Poly(aspartic acid) superabsorbent polymers as biobased and biodegradable additives for self-sealing of cementitious mortar

Abstract

Lauren De Grave: Lauren De Grave started a Bachelor in Chemistry at Hasselt University (Belgium) in 2013, after which she continued to a Master at KU Leuven (Belgium). In 2018, she obtained her Master's degree in Chemistry with specialization in organic synthesis after completing a Master's thesis in the group of Prof. Dr. Wim Dehaen. After graduating, she started working as a researcher at KU Leuven in the research group of Prof. Dr. Mario Smet. This research focused on the development and optimization of several organic compounds (monomers, polymers, dispersants and additives) as organic matrix for the preparation of ceramic slurries with beneficial properties for 3D printing of dental prostheses. Since 2020, she is working as a joint PhD student in Ghent University (Polymer Chemistry & Biomaterials Group, Belgium) and Maastricht University (Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials, The Netherlands) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Sandra Van Vlierberghe and Prof. Dr. Katrien Bernaerts. She is currently working on the Interreg project GREENER, which focuses on the development of a biobased and biodegradable alternative for the water-soluble and wide-spread polyacrylic acid.

Photo-crosslinkable Poly(aspartic acid) for Light-based additive Manufacturing: Chain-growth versus Step-growth crosslinking

“…Deuterated dimethylsulfoxide (d6-DMSO, 99.8% D) and deuterium oxide (D2O, 99.9% D) were obtained from Eurisotop. Polysuccinimide (pSI) was prepared according to a previously described procedure [28].…”

“…Examples hereof are oxidizing/reducing agents or a change in pH, making these hydrogels interesting for controlled drug delivery and mucoadhesion applications [23][24][25][26][27]. However, reports on photocrosslinkable pAsp are scarce [28]. Nevertheless, the introduction of photo-crosslinkable moieties in pAsp would allow processing via light-based additive manufacturing (AM) methods, including stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP) and two-photon polymerization (2PP).…”

Coupling fermentation of glutamic acid and γ-polyglutamic acid and preparation of poly(amino acid) superabsorbent polymers

“…In addition, the separation process associated with the glutamate fermentation broth is also accompanied by a large amount of energy. We have previously reported the synthesis of polyaspartic acid (PASP) superabsorbent polymers, a kind of poly(amino acid), using water as the solvent and EGDGE as a cross-linker [ 24 – 26 ].…”