({R}_{r})</span> = 100%) was maintained across all cycles, whereas shape fixity declined from 70% to a stable ~ 28% after cycle 3. Raman showed that cold drawing imposes only a slight, cyclically reversible modulation of molecular order in the amorphous switching phase, without altering its conformational character. Notably, post-stimulus crystallinity remained essentially constant despite declining fixity, indicating that cyclic shape fixity is governed by the spatial organization and connectivity of the crystallite network rather than crystallinity content alone, a mechanistic distinction not previously resolved for cold-drawn PLA. FTIR confirmed that all observed changes were physical rather than chemical in nature. These findings offer a quantitative mechanistic framework for cold-programmed shape memory in thermoplastic PLA, with direct implications for designing biodegradable cyclic shape memory biomedical devices.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149339158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hydration reorganization during the thermal phase transition of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) revealed by near-infrared spectroscopy","authors":"Biao Ma,&nbsp;Nannan Chen","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05160-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05160-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Understanding the molecular mechanism of the phase transition of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) is important for elucidating its temperature-responsive behavior. In this study, hydration changes during the PEtOx phase transition in aqueous solutions were investigated using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Continuous wavelet transform (CWT) combined with N-way principal component analysis (NPCA) was applied to extract spectral features associated with polymer hydration and water structures. In the C–H region, gradual changes in the local environments of CH₃/CH₂ groups were observed below 60 °C, followed by more pronounced spectral changes above this temperature. These changes may be associated with the reorganization of local polymer hydration during PEtOx aggregation. Furthermore, in the O–H region, a characteristic spectral feature near 6840 cm⁻¹ was identified and tentatively assigned to polymer-associated water species with two hydrogen bonds (S₂). The temperature-dependent NPCA score of the S₂-related feature exhibited a change in slope around 55 °C, compared with more pronounced changes in the local C–H environments around 60 °C. These observations suggest that the reorganization of polymer-associated S₂ water may influence the local hydration environment and facilitate interchain association, thereby contributing to PEtOx aggregation during the thermal phase transition. These results provide a spectroscopic basis for understanding the role of hydration reorganization in the thermoresponsive behavior of PEtOx.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149339316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A low viscosity poly(ethylene imine) modified by 1, 2-epoxybutane: synthesis and post-combustion CO2 capture performance","authors":"Yuhuan Chen,&nbsp;Yun Zhang,&nbsp;Chunhong Chen,&nbsp;Jing Chen","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05155-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05155-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the present work, a low viscosity polymer <i>n</i>EB-PEI₁₈₀₀ (<i>n</i> = 0.22, 0.29, 0.35) is synthesized for CO₂ capture. <i>n</i>EB-PEI₁₈₀₀ is obtained by partially modifying poly(ethylene imine) (PEI₁₈₀₀) with 1, 2-epoxybutane (EB) and is characterized by FT-IR, elemental analysis and liquid state ¹³C NMR. The physical properties, density and viscosity, of aqueous <i>n</i>EB-PEI₁₈₀₀ solutions with weight fraction <i>w</i> of 30% at the temperatures ranging from (293.15 to 313.15) K are reported. Additionally, CO₂ capture performance by aqueous<i> n</i>EB-PEI₁₈₀₀ solution is examined. CO₂ absorption loading, average absorption rate, desorption loading, average desorption rate and desorption efficiency in a variety of aqueous<i> n</i>EB-PEI₁₈₀₀ solution (<i>w</i> = 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30%) are investigated at different temperatures. The stability of PEI-based absorbent is also examined by four absorption–desorption cycles. The results reveal that modification can adjust the physical properties of <i>n</i>EB-PEI₁₈₀₀ solutions. 0.29 EB-PEI system has the lowest viscosity and is favorable for CO₂ capture. 20% aqueous 0.29 EB-PEI solution provides excellent cycling stability and desorption performance, especially desorption efficiency, increasing by 55% compared to PEI system at 393.15 K.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149339307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of Acalypha indica-functionalized PLA spun-bond nonwoven for active antimicrobial biodegradable food packaging","authors":"S. Nivedhitha,&nbsp;Vishal Srivastava,&nbsp;Dharmendra Kumar,&nbsp;Dipayan Das","doi":"10.1007/s10965-026-05166-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10965-026-05166-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Acalypha indica (AI), an herbaceous plant stemming from the Euphorbiaceae family, which is often considered an agricultural waste, is known to exhibit a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity due to its rich phytochemical profile, making it a promising candidate for active, antimicrobial and biodegradable food packaging. This medicinal plant was used in this work to extract the bioactive compounds from its leaves via Soxhlet extraction with 70% aqueous ethanol and then incorporate the same into a PLA spun-bond nonwoven fabric via the pad-dry-cure method to develop an eco-friendly active food packaging material. FTIR and XRD analyses confirmed the successful integration of AI bioactive compounds into the nonwoven fabric without disrupting its crystalline structure. The concentration of AI in the fabric was varied from as low as 2% to as high as 50%, and its impact on the mechanical, thermal, moisture-barrier, surface-morphological, biodegradability, and optical properties of the fabric was evaluated. It was noticed that, at an optimised concentration of 10%, the PLA/AI composite nonwoven fabric showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 32 µg/mL against <i>S. aureus</i>, 22.6% improvement in colour difference (ΔE) and 41.4% increase in tensile strength. The water vapour transmission rate decreased with higher AI concentrations, enhancing moisture-barrier properties while maintaining appropriate air permeability. Biodegradability tests showed up to 26.9% weight loss over 4 weeks, confirming its compostability. Moreover, the AI-coated PLA composite nonwoven fabric extended the shelf life of fresh bananas by over 6 days compared to the commercially available low-density polyethene (LDPE) film. Overall, the PLA/Acalypha indica composite nonwoven fabric was found to be a viable, eco-friendly alternative to conventional synthetic food packaging.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":658,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymer Research","volume":"33 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149339150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}