Learning from Plant Cell Walls for Innovations in Material Sciences

纤维素和其他植物细胞壁多糖，用于食品和纸浆/造纸工业、组织工程、药理学和其他医疗保健应用的高价值产品。该研究将剖析控制植物纤维素细胞壁结构域机械性能的结构因素，并将这些知识用于生产各种应用的新材料。该项目的灵感来自于最近发现的细胞壁多糖纤维素和胼胝质的相互作用（在离散细胞壁结构域中发现的b -1,3-葡聚糖），导致水凝胶生物聚合物混合物具有新特性（abu - saleh等人，Nat Comm. 2018）。该项目将通过使用高度特异性的分子探针来量化从农场外包的各种植物农业废弃物中β -1,3葡聚糖和其他植物细胞壁多糖的水平，从而扩大和利用这一知识。将建立β -1,3葡聚糖组成与分离细胞壁的结构-力学性能之间的相关性，这些细胞壁使用离子液体溶解并通过水/乙醇交换重新铸造。所得材料将使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM），核磁共振，红外光谱和拉曼光谱进行结构研究。流变学和AFM纳米压痕，Instron-拉伸，疲劳和压缩测试以及新建立的荧光发射-布里渊散射成像将用于研究材料的力学性能。在项目期间，不同的植物材料将被评估为新材料的潜在可持续来源。学生还将确定使用这些新材料作为新药物或细胞系支架的能力。生物降解性、免疫反应性、生物相容性、过敏原性，更重要的是，在处理和储存期间的机械和生物稳定性将被调查。将确定它们的药物吸收和反应能力，以支持开发新的药物和更可切换的释放模式（根据需要）。利用植物废料制造生物材料的新机会也将对环境可持续性和制造业产生影响，从而解决自然资源增值的全球优先事项。这项工作与多个跨委员会的高优先领域直接相关，包括仿生工程、聚合物科学和医学生物技术。

Cellulose and other plant cell wall polysaccharides for manufacturing high-value products for the food and pulp/paper industry, for tissue engineering, pharmacology, and other healthcare applications. The research will dissect the structural factors controlling the mechanical properties of plant cellulosic cell wall domains and exploit this knowledge in the production of new materials for a variety of applications. The project is inspired by the recent findings of interactions between the cell wall polysaccharides cellulose and callose (B-1,3-glucans found in discrete cell wall domains) leading to novel properties in hydrogels biopolymer mixtures (Abou-Saleh et al., Nat Comm. 2018). The project will expand and exploit this knowledge by using highly specific molecular probes to quantify the levels of beta-1,3 glucans and other plant cell wall polysaccharides in a variety of plant agricultural wastes outsourced from working farms. Correlation will be established between beta-1,3 glucan composition and the structural-mechanical properties of isolated cell walls, dissolved using ionic liquids and re-casted by water/ethanol exchange. The resulting materials will be studied structurally using Scanning Electron-Microscopy (SEM), NMR, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. Rheology and AFM nano-indentation, Instron- tensile, fatigue and compression tests and newly established fluorescence emission-Brillouin scattering imaging will be used to study the mechanical properties of the material. During the project, different plant materials will be evaluated as potential sustainable sources for new materials. The student will also determine the capacity of using these new materials as scaffolds for new drugs or cell lines. Biodegradability, immunoreactivity, biocompatibility, allergenicity and, more critically, mechanical and biological stability during handling and storage will be investigated. Their capacity for drug absorption and reactivity will be determined to support the development of new drugs and more switchable patterns for their release (according to needs). New opportunities for biomaterials using plant waste will also impact on environmental sustainability and manufacturing the future addressing global priorities for valorisation of natural resources. The work aligns directly with multiple cross-council high priority areas including biomimetic engineering, polymer sciences and medical biotechnology.