Short fibers natural origin

Whilst finely grinding wood material may considerably hide the fiber aspect of wood particles, WPC exhibit properties which are typical of systems filled with short fibers of natural origin. As WPC is a rich subject in itself, only a few basic aspects will be discussed hereafter. It is obvious that not all thermoplastics can be used to prepare WPC. Indeed the polymer component melts or at least softens at or below the degradation point of the wood component, normally 200-220°C but must be rigid at normal usage temperatures (i.e., up to around 65°C). Practically, this reduces the choice to polypropylene, low-and high-density polyethylenes, polystyrene, and vinylics (essentially PVC). 

Functionalization is a central to many studies exploring the potential of polypeptide fibers as biocompatible materials, and fibers are often decorated with short bioactive tags that originate from the extracellular matrix (ECM). These tags can be displayed on protein fibers at much higher densities than that which occurs in nature and can also be displayed in unique and complimentary combinations. 

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