Learning from Plant Cell Walls for Innovations in Material Sciences

纤维素和其他植物细胞壁多糖，用于制造食品和纸浆/造纸行业的高价值产品，用于组织工程、药理学和其他保健应用。这项研究将剖析控制植物纤维细胞壁域机械性能的结构因素，并在生产各种应用的新材料时利用这一知识。该项目的灵感来自于最近的发现，即细胞壁多糖纤维素和糊精(在离散的细胞壁域中发现的B-1，3-葡聚糖)之间的相互作用导致水凝胶生物聚合物混合物的新性质(Abou-Saleh等人，NAT Comm)。2018年)。该项目将通过使用高度特异的分子探针来量化从农场外包的各种植物农业废物中β-1，3葡聚糖和其他植物细胞壁多糖的水平，从而扩展和利用这一知识。β-1，3葡聚糖组成与用离子液体溶解并通过水/乙醇交换重铸的分离细胞壁的结构-机械性能之间将建立关联。用扫描电子显微镜、核磁共振、傅立叶变换红外光谱和拉曼光谱对所得材料进行了结构研究。流变学和AFM纳米压痕、Instron拉伸、疲劳和压缩试验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机械性能。在该项目期间，将评估不同的植物材料作为新材料的潜在可持续来源。学生还将确定将这些新材料用作新药或细胞系支架的能力。生物降解性、免疫反应性、生物兼容性、过敏性，以及更重要的是，在处理和储存过程中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，以支持新药的开发和更多可切换的药物释放模式(根据需要)。使用植物废弃物的生物材料的新机遇也将影响环境的可持续性和未来的制造，解决自然资源有价化的全球优先事项。这项工作直接与多个跨理事会的高度优先领域保持一致，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.