The use of biobased plastics is of great importance for many applications. Blending thermoplastic polylactide (PLA) with polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) enables the formulation of a more mechanically powerful material and this enables tailored biodegradation properties. In this study we demonstrate the 3D printing of a PLA/PHA blend as a potential candidate for biocompatible material applications. The filament for 3D printing consisted of PHA, which contains predominantly 3-hydroxybutyrate units and a small amount of 3
Polysaccharide hydrogels have been increasingly utilized in various fields. In this review, we focus on polysaccharide-based hydrogels used as probiotic delivery systems. Probiotics are microorganisms with a positive influence on our health that live in the intestines. Unfortunately, probiotic bacteria are sensitive to certain conditions, such as the acidity of the gastric juice. Polysaccharide hydrogels can provide a physical barrier between encapsulated probiotic cells and the harmful environment enhancing the cells survival rate. Additionally, hydrogels improve survivability of probiotic bacteria not only under gastrointestinal track conditions but also during storage at various temperatures or heat treatment. The hydrogels described in this review are based on selected polysaccharides: alginate, κ-carrageenan, xanthan, pectin and chitosan. Some hydrogels are obtained from the mixture of two polysaccharides or polysaccharide and non-polysaccharide compounds. The article discusses the efficiency of probiotic delivery systems made of single polysaccharide, as well as of systems comprising more than one component.
There is an increasing demand for bio-based polymers that are developed from recycled materials. The production of biodegradable polymers can include bio-technological (utilizing microorganisms or enzymes) or chemical synthesis procedures. This report demonstrates the corroboration of the molecular structure of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) obtained by the conversion of waste polyethylene (PE) via non-oxygenated PE wax (N-PEW) as an additional carbon source for a bacterial species. The N-PEW, obtained from a PE pyrolysis reaction, has been found to be a beneficial carbon source for PHA production with Cupriavidus necator H16. The production of the N-PEW is an alternative to oxidized polyethylene wax (O-PEW) (that has been used as a carbon source previously) as it is less time consuming to manufacture and offers fewer industrial applications. A range of molecular structural analytical techniques were performed on the PHAs obtained; which included nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Our study showed that the PHA formed from N-PEW contained 3-hydroxybutyrate (HB) with 11 mol% of 3-hydroxyvalerate (HV) units.
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