Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 10, 2025
11:32
Highly Stable, Functional Hairy Nanoparticles and Biopolymers from Wood Fibers: Towards Sustainable Nanotechnology
Published on: July 20, 2016
12.1K
Complexes of cellulose model particles with polycations: composition, properties and cytotoxicity
A G Badikova1, A A Efimova1, V V Spiridonov2
1Department of Chemistry, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-3, 119991, Moscow, Russia; Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, B. St. Petersburgskaya Str. 41, 173003, Veliky Novgorod, Russia.
Carbohydrate Research
|August 21, 2025
Summary
Biodegradable cellulose microplastics were studied. Complexes with cationic polymers showed toxicity, unlike cellulose alone, highlighting risks in aquatic ecosystems.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Materials Science
- Toxicology
Background:
- Microplastics pose environmental risks.
- Biodegradable cellulose particles (200-250 nm) serve as a microplastic model.
- Stability in aquatic environments is crucial for microplastic behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model biodegradable microplastics using cellulose particles.
- To investigate the complexation of cellulose with cationic polymers (toxicants).
- To assess the cytotoxicity of cellulose particles and their complexes.
Main Methods:
- Dynamic light scattering
- Laser microelectrophoresis
- Differential scanning calorimetry
- Thermogravimetry (TG)
- IR spectroscopy
- MTT assay for cytotoxicity
Main Results:
- Cellulose particles are stable in water-salt media for 18 days.
- Complexation with cationic polymers neutralizes particle surface charge and increases size.
- Complex dissociation is triggered by salt addition, indicating electrostatic interactions.
- Cellulose particles are non-toxic; cellulose-polycation complexes exhibit significant cytotoxicity.
Conclusions:
- Cellulose-polycation complexes mimic toxic microplastic behavior.
- The electrostatic nature of complexation influences environmental fate.
- Findings are critical for understanding microplastic ecotoxicity and risk assessment.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Cellulose and Pectic Polysaccharides
3.9K
Every plant cell has a cell wall that protects the cell, provides structural support, and gives the cell shape. Cellulose, the main structural component of the plant cell wall, makes up over 30% of plant matter. It is the most abundant organic compound on earth. Cellulose is an unbranched polysaccharide composed of linear chains of glucose molecules linked by β (1→4) glycosidic bonds.
As a cell matures, its cell wall specializes according to its type. For example, the...
As a cell matures, its cell wall specializes according to its type. For example, the...
3.9K
01:27Cell Inclusions
196
Prokaryotic cells possess a variety of inclusions that play crucial roles in nutrient storage, metabolic processes, and environmental adaptation. These structures enable bacteria to thrive under fluctuating environmental conditions by storing essential resources and optimizing their metabolic efficiency.Carbon Storage: Poly-β-Hydroxybutyric Acid and Glycogen GranulesBacteria frequently store excess carbon in specialized granules. Poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) granules are lipid...
196
01:19Complexation Equilibria: The Chelate Effect
659
In complexation reactions, metal atoms or cations interact with ligands to form donor-acceptor adducts called metal complexes. Ligands that bind through one donor site are monodentate, ligands with two donor sites are bidentate, and those with more than two donor sites are polydentate ligands. For example, ethylene diamine is a bidentate ligand that binds through two nitrogen donor atoms, forming a five-membered ring. EDTA is a polydentate ligand that binds through four oxygen and two nitrogen...
659
02:58Chemistry of the Cell
43.7K
The cell is chemically composed of water, organic molecules and inorganic ions.
Water
The polarity of the water molecule and its resulting hydrogen bonding makes water a unique substance with special properties that are intimately tied to the processes of life. Life originally evolved in an aqueous environment, and most of an organism’s cellular chemistry and metabolism occur inside the aqueous contents of the cell’s cytoplasm. Special properties of water are its high heat capacity...
Water
The polarity of the water molecule and its resulting hydrogen bonding makes water a unique substance with special properties that are intimately tied to the processes of life. Life originally evolved in an aqueous environment, and most of an organism’s cellular chemistry and metabolism occur inside the aqueous contents of the cell’s cytoplasm. Special properties of water are its high heat capacity...
43.7K
01:18Polarity of the Cytoskeleton
19.2K
The intrinsic polarity of cells can be primarily attributed to two factors- i) the asymmetric accumulation of mobile components such are regulatory molecules and subcellular components across the cell and ii) the orientation of polar cytoskeletal filaments that make up the cytoskeletal networks, specifically microfilaments, and microtubules arranged along the axis of polarity. Interactions between the cytoskeletal filaments are crucial for the establishment and maintenance of the polar nature...
19.2K