Isolation of Cellulose Nanocrystals and Production of cello-oligosaccharides from Banana Pseudo-stem through Chemical and Enzymatic Processes

• Grant number: 24/01731-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Michel Brienzo
• Grantee: Patricia Felix Avila
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisa em Bioenergia (IPBEN). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/22401-8 - Fruit-refinery: obtention processes, characterization methods and generation of products derived from residues of the fruitculture, AP.TEM

Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystals (NCCs) are nanostructures of a crystalline nature, commonly obtained through the acid hydrolysis of cellulose. Cello-oligosaccharides (COS) comprise a new class of non-digestible oligosaccharides, with potential functional and technological properties that have not yet been fully elucidated. These bioproducts have a range of applications in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. The challenges of obtaining economically viable NCCs through more ecological routes encourage researchers to search for new strategies. Therefore, the present project aims to evaluate and compare the integrated production of cellulose nanocrystals and cello-oligosaccharides through acid and enzymatic hydrolysis of banana pseudostem biomass. Then, the products obtained will be analyzed for cytotoxicity to verify possible adversities/toxicities of the products obtained by both chemical and enzymatic routes evaluated. In addition, the technical-economic viability of the bioprocess will be determined using the SuperPro Designer software version 8.0®, establishing economic performance indicators such as turnaround time and minimum sales price. Finally, the study also proposes an unprecedented contribution from the application of NNCs in hydrogels as carriers of antibacterial compounds (hexyl gallate), a potential agent against citrus canker, a disease affected in citrus that represents a recurring problem in the agro-industrial sector. It is important to highlight that this work has an original and innovative character, as there are no studies in the literature that encompass the integrated process of isolation of NCCs and production of cello-oligosaccharides using banana pseudostem biomass reporting cytotoxicity tests, as well as emphasizing the technical-economic analysis, which is essential to determine the viability of the process. The innovation of the proposal is also associated with the study of the carriage of antimicrobial compounds against citrus canker, which is completely unprecedented in terms of studies on the applications of nanocellulose. This project is part of the context of a Thematic project FAPESP (2017/22401-8), which aims to use polysaccharides from fruit waste.