*2.3. Statistical Analysis*

Three principal component analyses (PCAs) using the polymers' physicochemical characteristics as variables were carried out. The tests were performed using the multivariate data analysis software CANOCO 4.5 (Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, NY, USA) [19]. The program CANODRAW 4.0 (in the Canoco package) was used for the graphical presentation.

#### **3. Results and Discussion**
