Functionalization of Bacterial Cellulose Nonwoven by Poly(fluorophenol) to Improve Its Hydrophobicity and Durability.

The present study aims to improve the hydrophobicity and durability of bacterial cellulose (BC) nonwoven by functionalization with poly(fluorophenol). To this end, laccase was first entrapped onto BC and then used to polymerize the fluorophenol {4-[4-(trifluoromethyl) phenoxy] phenol} . The polymerization of fluorophenol by laccase was confirmed through H NMR and MALDI-TOF analyses.

In vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy and molecular dynamics analysis of penetration of retinyl acetate into stratum corneum.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to elucidate the behavior of retinyl acetate in penetrating human skin without the presence of enhancers by using confocal Raman spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation.

Methods: In this study, in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy was combined with molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the transdermal permeation of the aqueous suspension of retinyl acetate.

Results: Permeation was measured after 30min, and retinyl acetate was found up to 20μm deep inside the stratum corneum.

Developing scaffolds for tissue engineering using the Ca2+-induced cold gelation by an experimental design approach.

The Ca(2+)-induced cold gelation technique was found suitable to prepare highly porous biodegradable scaffolds based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) and alpha-casein from bovine milk for tissue engineering. A 2(3) full factorial design was used to study the influence and impact of each factor on the several responses of the scaffolds. In vitro degradation (ID), swelling ratio (SR), porosity (PO), and pore size (PS) as well cytotoxicity (CT) were evaluated and shown to be dependent on the pH of sample preparation and on the amount of BSA and casein present, making these scaffolds tunable structures.

Decolourisation of a synthetic textile effluent using a bacterial consortium.

In the present study we examined the performance of a thermoalkalophilic bacterial consortium, where the predominant strain was Bacillus sp. SF, in the degradation of Reactive Black 5 (RB5). We used a reactor working in continuous mode and investigated the effects of pH, hydraulic retention time (HRT) and several added salts on colour and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reductions.