Biopolymers classification

Biopolymers Classifications and Applications for Functional Cellulose Textiles I 223... 

Silica-based restricted access materials (RAM) have been developed for cleanup in bioanalysis, first for low molecular weight compounds in biofluids (Rbeida et al., 2005) and subsequently for biopolymers such as peptides (Wagner et al., 2002). A classification of different types of RAM has been given by Boos and Rudolphi (1997). Novel RAMs with strong cation-exchange functionality have been synthesized and implemented in the sample cleanup of biofluids. Racaityte et al. (2000) have shown that this type of RAM is highly suitable for the online extraction and analysis of... 

Figure 50 The classification of biopolymer components constituting the wood fuel.

The most fundamental classification of polymers is whether they are naturally occurring or synthetic. Common natural polymers (often referred to as biopolymers) include macromolecules such as polysaccharides e.g., starches, sugars, cellulose, gums, etc.), proteins e.g., enzymes), fibers e.g., wool, silk, cotton), polyisoprenes e.g., natural rubber), and nucleic acids e.g., RNA, DNA). The synthesis of biodegradable polymers from natural biopolymer sources is an area of increasing interest, due to dwindling world petroleum supplies and disposal concerns. 

Table 4-1 Principal Biopolymers Used in Foods and their Classification Based on Origin ...

Krafft, C., Thtimmler, K., Sobottka, S.B., Schackert, G. and Salzer, R. (2006) Classification oF malignant gliomas by infrared spectroscopy and linear discriminant analysis. Biopolymers, 82, 301-5. 

This chemical classification is of little use with respect to the various applications as biopolymers, in which most of the time interactions with solvents are involved. This is illustrated by the fact that the solubility of a given compound may change completely with the degree of substitution and/or with the molar substitution. This is for example the case of HPC and NaCMC which are commercially available as insoluble and water-soluble products. We therefore use a classification of cellulose-based biopolymers made according to their behavior in water and to their ionic character (Table 2). 

Table 2. Classification of cellulose biopolymers based on interaction with solvent and ionic character...

Biopolymers Biomedical and Environmental Applications Table 18.6 Classification of Bioadhesive Polymers [94]. 

The nomenclature of PHAs and their classification are still in the process of evolving, because new structures are continuing to be discovered. The main biopolymer in the PHA family is a homopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). The most conunon copolymer is poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), whose chemical structure is presented in Figure 9.4. However, there are others, such as poly(hydroxybulyrate-co-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBHx), poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyoctanoate) (PHBO) and poly(ltydroxybulyrate-co-hydroxyoctadecanoate) (PHBOd), for example. 

A large range of different materials can be used for encapsulation, either hydrophilic or hydro-phobic, from polyelectrolytes, synthetic or natural,to inorganic nanoparticles, lipids, dyes, multivalent ions, and biopolymers. A classification of the most used biopolymers for bioencapsulation is presented in Table 31.1. 

Even this listing style assists in rousing confusion towards the classification of biopolymers. Biodegradable polymers, even those 100% based on the traditional petrochemical production route are including in this listing. In some cases, polymers with a petrochemical feedstock, but a biotechnological intermediary step (such as fermentation or enzymatic catalysis) are... 

Classification Biopolymer Definition Protein or protein fraction obtained from blood plasma... 

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