Isolation and handedness of helical coiled cellulosic thickenings from plant petiole tracheary elements

Gray, Derek G.

doi:10.1007/s10570-014-0382-4

Cited by 25 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…According to the author, this left‐handed structure is formed because the orientation of the cellulose inside the coils comes from a nonchiral organization, often forming ring‐like thickenings in the vascular system of the plants, and this deviation produces a left‐handed coil with an orientation that is offset relative to the nonchiral structure. This left handedness is also observed in suspensions of chiral nematic cellulose nanocrystals and films …”

Section: Cellulose‐based Fibers That Mimic Natural Filamentssupporting

confidence: 56%

“…After being coated with a magnetic layer, the motion of these filaments under water can be controlled using a magnetic field . In 2014, Gray isolated xylem cells from the tracheary systems of different plants, namely, celery, sugar maple, London plane, horse chestnut, tulip tree, paulownia, and ginkgo. After chemical treatment with alkali and acid chlorite, it was possible to isolate the helically coiled cellulosic microfibrils that serve as mechanical reinforcement of the tracheary system.…”

Section: Cellulose‐based Fibers That Mimic Natural Filamentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cellulose‐Based Biomimetics and Their Applications

et al. 2018

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Nature has been producing cellulose since long before man walked the surface of the earth. Millions of years of natural design and testing have resulted in cellulose-based structures that are an inspiration for the production of synthetic materials based on cellulose with properties that can mimic natural designs, functions, and properties. Here, five sections describe cellulose-based materials with characteristics that are inspired by gratings that exist on the petals of the plants, structurally colored materials, helical filaments produced by plants, water-responsive materials in plants, and environmental stimuli-responsive tissues found in insects and plants. The synthetic cellulose-based materials described herein are in the form of fibers and films. Fascinating multifunctional materials are prepared from cellulose-based liquid crystals and from composite cellulosic materials that combine functionality with structural performance. Future and recent applications are outlined.

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Section: Cellulose‐based Fibers That Mimic Natural Filamentssupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Cellulose‐based Fibers That Mimic Natural Filamentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cellulose‐Based Biomimetics and Their Applications

et al. 2018

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“…biofibers | nematic droplets | cellulose | spider silk | sensor N atural microfilaments produced by plants, insects, or spiders are fascinating materials not just because of their specific properties such as wear resistance, elasticity, tensile strength, and toughness (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) but also because of their microorganization (6)(7)(8)(9). Their macroscopic properties can match properties of materials like kevlar but are at the same time biocompatible and biodegradable (10).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensing surface morphology of biofibers by decorating spider silk and cellulosic filaments with nematic microdroplets

Aguirre

Oliveira

Seč

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Probing the surface morphology of microthin fibers such as naturally occurring biofibers is essential for understanding their structural properties, biological function, and mechanical performance. The state-of-the-art methods for studying the surfaces of biofibers are atomic force microscopy imaging and scanning electron microscopy, which well characterize surface geometry of the fibers but provide little information on the local interaction potential of the fibers with the surrounding material. In contrast, complex nematic fluids respond very well to external fields and change their optical properties upon such stimuli. Here we demonstrate that liquid crystal droplets deposited on microthin biofibers-including spider silk and cellulosic fibers-reveal characteristics of the fibers' surface, performing as simple but sensitive surface sensors. By combining experiments and numerical modeling, different types of fibers are identified through the fiber-to-nematic droplet interactions, including perpendicular and axial or helicoidal planar molecular alignment. Spider silks align nematic molecules parallel to fibers or perpendicular to them, whereas cellulose aligns the molecules unidirectionally or helicoidally along the fibers, indicating notably different surface interactions. The nematic droplets as sensors thus directly reveal chirality of cellulosic fibers. Different fiber entanglements can be identified by depositing droplets exactly at the fiber crossings. More generally, the presented method can be used as a simple but powerful approach for probing the surface properties of small-size bioobjects, opening a route to their precise characterization.biofibers | nematic droplets | cellulose | spider silk | sensor

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“…Polarized optical microscopy (POM) (Figure b–d) of a single fibril reveals an ordered structure as described by Gray . As evident from Figure c,d the optical axis is aligned to the long axis of the coil.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…A common feature in stalks is the spiral structures. Although the exact function of spiral thickenings in the xylem is an open question, it has been suggested that the structure can give mechanical reinforcement and increased wettability …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conducting Helical Structures from Celery Decorated with a Metallic Conjugated Polymer Give Resonances in the Terahertz Range

Elfwing

Ponseca

Ouyang

et al. 2018

Adv Funct Materials

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A method to decorate cellulose-based helices retrieved from the plant celery with a conductive polymer is proposed. Using a layer-by-layer method, the decoration of the polyanionic conducting polymer poly(4-(2,3-dihydrothieno [3,4-b]-[1,4]dioxin-2-yl-methoxy)-1-butanesulfonic acid (PEDOT-S) is enhanced after coating the negatively charged cellulose helix with a polycationic polyethyleneimine. Microscopy techniques and two-point probe are used to image the structure and measure the conductivity of the helix. Analysis of the optical and electrical properties of the coated helix in the terahertz (THz) frequency range shows a resonance close to 1 THz and a broad shoulder that extends to 3.5 THz, consistent with electromagnetic models. Moreover, as helical antennas, it is shown that both axial and normal modes are present, which are correlated to the orientation and antenna electrical lengths of the coated helices. This work opens the possibility of designing tunable terahertz antennas through simple control of their dimensions and orientation.The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201706595.polymers. The single polymer chain in vacuums exists in a planar geometry or a helical one, [1] depending on the configuration of the covalent bond connecting monomers on the chain. While polyethylene in the absence of defects at low temperatures is a stiff zig-zag chain, the addition of sterical hindrance in the form of a styrene substituent will make polystyrene helical in geometry at the local scale of angstrom to nanometer. Biopolymers such as proteins (0.5 nm) and DNA (3 nm) are often helical at a somewhat larger scale than the simple synthetic polymers. Supramolecular ordering of proteins generates the helical structures spanning biomembranes in living systems. Chiral structures are abundant in nature. Yet technology does not have the same facility to generate helicity at the nano-, meso-, and microscale. 3D structures are inherently difficult to mass produce using standard top down processing, due to lack of 3D patterning methods. Recent developments of 3D printing enable construction of coils with dimensions above micrometers, while two-photon poly merization enables creation of structures with dimensions of ≈0.1 µm. [2] Deposition of materials through vacuum onto rotating surfaces at glancing angle of incidence, can generate helical geometries in thin films. [3] The transition from thin films with helical inner structure to separated microcoils, as used in electromagnetics, also indicates new possibilities of designing helices for electromagnetic functions in intermediate parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. They typically require good electrical conductors, patterned in a helical geometry, and metals are the standard choice to build such structures.In the absence of scalable production methods, the abundant supply of helical structures from biological organisms has been used. Algae can have helical shapes. Organelles inside plants often use h...

show abstract

Isolation and handedness of helical coiled cellulosic thickenings from plant petiole tracheary elements

Cited by 25 publications

References 23 publications

Cellulose‐Based Biomimetics and Their Applications

Cellulose‐Based Biomimetics and Their Applications

Sensing surface morphology of biofibers by decorating spider silk and cellulosic filaments with nematic microdroplets

Conducting Helical Structures from Celery Decorated with a Metallic Conjugated Polymer Give Resonances in the Terahertz Range

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