Lignin is the most dominant aromatic polymer on Earth and its valorization technologies are still under development. Typically, in order to obtain value-added products from lignin, it undergoes depolymerization and fragmentation. We believe that development of lignin NPs (LigNPs) and technologies for their functionalization can become a new and emerging trend in lignin valorization. Due to natural origin of lignin and good biocompatibility, multifunctional magnetic LigNPs can find application as targeted drug delivery vehicles for future implementation in biomedicine. In current work, we investigated influence of lignin fractions molecular weight, concentration of -COOH, Aliph-OH and Ph-OH groups on the LigNPs formation process, and resulting LigNPs characteristics. It was found that size distribution range and polydispersity index of LigNPs can vary significantly, depending on nanoparticles synthesis parameters, e.g. solvent, Mw of lignin fraction, water content, etc. For instance, developed synthetic approach to obtain magnetic lignin nanoparticles from different Eucalyptus lignin fractions revealed that Eucalyptus lignin fraction with Mw~2000 kDa and PDI 2.20 can form magnetic Lignin/Fe3O4 NPs from dioxane/water solution, which are of spherical shape and 650 nm in diameter (Fig.1), with PDI 0.54. Fig. 1. SEM image of magnetic lignin nanoparticles derived from Eucalyptus lignin with Mw~2000 kDa and PDI 2.20. In contradiction, non-magnetic ethanol-soluble fraction of Eucalyptus lignin (Mw~1.390 kDa, PDI 1.60) was able to form LigNPs in size range about 140-200 nm with PDI 0.1. Ethyl acetate-soluble fraction of lignin with Mw~0.950 kDa forms LigNPs of average size around 200 nm and PDI 0.078. Combination of magnetic properties in LigNPs, simultaneously with their further functionalization can reveal their potential in development of targeted platforms for different biomedical diagnostic modalities and drug loading.

Lignin/Fe3O4 nanoparticles derived from different eucalyptus lignin fractions

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.