Synthesis and Applications of Pectin-based Nanomaterials

Background: Pectin is a natural hetero-polysaccharide found in some fruits and vegetables with good biocompatibility and biodegradability. Besides the inherent functions of pectin in plants and its normal applications as gelling and thickening agents in food industry, pectin-based nanomaterials have attracted great attention owing to their unique properties such as the high specific surface area compared to the bulk pectin. Pectin-based nanomaterials combine the advantages of both pectin and the nanoscaled particles so that they show great potential in some other fields. Methods: Recent advance of pectin-based nanomaterials is reviewed including their synthesis strategies and applications. Results: At present, common methods based on nanoemulsion technique, ionotropic gelation, redox reactions and so on have been reported for the synthesis of pectin nanomaterials and pectin stabilized/capped nanomaterials. And these pectin-based nanomaterials can be used as gene/drug delivery system, antimicrobial agents and adsorbents for metal ions and dyes in wastewater treatment. Conclusion: The variety of nanoparticles is increasing and their applications are wider, so there are still more possibilities for us to investigate the pectin-based nanomaterials including the synthesis methods and applications in other fields. For example, the synthesis of fluorescent pectin-based nanoparticles and their applications in sensing and bioimaging. Using the advantages of both pectin and nanomaterials, we hope more pectin-based nanomaterials can be designed and synthesized and further applied in desired areas.