Characterization of cationic starch: An efficient flocculating agent

Preparation and characterization of an eco-friendly dust suppression and sand-fixation liquid mulching film

An eco-friendly dust suppression and sand-fixation liquid mulching film was prepared via a facile secondary spraying process in this work. Water polyurethane (WPU) was blended with dissolved humic acid (HA) firstly, and then the blend solutions (HWPU) were sprayed on the surface of cationic starch (CS) / sodium lignosulfonate (LS) film to synthesize the liquid mulching film (CLS-HWPU). The effects of liquid mulching film composition on mechanical properties in dry and wet states were investigated. The results showed that the optimal composition of liquid mulching film was: 3% (CS), 0.9 % (LS), 1.5 % (glycerol), 2% (HA), and 30 % (WPU). The CLS-HWPU liquid mulching films were characterized in terms of light transmittance, degradation performance test, contact angle test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (ATR-FTIR), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), and erosion resistance test. The results indicated that the CLS-HWPU film had good UV resistance, thermal stability, anti-erosion, and biodegradation. The CLS-HWPU film meets the demand of dust suppression and sand-fixation in dusty areas and desertification environments, which opens a new application field for liquid mulching film with high safety and environmental protection.

Synthesis, characterization, and self-assembly with plasmid DNA of a quaternary ammonium derivative of pectic galactan and its fluorescent labeling for bioimaging applications

Quaternized derivatives of pectic galactan (QPG) were synthesized by a reaction of pectic galactan (PG) with 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (CHPTAC) in the presence of aqueous sodium hydroxide solution under mild reaction conditions. The results showed that the concentration of CHPTAC and NaOH has great impact on the quaternization reaction. QPG was found to interact electrostatically with plasmid DNA in aqueous solution to form complexes in globular condensed morphology in a nanometer scale size ranging from 60 to 160nm. Complexes formed with QPG fluorescently labeled with 5-DTAF (QPG-5-DTAF) were introduced to the C6 rat glioma cell line, and were found to be able to enter the cell and approach the nucleus within 24h. The results suggest that this type of modified natural polysaccharide may have an advantage as a biocompatible and biodegradable gene delivery carrier and furthermore may serve as a cell specific carrier.