Natural nanofibers embedded in the seed mucilage envelope: composite hydrogels with specific adhesive and frictional properties

• Agnieszka Kreitschitz and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1603–1618, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.126

• produce pectic mucilage, which is rich in rhamnogalacturonan I (pectin) and arabinoxylan (hemicellulose) [100][101]. The mixture of these polysaccharides gives the flax mucilage viscous properties [101]. Another example is the cellulosic mucilage of Plantago lanceolata. Plantain cellulose mucilage

• (cellulose mucilage) [30]. The study revealed that this process did not depend on the amount of mucilage produced by the seeds and neither on the chemical composition of the mucilage. The protective role of the hydrated, viscous mucilage envelope was noted in some studies concerning animal–diaspore

“Sticky invasion” – the physical properties of Plantago lanceolata L. seed mucilage

• Agnieszka Kreitschitz,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1918–1927, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.183

• water loss from the cellulose mucilage was more rapid. The obtained different values can result from the presence of cellulose fibrils and their interaction with pectins in the mucilage. Because of this feature the mucilage of P. lanceolata may represent a more regularly ordered and stabile system than

• mucilage against loss from the seed surface. Keywords: adhesion; cellulose mucilage; desiccation; friction; Plantago lanceolata; Introduction The ability of seeds and fruits (diaspores) to form mucilage after hydration is known as myxospermy [1][2]. The mucilaginous diaspores are particularly

• composed mainly of pectins is described as pectic type ("true slime") and is typical of, e.g., Linaceae, Plantaginaceae and Poaceae seeds [1][12]. Often mucilage possesses an additional cellulose skeleton and is then classified as cellulose mucilage, characteristic of taxa from many diverse families like