Polymers for medical and tissue engineering applications

Recent decades have seen great advancements in medical research into materials, both natural and synthetic, that facilitate the repair and regeneration of compromised tissues through the delivery and support of cells and/or biomolecules. Biocompatible polymeric materials have become the most heavily investigated materials used for such purposes. Naturally‐occurring and synthetic polymers, including their various composites and blends, have been successful in a range of medical applications, proving to be particularly suitable for tissue engineering (TE) approaches. The increasing advances in polymeric biomaterial research combined with the developments in manufacturing techniques have expanded capabilities in tissue engineering and other medical applications of these materials. This review will present an overview of the major classes of polymeric biomaterials, highlight their key properties, advantages, limitations and discuss their applications. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

Palladium-PEPPSI-NHC Complexes Bearing Imidazolidin-2-Ylidene Ligand: Efficient Precatalysts for the Direct C5-Arylation of N-Methylpyrrole-2-Carboxaldehyde

Catalysis Letters - The Pd-catalyzed direct arylation of pyrroles is an important research field for organic synthesis and catalysis chemistry. However, imidazolidin-2-ylidene based Pd-NHC...     

Stretchable poly(glycerol-sebacate)/β-tricalcium phosphate composites with shape recovery feature by extrusion

There has been a great interest in research towards elastomers and their composites with an attempt to obtain the desired biological and mechanical response to scaffold materials in bone tissue engineering. Composites made of ceramic-thermoplastic mixtures have been shown success to deliver the inorganic component while fail to provide replacement of an elastic protein, that is, collagen, of the target bone tissue. Thus, in order to match up with the inherent elasticity of the native tissue, it is proposed an alternative to well-known thermoplastic-containing matrices by using a poly(glycerol-sebacate) (PGS)–beta-tricalcium phosphate elastomeric composite to offer flexibility and mechanical integrity. This study reports for the first time a successful extrusion of PGS containing biodegradable composites with shape-memory feature. The resulting structures are physically and chemically characterized. In vitro cell culture performance of the obtained materials is investigated by using an MC3T3-E1 mouse preosteoblast cell line. The materials obtained in this study can be shaped into the desired size and various forms via temperature stimuli. Resulting materials have been proposed for craniofacial tissue engineering as a bone filler in which surgeons need to shape biomaterials during the surgical procedure due to the complex geometry of the bones. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 137, 48689.     

Synthesis and characterization of radiation cross-linked PVP hydrogels and investigation of its potential as an antileishmanial drug carrier

Polymer Bulletin - The aim of this study was to elaborate a suitable hydrogel to be used as drug carrier for antileishmanial treatment. Therefore, a PVP hydrogel was synthesized using gamma...     

One step densification of SDC—Na2CO3 nano-composite electrolytes for SOFC applications by cold sintering process

Sm_0.2Ce_0.8O_1.9- 30% Na₂CO₃ (Sm doped ceria (SDC)-30N) nano-composite electrolytes were densified in a single step via cold sintering process (CSP). At 200°C and 450 MPa of uniaxial pressure, samples up to 97% of their theoretical density could be obtained. The effect of processing parameters, such as temperature, uniaxial pressure, processing duration, and moisture content, on the densification of the nano-composite electrolytes was investigated. The thermal, microstructural, and electrical properties of nano-composites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, and EIS analysis. SDC crystallite sizes were found to be around 25 nm, barely coarsened after CSP by which the true nano nature of the nano-composite could be preserved. Because, by conventional processing high density values could not be attained and high processing temperatures in excess of 600°C had to be used, promoting particle coarsening. The highest total electrical conductivity was found to be 2.2 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ at 600°C, with an activation energy of 0.83 eV for SDC-30N nano-composites. The present investigation revealed that the implementation of cold sintering technique resulted in significant enhancements in the densification of nano-composite electrolytes, thereby rendering them suitable for efficient utilization in SOFC applications, as compared to the conventional production methods.     

Propolis and carnauba wax-based safflower oil oleogels as fat substitutes in cakes: Production,oxidative stability,and characterization

In this study, safflower oil oleogels were made using propolis wax and carnauba wax in three different concentrations each, and their effectiveness as a fat substitute in cake was evaluated afterward. Oleogels' oxidative stability and characterization were looked into. In oleogels, the oil binding capacity, solid fat content, and crystallization time were all assessed. The cakes underwent an examination for moisture content, texture, and sensory evaluation. Additionally, analyses of fatty acid composition, free fatty acidity, oxidative stability (peroxide value, conjugated diene-triene), 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD), and glycidyl were carried out both before and after baking in oleogels and shortening. Several of the physical, textural, and sensory qualities of the oleogel-based cakes were acceptable when compared to those of the shortening-based cakes. The general acceptability of cakes made with carnauba wax was very high and almost under control. The acceptability of cakes made with propolis wax oleogels was lower than this. The study of these criteria has shown that safflower oil-based carnauba and propolis wax oleogels can be utilized to produce high-quality, healthful cakes with a high amount of unsaturated fatty acids. Practical Applications : To replace fat phases in cake products high in saturated fatty acids and to enhance the fatty acid profile of the cakes, safflower oil-based oleogels with propolis wax and carnauba wax are a very good option. The results obtained provide useful information for the production of high-quality cakes with higher unsaturated fatty acid content, recommended for a healthier diet, with these oleogels containing different concentrations of oleogelator.     

Capacitor Applications of Nanocomposite Films for Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-co-pyrrole)/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-co-pyrrole)/Copper Oxide

Polypyrrole/multi-walled carbon nanotube, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/multi-walled carbon nanotube and their nanocomposites P(EDOT-co-Py)/multi-walled carbon nanotube and P(EDOT-co-Py)/copper (II) oxide, (CuO) in the initial feed ratio of [EDOT]₀/[Py]₀ = 1/5 were electrosynthesized on glassy carbon electrode by cyclic voltammetric method. Their characterizations were performed by cyclic voltammetric, Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion X-ray analysis, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. To the best of authors’ knowledge, the first report on polypyrrole/multi-walled carbon nanotube, PEDOT/multi-walled carbon nanotube, P(EDOT-co-Py)/multi-walled carbon nanotube and P(EDOT-co-Py)/CuO nanocomposite films were comparatively examined in 0.1 M NaClO₄/CH₃CN and in 0.1 M sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions. The highest specific capacitance for PEDOT/multi-walled carbon nanotube and polypyrrole/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite films were obtained as C_sp = 306 mF × cm^?2 for 3% multi-walled carbon nanotube and C_sp = 804 mF × cm^?2 for 1% multi-walled carbon nanotube, respectively. The highest specific capacitances were obtained as C_sp = 27.40 mF × cm^?2 and C_sp = 26.90 mF × cm^?2 for P(EDOT-co-Py)/multi-walled carbon nanotube includes the wt percent of 1% multi-walled carbon nanotube and P(EDOT-co-Py)/CuO includes the wt percent of 3% CuO, respectively. The C_sp of P(EDOT-co-Py)/CNT composite films were calculated as 9.43 and 11.49 mF × cm^?2 for 3 and 5% multi-walled carbon nanotube, respectively. In addition, The EIS results were simulated with the equivalent circuit model of R_s(C_dl1(R₁(QR₂)))(C_dl2R₃).     

HYDRODYNAMIC STUDIES IN A HALF SLOT-RECTANGULAR SPOUTED BED COLUMN

Experiments were carried out in a half slot-rectangular spouted bed to investigate the effects of slot width and lower section basal angle on column hydrodynamics. Flow regimes, minimum spouting velocity, spouting and maximum pressure drops, and maximum spoutable bed height were determined for 4 mm diameter polyethylene particles. The results are compared with those for conventional cylindrical and rectangular spouted beds. Correlations for each hydrodynamic parameter are developed and compared with equations available in the literature.     

Emulsifier‐free cationic latexes based on vinylbenzyl chloride and 2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate with adjusted hydrophilic–hydrophobic properties

Functional emulsifier‐free cationic latexes based on styrenic monomer vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) and acrylic monomer 2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMA) were successfully prepared with dual quaternary ammonium ions (36–63 mol %) on both monomer moieties in two‐stages. First, [2‐(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethylhexadecylammonium bromide monomer (DMA(C₁₆)), prepared via quaternization of DMA with 1‐bromohexadecane, was utilized as a comonomer (5–20%) as well as a surfactant in the emulsion polymerization of VBC. Next, the quaternization of chloromethyl groups in the VBC moiety in latex particles with trimethylamine and N,N‐dimethylhexadecylamine created a second type of quaternized sites on the latex particles. The percentages of the quaternary ammonium ions of the first‐stage latexes (P[VBC‐DMA(C₁₆‐x)]) and the second‐stage latexes (P[VBC(R)‐DMA(C₁₆‐x)]) were determined using bromide and chloride ion‐selective electrodes. The particles were characterized with a scanning electron microscope, Zetasizer, measuring water contact angles of their pellets. The polymer structure and the alkyl group length in their quaternary ammonium ions played an important role on the sizes, zeta potentials and hydrophilic–hydrophobic balances of the latexes. The water contact angles of the pellets of the latex particles varied from 50.3 to 109.6° depending on both the polymer structure and the alkyl group length. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42775.