Engineered polysaccharide alpha‐1,3 glucan asisocyanate‐reactivecomponent in viscoelastic polyurethane foams

Abstract

Enzymatic polymerization is emerging as scalable method to convert sucrose to engineered polysaccharides. Polymer architecture and material properties can be controlled selectively to produce novel differentiated biomaterials. One first example for such an engineered polysaccharide is alpha-1,3-polyglucose (alpha-1,3-glucan) synthesized using glucosyltransferase (GTF) enzymes. Stable dispersions of alpha-1,3-glucan in polyether polyols were prepared with narrow particle size distributions, which are reactive with isocyanate allowing for covalent bonding to the hard segment of the polyurethane polymer matrix. This study further explored the use of alpha-1,3-glucan (PS) in the preparation of viscoelastics (VE) polyurethane foams. The introduction of alpha-1,3-glucan into the polyurethane polymer matrix was found to increase the load-bearing properties of VE foams without impacting the density. Other key performance properties of VE foams were effectively unchanged, including resilience, tensile, and tear strength. Cell size and morphology were also unaffected. The glass transition of these VE foams was not impacted; however, the overall thermal dimensional stability was improved as considerable reduction in compression set was observed. The results of this study indicated that alpha-1,3-glucan disperses in polyether polyols to improve performance characteristics of the VE foams, as well as other flexible polyurethane foams properties.

From Lab to Market: Current Strategies for the Production of Biobased Polyols

“…Moreover, chitosan is well-known to present natural antibacterial and antifungal properties thanks to the amine groups it contains, which allows the formation of ammonium groups in an acidic environment; thus, cell proliferation and cell adhesion data suggested that the addition of chitosan could be important for the biomedical field. ,, More recently, engineered polysaccharides directly coming from sucrose or glucose have been also explored as alternative polyols for the polyurethane industry. For instance, α-1,3-polyglucose synthesized with glucosyltransferase enzymes has demonstrated to be a suitable reactive component in viscoelastic polyurethane foams …”

“…For instance, α-1,3-polyglucose synthesized with glucosyltransferase enzymes has demonstrated to be a suitable reactive component in viscoelastic polyurethane foams. 128 Finally, the self-condensation of biosourced diols for the production of polyether polyols has also been explored. Traditionally, the production of polyethers by polycondensation has been achieved by Williamson polyetherification via a nucleophilic substitution reaction between an alkoxide and a halogenated alkane.…”

High Barrier Sustainable Paper Coating Based on Engineered Polysaccharides and Natural Rubber

“…The alpha-1,3 glucan (Scheme ) was obtained by the enzymatic polymerization of glucose derived from sucrose. This reaction is conducted with the use of an enzyme catalyst selected from the general class of glucosyltransferase (GTF) enzymes. − The alpha-1,3 glucan generated as such is a water-insoluble, linear, highly crystalline, with a high surface area . Despite their high tendency to form agglomeration, alpha-1,3 glucan can be dispersed in water under shear to form a stable colloidal suspension.…”

“…31−33 The alpha-1,3 glucan generated as such is a water-insoluble, linear, highly crystalline, with a high surface area. 34 Despite their high tendency to form agglomeration, alpha-1,3 glucan can be dispersed in water under shear to form a stable colloidal suspension. Furthermore, the enzymatic polymerization process allows the control of morphologies, including spherical aggregates, fibrids, and platelet particles referred to as microcrystalline glucan (MCG).…”