The expression of genes encoding novel Sesame oleosin variants facilitates enhanced triacylglycerol accumulation in Arabidopsis leaves and seeds.

Triacylglycerols (TAG), accumulate within lipid droplets (LD), predominantly surrounded by OLEOSINs (OLE), that protect TAG from hydrolysis. We tested the hypothesis that identifying and removing degradation signals from OLE would promote its abundance, preventing TAG degradation and enhancing TAG accumulation. We tested whether mutating potential ubiquitin-conjugation sites in a previously reported improved Sesamum indicum OLE (SiO) variant, o3-3 Cys-OLE (SiCO herein), would stabilize it and increase its lipogenic potential. SiCOv1 was created by replacing all five lysines in SiCO with arginines. Separately, six cysteine residues within SiCO were deleted to create SiCOv2. SiCOv1 and SiCOv2 mutations were combined to create SiCOv3. Transient expression of SiCOv3 in Nicotiana benthamiana increased TAG by two-fold relative to SiCO. Constitutive expression of SiCOv3 or SiCOv5, containing the five predominant TAG-increasing mutations from SiCOv3, in Arabidopsis along with mouse DGAT2 (mD) increased TAG accumulation by 54% in leaves and 13% in seeds compared with control lines coexpressing SiCO and mD. Lipid synthesis rates increased, consistent with an increase in lipid sink strength that sequesters newly synthesized TAG, thereby relieving the constitutive BADC-dependent inhibition of ACCase reported for WT Arabidopsis. These OLE variants represent novel factors for potentially increasing TAG accumulation in a variety of oil crops.

Oxidative responses in small juveniles of Colossoma macropomum anesthetized and sedated with Ocimum gratissimum L. essential oil.

This study evaluated the use of essential oil of Ocimum gratissimum (EOOG) for anesthesia and in transport of Colossoma macropomum. Experiment 1, Test 1, anesthesia induction and recovery times were determined using different EOOG concentrations (0, 20, 50, 100, 200, 300 mg L-1), with two size classes: Juveniles I (0.86 g) and Juveniles II (11.46 g) (independent tests in a completely randomized design). Based on the results of Test 1, in Test 2 Juveniles II were exposed to EOOG concentrations: 0, 20, 100 mg L-1. Tissue samples were collected immediately after induction and 1 h post-recovery, to assess oxidative status variables. Experiment 2, Juveniles I (0.91 g) and Juveniles II (14.76 g) were submitted to transport in water with different concentrations of EOOG (0, 5, 10 mg L-1) (independent tests in a completely randomized design). The effects on oxidative status variables were evaluated. Concentrations between 50 and 200 mg L-1 EOOG can be indicated for Juveniles I, while concentrations between 50 and 100 mg L-1 EOOG for Juveniles II. The concentration of 100 mg L-1 EOOG was able to prevent oxidative damage in the liver. In Experiment 2, the concentrations of 5 and 10 mg L-1 EOOG added to the transport water caused sedation for both studied size classes of juveniles and did not cause oscillations in water quality variables nor any mortality. The concentration of 10 mg L-1 EOOG improved the oxidative status. It can be concluded that EOOG can be used for anesthesia and transport of C. macropomum.

Variety of Plant Oils: Species-Specific Lipid Biosynthesis.

Plant oils represent a large group of neutral lipids with important applications in food, feed and oleochemical industries. Most plants accumulate oils in the form of triacylglycerol within seeds and their surrounding tissues, which is comprised of three fatty acids attached to a glycerol backbone. Different plant species accumulate unique fatty acids in their oils, serving a range of applications in pharmaceuticals and oleochemicals. To enable the production of these distinctive oils, select plant species have evolved specialized oil metabolism pathways, involving differential gene co-expression networks and structurally divergent enzymes/proteins. Here, we summarize some of the recent advances in our understanding of oil biosynthesis in plants. We compare expression patterns of oil metabolism genes from representative species, including Arabidopsis thaliana, Ricinus communis (castor bean), Linum usitatissimum L. (flax), and Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) to showcase the co-expression networks of relevant genes for acyl metabolism. We also review several divergent enzymes/proteins associated with key catalytic steps of unique oil accumulation, including fatty acid desaturases, diacylglycerol acyltransferases, and oleosins, highlighting their structural features and preference towards unique lipid substrates. Lastly, we briefly discuss protein interactomes and substrate channeling for oil biosynthesis and the complex regulation of these processes.

Engineering triacylglycerol accumulation in duckweed (Lemna japonica).

Duckweeds are amongst the fastest growing of higher plants, making them attractive high-biomass targets for biofuel feedstock production. Their fronds have high rates of fatty acid synthesis to meet the demand for new membranes, but triacylglycerols (TAG) only accumulate to very low levels. Here we report on the engineering of Lemna japonica for the synthesis and accumulation of TAG in its fronds. This was achieved by expression of an estradiol-inducible cyan fluorescent protein-Arabidopsis WRINKLED1 fusion protein (CFP-AtWRI1), strong constitutive expression of a mouse diacylglycerol:acyl-CoA acyltransferase2 (MmDGAT), and a sesame oleosin variant (SiOLE(*)). Individual expression of each gene increased TAG accumulation by 1- to 7-fold relative to controls, while expression of pairs of these genes increased TAG by 7- to 45-fold. In uninduced transgenics containing all three genes, TAG accumulation increased by 45-fold to 3.6% of dry weight (DW) without severely impacting growth, and by 108-fold to 8.7% of DW after incubation on medium containing 100 µm estradiol for 4 days. TAG accumulation was accompanied by an increase in total fatty acids of up to three-fold to approximately 15% of DW. Lipid droplets from fronds of all transgenic lines were visible by confocal microscopy of BODIPY-stained fronds. At a conservative 12 tonnes (dry matter) per acre and 10% (DW) TAG, duckweed could produce 350 gallons of oil/acre/year, approximately seven-fold the yield of soybean, and similar to that of oil palm. These findings provide the foundation for optimizing TAG accumulation in duckweed and present a new opportunity for producing biofuels and lipidic bioproducts.

Protein interactomes for plant lipid biosynthesis and their biotechnological applications.

Plant lipids have essential biological roles in plant development and stress responses through their functions in cell membrane formation, energy storage and signalling. Vegetable oil, which is composed mainly of the storage lipid triacylglycerol, also has important applications in food, biofuel and oleochemical industries. Lipid biosynthesis occurs in multiple subcellular compartments and involves the coordinated action of various pathways. Although biochemical and molecular biology research over the last few decades has identified many proteins associated with lipid metabolism, our current understanding of the dynamic protein interactomes involved in lipid biosynthesis, modification and channelling is limited. This review examines advances in the identification and characterization of protein interactomes involved in plant lipid biosynthesis, with a focus on protein complexes consisting of different subunits for sequential reactions such as those in fatty acid biosynthesis and modification, as well as transient or dynamic interactomes formed from enzymes in cooperative pathways such as assemblies of membrane-bound enzymes for triacylglycerol biosynthesis. We also showcase a selection of representative protein interactome structures predicted using AlphaFold2, and discuss current and prospective strategies involving the use of interactome knowledge in plant lipid biotechnology. Finally, unresolved questions in this research area and possible approaches to address them are also discussed.

Microemulsion: a novel alternative technique for edible oil extraction_a mechanistic viewpoint.

Microemulsions, as isotropic, transparent, nano size (<100 nm), and thermodynamically stable dispersions, are potentially capable of being used in food formulations, functional foods, pharmaceuticals, and in many other fields for various purposes, particularly for nano-encapsulation, extraction of bioactive compounds and oils, and as nano-reactors. However, their functionalities, and more importantly their oil extraction capability, strongly depend on, and are determined by, their formulation, molecular structures and the type, ratio and functionality of surfactants and co-surfactants. This review extensively describes microemulsions (definition, fabrication, thermodynamic aspects, and applications), and their various mechanisms of oil extraction (roll-up, snap-off, and solubilization including those by Winsor Types I, II, III, and IV systems). Applications of various food grade (natural or synthetic) and extended surfactants for edible oil extraction are then covered based on these concepts.

Mastering targeted genome engineering of GC-rich oleaginous yeast for tailored plant oil alternatives for the food and chemical sector.

BACKGROUND: Sustainable production of triglycerides for various applications is a major focus of microbial factories. Oleaginous yeast species have been targeted for commercial production of microbial oils. Among all the oleaginous yeasts examined in a previous comparative study, Cutaneotrichosporon oleaginosus showed the highest lipid productivity. Moreover, a new lipid production process for C. oleaginosus with minimal waste generation and energy consumption resulted in the highest lipid productivity in the history of oleaginous yeasts. However, productivity and product diversity are restricted because of the genetic intractability of this yeast. To date, successful targeted genetic engineering of C. oleaginosus has not yet been reported. RESULTS: The targeted gene editing was successfully carried out in C. oleaginosus using CRISPR/Cas system. A tailored enzyme system isolated to degrade the C. oleaginosus cell wall enabled the isolation of viable spheroplasts that are amenable to in-cell delivery of nucleic acids and proteins. The employment of both Cas9 protein and Cas mRNA was effective in obtaining strains with URA5 knockout that did not exhibit growth in the absence of uracil. Subsequently, we successfully created several strains with enhanced lipid yield (54% increase compared to that in wild type) or modified fatty acid profiles comparable with those of cocoa butter or sunflower oil compositions. CONCLUSION: This study establishes the first targeted engineering technique for C. oleaginosus using the CRISPR/Cas system. The current study creates the foundation for flexible and targeted strain optimizations towards building a robust platform for sustainable microbial lipid production. Moreover, the genetic transformation of eukaryotic microbial cells using Cas9 mRNA was successfully achieved.

Dietary flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) oil supplementation affects growth, oxidative stress, immune response, and diseases resistance in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchusmykiss).

This paper describes the effects of flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) oil (FSO) as a feed additive on growth performance, oxidative stress, immunity, and disease resistance in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Eight-hundred-and-forty rainbow trout individuals (mean weight: 25.66 ± 1.33 g) were fed with different doses of FSO (0.5, 1, and 1.5%) ad libitum two times a day for 9 weeks. At the end of the feeding, growth performance was evaluated and the fish were challenged with two different bacteria (Yersinia ruckeri and Aeromonas hydrophila). At the end of the 3rd, 6th, and 9th weeks, blood and tissue samples were taken from 9 fish per treatment to evaluate innate immune response, cytokine gene expression levels, antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid peroxidation levels, and digestive enzyme activities. Determination of haematological parameters and histological examination was also carried out to evaluate the general health status of the fish. Results showed that the final weight and specific growth rate of FSO-supplemented fish increased significantly (p < 0.05). FSO-supplemented fish showed higher resistance to Y. ruckeri than the control group (p < 0.05). However, survival rates of all groups in A. hydrophila challenge test were similar (p > 0.05). Among the investigated innate immune response parameters, the potential killing activity of phagocytes, myeloperoxidase activity, and lysozyme activity increased in the FSO-supplemented groups (p < 0.05). Almost all cytokine gene expression levels in the experimental groups up-regulated especially after 9 weeks of feeding in the head kidney and intestine (p < 0.05). Similarly, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were found to be significantly higher in the FSO group than in the control (p < 0.05) whereas, the lipid peroxidation levels drastically declined as a result of the FSO supplementation (p < 0.05). These results suggest that FSO can improve growth, enhance immune response, and lower oxidative damage in rainbow trout when supplemented at the rates of 0.5-1.5% for 9 weeks.

Current and Potential Applications of Monoterpenes and Their Derivatives in Oral Health Care.

Plant products have been employed in medicine for centuries. As the world becomes more health-conscious, there is a growing interest in natural and minimally processed products for oral health care. This has led to an increase in research into the bioactive compounds found in plant products, particularly monoterpenes. Monoterpenes are known to have beneficial biological properties, but the specific mechanisms by which they exert their effects are not yet fully understood. Despite this, some monoterpenes are already being used in oral health care. For example, thymol, which has antibacterial properties, is an ingredient in varnish used for caries prevention. In addition to this, monoterpenes have also demonstrated antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties, making them versatile for various applications. As research continues, there is potential for even more discoveries regarding the benefits of monoterpenes in oral health care. This narrative literature review gives an overview of the biological properties and current and potential applications of selected monoterpenes and their derivatives in oral health care. These compounds demonstrate promising potential for future medical development, and their applications in future research are expected to expand.

Nutraceutical Potential of Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) Seed Oil in Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, Obesity and Metabolic Alterations.

Vitis vinifera L. (grapevine) is a perennial plant of the Vitaceae family that is widely used to produce grapes and wines. Grape seed oil is rich in fatty acids such as linoleic acid (65-75%), vitamin E (50 mg), and phytosterols in addition to phenolic compounds, such as catechins (414 mg), epicatechins (130.4 mg), and gallic acid (77 µg), shows promise as a nutritional compound and is outstanding as a therapeutic substance with active properties for health, detected mainly by in vitro studies, as well as some in vivo studies. The benefits of consuming this oil include modulating the expression of antioxidant enzymes, anti-atherosclerotic and anti-inflammatory effects, and protection against oxidative cell damage and some types of cancer. However, experimental findings confirm that therapeutic functions remain scarce; thus, more studies are needed to determine the mechanisms of action involved in the indicated therapeutic qualities.

LC-MS Metabolomic Profiling of Five Types of Unrefined, Cold-Pressed Seed Oils to Identify Markers to Determine Oil Authenticity and to Test for Oil Adulteration.

The authenticity of food products marketed as health-promoting foods-especially unrefined, cold-pressed seed oils-should be controlled to ensure their quality and safeguard consumers and patients. Metabolomic profiling using liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF) was employed to identify authenticity markers for five types of unrefined, cold-pressed seed oils: black seed oil (Nigella sativa L.), pumpkin seed oil (Cucurbita pepo L.), evening primrose oil (Oenothera biennis L.), hemp oil (Cannabis sativa L.) and milk thistle oil (Silybum marianum). Of the 36 oil-specific markers detected, 10 were established for black seed oil, 8 for evening primrose seed oil, 7 for hemp seed oil, 4 for milk thistle seed oil and 7 for pumpkin seed oil. In addition, the influence of matrix variability on the oil-specific metabolic markers was examined by studying binary oil mixtures containing varying volume percentages of each tested oil and each of three potential adulterants: sunflower, rapeseed and sesame oil. The presence of oil-specific markers was confirmed in 7 commercial oil mix products. The identified 36 oil-specific metabolic markers proved useful for confirming the authenticity of the five target seed oils. The ability to detect adulterations of these oils with sunflower, rapeseed and sesame oil was demonstrated.

Sunflower WRINKLED1 Plays a Key Role in Transcriptional Regulation of Oil Biosynthesis.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is one of the most important oilseed crops worldwide. However, the transcriptional regulation underlying oil accumulation in sunflower is not fully understood. WRINKLED1 (WRI1) is an essential transcription factor governing oil accumulation in plant cells. Here, we identify and characterize a sunflower ortholog of WRI1 (HaWRI1), which is highly expressed in developing seeds. Transient production of HaWRI1 stimulated substantial oil accumulation in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, fatty acid quantification, and gene expression analysis demonstrate that HaWRI1 acts as a pivotal transcription factor controlling the expression of genes involved in late glycolysis and fatty acid biosynthesis. HaWRI1 directly binds to the cis-element, AW-box, in the promoter of biotin carboxyl carrier protein isoform 2 (BCCP2). In addition, we characterize an 80 amino-acid C-terminal domain of HaWRI1 that is crucial for transactivation. Moreover, seed-specific overexpression of HaWRI1 in Arabidopsis plants leads to enhanced seed oil content as well as upregulation of the genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis. Taken together, our work demonstrates that HaWRI1 plays a pivotal role in the transcriptional control of seed oil accumulation, providing a potential target for bioengineering sunflower oil yield improvement.

Plant Oil-Based Acrylic Latexes towards Multisubstrate Bonding Adhesives Applications.

To investigate the utility of acrylic monomers from various plant oils in adhesives manufacturing, 25-45 wt. % of high oleic soybean oil-based monomer (HOSBM) was copolymerized in a miniemulsion with commercially applied butyl acrylate (BA), methyl methacrylate (MMA), or styrene (St). The compositions of the resulting ternary latex copolymers were varied in terms of both "soft" (HOSBM, BA) and "rigid" (MMA or St) macromolecular fragments, while total monomer conversion and molecular weight of copolymers were determined after synthesis. For most latexes, results indicated the presence of lower and higher molecular weight fractions, which is beneficial for the material adhesive performance. To correlate surface properties and adhesive performance of HOSBM-based copolymer latexes, contact angle hysteresis (using water as a contact liquid) for each latex-substrate pair was first determined. The data showed that plant oil-based latexes exhibit a clear ability to spread and adhere once applied on the surface of materials differing by polarities, such as semicrystalline polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), bleached paperboard (uncoated), and tops coated with a clay mineral paperboard. The effectiveness of plant oil-based ternary latexes as adhesives was demonstrated on PET to PP and coated to uncoated paperboard substrates. As a result, the latexes with high biobased content developed in this study provide promising adhesive performance, causing substrate failure instead of cohesive/adhesive break in many experiments.

Effect of Fatty Acid Polyunsaturation on Synthesis and Properties of Emulsion Polymers Based on Plant Oil-Based Acrylic Monomers.

This study demonstrated that polymerization behavior of plant oil-based acrylic monomers (POBMs) synthesized in one-step transesterification reaction from naturally rich in oleic acid olive, canola, and high-oleic soybean oils is associated with a varying mass fraction of polyunsaturated fatty acid fragments (linoleic (C18:2) and linolenic (C18:3) acid esters) in plant oil. Using miniemulsion polymerization, a range of stable copolymer latexes was synthesized from 60 wt.% of each POBM and styrene to determine the impact of POBM chemical composition (polyunsaturation) on thermal and mechanical properties of the resulted polymeric materials. The unique composition of each plant oil serves as an experimental tool to determine the effect of polyunsaturated fatty acid fragments on POBM polymerization behavior and thermomechanical properties of crosslinked films made from POBM-based latexes. The obtained results show that increasing polyunsaturation in the copolymers results in an enhanced crosslink density of the latex polymer network which essentially impacts the mechanical properties of the films (both Young's modulus and toughness). Maximum toughness was observed for crosslinked latex films made from 50 wt.% of each POBM in the monomer feed.

AtMIF1 increases seed oil content by attenuating GL2 inhibition.

Vegetable oil is a major edible oil and an important industrial raw material. However, breeders have found it challenging to improve the oil content of crop seeds, and little is known about regulators with the potential to increase oil content via molecular engineering in modern oil crop breeding. We reported an F-box protein, Arabidopsis thaliana MYB Interaction Factor 1 (AtMIF1), which is a member of the ubiquitin-protein ligase E3 complex involved in the 26S proteasome protein degradation pathway. AtMIF1 physically interacts with MYB domain protein 5 (MYB5), which results in MYB5 degradation, so that transcriptional activation of the MYB/bHLH/WD-repeat (MBW) complex does not occur normally and GLABRA2 (GL2), encoding an inhibitor of oil content and functioning as a direct downstream gene of MBW, is not properly transcribed. AtMIF1 functioned as a positive regulator that increases oil content by attenuating GL2 inhibition. We overexpressed AtMIF1 and obtained transgenic plants with significantly higher seed oil contents. Importantly, both vegetative and reproductive growth of the transgenic plants appeared normal. In summary, this work reveals a novel regulator, AtMIF1, and a new regulatory pathway, 26S proteasome-AtMIF1-MYB5, for increasing the oil content of seeds without affecting plant growth, thus facilitating oil crop breeding.

A review on the potential of polyhydroxyalkanoates production from oil-based substrates.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a type of polyesters produced in the form of accumulated intracellular granules by many microorganisms. It is viewed as an environmentally friendly bioproduct due to its biodegradability and biocompatibility. The production of the PHA using oil substrates such as waste oil and plant oil, has gained considerable attention due to the high product yield and lower substrate cost. Nevertheless, the PHA fermentation using oil substrate is complicated due to the heterogenous fatty acid composition, varied bio-accessibility and possible inhibitory effect on the bacterial culture. This review presents the current state-of-the-art of PHA production from oil-based substrates. This paper firstly discusses the technical details, such as the choice of bacteria strain and fermentation conditions, characteristic of the oil substrate as well as the PHA composition and application. Finally, the paper discusses the challenges and prospects for up-scaling towards a cleaner and effective bioprocess. From the literature review, depending on the cell culture and the type of PHA produced, the oil platform can have a PHA yield of 0.2-0.8 g PHA/g oil substrate, with PHA content mostly from 40 to 90% of the cell dry weight. There is an on-going search for more effective oil-utilising PHA producers and lower cost substrate for effective PHA production. The final application of the PHA polymer influences the treatment needed during downstream processing and its economic performance. PHA with different compositions exhibits varied decomposition behaviour under different conditions, requiring further insight towards its management towards a sustainable circular economy.

Renewable Castor-Oil-based Waterborne Polyurethane Networks: Simultaneously Showing High Strength, Self-Healing, Processability and Tunable Multishape Memory.

Materials with multifunctionality or multiresponsiveness, especially polymers derived from green, renewable precursors, have recently attracted significant attention resulting from their technological impact. Nowadays, vegetable-oil-based waterborne polyurethanes (WPUs) are widely used in various fields, while strategies for simultaneous realization of their self-healing, reprocessing, shape memory as well as high mechanical properties are still highly anticipated. We report development of a multifunctional castor-oil-based waterborne polyurethane with high strength using controlled amounts of dithiodiphenylamine. The polymer networks possessed high tensile strength up to 38 MPa as well as excellent self-healing efficiency. Moreover, the WPU film exhibited a maximum recovery of 100 % of the original mechanical properties after reprocessing four times. The broad glass-transition temperature of the samples endowed the films with a versatile shape-memory effect, including a dual-to-quadruple shape-memory effect.

Effects of feeding frequency and oil supplementation on feeding behavior, ruminal fermentation, digestibility, blood metabolites, and milk performance in late-lactation cows fed a high-forage diet.

Many dairy producers are keen to feed low-producing late-lactation cows only once per day (1×) to reduce production costs. This study examined effects of feeding frequency (FF: thrice versus once daily) on behavioral patterns, ruminal fermentation, and milk production performance of cows and supplementation of yellow grease oil (YO) rich in 18:2n-6 as a potential strategy to alleviate the possible negative effects of 1× daily feeding. Twenty-four late-lactation Holstein cows (215 ± 53.8 DIM) housed in tiestalls were assigned to 4 treatments according to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with 2 FF [3 times daily (3×) at 0800, 1400, and 2000 h; or 1× at 0800 h] and 2 high-forage total mixed rations (TMR), without (CON) or with 25 g/kg of dry matter of YO (YGO), in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were applied for 21 d. Feeding behavior was recorded every 5 min over a 24-h period on d 19. Fresh TMR and orts were sampled (d 15 to 21) and separated using a 3-screen (19, 8, and 1.18 mm) Penn State Particle Separator for sorting activity. Ruminal fluid samples were collected using oral stomach tubing on d 21. Cows on 1×-CON spent more time eating during the first 6 h after feeding at 0800 h than did cows on 3×-CON or 1×-YGO. Decreasing FF increased meal length and tended to increase meal size for CON cows, but supplementing YO increased meal bouts and reduced meal length and size for cows fed 1×. Cows on 1×-CON had the greatest ruminating time between 2000 and 0800 h compared with other treatments. Total and daytime distribution of lying time did not vary by treatments. Sorting activity was higher for cows fed frequently, and the extent of sorting was increased by oil supplementation. In the morning ruminal fluid samples, pH was not different among treatments, but in the evening samples 1× daily feeding reduced ruminal pH compared with 3×. In the morning and evening samples, ratios of acetate to propionate were the lowest for 1×-CON cows compared with other treatments. Dry matter intake and milk yield were similar among the groups. Milk fat content and yield decreased with 1×-CON treatment, but supplementing YO numerically increased milk fat for cows fed 1×. These results suggest that decreasing FF from 3× to 1× daily increases meal length, particularly after feed delivery, in cows fed high-forage diets; but supplementation of plant oil changes feeding patterns and may improve ruminal pH and milk fat in cows fed once a day.

Non-Conventional Features of Plant Oil-Based Acrylic Monomers in Emulsion Polymerization.

In recent years, polymer chemistry has experienced an intensive development of a new field regarding the synthesis of aliphatic and aromatic biobased monomers obtained from renewable plant sources. A one-step process for the synthesis of new vinyl monomers by the reaction of direct transesterification of plant oil triglycerides with N-(hydroxyethyl)acrylamide has been recently invented to yield plant oil-based monomers (POBMs). The features of the POBM chemical structure, containing both a polar (hydrophilic) fragment capable of electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic acyl fatty acid moieties (C15-C17) capable of van der Waals interactions, ensures the participation of the POBMs fragments of polymers in intermolecular interactions before and during polymerization. The use of the POBMs with different unsaturations in copolymerization reactions with conventional vinyl monomers allows for obtaining copolymers with enhanced hydrophobicity, provides a mechanism of internal plasticization and control of crosslinking degree. Synthesized latexes and latex polymers are promising candidates for the formation of hydrophobic polymer coatings with controlled physical and mechanical properties through the targeted control of the content of different POBM units with different degrees of unsaturation in the latex polymers.

Natural Compounds for Wood Protection against Fungi-A Review.

Wood is a renewable, versatile material with multiple applications and the largest terrestrial pool of sequestered carbon. However, it is susceptible to degradation, mainly caused by wood-decaying fungi. Since several traditional wood preservatives have been banned owing to their detrimental effects on humans and the environment, extending the lifespan of wood products using new generation natural preservatives is an imperative from the perspectives of human health and environmental protection. Several natural compounds of plant and animal origin have been tested for their fungicidal properties, including essential oils, tannins, wood extractives, alkaloids, propolis or chitosan; and their enormous potential in wood protection has been shown. Although they are not free of limitations, the potential methods to overcome their drawbacks and enhance their bioactivity already exist, such as co-impregnation with different polymers, cross-linkers, metal chelators or antioxidants. The presence of the discrepancies between laboratory tests and the field performance, as well as legislation-related problems resulting from the lack of standards defining the quality and performance of natural protective formulations, however, create an urgent need for further thorough research and arrangements. The collaboration with other industries interested in the utilisation of natural active compounds will reduce the associated costs, thus, will facilitate the successful implementation of alternative antifungal agents.