Biopolymers functional properties

G. Fiandaca, E. Vitrano, and A. Cupane, Ferricytochrome c encapsulated in silica nanoparticles structural stability and functional properties. Biopolymers 74, 55—59 (2004). 

Nowadays it is well established that the interactions between different macromolecular ingredients (i.e., protein + protein, polysaccharide + polysaccharide, and protein + polysaccharide) are of great importance in determining the texture and shelf-life of multicomponent food colloids. These interactions affect the structure-forming properties of biopolymers in the bulk and at interfaces thermodynamic activity, self-assembly, sin-face loading, thermodynamic compatibility/incompatibility, phase separation, complexation and rheological behaviour. Therefore, one may infer that a knowledge of the key physico-chemical features of such biopolymer-biopolymer interactions, and their impact on stability properties of food colloids, is essential in order to be able to understand and predict the functional properties of mixed biopolymers in product formulations. 

Dynamers based on components of biological nature may generate dynamic analogs of biopolymers, biodynamers, that offer the possibility to combine the functional properties (recognition, catalysis) of naturally occurring polymers with... 

The functional properties of food biopolymers are important in food product formulation and manufacture, because their technological properties are dependent on the use of biopolymers. These properties are... 

Nantes was chosen as the location because of its INRA Research Centre, which is renowned for its basic and applied research on plant biopolymers, starch, proteins and cell wall polysaccharides. The main objectives of the Nantes Centre in Plant Science first of all concerns the biosynthesis of macromolecules and assemblies in planta, secondly their structural characteristics and related physico-chemical and functional properties, and thirdly with their behaviour in multiphasic systems in relation to end-uses in food and non-food applications. In addition, human nutrition is also considered. 

Proteins are biopolymers that are encountered in many applications, such as food emulsions, hair conditioners, photographic emulsions, and various medical diagnostic products. Many of these applications are frequently based on the unique surface activity of the proteins, which is reflected in functional properties such as foaming, emulsification, and gelling. The proteins are composed of polymeric chains containing many hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains, often giving the molecules an amphipathic structure somewhat similar to that of polymeric surfactants. 

Polysaccharides via Microbial Process Polysaccharides produced by bacteria using biotechnology approach are biopolymers with novel and unique functional properties (such as xanthan, gellan, and curdlan). 

Functional Properties of Cellulose-Based Biopolymers in Drug Formulation and... 

FIGURE 28.1 Molecular structure of cellulose. (From Builders, P.F. and Attama, A.A., Functional properties of biopolymers for drug delivery applications, in Biodegradable Materials, Johnson, B.M. and Berkel, Z.E., Eds., Nova Science Publishers Inc., New York. Copyright 2011, with permission from Nova Science Publishers, Inc.)... 

Both natural and synthetic polymers have been employed for drug delivery purposes. However, cellulose-based biopolymers have continued to gain greater popularity in pharmaceutical manufacture, especially for drug delivery applications because of their diverse and numerous physicochemical and functional properties. In general, the major attraction to the use cellulose-based biopolymers for drug delivery application includes ready availability, low cost, relatively low toxicity, ease of modification, biodegradability, biocompatibility, etc. ... 

---