Natural polymer examples

As examples of natural polymers, we consider polysaccharides, proteins, and nucleic acids. Another important natural polymer, polyisoprene, will be considered in Sec. 1.6. 

There is a good amount of data on the transformations of natural polymers, but the literature concerning chemical modifications of natural monomers is rather scanty. However, there are a few natural monomers that have found applications. The monomers in these cases are either modified into other suitable monomers of industrial importance or are polymerized directly into polymers. A few examples are given below for illustration. 

Several examples have been described in which a chiral natural polymer, such as silk fibroin or chitosan, act as chiral ligand and support at the same time. In such cases, the chiral ligand (the monomer or monomers coordinating... 

Finally, hydrogenation of aromatic rings in synthetic or natural polymers such as polystyrene or lignin, respectively, is also investigated for various applications. The polystyrene hydrogenation process developed by Dow Plastics for media applications is an interesting example [7,8]. 

A related class of gels are those formed by extensive hydrogen bonding. An example is the polyethylene oxide)-poly(methacrylic acid) complex [18]. Spontaneously gelling natural polymer solutions are frequently of this type, including gelatin and native starch. 

Polymers are substances whose molecules are very large, formed by the combination of many small and simpler molecules usually referred to as monomers. The chemical reaction by which single and relatively small monomers react with each other to form polymers is known as polymerization (Young and Lovell 1991). Polymers may be of natural origin or, since the twentieth century, synthesized by humans. Natural polymers, usually referred to as biopolymers, are made by living organisms. Common examples of biopolymers are cellulose, a carbohydrate made only by plants (see Textbox 53) collagen, a protein made solely by animals (see Textbox 61), and the nucleic acid DNA, which is made by both plants and animals (see Textbox 64). 

Besides the previously mentioned collagen, a wide variety of natural polymers have been involved in the synthesis of bio-nanohybrid materials with potential application in bone repair and dental prostheses. For instance, some recent examples refer to bionanocomposites based on the combination of HAP with alginate [96,97], chitosan [98,99], bovine serum albumin (BSA) [100], sodium caseinate [101], hyaluronic acid [102], silk fibroin [103,104], silk sericin [105], or polylactic add (PLA) [106,107]. These examples illustrate the increasing interest in the subject of HAP-based biohybrid materials, which has led to almost 400 articles appeared in scientific journals in 2006 alone. 

Water which is bound to cellulose (or any other natural polymer) has properties different from those of unbound (bulk) water. For example, it has a higher density and a lower freezing point. The... 

Ionic cross-linking can be achieved in a number of systems and different microstructures result. For rigid chains it is possible for the ion to coordinate in a specific manner with the chain. Alginates are a good example of this. These are natural polymers derived from a brown macro-algae. The method of extraction and the species of the algae influences the chemistry and hence the rheology of these polymers. There... 

Since the oxidative polymerization of phenols is the industrial process used to produce poly(phenyleneoxide)s (Scheme 4), the application of polymer catalysts may well be of interest. Furthermore, enzymic, oxidative polymerization of phenols is an important pathway in biosynthesis. For example, black pigment of animal kingdom "melanin" is the polymeric product of 2,6-dihydroxyindole which is the oxidative product of tyrosine, catalyzed by copper enzyme "tyrosinase". In plants "lignin" is the natural polymer of phenols, such as coniferyl alcohol 2 and sinapyl alcohol 3. Tyrosinase contains four Cu ions in cataly-tically active site which are considered to act cooperatively. These Cu ions are presumed to be surrounded by the non-polar apoprotein, and their reactivities in substitution and redox reactions are controlled by the environmental protein. 

Natural polymers are found in living things. For example, glucose, C6H12O6, is the monomer for the natural polymer starch. You will learn more about natural polymers later in this section. 

Much of our technology has been developed by observing and imitating the natural world. Synthetic polymers, such as those you just encountered, were developed by imitating natural polymers. For example, the natural polymer cellulose provides most of the structure of plants. Wood, paper, cotton, and flax, are all composed of cellulose fibres. Figure 2.15 shows part of a cellulose polymer. 

If you trace the word resin back far enough, you ll find that it was originally defined as a low molecular weight, natural polymer that is an exudate of (it exudes from) vegetable or non-vegetable matter. Examples are rosin (from pine trees), shellac (from insects), and both frankincense and myrrh (aromatic gums from an East African and an Asian species of tree). Resins like these do not flow if heat and pressure are applied, like plastics do. They decompose or melt. (This definition of resin is obsolete in commerce today.)... 

Depolymerization of some natural polymers is another typical example. Milling of chitin or chitosan, at ambient temperature, leads to cleavage of the cellulose polymeric chain. Scission of 1,4-glucosidic bonds takes place, and the radicals formed recombine. Based on electron spin resonance, Sasai et al. (2004) monitored both the homolysis and the radical recombination. The recombination led to the formation of midsize polymeric chains only. Some balance was established between the homolytic depolymerization and the size-limited recombination of the radicals primarily formed. 

Natural polymers are high molecular mass macromolecules and are found in plants and animals. The examples are proteins and nucleic acids. 

The entire spectrum of inorganic fibers can be divided into two classes, based on differences in the crystallinity of the solids (Ray, 1978). Synthetic fibers have been known as man-made mineral fibers (MMMF) and manmade vitreous fibers (MMVF). But fibrous materials can be approached or divided in other ways. For example, in the Concise Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (1985) the entry for chemical fibers includes both manmade and natural polymers, with the discussion centering on carbon-based compounds such as acetates, acrylics, and cellulose. Fibers of other inorganic compounds were not mentioned in the encyclopedia under this entry, but silica glass fibers were described under the heading Optical Fibers. ... 

Macromolecules may be classified according to different criteria. One criterion is whether the material is natural or synthetic in origin. Cellulose, lignin, starch, silk, wool, chitin, natural rubber, polypeptides (proteins), polyesters (polyhydroxybutyrate), and nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) are examples of naturally occurring polymers while polyethylene, polystyrene, polyurethanes, or polyamides are representatives of their synthetic counterparts. When natural polymers are modified by chemical conversions (cellulose —> cellulose acetate, for example), the products are called modified natural polymers. 

Hydrolytic degradation is especially important in polymers with hydrolyzable links between the CRUs. Thus, polyesters can be saponified to yield the starting materials from which they were formed. Acetal links in synthetic polymers such as polyoxymethylene, or in natural polymers such as cellulose, can be hydrolyzed with acids. However, the resistance to hydrolysis depends very much on the structure of the polymer for example, polyesters of terephthalic acid are very difficult to hydrolyze while aliphatic polyesters are generally easily hydro-... 

The present chapter deals with molecular characteristics of synthetic polymers. Numerous natural polymers such as the most polysaccharides can be tentatively incorporated into this group of macromolecular substances because their behavior in many aspects resembles that of the synthetic polymers and also because they are often chemically modified to adjust their utility properties. The typical example is cellulose, the most abundant organic polymer on earth. 

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