Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) are commonly used as nanocarriers for drug delivery, whereby their sizes can be altered for a more efficient delivery of therapeutic active agents with better efficacy. ...In this work, cross-linked copolymers acted as core-shell NPs from acrylated palm olein (APO) with polyol ester were synthesized via gamma radiation-induced reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation. The particle diameter of the copolymerised poly(APO-b-polyol ester) core-shell NPs was found to be less than 300 nm, have a low molecular weight (MW) of around 24 kDa, and showed a controlled MW distribution of a narrow polydispersity index (PDI) of 1.01. These properties were particularly crucial for further use in designing targeted NPs, with inclusion of peptide for the targeted delivery of paclitaxel. Moreover, the characterisation of the synthesised NPs using Fourier Transform-Infrared (FTIR) and Neutron Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analyses confirmed the possession of biodegradable hydrolysed ester in its chemical structures. Therefore, it can be concluded that the synthesised NPs produced may potentially contribute to better development of a nano-structured drug delivery system for breast cancer therapy.
The utilisation of palm oil-based polymers as biomaterials has received considerable interest to support further expansion in the biomedical field as they pose the potential capability of competing ...with synthetic polymers per their physicochemical, thermal, and crystallinity properties. In this study, the synthesis of a new green biopolymer, namely acrylated palm olein (APO) from a palm oil-based precursor, was developed. The APO was synthesised via the ring-opening process of the epoxidised palm olein (EPOo) with acrylic acid and triethylamine. The acrylation process produced an APO of a high yield (86.64%) with a molecular weight of 1750 Da. The ester group representing the APO was confirmed through the proton nuclear magnetic resonance (
1
H-NMR), carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (
13
C-NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), which revealed the promising biodegradable point of the APO molecular structure. Meanwhile, thermal and crystallisation profiles of the APO showed a single-stage decomposition pattern and its triglycerides (TAGs) crystal formation and melting behaviour. As a result, the desired APO polymer was obtained, which possessed potential biodegradable chemical functional group, amorphous, and low molecular weight properties.
Over the past few decades, there has been an increasing demand for bio-based polymers and resins in industrial applications, due to their potential lower cost and environmental impact compared with ...petroleum-based counterparts. The present research concerns the synthesis of epoxidized palm oil acrylate (EPOLA) from an epoxidized palm oil product (EPOP) as environmentally friendly material. EPOP was acrylated by acrylic acid via a ring opening reaction. The kinetics of the acrylation reaction were monitored throughout the reaction course and the acid value of the reaction mixture reached 10 mg KOH/g after 16 h, indicating the consumption of the acrylic acid. The obtained epoxy acrylate was investigated intensively by means of FTIR and NMR spectroscopy, and the results revealed that the ring opening reaction was completed successfully with an acrylation yield about 82%. The UV free radical polymerization of EPOLA was carried out using two types of photoinitiators. The radiation curing behavior was determined by following the conversion of the acrylate groups. The cross-linking density and the hardness of the cured EPOLA films were measured to evaluate the effect of the photoinitiator on the solid film characteristics, besides, the thermal and mechanical properties were also evaluated.
Jatropha oil-based polyol (JOL) was prepared from crude Jatropha oil via an epoxidation and hydroxylation reaction. During the isocyanation step, two different types of diisocyanates; 2,4-toluene ...diisocyanate (2,4-TDI) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), were introduced to produce Jatropha oil-based polyurethane acrylates (JPUA). The products were named JPUA-TDI and JPUA-IPDI, respectively. The success of the stepwise reactions of the resins was confirmed using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to support the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis that was reported in the previous study. For JPUA-TDI, the presence of a signal at 7.94 ppm evidenced the possible side reactions between urethane linkages with secondary amine that resulted in an aryl-urea group (Ar-NH-COO-). Meanwhile, the peak of 2.89 ppm was assigned to the α-position of methylene to the carbamate (-CH2NHCOO) group in the JPUA-IPDI. From the rheological study, JO and JPUA-IPDI in pure form were classified as Newtonian fluids, while JPUA-TDI showed non-Newtonian behaviour with pseudoplastic or shear thinning behaviour at room temperature. At elevated temperatures, the JO, JPUA-IPDI mixture and JPUA-TDI mixture exhibited reductions in viscosity and shear stress as the shear rate increased. The JO and JPUA-IPDI mixture maintained Newtonian fluid behaviour at all temperature ranges. Meanwhile, the JPUA-TDI mixture showed shear thickening at 25 °C and shear thinning at 40 °C, 60 °C and 80 °C. The master curve graph based on the shear rate for the JO, JPUA-TDI mixture and JPUA-IPDI mixture at 25 °C, 40 °C, 60 °C and 80 °C was developed as a fluid behaviour reference for future storage and processing conditions during the encapsulation process. The encapsulation process can be conducted to fabricate a self-healing coating based on a microcapsule triggered either by air or ultra-violet (UV) radiation.
In countries that are rich with oil palm, the use of palm oil to produce bio-based acrylates and polyol can be the most eminent raw materials used for developing new and advanced natural polymeric ...materials involving radiation technique, like coating resins, nanoparticles, scaffold, nanocomposites, and lithography for different branches of the industry. The presence of hydrocarbon chains, carbon double bonds, and ester bonds in palm oil allows it to open up the possibility of fine-tuning its unique structures in the development of novel materials. Cross-linking, reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT), polymerization, grafting, and degradation are among the radiation mechanisms triggered by gamma, electron beam, ultraviolet, or laser irradiation sources. These radiation techniques are widely used in the development of polymeric materials because they are considered as the most versatile, inexpensive, easy, and effective methods. Therefore, this review summarized and emphasized on several recent studies that have reported on emerging radiation processing technologies for the production of radiation curable palm oil-based polymeric materials with a promising future in certain industries and biomedical applications. This review also discusses the rich potential of biopolymeric materials for advanced technology applications.
•PVDF membrane incorporated with different adsorptive materials of zeolite or gypsum for % ammonia removal.•Surface roughness and hydrophobicity increase after the modification but enhanced the ...membranes’ crystallinity.•Incorporation with zeolite or gypsum increased water flux of the membranes almost ten times from pure PVDF membrane.•Satisfactory ammonia removal within national standard limit ranges achieved by PVDF/zeolite and PVDF/gypsum membrane.
The contamination of ammonia in surface water should be given a critical outlook as it easily exceeds the regulated standard limit especially in rivers located in many parts of the world. Several conventional methods for the removal of ammonia have been widely used but its effectiveness in removing ammonia is not impressive. Membrane technology is gaining wider application in removal of nitrogen compounds from water and wastewater. In this study, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flat sheet membrane incorporated with adsorbent material (zeolite and gypsum) were fabricated to study its efficiency in ammonia removal. The morphology of the blended PVDF membrane by using both additive materials showed that some changes were observed at the bottom layer of the membrane where an extremely wide finger-like structure has been formed. This modified membrane exhibits hydrophobicity properties with contact angle value of 89.0 ± 0.48° and 96.3 ± 0.54° for zeolite and gypsum, respectively. Meanwhile, the crystallinity of the fabricated membrane increases from 20% for pure PVDF to 25.9% and 26.4% for the respective additive of gypsum and zeolite. Furthermore, a comparable separation performance was obtained for the blended membrane with the pure PVDF and the commercial membrane of NF1. Thus, the presence of zeolite or gypsum in the synthesized PVDF membrane could potentially enhance the removal of ammonia by becoming an adsorption material as it commonly functions.
Renewable polyol is of increasing interest as a building block in biomedical elastomer for bearing biodegradable ester group and immaculate functionality. Derived from non-edible vegetable oil, a new ...class of elastomer was successfully functionalized with MDI and TDI. Crosslink densities were varied by regulating ratio of hydroxyl to diisocyanate (
r
) at 1/1.0, 1/1.1, and 1/1.2. Produced elastomers were examined by crosslink density, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, tensile testing, and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained elastomers had subambient glass transition temperature (
T
g
) suggested majority soft segment that acted as a continuous phase with intermediate phase separation. Medium conversion at gel point had enhanced physical properties. Highly elastic mechanical behavior was afforded from combination of side chains and high molecular weight polyol. At
r
= 1/1.2, MDI-based elastomer showed twofold improvement in Young modulus at slight expense of elongation. TDI-based elastomer accomplished elongation beyond 162%. Branching allophanate and biuret resisted early thermal breakdown by elevating activation energy. Frequency response and kinetic of thermal degradation provided beneficial perspective for elastomer characterization. The vegetable oil-based polyurethane was found able to resemble most of the physical properties of polycaprolactone (PCL)-derived polyurethane.
Graphical Abstract