System integration of functionalized natural materials
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ief context of system integration of natural materials The creation of new materials and products using natural resources has been occurring since ancient times.1 After decades of using synthetic materials for many industrial applications (Figure 1),2 in the late 1980s, interest in turning to natural materials started flourishing again, owing to the thrust toward sustainable design with the release of the Brundtland Commission Report.3,4 Previous issues of MRS Bulletin have tangentially touched on the use of functional natural materials, including in the construction industry,5,6 health applications,7–9 energy production and supply,10,11 chemical products,12,13 fibers,14 and sustainable development in general.15,16 However, there has not been a complete issue focused on the development of functional materials from natural resources with a systems integration approach. In this issue, materials such as hydrogels,17,18 cellulose,19–23 paper,24–29 cells,30–34 plants,35–40 nanocomposites,20,21,25,41–43 and biomass44–46 are featured as the core thematic thread that links how a systems integration approach is the essence of materials design.
The significance of working with natural materials Natural materials have emerged as materials of choice for a wide range of applications, ranging from biomedical to energy to environmental. The many attributes of natural materials,
such as intrinsic biocompatibility and surface active properties, make them prime sources for state-of-the-art applications. Regarding the use of natural products for medicinal applications, there are many examples such as the integration of aloe vera, genistein from soybean, green tea leaves, carrot root, mango pulp, and more recently, Carvalho’s cactus mucilage— the viscous liquid inside cactus pads—in wound healing.47,48 Natural plant-based products are classified as phytochemicals and have been found to exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, regenerative, and biocompatible properties, and are viewed as safer and more affordable than conventional/ standard therapies.48–52 Recent investigations continue to diversify the benefits of using extracts from plants such as cactus mucilage in the functional form of a filtration membrane.38,53,54 Opuntia ficusindica cactus mucilage extracts have been functionalized in the form of a nanofiber membrane (Figure 2) for integration into rural or urban point-of-use filtration systems.38,39,53–57 Mucilage is a natural, nontoxic, biocompatible, biodegradable, inexpensive, and abundant material and is composed of proteins, monosaccharides, and polysaccharides (Figure 3). Two fractions of the mucilage can be extracted. The solids portion after maceration leads to the gelling extract (GE), which is a pectin-rich polysaccharide; while the nongelling extract (NE), which is considered a galactomannan polysaccharide, can be obtained from the liquid supernatant.39,56,58–61
Sylvia W. Thomas, Department of Electrical Engineering, Advanced Materials Bio and Integration Research Laboratory, University of South Florida, USA;
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