Adhesion, polysaccharide

A freshly cleaned tooth surface quickly becomes coated with a thin pellicle of salivary proteins. This provides a surface for growth of dental plaque, which contains many bacteria and adhesive polysaccharides such as dextrans.1 The latter are generated from dietary sucrose by such bacteria as Streptococcus mutans. (Chapter 20) and others.131 Many factors affect the probability of tooth decay. 

Gum ghatti is the calcium and magnesium salt of a complex polysaccharide which contains L-arabinose, D-galactose, D-mannose, and D-xylose and D-glucuronic acid (48) and has a molecular weight of approximately 12,000. On dispersion in water, gum ghatti forms viscous solutions of viscosity intermediate between those of gum arabic and gum karaya. These dispersions have emulsification and adhesive properties equivalent to or superior to those described for gum arabic. 

Another major drawback of polysaccharides is their hydrophilic nature leading to low degrees of adhesion between fiber and matrix [11]. Moisture absorption takes place by three types of mechanisms namely diffusion, capillarity, and transport via micro cracks [2]. Among the three, diffusion is considered to be the major mechanism. Water absorption largely depends on the water-soluble or hygroscopic components embedded in the matrix, which acts as a semipermeable membrane. While, fiber/matrix adhesion and fiber architecture also affect the moisture absorption. The results of the water sorption experiment showed an interesting trend. The extent of water uptake was not very significant and also did not increase linearly with amount of filler (Table-2). 

Biopolymers have diverse roles to play in the advancement of green nanotechnology. Nanosized derivatives of polysaccharides like starch and cellulose can be synthesized in bulk and can be used for the development of bionanocomposites. They can be promising substitutes of environment pollutant carbon black for reinforcement of rubbers even at higher loadings (upto SOphr) via commercially viable process. The combined effect of size reduction and organic modification improves filler-matrix adhesion and in turn the performance of polysaccharides. The study opens up a new and green alternative for reinforcement of rubbers. 

Polysaccharide materials Starch, cellulose, plant gums (arabic gum, tragacanth, karaya, ghatti, guar, locust bean, fruit tree gum) Paper, paint binders, adhesives... 

Cellulose is a high molecular weight polymer of D-glucose with fi( 1 -4)-glycosidic bonds, found in plant fibres it is the major component of most plant tissues. Starch is another common polysaccharide, containing two polymers of glucose, amylose and amylopectin. It was used in some paint preparations and in the production of paper. Acid treatment of starch produces dextrins, which are used as adhesives and additives in water colour paintings. 

At the same time, natural adhesives such as casein glues, animal glue and polysaccharide gums have gradually been replaced by synthetic adhesives vinyl thermoplastic adhesives [poly(vinyl acetate)], adhesives obtained by reticulation in situ of two components (as epoxy resins), represent very important materials in this field. 

Following with bacterial infections and anti-adhesion strategies,86 88 NMR based structural studies have been conducted on O-polysaccharide chains in these past few years,38 40,42,43 in order to elucidate the molecular basis and the role of the lipopolysaccharides in these pathologies. 

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