Effect of Cellulose Nanofibers' Structure and Incorporation Route in Waterborne Polyurethane-Urea Based Nanocomposite Inks.

In order to continue the development of inks valid for cold extrusion 3D printing, waterborne, polyurethane-urea (WBPUU) based inks with cellulose nanofibers (CNF), as a rheological modulator, were prepared by two incorporation methods, and , in which the CNF were added after and during the synthesis process, respectively. Moreover, in order to improve the affinity of the reinforcement with the matrix, modified CNF was also employed. In the preparation, interactions between CNFs and water prevail over interactions between CNFs and WBPUU nanoparticles, resulting in strong gel-like structures.

Cellulose and Graphene Based Polyurethane Nanocomposites for FDM 3D Printing: Filament Properties and Printability.

3D printing has exponentially grown in popularity due to the personalization of each printed part it offers, making it extremely beneficial for the very demanding biomedical industry. This technique has been extensively developed and optimized and the advances that now reside in the development of new materials suitable for 3D printing, which may open the door to new applications. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is the most commonly used 3D printing technique.

Observational pilot study of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome treated with Nucleo CMP Forte™.

Aim: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a very common entrapment neuropathy characterized by pain and paresthesia in the territory of the median nerve. Although this syndrome has a considerable impact on the patient's quality of life, its medical treatment is far from optimal.

Material & Methods: We performed an observational study to evaluate Nucleo CMP Forte in patients with electromyography-confirmed, mild-moderate CTS.

Unique Combination of Surface Energy and Lewis Acid-Base Characteristics of Superhydrophobic Cellulose Fibers.

Cellulose fibers were first functionalized on their surface by silanization with trichloromethylsilane in an optimized gas-solid reaction, and the occurrence of the reaction was assessed using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Then, the changes in the physicochemical surface properties of the material were thoroughly assessed using inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as surface specific tools. A very surprising combination of results was obtained: (i) the dispersive component of the surface energy was found to decrease from 42 to 14 mJ m (at 40 °C), the latter figure representing one of the lowest values ever reported (by IGC) for cellulose-based materials, and (ii) both Lewis acidic and Lewis basic characters of the fiber surface, as measured by the injection into the IGC columns of 15 different vapor probes, significantly increased with silanization.

Films prepared from electrosterically stabilized nanocrystalline cellulose.

Electrosterically stabilized nanocrystalline cellulose (ENCC) was modified in three ways: (1) the hydroxyl groups on C2 and C3 of glucose repeat units of ENCC were converted to aldehyde groups by periodate oxidation to various extents; (2) the carboxyl groups in the sodium form on ENCC were converted to the acid form by treating them with an acid-type ion-exchange resin; and (3) ENCC was cross-linked in two different ways by employing adipic dihydrazide as a cross-linker and water-soluble 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylaminopropyl)] carbodiimide as a carboxyl-activating agent. Films were prepared from these modified ENCC suspensions by vacuum filtration. The effects of these three modifications on the properties of films were investigated by a variety of techniques, including UV-visible spectroscopy, a tensile test, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), and contact angle (CA) studies.