Preface xvii 1 Biomedical Applications for Thermoplastic Starch 1 Antonio José Felix de Carvalho and Eliane Trovatti 1.1 Starch as Source of Material in the Polymer Industry 1 1.2 Starch in Plastic Material and Thermoplastic Starch 2 1.3 Uses of Starch and TPS in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Fields 5 1.3.1 Native Starch (Granule) as Pharmaceutical Excipient 6 1.3.2 Gelatinized and Thermoplastic Starch in Biomedical Application 6 1.3.3 Starch-based Scaffolds 10 1.3.4 Starch-based Biosorbable Materials - Degradation Inside Human Body 12 1.3.5 Cell Response to Starch and Its Degradation Products 15 1.4 Conclusion and Future Perspectives for Starch-based Polymers 16 Acknowledgment 16 References 16 2 Polyhydroxyalkanoates: The Application of Eco-Friendly Materials 25 G.V.N. Rathna, Bhagyashri S. Thorat Gadgil and Naresh Killi 2.1 Introduction 25 2.2 Natural Occurrence 26 2.3 Bio-Synthetic/ Semi-Synthetic Approach 29 2.4 Environmental Aspects 31 2.5 Applications 33 2.6 Biomedical Applications 33 2.6.1 Drug Delivery 34 2.6.2 Implants and Scaffolds 36 2.7 Biodegradable Packaging Material 38 2.8 Agriculture 44 2.9 Other Applications 45 2.10 Scope of PHAs 46 2.11 Conclusions 46 References 47 3 Cellulose Microfibrils from Natural Fiber Reinforced Biocomposites and its Applications 55 Atul P Johari, Smita Mohanty and Sanjay K Nayak 3.1 Introduction 55 3.1.1 Industrial Applications 57 3.2 Natural Fibers: Applications and Limitations 58 3.3 Plant-based Fibers 59 3.4 Chemical Composition, structure and Properties of Sisal Fiber 60 3.4.1 Cellulose Fibers 61 3.4.2 Hemicellulose 61 3.4.3 Lignin 62 3.4.4 Pectin 63 3.4.5 Bio-based and Biodegradable Polymers 63 3.5 Biocomposites 64 3.6 Classification of Biocomposites 65 3.6.1 Green Composites 65 3.6.2 Hybrid Composites 66 3.7 Biocomposites of CMF Reinforced of Poly (lactic acid) 67 3.7.1 Extraction of Cellulose Microfibrils from Sisal Fiber 67 3.7.2 CMF Extraction Process 69 3.7.3 Fabrication of PLA/CMF Biocomposite 72 3.8 Effect of CMF Reinforcement on the Mechanical Properties of PLA 72 3.9 FT-IR Analysis of Untreated Sisal Fiber (UTS), Mercerized Sisal Fiber (MSF) and Cellulose Microfibrils (CMF) 73 3.10 Crystalline Structure of UTS, MSF and CMF 75 3.11 Particle Size Determination: Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) 76 3.12 Thermal Properties 77 3.12.1 Differential Scanning Calorimetry of CMF Reinforced PLA biocomposites 77 3.12.2 Thermo Gravimetric Analysis of CMF Reinforced PLA Biocomposites 79 3.12.3 Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) of CMF Reinforced PLA Biocomposites 82 3.13 Scanning Electron Microscopy 85 3.13.1 Surface Morphology of Sisal Fiber (USF, MSF and CMF) 85 3.13.2 Surface Morphology of CMF Reinforced PLA References 91 4 Tannins: A Resource to Elaborate Aromatic and Biobased Polymers 97 Alice Arbenz and Luc Avérous 4.1 Introduction 97 4.2 Tannin Chemistry 98 4.2.1 Historical Outline 98 4.2.2 Classification and Chemical Structure of Vascular Plant Tannins 99 4.2.3 Hydrolysable Tannins 99 4.3 Complex Tannins 101 4.4 Condensed Tannins 101 4.5 Non-vascular Plant Tannins 103 4.5.1 Phlorotannins with Ether Bonds 104 4.5.2 Phlorotannins with Phenyl bonds 104 4.5.3 Phlorotannins with Ether and Phenyl bonds 105 4.5.4 Phlorotannins with Ibenzo-p-dioxin Links 106 4.6 Extraction of Tannins 106 4.7 Chemical Modification 108 4.7.1 General Background 108 4.7.2 Heterocycle Reactivity 108 4.8 Heterocyclic Ring Opening with Acid 110 4.9 Sulfonation 112 4.9.1 Reactivity of Nucleophilic Sites 113 4.9.2 Bromination 114 4.9.3 Reactions with Aldehydes 116 4.9.4 Reaction with the Hexamine 117 4.10 Mannich Reaction 119 4.11 Coupling Reaction 119 4.11.1 Michael Reaction 119 4.11.2 Oxa-Pictet-Spengler Reaction 120 4.11.3 Functionalization of the Hydroxyl Groups 121 4.11.4 Acylation 121 4.12 Etherification 124 4.12.1 Substitution by Ammonia 127 4.12.2 Reactions Between Tannin and Epoxy Groups 128 4.13 Alkoxylation 129 4.13.1 Reaction with Isocyanates 130 4.14 Toward Biobased Polymers and Materials 130 4.14.1 Adhesives 130 4.14.2 Phenol-formaldehyde Foam Type 132 4.15 Materials Based on Polyurethane 133 4.15.1 Polyurethanes Foams 133 4.15.2 Non-porous Polyurethane Materials 133 4.16 Materials Based on Polyesters 134 4.16.1 Materials Based on Epoxy Resins 134 4.17 Conclusion 135 Acknowledgments 136 References 136 5 Electroactivity and Applications of Jatropha Latex and Seed 149 S. S. Pradhan and A. Sarkar 5.1 Introduction 149 5.2 Plant Latex 150 5.3 Jatropha Latex 151 5.3.1 Chemistry 151 5.4 Jatropha Seed 151 5.5 Material Preparation 151 5.6 Microscopic Observations 153 5.6.1 X-ray Diffraction 153 5.6.2 Electronic or Vibrational Properties 154 5.7 Electroactivity in Jatropha Latex 157 5.7.1 Ionic Liquid Property 157 5.8 Electroactivity in Jatropha Latex 158 5.8.1 DC Volt-ampere Characteristics 162 5.8.2 Temperature Variation of AC Conductivity 164 5.9 Applications 165 5.10 Conclusion 167 Acknowledgements 168 References 168 6 Characteristics and Applications of PLA 171 Sandra Domenek and Violette Ducruet 6.1 Introduction 171 6.2 Production of PLA 172 6.2.1 Production of Lactic Acid 172 6.2.2 Synthesis of PLA 174 6.3 Physical PLA properties 179 6.4 Microstructure and Thermal properties 181 6.4.1 Amorphous Phase of PLA 181 6.4.2 Crystalline Structure of PLA 183 6.4.3 Crystallization Kinetics of PLA 185 6.4.4 Melting of PLA 187 6.5 Mechanical Properties of PLA 188 6.6 Barrier Properties of PLA 190 6.6.1 Gas Barrier Properties of PLA 190 6.6.2 Water Vapour Permeability of PLA 193 6.6.3 Permeability of Organic Vapours through PLA 194 6.7 Degradation Behaviour of PLA 195 6.7.1 Thermal Degradation 195 6.7.2 Hydrolysis 196 6.7.3 Biodegradation 198 6.8 Processing 200 6.9 Nanocomposites 202 6.10 Applications 204 6.10.1 Biomedical Applications of PLA 204 6.10.2 Packaging Applications Commodity of PLA 205 6.10.3 Textile Applications 208 6.10.4 Automotive Applications of PLA 209 6.10.5 Building Applications 210 6.10.6 Other Applications of PLA 210 6.11 Conclusion 211 References 211 7 PBS Makes Its Entrance into the Family of Biobased Plastics 225 Laura Sisti, Grazia Totaro and Paola Marchese 7.1 Introduction 225 7.2 PBS Market 227 7.3 PBS Production 229 7.3.1 Succinic Acid Production 230 7.3.2 1,4-Butanediol Production 233 7.3.3 Synthesis of PBS 234 7.4 Properties of PBS 237 7.5 Copolymers of PBS 240 7.5.1 Random Copolymers 240 7.5.2 Block Copolymers 247 7.5.3 Chain Branching 250 7.6 PBS Composites and Nanocomposites 253 7.6.1 Inorganic Fillers 253 7.6.2 Natural Fibers 258 7.7 Degradation and Recycling 262 7.7.1 Enzymatic Degradation 262 7.7.2 Non Enzymatic Degradation 266 7.7.3 Natural Weathering Degradation 266 7.7.4 Thermal Degradation 267 7.7.5 Recycling 267 7.8 Processing and Applications of PBS and its Copolymers 269 7.9 Conclusions 273 Abbreviations 273 References 274 8 Development of Biobased Polymers and Their Composites from Vegetable Oils 289 Patit P. Kundu and Rakesh Das 8.1 Introduction 289 8.2 Source and Functional Groups of Vegetable Oil 290 8.3 Direct Cross-Linking of Vegetable Oil for Polymer Synthesis 292 8.3.1 Cationic Polymerization 292 8.4 Free Radical Polymerization 295 8.5 Chemical Modification of Vegetable Oils for Polymer Synthesis 297 8.5.1 Synthesis of Polymers after Epoxidation of Vegetable Oils 297 8.6 Polymer Synthesis after Esterification of Vegetable Oils 299 8.7 Polyol and Polyurethanes from Vegetable Oils 302 8.8 Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites from Vegetable Oils 306 8.9 Conclusions 311 References 312 9 Polymers as Drug Delivery Systems 323 Magdy W. Sabaa 9.1 Introduction 323 9.2 Types of Modified Drug Delivery Systems 324 9.3 Concept of Drug Delivery Matrix 325 9.4 Polymeric Materials as Carriers for Drug Delivery Systems 326 9.4.1 Polysaccharides and Modified Polysaccharides as Matrices for Drug Delivery Systems 326 9.4.2 pH-sensitive as Drug Delivery Systems 331 9.4.3 Thermo-sensitive as Drug Delivery Systems 335 9.4.4 Light-sensitive as Drug Delivery Systems 338 9.5 Conclusions 340 References 341 10 Nanocellulose as a Millennium Material with Enhancing Adsorption Capacities 351 Norhene Mahfoudhi and Sami Boufi 10.1 Introduction 351 10.2 From Cellulose to Nanocellulose 353 10.3 General Remarks about Adsorption Phenomena 355 10.4 Nanobibrillated Cellulose as a Novel Adsorbent 359 10.5 NFC in Heavy Metal Adsorption 363 10.6 NFC as an Adsorbent for Organic Pollutants 372 10.7 NFC in Oil Adsorption 373 10.8 NFC in Adsorption of Dyes 376 10.9 Nanofibrillar Cellulose as a Flocculent for Waste Water 379 10.10 NFC in CO2 Adsorption 380 10.11 Conclusion 381 References 381 11 Towards Biobased Aromatic Polymers from Lignins 387 Stephanie Laurichesse and Luc Avérous 387 11.1 Introduction 388 11.2 Lignin Chemistry 389 11.2.1 Historical Outline 389 11.2.2 Chemical Structure 390 11.2.3 Physical Properties 391 11.3 Isolation of Lignin from Wood 393 11.3.1 The Biorefinery Concept 393 11.3.2 Extraction Processes and their Resulting Technical Lignins 394 11.4 Chemical Modification 398 11.4.1 General Background 398 11.4.2 Fragmentation of Lignin 399 11.4.3 Pyrolysis 401 11.4.4 Gasification 403 11.4.5 Oxidation 403 11.4.6 Liquefaction 404 11.4.7 Enzymatic Oxidation 406 11.4.8 Outlook 407 11.5 Synthesis of New Chemical Active Sites 407 11.5.1 Alkylation/Dealkylation 407 11.5.2 Hydroxalkylation 409 11.5.3 Amination 410 11.5.4 Nitration 411 11.6 Functionalization of Hydroxyl Groups 412 11.6.1 Esterification 412 11.6.2 Phenolation 415 11.6.3 Etherification and Ring Opening Polymerisations 416 11.6.4 Urethanisation 418 11.7 Toward Lignin Based Polymers and Materials 420 11.7.1 Lignin as a Viable Route for Polymers Syntheses 420 11.7.2 ATRP - A Useful Method to Develop Lignin-Based Functional Material 422 11.7.3 High Performance Material Made with Lignin: Carbon Fibers 423 11.7.4 Toward Commercialized Lignin-based Polymers   424 11.8 Conclusion 424 Acknowledgments 425 References 425 12 Biopolymers – Proteins (Polypeptides) and Nucleic Acids 439 S. Georgiev, Z. Angelova and T. Dekova 12.1 Structure of Protein Molecules 440 12.1.1 Peptide Bonds 441 12.1.2 Secondary Structure of Protein Molecule 441 12.1.3 Tertiary Structure of Proteins 442 12.1.4 Quaternary Structure of Proteins 443 12.2 Abnormal Haemoglobin 444 12.3 Methods for Proteome Analysis 446 12.4 Advantages of the Method 446 12.5 Study of Proteins with Post-Translational Modifications 447 12.6 Biodegradable Polymers 448 12.6.1 DNA The Molecule of Heredity 451 12.6.2 Experiments Designate DNA as the Genetic Material 452 12.6.3 Bacterial Transformation Implicates DNA as the Substance of Genes 452 12.6.4 Identification of RNA as the Genetic Material 454 12.6.5 The Structures of DNA and RNA 455 12.6.6 Left Handed DNA Helices 456 12.6.7 Some DNA Molecules are Circular instead of Linear 456 12.6.8 RNA as the Genetic Material (Structure) 457 12.6.9 Hammerhead Ribozymes HHRs 458 12.7 Regulation Gene Function Through RNA Interfering and MicroRNA Pathways 460 12.7.1 How dsRNA can Switch off Expression of a Gene? 461 12.7.2 MicroRNAs Also Control the Expression of Some Genes 463 12.8 DNA Vaccines 464 12.9 Conclusion 467 References 467 13 Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide-based Multiple-unit Systems for Sustained Drug Release 471 Amit Kumar Nayak 471 13.1 Introduction 471 13.2 Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide 473 13.2.1 Sources and Extraction 473 13.3 Composition 474 13.4 Properties 474 13.5 Use of Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide in Drug Delivery 475 13.6 Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide-based Microparticle/Beads for Sustained Drug Delivery 476 13.7 Extrusion-Spheronization Method 476 13.7.1 Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide Spheroids  Containing Diclofenac Sodium 476 13.8 Ionotropic-Gelation  Method 478 13.8.1 Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide-alginate Beads Containing Diclofenac Sodium 478 13.8.2 Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide-alginate Mucoadhesive Microspheres Containing Gliclazide 480 13.8.3 Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide-alginate Mucoadhesive Beads Containing Metformin HCl 481 13.7.4 Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide-pectinate Mucoadhesive Beads Containing Metformin HCl 481 13.8.5 Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide-gellan Mucoadhesive Beads Containing Metformin HCl 483 13.9 Covalent Crosslinking 485 13.9.1 Chitosan-Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide Interpenetrating Polymeric Network Microparticles Containing Aceclofenac 485 13.10 Combined  Ionotropic-Gelation/Covalent Crosslinking 488 13.10.1 Interpenetrated Polymer Network Microbeads Containing Diltiazem-Indion 254® Complex made of Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide and Sodium Alginate 488 13.11 By Ionotropic Emulsion-gelation 489 13.11.1 Oil-entrapped Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide- Alginate Blend Floating Beads Containing Diclofenac Sodium 489 13.12 Conclusion 490 References 490 Index 493