La contaminación ambiental se ha convertido en uno de los problemas sociales más importantes a nivel internacional. Este impacto tiene como causa principal el uso excesivo de plástico, el cual demora en degradarse entre 150 a 1000 años, dependiendo del tipo de producto. En el Perú, el uso promedio de plásticos es de 30 kilogramos por persona al año. Con el fin de poder contribuir con la disminución del uso de plástico de un solo uso y ser una huella de sostenibilidad en el planeta, nace BioPack, una empresa eco-amigable que ofrece platos biodegradables a base de residuos orgánicos, dando un nuevo valor a los productos que ya no se utilizan. En el presente trabajo de investigación, se podrá apreciar el análisis y desarrollo de esta empresa en sus diferentes etapas de evolución. En primer lugar, se presenta el modelo de negocio de BioPack, a través de la herramienta del Business Model Canvas y la validación de cada uno de sus cuadrantes. Seguido de ello, se explica el desarrollo del plan de negocio, mostrando el análisis interno y externo de BioPack. A continuación, se explica el concierge, es decir, la validación de la intención de compra de los usuarios objetivos de la empresa, por medio de ventas reales. Finalmente, se presenta el desarrollo de cinco importantes planes operativos de la empresa. Uno de ellos es el Plan Financiero, uno de los más importantes, debido a que, con este, se concluyó si la empresa era viable y rentable en el tiempo. / Environmental pollution has become one of the most important social problems in the world. This impact has as its main cause the excessive use of plastic, which takes about 150 to 1000 years to degrade, depending on the type of product. In Peru the average use of plastics is 30 kilograms per person per year. In order to contribute to the decrease in the use of single-use plastic and be a mark of sustainability on the planet, BioPack is born, an eco-friendly company that offers biodegradable dishes based of organic waste, giving new value to products that are no longer used. Throughout this research paper, you will appreciate the analysis and development of this company in its different stages of evolution. First, the BioPack business model is presented, through the Business Model Canvas tool and the validation of each of its quadrants. Following this, the development of the business plan is explained, where the internal and external analysis of BioPack is shown. Then, the concierge is explained, that is the validation of the purchase intention of the objective users of the company, through real sales. Finally, the development of five important operational plans of the company is presented, such as the Financial Plan, the latter one of the most important, because, from this, it was concluded if the company was viable and profitable over time. / Trabajo de investigación

The key tool for tissue engineering is the scaffold that supports cells for new tissue growth. Materials used for creating scaffolds are based on polymeric materials, carbon nanofibers, ceramics, and metals and their alloys. In my thesis, I describe the synthesis and characterization of new biodegradable hydrogels containing biodegradable crosslinks and biodegradable nanofibrous materials intended for scaffolds for tissue engineering. I also describe the preparation of macroporous hydrogels intended for neural tissue healing. In the first portion of this thesis, I examine a hydrogel based on a pH- responsive crosslinker. This hydrogel is stable at basic and neutral pHs but is degradable at pH < 7.4. The degradation rate of this hydrogel can be tailored. This hydrogel can be utilized as an esophageal stent or as a targeted drug release system in the stomach. The second portion of this thesis focuses on a biodegradable hydrogel designed for neural tissue repair. This hydrogel is composed of copolymers of N-(2- hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide and a newly synthesized biodegradable crosslinker based on 6,6'-dithiodinicotinic acid. This hydrogel can be stored in a neutral environment without degradation. Its long-term storage capability is another great advantage for clinical applications. During storage,...

Durante muchos años la contaminación ambiental por residuos sólidos plásticos ha sido una problemática a nivel mundial, la cual en los últimos años ha tomado fuerza y conciencia en la población en cuanto a los efectos que puede causar a corto y mediano plazo. El rápido crecimiento demográfico conllevó a un mayor uso del plástico y a un aumento de residuos generando mucha basura plástica, las cuales son la amenaza para el medio ambiente. Nuestro país quien ve afectado sus mares y ríos en la actualidad ha tomado conciencia y exhortado a las diversas empresas a cambiar el plástico por productos biodegradables, compostables y/o de tela. El planteamiento de este problema nos lleva a una oportunidad de negocio de comercialización de artículos derivados de la hoja de plátano, como son: platos, y/o envases, etc., que a corto plazo representará ingresos económicos altos y un reto para nuestro proyecto por ingresar dichos productos a nuestro mercado, generando conciencia ecológica entre sus consumidores. Las hojas de plátano servirán como materia prima para la transformación de productos eco amigables, creando una cultura ecológica, generando puestos de empleo y fomentando al cuidado del planeta y medio ambiente. Por otro lado, permitirá reducir costos fijos debido a que el uso de esta vajilla evitará recurrir en gastos de horas hombre, detergentes, reposición de vajilla nueva a precios más caros. / For many years’ environmental pollution by solid plastic waste has been a problem worldwide, which in recent years has taken strength and awareness in the population in terms of the effects it can cause in the short and medium term. Rapid population growth led to greater use of plastic and an increase in waste generating much plastic waste, which are the threat to the environment. Our country, which has affected its seas and rivers, has now become aware and encouraged the various companies to change the plastic for biodegradable, compostable and / or cloth products. The approach of this problem leads us to a business opportunity to commercialize articles derived from the banana leaf, such as: dishes, and / or packaging, etc., which in the short term will represent high economic income and a challenge for our project by entering these products into our market, generating ecological awareness among its consumers. The banana leaves will serve as raw material for the transformation of eco-friendly products, creating an ecological culture, generating jobs and encouraging the care of the planet and the environment. On the other hand it will reduce fixed costs because the use of this tableware will avoid resorting to man-hours, detergents, replacement of new dishes at more expensive prices. / Trabajo de investigación

Identifying and detecting health hazards in food products, especially contaminants and toxic substances such as allergens, food toxins and agricultural residues from pesticides, remains a challenge. Increasing demand for food products and growing health consciousness necessitate rapid and accurate measurements which can be easily conducted on-site without long measurement times and high costs. Due to their ease of use, accuracy sample preparation and rapidity, biosensors have started to outcompete time-consuming lab-scale analytical devices. However, as the use of biosensors increase, a concern of the amount of plastics and synthetic polymers used in the fabrication of these biosensors rises. In this dissertation, new ways to create biodegradable and eco-friendly plant-based SERS biosensor platforms from corn protein, zein, are presented. Its higher hydrophobicity and film forming capability make zein a very suitable biopolymer for fabricating biosensors. In the first part of this dissertation, chemical crosslinking was tested to improve the surface hydrophobicity, surface roughness (using AFM), mechanical properties, kinetics of gelation and film formation of zein films, and as a result zein-film based SERS platforms with fewer defects could be fabricated. In the second part, the detection sensitivity of the zein film-based SERS platforms was increased with metallic nanoparticle decoration (gold, silver or silver-shelled-gold). The addition of all three types of nanoparticles significantly increased the SERS enhancement factors of the platforms, with silver-shelled-gold nanoparticles giving the highest enhancement factor of 10⁵. In the last part of this thesis, a novel approach was tested, where electrospun zein nanofibers decorated with metallic nanoparticles were used as a SERS biosensor platform. Due to their higher surface area-to-volume ratios, electrospun zein nanofibers gave a higher SERS enhancement factor (10⁶). This enhancement factor enabled the detection of acrylamide, a food carcinogen, with a 10⁴ times lower detection limit than nanophotonic based nanoimprinted zein, acrylamide sensor platform. Overall, this dissertation successfully shows the fabrication of biodegradable and eco-friendly SERS sensor platforms that have comparable detection sensitivities to those of non-biodegradable ones.

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Thermoplastic blends of several biodegradable polymers with lignin (L) and lignin esters were prepared by solvent casting and melt processing. Among the biodegradable thermoplastics were cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), poly-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), poly-hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV), and a starch-caprolactone blend (SCL). Lignin esters included acetate (LA), butyrate (LB), hexanoate (LH), and laurate (LL). Blend characteristics were analyzed in terms of thermal and mechanical properties. The results indicate widely different levels of interaction between two polymer constituents. Melt blended samples of CAB/LA and CAB/LB were compatible on a 15-30 nm scale when probed by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, and the glass transition temperatures of the blends followed Fox equation, whereas those of CAB/LH and CAB/LL showed distinct broad transitions on the same scale. Melt blending produced well dispersed phases whereas large phase separation evolved out of solvent castings. Crystallinity and melting points of PHB and PHBV were affected by the incorporation of lignin component, revealing some interaction between the blend constituents. Blends of SCL with L and LB revealed significant effect on crystallinity and melting temperatures of poly-caprolactone component, revealing polymer-polymer interaction between SCL and lignin components. An increased degree of crystallinity was observed in the case of higher-Tg L compared to lower Tg LB. Improvememt in modulus (and in some cases strength also) was observed in almost all blends types due to the glassy reinforcing behavior of lignin. / Master of Science

Biodegradable thermoplastic composites were prepared using high modulus lyocell fibers and cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB). Two reinforcement fiber types: fabric and continuous fiber tow were used. Fabric had advantages of uniform alignment and easier processing, but lacked the use as a unidirectional reinforcement and a continuous method of matrix application. Three different matrix application methods were screened for both fiber types. Matrix application by suspension of particles in water was not feasible because of particle sizes > 15 &micro m. The other disadvantages were high moisture absorption during matrix application and void formation during consolidation. Melt processing technique using alternating sandwich structure of fabrics and CAB films produced composites with impressive appearance, low void contents and low moisture absorption. However, SEM results revealed interfacial failure and extensive fiber pull out. Relatively larger fiber and matrix regions were present on the scale of 10^-3m. Solution prepregging technique using methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) as a solvent for CAB and continuous fibers as reinforcement produced composites with uniform matrix distribution, high tensile strengths and high modulus, and even wetting of fibers by CAB. A maximum tensile modulus of 21.5 GPa and a maximum strength of 251.7 MPa were achieved for a continuous fiber reinforced composites at a volume fraction of 66.5% compared to 0.8 GPa and 76 MPa for the matrix, respectively. Void contents and water absorption were relatively high compared to comparable carbon fiber composites. / Master of Science

El presente proyecto de negocio tiene un propósito económico-ambiental sobre la producción y comercialización de envases eco amigables, compuesto principalmente por el bagazo de caña de azúcar, para el traslado de alimentos en distintos establecimientos de comida para el sector A y B en Lima metropolitana, en la cual tenemos determinado un segmento especifico. A partir de la información obtenida, se obtuvo que 87% de los encuestados que tiene un establecimiento están dispuestos aminorar el impacto ambiental de los desechos de envases plásticos descartables que entregan los restaurantes. Actualmente, los establecimientos de pollos a la brasa, chifas, comida rápida y cafés; usan envases descartables a base de poliestireno expandido (EPS) denominado como Tecnopor, y tereftalato de polietileno (PET) sin presentar una opción eco amigable para el comensal. Por otro lado, existen esfuerzos políticos como la propuesto y aprobación del decreto supremo (D.S.) 013-2018-MINAM, los cuales buscan una reducción progresiva del plástico de un solo uso y el consumo responsable por parte de los usuarios; sin embargo, aún no hay políticas de interés a nivel nacional que desarrolle cambios en los hábitos del consumidor para promover el cuidado del medioambiente. Gracias al análisis y estudio a profundidad de todos los asuntos relacionados de forma directa a la propuesta de negocio hemos podido establecer que esta propuesta es viable tanto en la perspectiva financiera y comercial. / The present business project has an economic-environmental purpose on the production and marketing of eco-friendly packaging, consisting mainly of sugarcane bagasse, for the transfer of food in different food establishments for sector A and B in metropolitan Lima, in which we have determined a specific segment. From the information obtained, it was obtained that 87% of the respondents that has an establishment are willing to lessen the environmental impact of the waste of disposable plastic containers that the restaurants deliver. Currently, grilled chicken, chifa, fast food and coffee establishments; They use disposable containers based on expanded polystyrene (EPS) called Tecnopor, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) without presenting an eco-friendly option for consumer. On the other hand, there are political efforts such as the proposed and approval of Supreme Decree (D.S.) 013-2018-MINAM, which seek a progressive reduction of single-use plastic and responsible consumption by users; however, there are still no policies of national interest that develop changes in consumer habits to promote environmental care. Thanks to the in-depth analysis and study of all matters directly related to the business proposal, we have been able to establish that this proposal is viable both from a financial and commercial perspective. / Trabajo de investigación