title: Ex situ reconstitution of the plant biopolyester suberin as a film.
abstract: Biopolymers often have unique properties of considerable interest as a basis for new materials. It is however not evident how to extract them from plants without destroying their chemical skeleton and inherent properties. Here we report the ex situ reconstitution of the biopolyester suberin as a new waterproof and antimicrobial material. In plant cell walls, suberin, a cross-linked network of aromatic and aliphatic monomers, builds up a hydrophobic protective and antimicrobial barrier. Recently we succeeded in extracting suberin from the plant cell wall using the ionic liquid cholinium hexanoate. During extraction the native three-dimensional structure of suberin was partially preserved. In this study, we demonstrate that this preservation is the key for its ex situ reconstitution. Without any chemical additives or purification, the suberin composing macromolecules undergo self-association on the casting surface forming a film. Suberin films obtained show barrier properties similar to those of the suberin barrier in plants, including a potentially broad bactericidal effect.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa , Apartado 127, 2781-901, Oeiras, Portugal.
authors.forename: Helga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Celso
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Andreia F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Carmen S R
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.forename: Armando J D
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Silvestre
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kunz
authors.forename: Luís Paulo N
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Rebelo
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Silva Pereira
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010316:Particle Size; D029963:Quercus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013499:Surface Properties; D017155:Wettability
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D008055:Lipids; C065875:suberin