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2,3-Dialdehyde celluloses were prepared by homogeneous periodate oxidation in an aqueous solution of methylol cellulose. Since methylol cellulose stays dissolved in water for a certain time before decomposing gradually into regenerated cellulose, the oxidation reaction progressed homogeneously throughout the period. The resulting dialdehyde cellulose achieved an oxidation level of over 90 % in as little as 12 h. Reducing the dialdehyde celluloses with NaBH resulted in water-soluble dialcohol celluloses, which have an open-ring structure at the C2-C3 position. The dialcohol celluloses were characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The T of the products decreased with increasing oxidation levels. The products might be processable, and unique tensile properties were obtained by cutting the C2-C3 bonds in the glucopyranose rings. The dialcohol celluloses prepared using a cast method yielded clear and transparent films which showed unique mechanical properties by tensile tests depending on the values of oxidation level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composite paper containing waste tea leaves was prepared to investigate the effective utilization of waste tea leaves as deodorant material. Paper containing waste green tea leaves did not have increased deodorizing ability compared with controls either against acidic odors such as hydrogen sulfide and acetic acid gases or against neutral odors such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde gases. In contrast, the paper had excellent deodorizing ability against basic odors such as ammonia and trimethylamine gases. It was observed during additional tests conducted on paper samples containing 60 wt% waste leaves of oolong tea, black tea, pu-erh tea, or hojicha, that all the samples reduced the ammonia concentration to below 1 ppm, which is the threshold concentration for olfactory recognition, within 30 min. Further, paper containing waste green tea leaves was found to decrease the odor residual rate to 5.1% in 30 min even for a waste tea leaf content of 10 wt%. The excellent deodorizing ability of the paper could be attributed to the chemical reactions between odorous substances and the catechins found in tea leaves. After the deodorization of ammonia, paper containing waste green tea leaves was found to have increased antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used various kinds of wasted tea leaves to develop composite sheets with antibacterial properties. Antibacterial tests showed that the number of viable bacterial cells for the sheet containing wasted green tea leaves was around 10:-10 CFU/ml after 18 h culture compared to 108 CFU/ml for a tea-free sheet. This indicates that cell growth was signifi cantly inhibited. For sheets containing other types of tea leaves (oolong, black, hojicha, and pu-erh), living cells were not found, indicating that these sheets had superior antibacterial effects. Living cells were also not found in sheets containing wasted black tea leaves or roasted tea leaves at a concentration of 60% by weight after 6 h cultivation. Therefore, roasting treatment of wasted green tea leaves was examined to improve the antibacterial activity of the sheet. In particular, the focus was on structural conversion of catechins by heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endurance of the antibacterial properties of compounded papers containing wasted green tea leaves needs to be examined before considering these papers for long-term use. Hence, compounded papers containing 60 wt% wasted green tea leaves were irradiated for 1–200 h using a xenon lamp to examine the effect of irradiation on antibacterial properties of the paper. Irradiation for 20 h (cumulative ultraviolet dose at 365 nm, 6.67 × 10 J/m) or longer was found to greatly increase the antibacterial activity of the paper to a level at which no bacterial cell was confirmed to be viable. The paper was also covered with various glass filters and irradiated for 1 h. Irradiation exclusively with visible rays did not significantly affect the antibacterial activity of the paper, whereas irradiation exclusively with ultraviolet rays, even for a short time, greatly increased the antibacterial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]