Oil-in-Water Pickering Emulsions Stabilized with Nanostructured Biopolymers: A Venue for Templating Bacterial Cellulose

Calvo, Víctor ; Fuentes, Laura ; Berdejo, Daniel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; González-Domínguez, José M. ; Maser, Wolfgang K. ; Benito, Ana M.

Resumen: Pickering emulsions (PEs) differ from conventional emulsions in the use of solid colloidal particles as stabilizing agents instead of traditional amphiphilic molecules. Nanostructured biopolymers (NBs) emerge as a promising alternative for PE stabilization owing to their remarkable biocompatibility, abundant availability, and low cost. To explore this potential, a study is herein presented, in which cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), both type I and type II allomorphs, and chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) were used for stabilizing oil-in-water PEs prepared by the use of ultrasound. Sunflower oil was selected as the oil phase as it offers the advantages of being edible, renewable, and inexpensive. By utilizing ζ-potential, static light diffraction, and visual observations, we determined the optimal oil/water ratio for each type of NB to obtain stable emulsions after 14 days. The optimized PEs were used to form bacterial nanocellulose composites through emulsion templating. To our knowledge, this study represents a pioneering work in exploiting oil-in-water PEs for this approach. Additionally, it entails the first utilization of nonmercerized type II CNCs as stabilizers for PEs, while also establishing a direct comparison among the most relevant NBs. The resulting composites exhibited a unique morphology, composed of larger pores compared to standard bacterial nanocellulose aerogels. These findings highlight the notable potential of NBs as stabilizers for PEs and their ability to generate green nanocomposites with tailored properties.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/ijms241713141

Año: 2023

Publicado en: International Journal of Molecular Sciences 24, 17 (2023), 13141 [15 pp.]
ISSN: 1661-6596

Factor impacto JCR: 4.9 (2023)

Categ. JCR: BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY rank: 66 / 313 = 0.211 (2023) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY rank: 68 / 231 = 0.294 (2023) - Q2 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 8.1 - Spectroscopy (Q1) - Computer Science Applications (Q1) - Physical and Theoretical Chemistry (Q1) - Inorganic Chemistry (Q1) - Organic Chemistry (Q1) - Molecular Biology (Q2) - Catalysis (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 1.179 - Medicine (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Physical and Theoretical Chemistry (Q1) - Computer Science Applications (Q1) - Inorganic Chemistry (Q1) - Spectroscopy (Q1) - Organic Chemistry (Q1) - Molecular Biology (Q2) - Catalysis (Q2)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T03-23R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN-AEI/PID2019-104272RB-C51/AEI/10.13039/501100011033
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN PID2020-120439RA-I00

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)

Área (Departamento): Área Nutrición Bromatología (Dpto. Produc.Animal Cienc.Ali.)