28 mar 2025
This month has seen the publication in internationally renowned, first-quartile journals of four important studies from LEMAPAP-PRODIS researchers.
Generally speaking, we do not make news out of every publication. But this post is not about a single article. Coincidentially, we got four papers accepted during one week, more specifically the second week of March, and they have been online-first published along this month.
Energy and property trade-offs in nanocellulose production: High-pressure homogenization at different processing consistencies, published in the Chemical Engineering Journal
This is a collaborative study between LEPAMAP-PRODIS researchers and collaborators from different institutions — Alexandre Santos (LACTA, Universidade Federal do Paraná), Jean-Luc PUTAUX (Cermav, Université Grenoble Alpes) and Wim Thielemans (Sustainable Materials Lab, KU Leuven).
Despise its promising potential for different industries, the production of cellulose nanofibers is often energy-intensive and costly, limiting large-scale adoption. This article explores how processing consistency during high-pressure homogenization can optimize energy use, enhance fibrillation efficiency, and influence nanofiber quality.
The full paper can be read online by accessing this link until the 28th of April.
This article is framed in project ArtInNano.
Key insights into TEMPO‑mediated oxidation of cellulose: Influence of starting material, published in the Cellulose journal
This study, jointly undertaken by LEPAMAP-PRODIS members and researchers from the Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU), reveals that the feedstock plays a key role on the final properties of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanomaterials. In particular, the rheological parameters of nanocellulose suspensions are remarkably affected. For instance, while those from eucalyptus wood are gelly, those from hemp fibers display a liquid-like behavior. Factors like chemical composition, crystallinity, molecular weight distribution and surface chemistry can explain these differences.
The paper, published in Open Access tranks to the Article Processing Charges agreement between CRUE-CSIC and Springer Nature, is available here.
This article is framed in project ArtInNano.
Co-dispersion of cellulose nanofibers and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine in water: Different strategies for colorimetric probes, published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Chemically induced color changes can be extremely useful to detect and quantify potential waterborne pollutants. This is the case with 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), which turns blue if the concentration of certain oxidizers is higher than the limit of detection. However, TMB is both insoluble in the water sample being tested and relatively unstable. Our solution? Nanocellulose to the rescue!
Responsive aqueous dispersions of TMB were obtained with nanocellulose as the only stabilizing agent. Then, dispersions and paper strips coated with them were used to detect and quantify iron(III) in water by their optical response.
The full article can be read by accessing this link until the 30th of April.
This article is framed in project NBEA.
Advanced antimicrobial surfaces in cellulose-based food packaging, published in Advances in Colloid and Interface Science
This critical review includes contributions from authors belonging to four different institutions —Universitat de Girona, North Carolina State University, Université de Lille, Universidad de Los Andes. The survey article provides a comprehensive framework for selecting engineered colloidal and nanostructured systems for cellulose-based food packaging.
Meta-analysis was used as a methodological approach to categorize them according to antimicrobial agents, coating methods, and synergistic effects against a broad spectrum of microorganisms.
The full article can be read by accessing this link until May.
This review is related to project NextPack.