Journal of Siberian Federal University. Biology 2021 14(4): 398-421
DOI 10.17516/1997-1389-0361 УДК 577.11:612.06
Biopolymers as Multiplatform Materials to Improve Quality of Life and Well-Being
Fernando Gomes de Souza Jra*, Sergio Thode Filhoa' b, Emiliane Dahera, Fernanda Divaa, Nathali Ricardoa, Rafael Moraesa, Marcio Nogueiraa, Johny Chantrea and Priscila Soaresa aFederal University of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil bFederal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Received 16.06.2021, received in revised form 20.07.2021, accepted 14.08.2021
Abstract. Biopolymers are all the macromolecular materials formed in nature or produced using bio-monomers. Biopolymers are extremely diverse materials, which have unique properties. Unfortunately, the general cost of biopolymers production is about 25 % higher compared to similar materials from petrochemical sources. Therefore, scientists must continuously pursue the search for differentiated applications for these materials. These new applications, especially those with enhanced added value, are essential for extending the use of these unique materials. In this context, the Biopolymers & Sensors Lab. (LaBioS) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro has been operating since 2008 in research related to the production of biopolymers. LaBioS works on the chemical modification and the nanomodification of these biopolymers. These were the strategies found by the group to increase the added value of these systems, allowing their use in several applications that positively impact human well-being. Therefore, we dedicate this work to describing the state of the art in biopolymers via text mining study of the content produced on this great subject from the year 2008 to the year 2021. In addition, we present here short case studies developed by the team that currently composes LaBioS. These cases cover several areas, ranging from drug release, through environmental recovery, to food security.
© Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). Corresponding author E-mail address: fernando_gomes@ima.ufrj.br
ORCID: 0000-0002-8332-4953 (Souza F.G. Jr.); 0000-0001-6669-2677 (Thode Filho S.); 0000-0002-4857-9512 (Daher E.); 0000-0003-2960-9197 (Diva F.); 0000-0002-1553-9469 (Ricardo N.); 0000-0003-3476-4511 (Moraes R.); 0000-0003-4762-2395 (Nogueira M.); 0000-0002-9727-714X (Chantre J.); 0000-0001-8923-6834 (Soares P.)
Keywords: data analysis, statistical analysis, data mining, biopolymers.
Acknowledgements. This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq-304500/2019-4), Coordenaçao de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES - Finance Code 001), Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP PRESAL Ref.1889/10) and Fundaçao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ -CNE2020).
Citation: Souza F. G. Jr., Thode Filho S., Daher E., Diva F., Ricardo N., Moraes R., Nogueira M., Chantre J., Soares P. Biopolymers as multiplatform materials to improve quality of life and well-being. J. Sib. Fed. Univ. Biol., 2021, 14(4), 398-421. DOI: 10.17516/1997-1389-0361
Биополимеры как многоплатформенные материалы для улучшения качества жизни и благополучия населения
Ф. Г. де Соуза мл.а, С. Т. Фильюа' б, Э. Дахера, Ф. Диваа, Н. Рикардоа, Р. Мораеса, М. Ногейраа, Дж. Шантра, П. Соареса
аФедеральный университет Рио-де-Жанейро Бразилия, Рио-де-Жанейро б Федеральный институт образования, науки и технологий Рио-де-Жанейро Бразилия, Рио-де-Жанейро
Аннотация. Биополимеры - это природные или созданные искусственно с использованием биомономеров макромолекулярные материалы. Биополимерные материалы чрезвычайно разнообразны и обладают уникальными свойствами. К сожалению, общая стоимость производства биополимеров примерно на 25 % выше стоимости аналогичных материалов из нефтехимических источников. Поэтому ученые должны постоянно продолжать поиск различных вариантов применения биополимерных материалов. Эти новые области применения, особенно позволяющие получить продукцию с более высокой добавленной стоимостью, необходимы для более широкого распространения данных уникальных материалов. В этом контексте лаборатория биополимеров и сенсоров (ЬаВ^) Федерального университета Рио-де-Жанейро с 2008 г. занимается исследованиями, связанными с производством биополимеров. Сотрудники LaBioS работают над химической модификацией и наномодификацией биополимеров. Эта стратегия, применяемая данной группой исследователей для увеличения добавленной стоимости полимерных продуктов, позволяет использовать их в ряде областей, способствующих повышению благополучия населения. Данная статья посвящена описанию современного состояния исследований в области биополимеров, основанному
на интеллектуальном анализе текстов статей, опубликованных по этой важной теме в период с 2008 по 2021 г. Мы представляем также краткую информацию о результатах исследований группы ученых, в настоящее время работающих в LaBioS, которые охватывают несколько областей - от получения лекарственных средств и технологий восстановления окружающей среды до обеспечения продовольственной безопасности.
Ключевые слова: анализ данных, статистический анализ, интеллектуальный анализ данных, биополимеры.
Благодарности. Эта работа была поддержана Национальным советом по техническому и технологическому развитию ^-304500/2019-4), Координатором квалификационных работ в Пессоаль-де-Нивель-Супериор (М - Финансовый код 001), Отделом финансов и проектов (ПРЕДВАРИТЕЛЬНАЯ заявка FINER1889/10) и Фондом Карлоса Шагаса Фильо де Ампаро Пескиса в Рио-де-Жанейро (FAPERJ-CNE2020).
Цитирование: де Соуза мл. Ф. Г. Биополимеры как многоплатформенные материалы для улучшения качества жизни и благополучия населения / Ф. Г. де Соуза мл., С. Т. Филью, Э. Дахер, Ф. Дива, Н. Рикардо, Р. Мораес, М. Ногейра, Дж. Шантр, П. Соарес // Журн. Сиб. федер. ун-та. Биология, 2021. 14(4). С. 398-421. DOI: 10.17516/1997-1389-0361
Introduction
Polymers are materials that are widespread in our society (Souza et al., 2008). Due to their versatility, they increasingly replace traditional materials, such as metals and ceramics, in various applications (Ferreira et al., 2017; Grance et al., 2016). It is easy to identify a myriad of polymeric artifacts that surround us, leading to the realization that polymers will be increasingly present in every aspect of our lives, from our birth to our last moments on this planet. However, a side effect generated by polymers on a large scale is the immense amount of waste produced (Maranhao et al., 2018), whose persistence time in the environment, given the exceptional chemical stability of the polymers, is in the order of hundreds of years. In addition, obtaining conventional polymers is a polluting activity since most conventional monomers are obtained from a petrochemical source (Marques et al., 2016) via fractional distillation of oil. Thus, the use of materials from renewable
sources should be increasingly encouraged (Marinho et al., 2018). These materials have the potential to maintain our lifestyle, but with an infinitely less environmental impact than what we currently produce.
Biopolymers (Péres et al., 2017) are polymers produced by living organisms or obtained from renewable sources (Buono et al., 2018; Fertahi et al., 2021; Jensen et al., 2016; Kanehashi et al., 2015; Khan et al., 2016; Roguszewska et al., 2020; Sotoudeh et al., 2021; Techawinyutham et al., 2019; Zubkiewicz et al., 2021). Among them, the ones commercially called «green polymers» are synthetic polymers obtained using monomers from renewable sources (Costa et al., 2017). This class of polymers allows the production of new artifact products that are highly beneficial to nature because they are biodegradable or, when they are not, because they can store carbon from CO2 in the form of macrostructures of biological origin.
Despite the numerous advantages presented by biopolymers, the cost factor is still an
impediment to the large-scale use of these materials. In recent years, the emergence and improvement of several biotechnological routes have allowed the increasingly competitive production of several biopolymers, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and many monomers, such as lactic, glycolic, and succinic acids, as well as the 1,4-butanediol (Satam et al., 2019). These new processes and the derived chemical species have significantly increased the availability of biopolymers for the most diverse markets, including the automotive, textile, and packaging sectors for quick disposal items (Babu et al., 2013). Increasing the value added by these materials must be a constant concern for the entire scientific community. In this context, the Biopolymers and Sensors Laboratory (LaBioS) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro has been seeking, since 2008, to boost the use of biopolymers by modifying their properties by chemical modification or by preparing nanocomposites.
The extension of the use of these materials in each of these areas is a driver for increasing the quality of life of human beings, helping to preserve our planet, and this is our research group's ultimate mission. Thus, this work provides an overview of the scientific work in biopolymers from 2008 to 2021. This information was collected at the Scopus base and mined using various free and open-source tools. In addition, this paper briefly presents some studies developed by the team that currently runs the LaBioS. Besides, the retrieved information allows us to foresee the perspectives referring to biopolymers in the near future.
Text mining methodology
Scientific articles containing the word biopolymer in the titles or abstracts were collected using the Scopus database. The Scopus search was restricted to the broad term biopolymer only
among the articles published between 2008 and 2021. The used search key was: TITLE-ABS-KEY (Biopolymer) AND (LIMIT-TO (DOCTYPE, »ar»)) AND (LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2020) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2019) OR LIMIT-TO (P UBYEAR, 2018) ORLIMIT-TO (P UBYEAR, 2017) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2016) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,,2015) ORLIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2014) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2013) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2012) ORLIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR, 2011) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2010) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2009) OR LIMIT-TO (PUBYEAR,2008)). The results were gathered using Zotero 5.0.95 and finally saved in a single RIS file. The data of these articles were separated into (i) titles and (ii) abstracts. The tools were LibreOffice Calc and LibreOffice Writer (both version: 7.0.4.2 Build ID: dcf040e67528d9187c66 b2379df5ea4407429775). The online Voyant Tools (Hetenyi et al., 2019; Miller, 2018) (https://voyant-tools.org/) was used in the text mining of the most relevant words in the texts, which were cleaned by removing all the numbers and editors' names from them. Then, the set conditions in the Voyant Tools were (a) Fixed term biopolymer and (b) minimum coverage of 5 %. The second Text Mining tool used was the VOSviewer (van Eck & Waltman, 2010) (https://www.vosviewer.com/), which allows obtaining the main clusters from the titles and abstracts. The last cleaning step is unnecessary for the VOSviewer analysis, and the raw RIS file was used as produced by Zotero. The set conditions used in VOSviewer were: (a) Create a map based on text data, (b) Read data from reference manage files (RIS), Fields from which terms will be extracted ((c) Title and abstracts separately and (d) ignore structures abstracts labels and (e) ignore copyright statements both turned on). The counting method was set to Binary (f). To the titles and abstracts, the minimum numbers of occurrences (g) were set to 50 and 500, respectively.
Results of text mining
The data mining variation focused on text analysis is named text mining (Abramo et al., 2019; Lehmann & Wohlrabe, 2017; MartinMartin et al., 2018; Panagopoulos et al., 2017). Text mining allows the data extraction from text documents (Jeong et al., 2019; Ma et al., 2019; Robinson et al., 2019; Zhou et al., 2019), being a handy tool in areas as diverse as medicine, engineering, and customer service (Lucini et al., 2020; Pezzini, 2017; Sun et al., 2018). The chosen time span, between 2008 and 2021 (May 29), is the period in which the LaBioS has been working on the subject of biopolymers. Specifically about the term biopolymer, the scenario between the years 2008 and 2021 is complex because of the myriad of papers collected, which was equal to 18,277 scientific documents. Of course, these numbers can vary depending on the database used. According to the Voyant Tools (VT), the titles returned 256,702 total words and 18,212 unique word forms. In turn, the abstracts returned 3,416,625 total words and 57,689 unique word forms. These numbers make clear that the ordinary analysis of these data is humanly impossible.
Therefore, the analysis of this complex scenario demands the computer assistance offered by text mining tools. Then, the first approach was performed using the Wordcloud tool from Voyant Tools. The results are shown in Figure 1. Besides, the Titles and Abstracts corpus can be inspected through these links:
Titles: https://voyant-tools.org/?corpus=911 68bf881a70c7a8fbf0d31fc2c640d&lang=en
Abstracts: https://voyant-tools.org/?corpus =4c21860a0981330a26179bb37eac123a&lang=en
Among the texts, the most frequent words in the titles are biopolymer (2969); based (2348); chitosan (2085); properties (1713); and using (1327). In turn, the most frequent words in the abstracts are biopolymer (13834); properties
(11658); using (9980); chitosan (8992); and study (8440). Voyant Tools also allows the calculation of the correlations between the terms. In both titles and abstracts cases, the fixed term was biopol*. Among the most cited words into Titles and Abstracts, only based (among titles) and chitosan (among abstracts) presented significant (95 % of probability) determination coefficients equal to 0.69 and 0.16, respectively. The R2 values are small in both cases, indicating that a different methodology must be performed, allowing further explanations. One possible way to deal with these data is subdividing them by years, as performed elsewhere (Gomes, 2021). This approach is advantageous to understanding how the concepts or keywords evolve during research time. On the other hand, understanding how data are correlated in a massive amount of information is crucial to see how the investigations are being conducted. Therefore, another tool, such as VOSviewer, should be used.
Fig. 2 shows the clustering maps from the studied titles and abstracts between 2008 and 2021, while Table 1 shows the top trending inside the five most relevant clusters in the Titles and Abstracts (data obtained from VOSviewer).
These clusters are created according to the probability or level at which the words are grouped together and indicate how each word is connected to its neighborhood. Among the Titles, the most relevant cluster allows inferring the relevant concerning polymer and blends based on lactic acid or PHAs. The next cluster focuses on using these materials in environmental recovery applications, mainly related to removing heavy metals from the water. In turn, the third cluster deals with the production ofPHAs by biosynthesis. The next cluster mainly focuses on biopolymers in medicine, highlighting the terms scaffold, delivery system, and tissue engineering. Finally, the fifth cluster deals with the green synthesis of these biomaterials, highlighting catalyst and
O O
O &
B
O <D
'-a
3
c^ o £
Q
3
3
p
<—h CD
(a)
2. . , o î±
m-} nanoparticles & ËÇ
<-K ^J Iiaiiupcll L1C1CÖ ^
%3 properties
biopolymer t
^ PMnalvsis S 1
cells . ,
process ,r . ^
^ a^USing H q i gr ^
mechanical g;
applications g- ("D
formation O-
h-k.fD OQ 3
g o g
l'i
CT î a °
^ si ^ 3Î •-t s
CZ2 °
CfQ
3
CD
p'<—K S—
o O 3 temperature HT- ^ , ^ Chemical
g protein j
J molecular 0 ^ |
CD compared iL g.
CL g S.
^ o ^
-
development
O P
Si Si
CD
o production ° O effect polymer
nanoparticles
activity
, III
composite fD s. g
JfO Ush
«™ g £ release
• novel
IpropertiesBtP-
^ water <—^ ç
mechanical cell & modified
O
C/3
P 3
¡3-
CD
CZ2
en
(b)
Fig. 1. Word clouds from studied titles (a) and abstracts (b) between 2008 and 2021
ionic liquid. In turn, among the Abstracts, the first cluster deals with the characterization of biopolymers used in environmental recovery applications. Among the top trending words, XRD (X-ray diffraction) and TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) are highlighted. The next cluster deals with medicine, and the highlighted words are drug, delivery, scaffold, and tissue engineering. The third cluster reveals the primary concern regarding the characterization of these materials,
while the next one is focused on the preparation of biopolymers, evolving the terms gene, culture, glucose, and accumulation. Finally, the last cluster is probably concerned with silicon chemistry, which is relevant to the further developments in this field.
Therefore, data gathered from literature allowed inferring that relevant drivers in the biopolymers field focus on preparing and characterizing biomaterials useful to
(a)
Huor«iracM compieijc»BcefvatiGQ
N ffv. "T ' jfcioWNWISf
genlcdifferentiation JJKf&^i £ ^ _ iactogftbuim
l on rat - f^lTve^iysrerri ^ a
edible^afl%f <№*»>** -** ^elwfcUy feaslb .....
blend
pulyhydioxybutyrate catalyst ==u.lb«,m „..,„,„.......
Slvent □Itference „„,,
Uodtijtivity supW^>acito£ " larboxYrri^yiiltuloie / biopolym^klectrolyte
^kfcVOSviewer
T r«a. „Mll,^. . __
membrane ^rabidopS(^Raliana
%psco«^iii2n • •fu"length
soluble microbial product cyanobacterium drae reduction wild tyoe polymerase
,t membrane foiling; '^ww^ ^l ""
(b)
extracellular polymgricsubsta spore °ver°p wopore
experiment
.4
^53* biomass ^"l^SfcB ^
tj"%*jg Temoval Phb ^¡esw^^^^BSSz-**
Tnpcoii "d°™ "
i/bi^orben, absorption ' "^BKViV*
«T"« a^orPtion«pacity ""¿teA
adsorption kinetic - ^ jJMW^Ulsipn "" ^u.ir,, u„
langmmr adsorption *otherm™2g dsi^F^* " ^BVootet
' v- y-. MT:\«J| TBP^fracto-e Wp;
■"fote®«tensjJRtradg^j' v>
tv rtKHtSJ
_ oiopo yi
5tipgtcchniquoneatp|ab|e!idednili mber • *• «WMHfSmi
Fig. 2. Clustering maps from studied titles (a) and abstracts (b) between 2008 and 2021
environmental recovery and bio-medicine applications. In the contexts regarding biopolymer synthesis (Almeida et al., 2020; Araujo et al., 2015; Bedor et al., 2021; Costa et al., 2017; Daher Pereira et al., 2021; de Araujo Segura et al., 2018; Elias et al., 2021; Ferreira et al., 2012a, 2012b, 2015, 2017; Figueiredo et al., 2019; Franca et al., 2019; Gomes et al., 2018; Icart et al., 2018; Middea et al., 2017; Moraes et al., 2018a, 2018b; Neto et al., 2021; Pereira et al., 2013, 2014; Peres
et al., 2014, 2017; Picciani et al., 2007; Ramon et al., 2018; Sa et al., 2017; Yusoff et al., 2021), environmental recovery (Aboelkheir et al., 2019a, 2019b; Bedor et al., 2020, 2021; Ferreira et al., 2012b; Figueiredo et al., 2019; Gomes et al., 2018; Grance et al., 2012; Nogueira et al., 2020; Si et al., 2020; Souza et al., 2012; Varela et al., 2012), medicine (Costa et al., 2018; Daher et al., 2021; Daher Pereira et al., 2021; Lange et al., 2016; Pereira et al., 2013, 2014; Ramon et al.,
Table 1. Top trending inside the five most relevant clusters obtained from VOSviewer
Cluster Label in Titles Occurrences Label in Abstracts Occurrences
1 poly 988 xrd 968
1 blend 236 removal 895
1 lactic acid 185 adsorption 872
1 hydroxybutyrate 145 x ray diffraction 782
1 hydroxybutyrate co 96 aqueous solution 761
1 hydroxyvalerate 77 ion 707
1 nanocomposite film 73 tga 600
2 removal 374 drug 787
2 aqueous solution 193 delivery 726
2 ion 139 scaffold 657
2 wastewater 130 tissue 589
2 sludge 111 vitro 555
2 dye 107 disease 417
2 extracellular polymeric substance 92 tissue engineering 398
3 production 684 thermal stability 721
3 strain 115 tensile strength 668
3 bacterium 110 nanocomposite 649
3 polyhydroxyalkanoate 105 blend 588
3 biosynthesis 94 pla 586
3 culture 92 dsc 538
3 substrate 92 elongation 484
4 scaffold 278 biomass 535
4 delivery system 144 gene 430
4 tissue engineering 90 g l 404
4 adhesion 75 pathway 404
4 efficacy 75 phb 380
4 tissue 56 culture 364
4 cancer 50 glucose 360
4 conjugate 50 accumulation 339
5 catalyst 146 dna 459
5 reaction 136 dynamic 382
5 ionic liquid 127 simulation 299
5 conversion 71 theory 269
5 solvent 59 regime 207
5 degree 50 deformation 189
5 green synthesis 50 regulation 184
2018; Sa et al., 2017; Souza et al., 2013; Vargas & 2014; de Araujo Segura et al., 2018; Elias et al., Souza, 2011), and even nanotechnology (Araujo 2015, 2016, 2021; Elkodous et al., 2019; Ferreira et al., 2015; Asthana et al., 2021; Costa & Souza, et al., 2014; Grance et al., 2012; Lopes et al.,
2018; Maranhâo et al., 2021; Marques et al., 2016, 2017; Neto et al., 2018, 2021; Pal et al., 2019, 2021; Pereira et al., 2013; Péres et al., 2017; Pérez et al., 2020; Santos et al., 2021; Si et al., 2021; Siddaramaiah et al., 2012; Soares et al., 2017; Souza et al., 2007, 2009a, 2009b, 2010a, 2010b, 2012, 2013; V et al., 2020; Varela et al., 2013; Vargas & Souza, 2011) or Civil Engineering (Aboelkheir et al., 2018a, 2018b, 2021; Rocha Ferreira et al., 2020; Santos et al., 2018, 2021; Veloso de Carvalho et al., 2021) applications, LaBioS has presented several contributions in the last years, helping to boost and spread these relevant subjects. Thus, the following paragraphs are reserved for a brief description of some of the latest research activities under development at LaBioS and associated groups.
Case studies carried out in the LaBioS
Reduction of enzymatic browning of chunkey banana from the application of cassava biofilms by Sergio Thode
Between 2010 and 2019, the generation of solid municipal waste (MSW) in Brazil registered a considerable increase, going from 67 million to 79 million tons per year. In addition, per capita generation increased from 348 kg/year to 379 kg/year. However, the study of the gravimetric composition reveals that organic material remains the main component of MSW, constituting 45.3 %. On the other hand, dry recyclable waste totals 35 %, being mainly composed of plastics (16.8 %), paper and cardboard (10.4 %), in addition to glass (2.7 %) and metals (2.3 %), among others (Panorama dos Residuos ..., 2020). In Brazil, the banana (Musa spp.) stands out because it is the most widespread and because it is the most consumed by all social classes. Brazil is now the world's fourth-largest banana producer globally, with 6,953,747 tons per year (FAO...,
2018; https://www.embrapa.br/mandioca-e -fruticultura/cultivo s/banana). Numerous initiatives are under development to minimize losses within this production chain, deserving highlight to the biodegradable packaging, also known as biofilms, from natural sources. These biofilms are microorganisms degraded in weeks or months under favorable conditions (Assis & Britto, 2014).
In the search to develop more sustainable materials, cassava starch biofilms have already been developed to mitigate these losses (Veiga-Santos et al., 2008). The mean values of fresh mass loss as a function of time are shown in Fig. 3. The mass loss increased in the two treatments during storage, meaning that the starch biofilms produced of cassava starch are semi-permeable, allowing the fruits to continue breathing and losing mass. At the end of the analysis period, the control group had a 41.88 % loss, followed by T1 (23.77 %) and T2 (25.41 %). There are no statistically significant differences between biofilm treatments. The mass loss occurs through the outlet in the form of water vapor to the environment (Assis & Britto, 2014), so the results obtained demonstrated that the biofilms protected fruits by minimizing water loss through perspiration, avoiding fruit shrinkage and shriveling as a natural indication of ripeness.
This study revealed the efficiency of biofilm coating with and without gelatin to reduce the rate of enzymatic browning and increase the shelf life of bananas. Furthermore, it was possible to verify a reduction in fresh weight loss in the treatments. Besides, no significant difference was observed in the addition of gelatin to the parameters evaluated in the fruit. Moreover, slowing the deterioration of healthy foods is necessary for a reality where nutritional deficiencies are increasingly common, whether due to lack of proper nutrition education or unfavorable economic situations.
Fig. 3. Fresh mass loss as a function of the two biofilms during 12 days of the experiment. T1 (2.6 % starch / 500 mL of distilled water); T2 (2.6 % starch / 500 mL of distilled water + 1 g of gelatin). Mean values followed by the same lower-case letter do not differ statistically by Tukey's test at 5 % probability test
Polymeric microsystems for use in the controlled release of antibiotics by Emiliane Daher
One of the most significant problems to contemporary public health worldwide is resistance to treatment with antibiotics. It is estimated that antimicrobial resistance causes about 700 thousand deaths every year (Estrela, 2018; Santos, 2004). The forecast is that, by 2050, 10 million deaths annually will be attributed to antimicrobial resistance, which means more deaths than cancer deaths, and the effect on the global economy will be around $100 trillion (Estrela, 2018; https://www.gov.br/anvisa/pt-br/assuntos/noticias-anvisa/2019/resistencia-antimicrobiana-e-ameaca-global-diz-oms). In order to maintain the plasma concentration of the antibiotic and decrease the risk of bacterial resistance using the conventional delivery system, the patient must administer successive doses of the medication at the correct time, which often does not occur (Smith, 2005). For this reason, to improve conventional therapies is crucial in the case of antibiotics. Controlled drug release
systems often use synthetically biocompatible and biodegradable polymers, such as poly(lactic acid) - PLA, as carriers for drugs (Uhrich et al., 1999). For this work, the drug cephalexin was chosen, and to improve its encapsulation into the polymer matrix, it was decided to graft a more hydrophilic polymer, polyethylene glycol-PEG, to PLA. In addition, it was decided to add the drug through microemulsion, to try to avoid the initial explosive release, known as «burst release» (Kim et al., 2008). Fig. 4 (a) shows the system used for polymer synthesis, and Fig. 4 (b) the emulsion process used in the production of polymer spheres containing the drug.
The PLA-g-PEG polymer was synthesized, characterized, and the drug was inserted in the microspheres by the emulsion method.
Influence of chemical similarity
on the sorption capacity
of lignocellulosic fibers by Fernanda Diva
Oil is an essential material and because it is preferably transported by sea, spills frequently occur in the ocean. Several alternatives have
toluene using vegetable fibers. The extracted data allowed for comparing spectral data reduced to root-mean-square error (RMSE) values and oil sorption capability for every lignocellulosic fiber material from the eleven scientific works. Data analysis proved that the greater the chemical similarity (related to the lowest RMSE obtained values - See Fig. 5), the greater the sorption of the oil by the tested material.
The extraction of data, despite the difficulties caused by the authors' different approaches, proves that the chemical similarity is a critical factor for the sorption of petroleum derivatives in natural polymers. Based on this study, more efficient sorbents may be developed for the sorption of toluene and other components present in oil using vegetable materials that would often be discarded.
Synthesis of thiol-PEG-PBS copolymer by Nathali Ricardo
Cancer is a worldwide public health problem. Therefore, new technologies to combat this disease more efficiently and with fewer side effects attract the attention of the scientific community (Bray et al., 2018; Ferlay et al., 2015). In this context, gold nanoparticles have been shown to be extremely promising. The critical point in using these particles is their stability (Yue et al., 2016). One way to get around this problem is through their coating; one of the coatings most used with AuNPs in pharmacological research is already been investigated to combat these polyethylene glycol (PEG) (Kodiyan et al., 2012; disasters. A work conducted during the Master Li et al., 2013). Several studies also proved that Degree studies of Fernanda Diva / LaBioS proved PEG conferred prolonged circulation of gold by data mining that the sorption of the material nanoparticles in the blood and, therefore, could is related to the chemical similarity between the show the «Enhanced Permeability and Retention sorber and the sorbent. Fernanda Diva's study is (EPR)» effect, which means more significant derived from our chemical similarity hypothesis accumulation of nanoparticles in tumor tissue presented elsewhere (Ferreira et al., 2012b). The (Singh et al., 2018). Additionally, in this study, data mining allowed the gathering of eleven poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) was used. This pieces of research developed in the sorption of polymer is very useful for immobilizing various
Fig. 4. System used for polymer synthesis (a) and emulsion process used in the production of polymer spheres containing the drug (b)
Toluene sorption
Fig. 5. RMSE ratio and sorption of all analyzed sorption materials
fi(ppm)
Fig. 6. XH Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of PBS-PEG
substances, such as medicines, besides having accessible handling capacity (Baldanza et al., 2018; Ferreira et al., 2014).
The nuclear magnetic resonance technique was used to prove whether there was a chemical
bond between PEG and PBS and, consequently, the copolymer's formation. The spectrum, shown in Fig. 6, presents chemical shifts located at 1.73 ppm (R-CH2-R) and 4.11 ppm (-CH2O(C=O)-R), which correspond to methylene protons in
1,4-butanediol units. The spectrum also shows the chemical shift located at 3.70 ppm referring to methylene protons in ether grouping units (CH2-CH2-O) characteristic of polyethylene glycol. In the FTIR spectrum, it is possible to notice that the main expected chemical structures are present in the spectrum, which is another strong indication of obtaining the copolymer.
Therefore, it is possible to see that the proposed interfacial reaction between HS-PEG and PBS modified with TDI was successful; this was proven by the characteristic chemistries of a polyether and polyester in the NMR, and the same was observed in the FTIR spectrum with the presence of characteristic bands of both classes of polymers. It is essential to point out that the purification process allows us to infer that it is a copolymer and not a mixture of polymers. The results of the thermal analysis were within the expected ones and consistent with the data obtained by other authors.
Nanostructured hybrid of magnetite andpoly(butylene succinate) with potential application for controlled drug release, magneto hyperthermia, and imaging diagnostics by Rafael Moraes
Nanomedicine is one of the most promising areas of current research in the medical field (Mirza & Siddiqui, 2014). It is the medical application of the unique technologies and properties obtained through manipulating the nanometric scale of materials. The present work aims to build a nanostructured system made of poly (butylene succinate) and magnetite capable of carrying a drug (drug delivery) and releasing it in a controlled manner through specific magnetic stimuli. This technique can reduce side effects mainly in drugs with low bioavailability, such as chemotherapy. Furthermore, this system also aims at the use of magnetohyperthermia, through the use of oscillating magnetic fields, which can
heat the magnetite, promoting, for example, the death of tumor cells and sensitizing the cancerous tissue to the action of the drug, resulting in a synergistic effect of the two techniques (Colombo et al., 2012).
Poly(butylene succinate) was synthesized using a 1:1 ratio of succinic acid and 1,4-butanediol (Ferreira et al., 2015). Magnetite was synthesized using the alkaline precipitation method (Moraes et al., 2018a). The hybrid material was synthesized using lactic acid, which forms bonds with the iron hydroxide surface of the magnetite, and later added toluene diisocyanate, which forms urethane bonds with the lactic acid and the polymer. The model drug chosen was ketoconazole due to its properties and the ease of identification during the characterizations. First, the drug and the polymer were dissolved using dichloromethane. Then, water was added to the system under stirring, producing an emulsion where the polymer chains trapped the drug.
The dynamic light scattering results allowed inferring that magnetite presents an average size of 100 nm. Besides, these particles were modified by the polymer chains, and the drug was effectively encapsulated. Fig. 7 shows the SEM micrograph, from which the morphology of the dried hybrid can be observed. The microagglomerates retain the drug in the chains, as proved by energy dispersive spectroscopy, which presents chlorine from the drug. The successful synthesis of the hybrid nanostructures and their ability to encapsulate drugs was concluded. The potential to combine different treatments drives all the medicine to a new frontier, where reduced side effects and increased effectiveness of the treatment could come true in a few years. In addition, treatment and diagnosis could be allied in an unprecedented way, as the capacity of the ferromagnetic material to remain in specific tissues, such as tumors, for a time can be used to monitor the effects of medical intervention.
Heavy metal removal from wastewater using modified biomass by Marcio Nogueira
Water is an essential asset for the survival of all species of life on planet Earth. Large quantities of industrial wastewater generated in industries such as galvanoplasty, metallurgy, and leather production, in which there are many heavy metals, including chromium, copper, zinc, nickel, lead, and others, are harmful to the environment and living organisms. Numerous studies report the application of biosorption to treat effluents from various sources, with very satisfactory results. Submerged macrophytes have significant potential for bioconcentration of heavy metals due to their larger surface area compared to non-submerged plants (Nogueira et al., 2020). The present work is based on the chemical modification of biological materials to evaluate their efficiency in removing cations
of toxic metals, in particular chromium and nickel, present in aquatic environments. The biomass mainly used is of the species Eichhornia crassipes, with the chemical modification from the application of an organic anhydride (succinic anhydride). The tests show satisfactory results, with metallic removal rates of around 80 % efficiency. Table 2 shows exciting results for removing chromium and nickel, present in synthetic effluents, using modified biomasses. From the results obtained, it is possible to conclude that the use of chemically modified biomaterials is based on the biocompatibility and stability of these compounds. Moreover, the combination of biosorption with magnetic particles represents an alternative of enormous potential in the treatment of industrial effluents, at the same time representing a non-toxic and low-cost technology.
Table 2. Metal removal efficiency
Biosorbent Initial concentration
Cr+6 N+2 Cr+ N+2 Cr+ N+2
Modified biomass with _10 mgL_50 mgL_100 mgL
succinic anhydride Metal maximum removal (%)
791 852 809 824 817 836
Modification of _plant fibers
and their applications by Johny Chantre
Vegetable materials have gained space in science and industry because they are less abrasive, biodegradable, have low commercial value, and excellent thermo-mechanical properties. However, chemical modifications are usually necessary for better compatibility with polymeric matrices. Thus, part of Johny Chantre's M. Sc. studies address the main treatments applied to vegetable fibers and their possible applications. The most commonly used treatments for the modification of vegetable substrates are acetylation, sodium bicarbonate, and hornification. These treatments allow the use of waste materials reinforcing polymeric matrices by improving adhesion and compatibility between phases. During the synthesis of polymeric composites from glycerin, castor oil, and maghemite as oil absorbers, milled coffee grounds were added as a filler to lower the costs and improve the final buoyancy of the composite. The results showed that the buoyancy of the composite was improved. However, the addition of vegetable waste as an additive significantly increased water absorption by the composite, increasing its hydrophilic character,
thus constituting a competition problem since the objective was the recovery of oil through absorption by the composite. Thus, the acetylation treatment reduced the hydrophilic character of the coffee grounds powder. After the acetylation treatment, the coffee grounds were washed with deionized water and dried at 70 °C for 24 h. Then, the modified substrate was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (see Fig. 8). The results showed a considerable reduction in the bands around 3500 cm-1 of the hydroxyl group, proving that the coffee grounds powder is more hydrophobic than the non-modified analog. For the oil spill cleanup tests, 0.1 g of the composites filled with different amounts of virgin and acetylated coffee grounds (2.5 %, 5 %, and 10 %) were used to remove one gram of oil spilled on seawater. Tests were performed in triplicate. Every time, all the oil was removed from the water. On the other hand, the materials filled with modified coffee grounds powder, compared to the similar non-modified materials, presented an average reduction in the amount of sorbed water equal to (55±39)%, with a confidence limit of 95 %. Therefore, the use of the acetylated filler improved the characteristics of the sorber by
3000 2500 2000 1500
Wavenumber(cm-I)
Fig. 8. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of non-modified and acetylated (Ace) coffee grounds powder
reducing the water removed and, for this reason, making more straightforward the oil spill cleanup process.
Conclusions and perspectives
Thus, the bibliometric survey presented in this work and the LaBioS' specific contributions to the topic of biopolymers make clear the use of these materials should be encouraged. From our perspective, one of the best ways to spread biopolymers is by modifying their properties. Thus, chemical modifications and nanomodifications via nanoparticles, used as nanofillers or nanosubstrates, must be increasingly researched by the scientific community. So, the use of these new biomaterials will lead us to a healthier relationship with our planet, additionally providing us with real gains in the quality of life and well-being, which are
fundamental for our continuous prospering as a civilization.
The data collected here through text mining tools leads us to conclude that the study of the biopolymers is far from being complete. More than that, the correlations shown throughout this research indicate an evolution of the systems studied, proceeding from different clusters, such as the ones dealing with green polymers and biosynthesis of biopolymers, medicine and environmental recovery. Besides that, silicon chemistry possesses crucial relevance to the subsequent developments in this field. In these contexts, LaBioS has contributed by raising a new generation of scientists dealing with the pressure from the short time our planet has to being saved from ourselves and keeping in mind that quality of life must be a premise driving our scientific contributions to the future!
References
Aboelkheir M. G., Bedor P. B., Leite S. G., Pal K., Toledo Filho R. D., Gomes De Souza F. (2019a) Biodegradation of vulcanized SBR: a comparison between Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptomyces sp. Scientific Reports, 9(1): 19304
Aboelkheir M. G., Thomas S., Gomes de Souza F. Jr., Dias Toledo Filho R., Celestino R., Thode Filho S., Veloso de Carvalho F., da Silveira Maranhao F., Daher Pereira E., Correa da Costa V., Ricardo Barbosa de Lima N. (2021) Influence of UV-modified GTR on the properties of interlocking concrete paving units. Journal of Molecular Structure, 1234: 130110
Aboelkheir M. G., Visconte L. Y., Oliveira G. E., Toledo Filho R. D., Souza F. G. (2019b) The biodegradative effect of Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus larvae on vulcanized SBR and tire crumb. Science of the Total Environment, 649: 1075-1082
Aboelkheir M., Siqueira C. Y.S., Souza F. G. Jr., Toledo Filho R. D. (2018a) Influence of styrene-butadiene co-polymer on the hydration kinetics of SBR-modified well cement slurries. Macromolecular Symposia, 380(1): 1800131
Aboelkheir M., Siqueira C., Souza F. Jr., Toledo R. (2018b) Macromolecular and aromatic character influence of SBR on the rheological properties of well cement slurries. Journal of Urban Technology and Sustainability, 1(1): 21-27
Abramo G., D'Angelo C.A., Felici G. (2019) Predicting publication long-term impact through a combination of early citations and journal impact factor. Journal of Informetrics, 13(1): 32-49
Almeida T., Pal K., Souza F. G. Jr. (2020) Bibliometric analysis of the hot theme «Phytosynthesized nanoparticles». Archives in Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology, 4(1): 5
Araujo R. T., Ferreira G. R., Segura T., Souza F. G. Jr., Machado F. (2015) An experimental study on the synthesis of poly(vinyl pivalate)-based magnetic nanocomposites through suspension polymerization process. European Polymer Journal, 68: 441-459
Assis O. B.G., Britto D. (2014) Review: edible protective coatings for fruits: fundamentals and applications. Brazilian Journal of Food Technology, 17(2): 87-97
Asthana N., Pal K., Aljabali A. A.A., Tambuwala M. M., Souza F. G. Jr., Pandey K. (2021) Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) mixed green-clay and aloe vera based polymeric membrane optimization: Peel-off mask formulation for skin care cosmeceuticals in green nanotechnology. Journal of Molecular Structure, 1229: 129592
Babu R. P., O'Connor K., Seeram R. (2013) Current progress on bio-based polymers and their future trends. Progress in Biomaterials, 2(1): 8
Baldanza V. A.R., Souza F. G. Jr., Filho S. T., Franco H. A., Oliveira G. E., Caetano R. M.J., Hernandez J. A.R., Ferreira Leite S. G., Furtado Sousa A. M., Nazareth Silva A. L. (2018) Controlled-release fertilizer based on poly(butylene succinate)/urea/clay and its effect on lettuce growth. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 135(47): 46858
Bedor P. B.A., Caetano R. M.J., De Souza F. G., Leite S. G.F. (2020) Advances and perspectives in the use of polymers in the environmental area: a specific case of PBS in bioremediation. Polimeros, 30(2): e2020023
Bedor P. B.A., Rondelli P., Filho S. T., Souza F. G. Jr., Leite S. G.F. (2021) Production and toxicological evaluation of poly(butylene succinate)-urea microspheres targeting bioremediation. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, 96(7): 1842-1853
Bray F., Ferlay J., Soerjomataram I., Siegel R. L., Torre L. A., Jemal A. (2018) Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 68(6): 394-424
Buono P., Averous L., Duval A., Habibi Y. (2018) Clicking biobased polyphenols: A sustainable platform for aromatic polymeric materials. ChemSusChem, 11(15): 2472-2491
Colombo M., Carregal-Romero S., Casula M. F., Gutiérrez L., Morales M. P., Böhm I. B., Heverhagen J. T., Prosperi D., Parak W. J. (2012) Biological applications of magnetic nanoparticles. Chemical Society Reviews, 41(11): 4306-4334
Costa R. C. da, Souza F. G. Jr. (2014) Preparation of maghemite and polyaniline nanocomposites assisted by ultrasound. Polimeros, 24(2): 243-249
Costa R. M.D. da, Hungerbühler G., Saraiva T., De Jong G., Moraes R. S., Furtado E. G., Silva F. M., De Oliveira G. E., Ferreira L. S., Souza F. G. Jr. (2017) Green polyurethane synthesis by emulsion technique: a magnetic composite for oil spill removal. Polimeros, 27(4): 273-279
Costa R. C.D., Pereira E. D., Silva F. M., Jesus E. O.D., Souza F. G. (2018) Drug micro-carriers based on polymers and their sterilization. Chemistry and Chemical Technology, 12(4): 473-487
Daher E., Souza F. G., Carelo J., Brandäo V. (2021) Drug delivery polymers: an analysis based on literature text mining. Brazilian Journal of Experimental Design, Data Analysis and Inferential Statistics, 1(1): 40-55
Daher Pereira E., Thomas S., Souza F. G. Jr., da Silva Cardoso J., Thode Filho S., Correa da Costa V., da Silveira Maranhäo F., Ricardo Barbosa de Lima N., Veloso de Carvalho F., Galal Aboelkheir M. (2021) Study of controlled release of ibuprofen magnetic nanocomposites. Journal of Molecular Structure, 1232: 130067
de Araújo Segura T. C., Pereira E. D., Icart L. P., Fernandes E., Esperandio de Oliveira G., Souza F. G. Jr. (2018) Hyperthermic agent prepared by one-pot modification of maghemite using an aliphatic polyester model. Polymer Science, Series B, 60(6): 806-815
Elias E., Chandran S., Zachariah A. K., Vineesh Kumar V. K., Sunil M. A., Bose S., Souza F. G., Thomas S. (2016) Percolated network formation in biocidal 3D porous PCL/clay nanocomposite scaffolds: effect of organic modifier on interfacial and water sorption properties. RSC Advances, 6(88): 85107-85116
Elias E., Costa R., Marques F., Oliveira G., Guo Q., Thomas S., Souza F. G. Jr. (2015) Oil-spill cleanup: The influence of acetylated curaua fibers on the oil-removal capability of magnetic composites. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 132(13): 41732
Elias E., Sarathchandran C., Joseph S., Zachariah A. K., Thomas J., Devadasan D., Souza F. G. Jr., Thomas S. (2021) Photoassisted degradation of rhodamine B using poly(e-caprolactone) based nanocomposites: Mechanistic and kinetic features. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 138(26): e50612
Elkodous M. A., El-Sayyad G.S., Mohamed A. E.E., Pal K., Asthana N., de Souza F. G. Jr., Mosallam F. M., Gobara M., El-Batal A.I. (2019) Layer-by-layer preparation and characterization of recyclable nanocomposite (CoxNi1-xFe2O4; X = 0.9/Si02/Ti02). Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 30(9): 8312-8328
Estrela T. S. (2018) Resistencia antimicrobiana: enfoque multilateral e resposta brasileira. Saúde e política externa: os 20 anos da Assessoria de Assuntos Internacionais de Saúde (1998-2018). Brasilia, Ministério da Saúde, p. 307-327
FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO (2018) The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2018. Building climate resilience for food security and nutrition. Rome, FAO, 181 p.
Ferlay J., Soerjomataram I., Dikshit R., Eser S., Mathers C., Rebelo M., Parkin D. M., Forman D., Bray F. (2015) Cancer incidence and mortality worldwide: sources, methods and major patterns in GLOBOCAN2012. International Journal of Cancer, 136(5): E359- E386
Ferreira G. R., Segura T., Souza F. G. Jr., Umpierre A. P., Machado F. (2012a) Synthesis of poly(vinyl acetate)-based magnetic polymer microparticles. European Polymer Journal, 48(12): 2050-2069
Ferreira L. P., da Cunha B. P., Kuster R. M., Pinto J. C., Souza M. N., Souza F. G. Jr. (2017) Synthesis and chemical modification of poly(butylene succinate) with rutin useful to the release of silybin. Industrial Crops and Products, 97: 599-611
Ferreira L. P., Moreira A. N., Delazare T., Oliveira G. E., Souza F. G. Jr. (2012b) Petroleum absorbers based on CNSL, furfural and lignin - the effect of the chemical similarity on the interactions among petroleum and bioresins. Macromolecular Symposia, 319(1): 210-221
Ferreira L. P., Moreira A. N., Pinto J. C., Souza F. G. Jr. (2015) Synthesis of poly(butylene succinate) using metal catalysts. Polymer Engineering & Science, 55(8): 1889-1896
Ferreira L. P., Moreira A. N., Souza F. G. Jr., Pinto J. C.C. da S. (2014) Preparation of nanocomposites based on poly(butylene succinate) and montmorillonite organoclay via in situ polymerization. Polimeros, 24(5): 604-611
Fertahi S., Ilsouk M., Zeroual Y., Oukarroum A., Barakat A. (2021) Recent trends in organic coating based on biopolymers and biomass for controlled and slow release fertilizers. Journal of Controlled Release, 330: 341-361
Figueiredo A. S., Icart L. P., Marques F. D., Fernandes E. R., Ferreira L. P., Oliveira G. E., Souza F. G. (2019) Extrinsically magnetic poly(butylene succinate): An up-and-coming petroleum cleanup tool. Science of the Total Environment, 647: 88-98
Franga D., Rebessi A. C., Camilo F. F., Souza F. G. Jr., Faez R. (2019) Pressure sensibility of conductive rubber based on NBR- and polypyrrole-designed materials. Frontiers in Materials, 6: 189 Gomes F. (2021) Polyaniline: Trends and perspectives from text mining analysis. Brazilian Journal of Experimental Design, Data Analysis and Inferential Statistics, 1(1): 9-39
Gomes F. W., Lima R. C., Piombini C. R., Sinfitele J. F., Souza F. G. Jr., Coutinho P. L.A., Pinto J. C. (2018) Comparative analyses of poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) - PEF - and poly(ethylene terephthalate) - PET - resins and production processes. Macromolecular Symposia, 381(1): 1800129
Grance E. G.O., Souza F. G. Jr., Varela A., Pereira E. D., Oliveira G. E., Rodrigues C. H.M. (2012) New petroleum absorbers based on lignin-CNSL-formol magnetic nanocomposites. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 126(Suppl. 1): E305-E312
Grance E. O., dos Santos E. R.F., Andrade C., Oliveira G. E., Pinto J. C., Nele M., Souza F. G. (2016) Smart composite useful to acid release. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 133(10): 43071
Hetenyi G., Lengyel A., Szilasi M. (2019) Quantitative analysis of qualitative data: Using voyant tools to investigate the sales-marketing interface. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 12(3): 393-404
Icart L. P., Fernandes E., Agüero L., Cuesta M. Z., Silva D. Z., Rodríguez-Fernández D.E., Souza F. G., Lima L. M.T.R., Dias M. L. (2018) End functionalization by ring opening polymerization: influence of reaction conditions on the synthesis of end functionalized poly(lactic acid). Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, 29(1): 99-108
Jensen A. T., de Oliveira A. C.C., Gongalves S. B., Gambetta R., Machado F. (2016) Evaluation of the emulsion copolymerization of vinyl pivalate and methacrylated methyl oleate. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 133(45): 44129
Jeong Y., Park I., Yoon B. (2019) Identifying emerging Research and Business Development (R&BD) areas based on topic modeling and visualization with intellectual property right data. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146: 655-672
Kanehashi S., Masuda R., Yokoyama K., Kanamoto T., Nakashima H., Miyakoshi T. (2015) Development of a cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL)-based polymer for antibacterial activity. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 132(45): 42725
Khan A., Abas Z., Kim H. S., Kim J. (2016) Recent progress on cellulose-based electro-active paper, its hybrid nanocomposites and applications. Sensors, 16(8): 1172
Kim B.-S., Park S. W., Hammond P. T. (2008) Hydrogen-bonding layer-by-layer-assembled biodegradable polymeric micelles as drug delivery vehicles from surfaces. ACS Nano, 2(2): 386-392
Kodiyan A., Silva E. A., Kim J., Aizenberg M., Mooney D. J. (2012) Surface modification with alginate-derived polymers for stable, protein-repellent, long-circulating gold nanoparticles. ACS Nano, 6(6): 4796-4805
Lange J., Souza F. G. Jr., Nele M., Tavares F. W., Segtovich I. S.V., da Silva G. C.Q., Pinto J. C. (2016) Molecular dynamic simulation of oxaliplatin diffusion in poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid). Part A: parameterization and validation of the force-field CVFF. Macromolecular Theory and Simulations, 25(1): 45-62
Lehmann R., Wohlrabe K. (2017) Who is the 'Journal Grand Master'? A new ranking based on the Elo rating system. Journal of Informetrics, 11(3): 800-809
Li G., Qi R., Lu J., Hu X., Luo Y., Jiang P. (2013) Rheological properties and foam preparation of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate). Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 127(5): 3586-3594
Lopes M. C., Marques F., Souza F. G. Jr., Oliveira G. E. (2018) Experimental design optimization of castor oil, phthalic anhydride, and glycerin magnetic nanocomposites useful as oil spill cleanup tool. Macromolecular Symposia, 380(1): 1800085
Lucini F. R., Tonetto L. M., Fogliatto F. S., Anzanello M. J. (2020) Text mining approach to explore dimensions of airline customer satisfaction using online customer reviews. Journal of Air Transport Management, 83: 101760
Ma J., Abrams N. F., Porter A. L., Zhu D., Farrell D. (2019) Identifying translational indicators and technology opportunities for nanomedical research using tech mining: The case of gold nanostructures. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146: 767-775
Maranhao F. da S., Oliveira C. P. de, Filho S. T., Das D. B., Souza F. G. de (2021) Synthesis and characterization of modified magnetic nanoparticles for removal of dispersed oil in water. Brazilian Journal of Experimental Design, Data Analysis and Inferential Statistics, 1(1): 148-156
Maranhao F. S., Marques D., Visconte L. Y., Souza F. G. Jr. (2018) Chewing gum degradation as an environmental awakening tool. MOJPolymer Science, 2(2): 71-73
Marinho V., Lima N., Neves M. A., Souza F. G. Jr. (2018) Petroleum sorbers based on renewable alkyd resin and lignin. Macromolecular Symposia, 380(1): 1800116
Marques F. D., Nele de Souza M., Souza F. G. Jr. (2017) Sealing system activated by magnetic induction polymerization. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 134(47): 45549
Marques F. D., Souza F. G. Jr., Oliveira G. E. (2016) Oil sorbers based on renewable sources and coffee grounds. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 133(11): 43127
Martin-Martin A., Orduna-Malea E., Thelwall M., Delgado Lopez-Cozar E. (2018) Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus: A systematic comparison of citations in 252 subject categories. Journal of Informetrics, 12(4): 1160-1177
Middea A., Spinelli L. S., Souza F. G. Jr., Neumann R., Fernandes T. L.A.P., Gomes O. da F.M. (2017) Preparation and characterization of an organo-palygorskite-Fe3O4 nanomaterial for removal of anionic dyes from wastewater. Applied Clay Science, 139: 45-53
Miller A. (2018) Text mining digital humanities projects: assessing content analysis capabilities of voyant tools. Journal of Web Librarianship, 12(3): 169-197
Mirza A. Z., Siddiqui F. A. (2014) Nanomedicine and drug delivery: a mini review. International Nano Letters, 4(1): 94
Moraes R. S., Ricardo N. S., Saez V., Souza F. G. Jr. (2018a) Synthesis of magnetic composite of poly (butylene succinate) and magnetite for the controlled release of meloxicam. MOJ Polymer Science, 2(1): 39-42
Moraes R. S., Saez V., Hernandez J. A.R., Souza F. G. Jr. (2018b) Hyperthermia system based on extrinsically magnetic poly (butylene succinate). Macromolecular Symposia, 381(1): 1800108
Neto W. S., Dutra G. V. S., Jensen A. T., Araujo O. A., Garg V., de Oliveira A. C., Valadares L. F., de Souza F. G. Jr., Machado F. (2018) Superparamagnetic nanoparticles stabilized with free-radical polymerizable oleic acid-based coating. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 739: 1025-1036
Neto W. S., Simoes Dutra G. V., de Sousa Brito Neta M., Chaves S. B., Valadares L. F., Souza F. G. Jr., Machado F. (2021) Nanodispersions of magnetic poly(vinyl pivalate) for biomedical applications: Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of its cytotoxicity in cancer cells. Materials Today Communications, 27: 102333
Nogueira M. da C., Santos E. R.F. dos, Pal K., Souza F. G. Jr. de (2020) Removal of chromium VI and others metals from wastewater treatment by modification of macrophytes and magnetite: A review. Revista Brasileira de Gestao Ambiental e Sustentabilidade, 7(17): 1439-1453
Pal K., Aljabali A. A., Kralj S., Thomas S., Gomes de Souza F. (2021) Graphene-assembly liquid crystalline and nanopolymer hybridization: A review on switchable device implementations. Chemosphere, 263: 128104
Pal K., Sajjadifar S., Abd Elkodous M., Alli Y. A., Gomes F., Jeevanandam J., Thomas S., Sigov A. (2019) Soft, self-assembly liquid crystalline nanocomposite for superior switching. Electronic Materials Letters, 15(1): 84-101
Panagopoulos G., Tsatsaronis G., Varlamis I. (2017) Detecting rising stars in dynamic collaborative networks. Journal of Informetrics, 11(1): 198-222
Panorama dos Residuos Sólidos no Brasil 2020 (2020) ABRELPE, 52 p. Pereira E. D., Souza F. G., Santana C. I., Soares D. Q., Lemos A. S., Menezes L. R. (2013) Influence of magnetic field on the dissolution profile of cotrimoxazole inserted into poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) and maghemite nanocomposites. Polymer Engineering & Science, 53(11): 2308-2317
Pereira E. D., Souza F. G. Jr., Pinto J. C.C.S., Cerruti R., Santana C. (2014) Synthesis, characterization and drug delivery profile of magnetic PLGA-PEG-PLGA/maghemite nanocomposite. Macromolecular Symposia, 343(1): 18-25
Péres E. U.X., Sousa M. H., Souza F. G. Jr., Machado F., Suarez P. A.Z. (2017) Synthesis and characterization of a new biobased poly(urethane-ester) from ricinoleic acid and its use as biopolymeric matrix for magnetic nanocomposites. European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology, 119(10): 1600451 Péres E. U.X., Souza F. G. Jr., Silva F. M., Chaker J. A., Suarez P. A.Z. (2014) Biopolyester from ricinoleic acid: Synthesis, characterization and its use as biopolymeric matrix for magnetic nanocomposites. Industrial Crops and Products, 59: 260-267
Pérez A. I., Materón E. M., Zanoni M. V.B., Moreira J. C., Farias P. A.M., Souza F. G. Jr. (2020) Electrochemical detection of sotalol on a magnetographite-epoxy electrode using magnetite nanoparticles. Pramana - Journal of Physics, 94(1): 114
Pezzini A. (2017) Text mining: concept, process and applications. Revista Eletronica do Alto Vale do itajai, 5(8): 058-061
Picciani P. H.S., Souza F. G. Jr., Comerlato N. M., Soares B. G. (2007) A novel material based on polyaniline doped with [Cs][In(dmit)2], (cesium) [bis(1,3-dithiole-2-thione-4,5-dithiolato)indium (III)]. Synthetic Metals, 157(24): 1074-1079
Ramon J., Saez V., Souza F. G. Jr., Pinto J., Nele M. (2018) Synthesis and characterization of PEG-PBS copolymers to obtain microspheres with different naproxen release profiles. Macromolecular Symposia, 380(1): 1800065
Robinson D. K.R., Lagnau A., Boon W. P.C. (2019) Innovation pathways in additive manufacturing: Methods for tracing emerging and branching paths from rapid prototyping to alternative applications. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146: 733-750
Rocha Ferreira S., Rodrigues Sena Neto A., de Andrade Silva F., Gomes de Souza F., Dias Toledo Filho R. (2020) The influence of carboxylated styrene butadiene rubber coating on the mechanical performance of vegetable fibers and on their interface with a cement matrix. Construction and Building Materials, 262: 120770
Roguszewska M., Parzuchowski P., Rokicki G. (2020) Biopolyol synthesis from ricinoleic acid and epoxy resin. Przemysl Chemiczny, 99(1): 78-80
Sa L., Vigosa A., Rocha S., Souza F. G. Jr. (2017) Synthesis and characterization of poly (butylene succinate) -g- poly (vinyl acetate) as ibuprofen drug delivery system. Current Applied Polymer Science, 1(2): 159-169
Santos N. de Q. (2004) Bacterial resistence in the context of hospital infection. Texto & Contexto -Enfermagem, 13: 64-70
Santos R. D., Ferreira S. R., Oliveira G. E., Silva F. A., Souza F. G. Jr., Filho R. D.T. (2018) Influence of alkaline hornification treatment cycles on the mechanical behavior in curaua fibers. Macromolecular Symposia, 381(1): 1800096
Santos R. D., Thomas S., Ferreira S. R., Silva F. A., Combariza M. Y., Blanco-Tirado C., Ovalle-Serrano S.A., Souza F. G. Jr., Oliveira G. E., Toledo Filho R. D. (2021) Molecular grafting of nanoparticles onto sisal fibers - adhesion to cementitious matrices and novel functionalities. Journal of Molecular Structure, 1234: 130171
Satam C. C., Daub M., Realff M. J. (2019) Techno-economic analysis of 1,4-butanediol production by a single-step bioconversion process. Biofuels, Bioproducts andBiorefining, 13(5): 1261-1273
Si A., Kyzas G. Z., Pal K., Souza F. G. Jr. (2021) Graphene functionalized hybrid nanomaterials for industrial-scale applications: A systematic review. Journal of Molecular Structure, 1239: 130518
Si A., Pal K., Kralj S., El-Sayyad G.S., de Souza F. G., Narayanan T. (2020) Sustainable preparation of gold nanoparticles via green chemistry approach for biogenic applications. Materials Today Chemistry, 17: 100327
Siddaramaiah, Souza F. G. Jr., Soares B. G., Somashekar R. (2012) Investigation on microstructural behavior of styroflex/polyaniline blends by WAXS. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 124(6): 5097-5105
Singh P., Pandit S., Mokkapati V. R.S.S., Garg A., Ravikumar V., Mijakovic I. (2018) Gold nanoparticles in diagnostics and therapeutics for human cancer. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(7): 1979
Smith A. (2005) Biofilms and antibiotic therapy: Is there a role for combating bacterial resistance by the use of novel drug delivery systems? Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 57(10): 1539-1550
Soares D., Souza F. G. Jr., Freitas R., Soares V., Ferreira L., Ramon J., Oliveira G. E. (2017) Praziquantel release systems based on poly(butylene succinate) / polyethylene glycol nanocomposites. Current Applied Polymer Science, 1: 45-51
Sotoudeh A., Darbemamieh G., Goodarzi V., Shojaei S., Asefnejad A. (2021) Tissue engineering needs new biomaterials: Poly(xylitol-dodecanedioic acid)-co-polylactic acid (PXDDA-co-PLA) and its nanocomposites. European Polymer Journal, 152: 110469
Souza F. G. Jr., Ferreira A. C., Varela A., Oliveira G. E., Machado F., Pereira E. D., Fernandes E., Pinto J. C., Nele M. (2013) Methodology for determination of magnetic force of polymeric nanocomposites. Polymer Testing, 32(8): 1466-1471
Souza F. G. Jr., Marins J. A., Rodrigues C. H.M., Pinto J. C. (2010a) A magnetic composite for cleaning of oil spills on water. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 295(10): 942-948
Souza F. G. Jr., Marins J., Pinto J., de Oliveira G., Rodrigues C., Lima L. (2010b) Magnetic field sensor based on a maghemite/polyaniline hybrid material. Journal of Materials Science, 45(18): 5012-5021
Souza F. G. Jr., Oliveira G. E., Anzai T., Richa P., Cosme T., Nele M., Rodrigues C. H.M., Soares B. G., Pinto J. C. (2009a) A sensor for acid concentration based on cellulose paper sheets modified with polyaniline nanoparticles. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 294(11): 739-748
Souza F. G. Jr., Oliveira G. E., Lopes M. C. (2012) Environmental recovery by magnetic nanocomposites based on castor oil. Natural polymers, biopolymers, biomaterials, and their composites, blends, andIPNs. Volume 2. Thomas S., Ninan N., Mohan S., Francis E. (Eds.) New York, Apple Academic Press, p. 247-262
Souza F. G. Jr., Oliveira G. E., Rodrigues C. H.M., Soares B. G., Nele M., Pinto J. C. (2009b) Natural Brazilian amazonic (curaua) fibers modified with polyaniline nanoparticles. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 294(8): 484-491
Souza F. G. Jr., Pinto J. C., Rodrigues M. V., Anzai T. K., Richa P., Melo P. A., Nele M., Oliveira G. E., Soares B. G. (2008) New polyaniline/polycardanol conductive blends characterized by FTIR, NIR, and XPS. Polymer Engineering & Science, 48(10): 1947-1952
Souza F. G. Jr., Soares B. G., Dahmouche K. (2007) Effect of preparation method on nanoscopic structure of conductive SBS/PANI blends: Study using small-angle X-ray scattering. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, 45(22): 3069-3077
Sun W., Cai Z., Li Y., Liu F., Fang S., Wang G. (2018) Data processing and text mining technologies on electronic medical records: a review. Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2018: 4302425
Techawinyutham L., Siengchin S., Parameswaranpillai J., Dangtungee R. (2019) Antibacterial and thermomechanical properties of composites of polylactic acid modified with capsicum oleoresin-impregnated nanoporous silica. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 136(31): 47825
Uhrich K. E., Cannizzaro S. M., Langer R. S., Shakesheff K. M. (1999) Polymeric systems for controlled drug release. Chemical Reviews, 99(11): 3181-3198
V R., Pal K., Zaheer T., Kalarikkal N., Thomas S., Souza F. G. Jr., Si A. (2020) Gold nanoparticles against respiratory diseases: oncogenic and viral pathogens review. Therapeutic Delivery, 11(8): 521-534
Van Eck N. J., Waltman L. (2010) Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2): 523-538
Varela A., Lopes M. C., Delazare T., Oliveira G. E., Souza F. G. Jr. (2012) Magnetic and green resins useful to oil spill cleanup. Oil: production, consumption and environmental impact. Xiu S. (ed.) Nova Science Publishers, Inc., p. 1-18
Varela A., Oliveira G., Souza F. G. Jr., Rodrigues C. H.M., Costa M. A.S. (2013) New petroleum absorbers based on cardanol-furfuraldehyde magnetic nanocomposites. Polymer Engineering & Science, 53(1): 44-51
Vargas A., Souza F. G. Jr. (2011) Nanocomposites of poly(l-lactic acid) and maghemite for drug delivery of caffeine. Ceramic Transactions. Volume 228. Biomaterials science - processing, properties,
and applications. Narayan R., Bandyopadhyay A., Bose S. (eds.) John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, USA, p. 95-105
Veiga-Santos P., Suzuki C. K., Nery K. F., Cereda M. P., Scamparini A. R.P. (2008) Evaluation of optical microscopy efficacy in evaluating cassava starch biofilms microstructure. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 41(8): 1506-1513
Veloso de Carvalho F., Pal K., Souza F. G. Jr., Dias Toledo Filho R., Moraes de Almeida T., Daher Pereira E., Thode Filho S., Galal Aboelkheir M., Corrêa Costa V., Ricardo Barbosa de Lima N., da Silveira Maranhâo F. (2021) Polyaniline and magnetite on curaua fibers for molecular interface improvement with a cement matrix. Journal of Molecular Structure, 1233: 130101
Yue G., Su S., Li N., Shuai M., Lai X., Astruc D., Zhao P. (2016) Gold nanoparticles as sensors in the colorimetric and fluorescence detection of chemical warfare agents. Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 311: 75-84
Yusoff N. H., Pal K., Narayanan T., Souza F. G. Jr. (2021) Recent trends on bioplastics synthesis and characterizations: Polylactic acid (PLA) incorporated with tapioca starch for packaging applications. Journal of Molecular Structure, 1232: 129954
Zhou X., Huang L., Porter A., Vicente-Gomila J.M. (2019) Tracing the system transformations and innovation pathways of an emerging technology: Solid lipid nanoparticles. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146: 785-794
Zubkiewicz A., Paszkiewicz S., Szymczyk A. (2021) The effect of annealing on tensile properties of injection molded biopolyesters based on 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid. Polymer Engineering & Science, 61(5): 1536-1545