evaporation and photocatalytic degradation simultaneously.
In addition to that, the presence of Au nanoparticles within
the nanocomposite has some other benefits. It can prohibit
electron–hole recombination, which is known as one of the
most important restrictions in the photocatalytic processes.
Also, due to their photothermal conversion and consequently
thermal effect, Au nanoparticles are able to enhance the
efficiency of the photocatalyst.
Mallakpour and Nezamzadeh Ezhieh (2017) used the
potential of polysaccharides to prepare suitable adsorbents
for deletion of polluted water from Cd
2+ . In this regard, at
first, valine and starch were used to modify multi-walled
carbon nanotubes in order to bring functional groups on its
surface. Then, this nanocomposite was used as a nanofiller to
be inserted in a chitosan/PVA blend. The prepared
chitosan/PVA-based nanocomposite showed improved
thermal stability and adsorption capability compared to the
pure chitosan/PVA blend. From Fig. 8a, it is obvious that
incorporation of 70 wt% of the prepared nanofiller enhanced
Cd
2+ adsorption capability, dramatically. For example, the
removal efficiencies were 98.42% mg/g and 76.80 mg/g in
applying 60 mg of the chitosan/PVA-based nanocomposite
and bare chitosan/PVA blend as the adsorbent, respectively.
They pointed out to the presence of several functional
groups within the prepared nanocomposite structure, which
promote chelation and coordination with the metal cation,
which endow the adsorbent more capability. Figure 8b
demonstrates a schematic view from the present functional
groups and their doable interactions.
5.3 Medical Uses
5.3.1 Drug
Polysaccharide hydrogels are known as one of the favorable
drug delivery vehicles and a lot of studies have been dedicated to optimize them for these purposes. Hydrophilicity,
non-toxicity, and the ability to degrade by time are some
benefits of these types of hydrogels (Singh et al. 2020). They
have the ability to entrap specific drugs, and then release it
during a convenient manner (Eid et al. 2020). But their poor
mechanical strength and solubility are factors which confine
their usage to some extent (Singh et al. 2020). Several ways
such as blending (Mallakpour and Rashidimoghadam 2020),
embedding with different inorganic nanostructures, and
grafting with several types of artificial monomers (Singh
et al. 2020) are proposed as alternatives to modify
polysaccharides. Some of the limitations and shortcomings
of the conventional drug therapy methods could be overcome by these drug delivery systems. For example, one of
the most important concerns in tumor therapy is side effects
of using drugs on healthy cells. Herein, the potential of
polysaccharide-derived bionanocomposites as carriers for
selective delivery of drugs is of great importance. In fact,
owing to the several functionalities, these bionanocomposite
can interact with drugs and release the drug in a sustainable
and some times during a pH-responsive manner, which all
enhance the treatment efficiency (Abbasian et al. 2020).
Mahdavinia et al. (2019) applied different amounts of
hydroxyapatite in the chitosan matrix to control the release
of ciprofloxacin. j-carrageenan was used with dual functions: as a natural crosslinker and to interact with the
ciprofloxacin. While chitosan/j-carrageenan released 98%
of the ciprofloxacin within 120 min, the bionanocomposite
Fig. 8 a The images of prepared NC films and a structure of NC with
some possible interactions between SMV NC and CS-PVA chains,
b The percentage of removed Cd(II) ions (R) versus adsorbent dosage
for the pure CS-PVA and CPSMV NC 70 wt%. Reprinted from
Mallakpour and Nezamzadeh Ezhieh (2017) by permission from
Elsevier (NC: Nanocomposite, SMV: Starch/multi-walled carbon
nanotubes-Valine, CS: Chitosan, PVA: Poly(vinyl alcohol), CPSMV:
Chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol)/SMV)
Bionanocomposites Derived from Polysaccharides …
201
In addition to that, the presence of Au nanoparticles within
the nanocomposite has some other benefits. It can prohibit
electron–hole recombination, which is known as one of the
most important restrictions in the photocatalytic processes.
Also, due to their photothermal conversion and consequently
thermal effect, Au nanoparticles are able to enhance the
efficiency of the photocatalyst.
Mallakpour and Nezamzadeh Ezhieh (2017) used the
potential of polysaccharides to prepare suitable adsorbents
for deletion of polluted water from Cd
2+ . In this regard, at
first, valine and starch were used to modify multi-walled
carbon nanotubes in order to bring functional groups on its
surface. Then, this nanocomposite was used as a nanofiller to
be inserted in a chitosan/PVA blend. The prepared
chitosan/PVA-based nanocomposite showed improved
thermal stability and adsorption capability compared to the
pure chitosan/PVA blend. From Fig. 8a, it is obvious that
incorporation of 70 wt% of the prepared nanofiller enhanced
Cd
2+ adsorption capability, dramatically. For example, the
removal efficiencies were 98.42% mg/g and 76.80 mg/g in
applying 60 mg of the chitosan/PVA-based nanocomposite
and bare chitosan/PVA blend as the adsorbent, respectively.
They pointed out to the presence of several functional
groups within the prepared nanocomposite structure, which
promote chelation and coordination with the metal cation,
which endow the adsorbent more capability. Figure 8b
demonstrates a schematic view from the present functional
groups and their doable interactions.
5.3 Medical Uses
5.3.1 Drug
Polysaccharide hydrogels are known as one of the favorable
drug delivery vehicles and a lot of studies have been dedicated to optimize them for these purposes. Hydrophilicity,
non-toxicity, and the ability to degrade by time are some
benefits of these types of hydrogels (Singh et al. 2020). They
have the ability to entrap specific drugs, and then release it
during a convenient manner (Eid et al. 2020). But their poor
mechanical strength and solubility are factors which confine
their usage to some extent (Singh et al. 2020). Several ways
such as blending (Mallakpour and Rashidimoghadam 2020),
embedding with different inorganic nanostructures, and
grafting with several types of artificial monomers (Singh
et al. 2020) are proposed as alternatives to modify
polysaccharides. Some of the limitations and shortcomings
of the conventional drug therapy methods could be overcome by these drug delivery systems. For example, one of
the most important concerns in tumor therapy is side effects
of using drugs on healthy cells. Herein, the potential of
polysaccharide-derived bionanocomposites as carriers for
selective delivery of drugs is of great importance. In fact,
owing to the several functionalities, these bionanocomposite
can interact with drugs and release the drug in a sustainable
and some times during a pH-responsive manner, which all
enhance the treatment efficiency (Abbasian et al. 2020).
Mahdavinia et al. (2019) applied different amounts of
hydroxyapatite in the chitosan matrix to control the release
of ciprofloxacin. j-carrageenan was used with dual functions: as a natural crosslinker and to interact with the
ciprofloxacin. While chitosan/j-carrageenan released 98%
of the ciprofloxacin within 120 min, the bionanocomposite
Fig. 8 a The images of prepared NC films and a structure of NC with
some possible interactions between SMV NC and CS-PVA chains,
b The percentage of removed Cd(II) ions (R) versus adsorbent dosage
for the pure CS-PVA and CPSMV NC 70 wt%. Reprinted from
Mallakpour and Nezamzadeh Ezhieh (2017) by permission from
Elsevier (NC: Nanocomposite, SMV: Starch/multi-walled carbon
nanotubes-Valine, CS: Chitosan, PVA: Poly(vinyl alcohol), CPSMV:
Chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol)/SMV)
Bionanocomposites Derived from Polysaccharides …
201