Starch Grafting Onto Polymers

@jroyes

Hello! I’d be very interested in supporting your development of a starch-grafted synthetic polymer for use as a gummed adhesive in water-activated tape. I am a PhD chemist with more than 9 years of expertise in polymer chemistry, materials science, and functional polymer modification, and I have hands-on experience designing grafting strategies that balance performance, processability, and regulatory constraints. Indeed, I am currently working on polymer grafting on surfaces and other polymers. I am sure that my experience could be extremely valuable in your project. I think I can quickly draft a first protocol for performing the grafting, orienting you through the necessary analysis (and interpretation of the results) to assure the correct synthesis of the material. Then, we can work towards an optimized protocol that will assure a smooth transition towards pilot plant. Finally, I can help you with the QC and SOP required for routine operation of the process. As for some examples of my previous graftings, I should mention my last antifouling and antibacterial coatings on PDMS used to prepare micro-fluidic based medical devices. Here, an optimized coverage achieved by the grafting of cationic polymers was paramount to improve the antibacterial and protein anti-adherence of the material. Anyway, I will be more than happy to discuss the details of your project via PM. Have a nice day! J. Royes

@harshr281

**** Development of Acrylic-Grafted Starch for High-Performance Water-Activated Adhesives *** I can design a commercially scalable, food-contact-safe grafting route to modify starch with acrylics, delivering higher tensile strength, flexibility, and strong, stable wet-tack for gummed tape applications. My approach will include a clear lab protocol, validation via analytical data, and guidance for pilot-scale translation. Questions: Which synthetic polymer backbone are you currently using, what regulatory standards must the adhesive meet (FDA/EFSA), and do you have target benchmarks for wet-tack and tensile strength compared to existing formulations? Thanks

@brianchiunye

I am a chemist from Zimbabwe and holds B.Sc. Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Zimbabwe as well as M.Sc. Chemistry from the University of Siegen in Germany. I would like to be part of your project in starch grafting onto polymers. Petrol-based polymers are non-biodegradable and they release toxic gases when incinerated for example, PVC. There are ways of making them biodegradable, for example addition of carbohydrates for them to be easily decomposed by bacteria when they feed on carbohydrates, adding carbonyl functional groups which degrade on exposure to light and making bio-based polymers. Bio-based coatings have monomers which include succinic acid, adipic acid, levulinic acid, gluconic acid, terephthalic acid, itaconic acid, lactic acid, ethylene glycol, xylitol, sorbitol and glycerol. Epoxy resins can be synthesized using compounds derived from vegetable oils, lignin, rosin, tannins, sugar, cardol or itaconic acid to replace bisphenol A which is an endocrine disruptor and has harmful impact on human health. Vegetable oil-based epoxy resins can come from soybean oil, linseed oil, canola, castor oil, cottonseed oil, rapeseed oil and palm oil. Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) is an enzyme that can be used to produce bio-based polymers using bio-based monomers. I have experience manufacturing architectural oil and water-based coatings and paints as well as alkyd resins. I am a member of the American Chemical Society. Yours faithfully Brian Chiunye