Molecular Structure and Conformation of Biodegradable Water-Soluble Polymers Control Adsorption and Transport in Model Soil Mineral Systems.

Water-soluble polymers (WSPs) are used in diverse applications, including agricultural formulations, that can result in the release of WSPs to soils. WSP biodegradability in soils is desirable to prevent long-term accumulation and potential associated adverse effects. In this work, we assessed adsorption of five candidate biodegradable WSPs with varying chemistry, charge, and polarity characteristics (i.e., dextran, diethylaminoethyl dextran, carboxymethyl dextran, polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and poly-l-lysine) and of one nonbiodegradable WSP (poly(acrylic acid)) to sand and iron oxide-coated sand particles that represent important soil minerals. Combined adsorption studies using solution-depletion measurements, direct surface adsorption techniques, and column transport experiments over varying solution pH and ionic strengths revealed electrostatics dominating interactions of charged WSPs with the sorbents as well as WSP conformations and packing densities in the adsorbed states. Hydrogen bonding controls adsorption of noncharged WSPs. Under transport in columns, WSP adsorption exhibited fast and slow kinetic adsorption regimes with time scales of minutes to hours. Slow adsorption kinetics in soil may lead to enhanced transport but also shorter lifetimes of biodegradable WSPs, assuming more rapid biodegradation when dissolved than adsorbed. This work establishes a basis for understanding the coupled adsorption and biodegradation dynamics of biodegradable WSPs in agricultural soils.

Effect of Polymer Properties on the Biodegradation of Polyurethane Microplastics.

The release of fragments from plastic products, that is, secondary microplastics, is a major concern in the context of the global plastic pollution. Currently available (thermoplastic) polyurethanes [(T)PU] are not biodegradable and therefore should be recycled. However, the ester bond in (T)PUs might be sufficiently hydrolysable to enable at least partial biodegradation of polyurethane particles. Here, we investigated biodegradation in compost of different types of (T)PU to gain insights into their fragmentation and biodegradation mechanisms. The studied (T)PUs varied regarding the chemistry of their polymer backbone (aromatic/aliphatic), hard phase content, cross-linking degree, and presence of a hydrolysis-stabilizing additive. We developed and validated an efficient and non-destructive polymer particle extraction process for partially biodegraded (T)PUs based on ultrasonication and density separation. Our results showed that biodegradation rates and extents decreased with increasing cross-linking density and hard-segment content. We found that the presence of a hydrolysis stabilizer reduced (T)PU fragmentation while not affecting the conversion of (T)PU carbon into CO2. We propose a biodegradation mechanism for (T)PUs that includes both mother particle shrinkage by surface erosion and fragmentation. The presented results help to understand structure-degradation relationships of (T)PUs and support recycling strategies.

Synthesis and Characterization of Cationic Hydrogels from Thiolated Copolymers for Independent Manipulation of Mechanical and Chemical Properties of Cell Substrates.

Cells sense both mechanical and chemical properties in their environment and respond to these inputs with altered phenotypes. Precise and selective experimental manipulations of these environmental cues require biocompatible synthetic materials, for which multiple properties can be fine-tuned independently from each other. For example, cells typically show critical thresholds for cell adhesion as a function of substrate parameters such as stiffness and the degree of functionalization. However, the choice of tailor-made, defined materials to produce such cell adhesion substrates is still very limited. Here, a platform of synthetic hydrogels based on well-defined thiolated copolymers is presented. Therefore, four disulfide crosslinked hydrogels of different composition by free radical polymerization are prepared. After cleavage with dithiothreitol, four soluble copolymers P1-P4 with 0-96% cationic monomer content are obtained. P1 and P4 are then combined with PEGDA3500 as a crosslinker, to fabricate 12 hydrogels with variable elasticity, ranging from 8.1 to 26.3 kPa and cationic group concentrations of up to 350 µmol cm-3 . Systematic analysis using COS7 cells shows that all of these hydrogels are nontoxic. However, successful cell adhesion requires both a minimal elasticity and a minimal cationic group concentration.