Biopolymers edited by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Magdy M. Elnashar SCIYO Biopolymers Edited by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Magdy M. Elnashar Published by Sciyo Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2010 Sciyo All chapters are Open Access articles distributed under the Creative Commons Non Commercial Share Alike Attribution 3.0 license, which permits to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work in any medium, so long as the original work is properly cited. After this work has been published by Sciyo, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published articles. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Iva Lipovic Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer Martina Sirotic Image Copyright nagib, 2010. Used under license from Shutterstock.com First published October 2010 Printed in India A free online edition of this book is available at www.sciyo.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected] Biopolymers, Edited by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Magdy M. Elnashar p. cm. ISBN 978-953-307-109-1 SCIYO.COM free online editions of Sciyo Books, Journals and Videos can WHERE KNOWLEDGE IS FREE be found at www.sciyo.com Contents Preface IX Section A Chapter 1 Low-cost Foods and Drugs Using Immobilized Enzymes on Biopolymers 1 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Magdy M. Elnashar Chapter 2 Biomedical-Grade Chitosan in Wound Management and Its Biocompatibility In Vitro 19 Chin Keong Lim and Ahmad Sukari Halim Chapter 3 Biopolymer-Based Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Systems for Functional Finishing of Textiles 37 Dragan Jocić, Audrey Tourrette and Pavla Križman Lavrič Chapter 4 Production of Biopolymer Composites by Particle Bonding 61 Sanghoon Kim Chapter 5 Life Span of Biopolymer Sequestering Agents for Contaminant Removal and Erosion Resistance 81 Anna Sophia Knox, Ioana G. Petrisor, Charles E. Turick, Jesse Roberts, Michael. H. Paller, Danny. D. Reible, and Casey R. Forrest Chapter 6 Microfoams of Biopolymers by Laser-Induced Stretching: Mechanisms and Applications 109 Lazare Sylvain Chapter 7 Production of Fungal Chitosan by Enzymatic Method and Applications in Plant Tissue Culture and Tissue Engineering: 11 Years of Our Progress, Present Situation and Future Prospects 135 Nitar Nwe, Tetsuya Furuike and Hiroshi Tamura Chapter 8 Chitin Based Biocomposites for Removal of Contaminants from Water: A Case Study of Fluoride Adsorption 163 Jose R. Rangel-Mendez, Vladimir A. Escobar-Barrios and Jose L. Davila-Rodriguez VI Chapter 9 Cellulose Fibres Functionalised by Chitosan: Characterization and Application 181 Simona Strnad, Olivera Šauperl and Lidija Fras-Zemljič Chapter 10 Chitosan Based Membranes for Separation, Pervaporation and Fuel Cell Applications: Recent Developments 201 Tina Chakrabarty, Mahendra Kumar and Vinod K. Shahi Section B Chapter 11 Fabrication of HA/PLLA Composite Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering Using Additive Manufacturing Technologies 227 Fernando Cruz Chapter 12 PEGylation and BioPEGylation of Polyhydroxyalkanoates: Synthesis, Characterisation and Applications 243 John Foster Chapter 13 Lubrication and Adhesion by Charged Biopolymers for Biomedical Applications 257 Roberto Andresen Eguiluz, Rebecca M. Schur and Delphine Gourdon Chapter 14 The Role of Biofi lm Exopolysaccharides on Biocontrol of Plant Diseases 271 Wafaa M. Haggag Chapter 15 Bacterial Type II PMIs: Exploitable Bifunctional Enzymes for Biotechnological Applications and the Rational Design of Antimicrobials 285 Sílvia A. Sousa, Christian G. Ramos, Joana Feliciano and Jorge H. Leitão Chapter 16 Thermal Degradation of Ligno-Cellulosic Fuels: Biopolymers Contribution 303 Valérie Leroy, Eric Leoni and Dominique Cancellieri Chapter 17 Functional Properties of Some Non-conventional Treated Starches 319 Monica R. Nemţanu, Mirela Braşoveanu Chapter 18 Bacterial Cellulose-Based Biomimetic Composites 345 Thi Thi Nge, Junji Sugiyama and Vincent Bulone Chapter 19 Precise Depolymerization of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) by Pyrolysis 369 Haruo Nishida, Hidayah Ariffi n, Yoshihito Shirai and Mohd Ali Hassan Chapter 20 Biotechnological Production and Application of Hyaluronan 387 Chiara Schiraldi, Annalisa La Gatta and Mario De Rosa VII Chapter 21 Biopolymers by Azotobacter vinelandii 413 Adriana Navarro da Silva and Crispin Humberto Garcia-Cruz Chapter 22 Biopolymer Surfactant Interactions 439 Lisa Sreejith, S.M.Nair and Jinu George Chapter 23 Properties and Function of Pyomelanin 449 Charles E. Turick, Anna S. Knox, James M. Becnel, Amy A. Ekechukwu and Charles E. Milliken Chapter 24 Microbial Biopolymerization Production from Palm Oil Mill Effl uent (POME) 473 Zaini Ujang, Salmiati and Mohd Razman Salim Chapter 25 Calculation of Relaxation Spectra from Stress Relaxation Measurements 495 Vassilis Kontogiorgos Chapter 26 Fluctuations of Stiff Polymers and Cell Mechanics 509 Jens Glaser and Klaus Kroy Section C Chapter 27 Detect Structural Features of Asymmetric and Symmetric CH 2 and CH Functional Groups and Their Ratio of Biopolymers 3 Within Intact Tissue in Complex Plant System Using Synchrotron FTIRM and DRIFT Molecular Spectroscopy 535 Peiqiang Yu, PhD. Section D Chapter 28 Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) in Biomedical Applications 547 Francesco Puoci, Giuseppe Cirillo, Manuela Curcio, Francesca Iemma, Ortensia Ilaria Parisi, Umile Gianfranco Spizzirri and Nevio Picci Chapter 29 Hydrogels as Potential Nano-Scale Drug Delivery Systems 575 Mohammad Reza Saboktakin, Ph. D of Nano Chemistry Chapter 30 Biopolymers for Military Use: Opportunities and Environment Implications – A Review 597 Teodora Zecheru Preface Biopolymers are polymers produced by living organisms. Cellulose, starch and chitin, proteins and peptides, DNA and RNA are all examples of biopolymers, in which the monomeric units are sugars, amino acids, and nucleotides. Biopolymers and their derivatives are diverse, abundant and important for life. They exhibit fascinating properties and are of increasing importance for different applications. Living matter is able to synthesize an overwhelming variety of polymers, which can be divided into proteins and poly(amino acids), polysaccharides such as cellulose, starch and xanthan, chitosan, alginate, carrageenan, organic polyoxoesters such as poly(hydroxyalkanoic acids), poly(malic acid) and cutin. This book comprehensively reviews and compiles information on biopolymers in 30 chapters which cover occurrence, synthesis, isolation and production, properties and applications, modifi cation, and the relevant analysis methods to reveal the structures and properties of some biopolymers. This book is written by authors from the USA, Europe, Asia and Africa, yet, the editor has tried to arrange the book chapters in a subject order to make it easier for the readers to fi nd what they need. However, the reader can still fi nd information on the same subject in more than one Section. Section A, which includes chapters 1-10, is mainly on chitin/chitosan and, sometimes, other biopolymers. It includes chitosan production, chitosan grafting and chitosan applications. Section B, which includes chapters 11-26, refers to some other biopolymers. Section C, which consists of chapter 27, deals with theoretical / mathematical / spectroscopical characterization of biopolymers. Section D, which includes chapters 28-30, is on applications of biopolymers/hydrogels in drug delivery systems and for military use, as well as molecularly imprinted polymers for biomedical applications. The publishing of this book was accomplished by choosing individual scientists due to their recognized expertise and their excellent contributions to various fi elds of research. I am very grateful to these scientists for their willingness to contribute to this reference work as well as their engagement. Without them and without their commitment and enthusiasm it would have not been possible to compile such a book. This book will hopefully be of help to many scientists, physicians, pharmacists, engineers and other experts in a variety of disciplines, both academic and industrial. It may not only support research and development, but also be suitable for teaching. X Last but not least, I would like to thank my family for their patience. I extend my apologies for many hours spent on the preparation of my chapter and the editing of this book, which kept me away from them. Editor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Magdy M. Elnashar Laboratory of Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology, Polymers and Pigments Department, Centre of Excellence for Advanced Sciences, National Research Centre, 12622 Dokki, Cairo, Egypt