Enzymatic synthesis and tailoring lignin properties: A systematic study on the effects of plasticizers

A biobased, bioactive, low CO2impact coating for soil improvers

“…5). In general, the application of plasticizers led to an increase of viscosity as previously reported by Jimenez Bartolome et al 34 An increase in viscosity was directly proportional to the amount of added plasticizer showing the highest gain when they were added in a 1 : 2 proportion.…”

“…In general, plasticizers manage to achieve this role by occupying intermolecular spaces between polymer chains, reducing secondary forces among them, changing the three-dimensional molecular organization of polymers and at the same time thereby lowering the second order transition temperature, the glass transition temperature (T g ), hardness, density, viscosity and electrostatic charge of the polymers. 34 For hydrophilic biopolymers like pullulan plasticizing effects by glycerol, sorbitol and xylitol have been reported due to the enhancement of molecular mobility by disrupting the hydrogen bonding interaction between polymer chains amongst other phenomena. The effect on various properties (mechanical, moisture content, etc.)…”

“…Despite earlier promising studies on lignin modification using laccases, the need for electron mediators, the high enzyme costs, and the lack of mechanistic understanding had considerably limited the viable use of laccases to process lignin. Recently we developed a versatile laccase-based technology that allows tailoring the lignosulfonate polymerization process and enables us to transform low molecular weight water-soluble lignosulfonates into high molecular weight water-insoluble polymers with potential applications for making many different functional materials 33,34 including agrochemical delivery systems 35 without the need for mediators. Based on this success, this study involved the enzyme-based synthesis of novel multifunctional biobased, bioactive non-toxic lignosulfonate coatings that reduce fertilizer leaching and hence its negative environmental impact.…”

Enzymatic Conversion of Lignosulfonate into Wood Adhesives: A Next Step towards Fully Biobased Composite Materials

“…R PEER REVIEW 4 of 14 experiments, 5% (w/v) glycerol or xylitol was added to these solutions as a plasticizer. The enzymatic modification was carried out at 20 °C in 150 mL transparent durum bottles, which were closed with screw caps, equipped with tight-fitting tubes on the lid allowing for continuous oxygen aeration at a flow rate of 10 mL min −1 , as described in [28]. The enzymatic polymerization of lignosulfonate was started by introducing 1% v/v of laccase solution (10 mg/mL) related to the lignosulfonate solution, without adding any external mediator.…”

“…Both are of great interest for adhesives based on well-processible water-based lignosulfonate since solubility and hydrophilicity can be reversed in the course of the enzyme-catalysed modification. The desired effects are achieved as a result of both, the formation of C-C aryl-alkyl and aryl-aryl bonds, which can effectuate a considerable increase in molecular weight and the depletion of polar functional groups in favour of less polar moieties formed, such as ether linkages [26][27][28]. Besides their use as activating ingredient in lignin-based adhesives, laccases can be also used for in situ activation of any type of lignocellulosic biomass to make use of the intermediates formed for bonding and crosslinking purposes, respectively [29].…”