Improving the mechanical and thermal properties of gelatin hydrogels cross-linked by cellulose nanowhiskers.

This study demonstrates the preparation of a renewable and biocompatible hydrogel with superior mechanical properties consisting of a gelatin matrix cross-linked with oxidized cellulose nanowhiskers. We found an increased degree of chemical cross-linking (0.14-17%) between gelatin and nanowhiskers with the increased amount of aldehyde contents (0.

Synthesis of novel water-soluble sulfonated cellulose.

Water-soluble sulfonated cellulose (SC) samples were synthesized by oxidizing hardwood kraft pulp with sodium periodate followed by the sulfonation reaction with sodium bisulfite. Six levels of oxidation/sulfonation were obtained by using different mmols (0.93-4.

Synthesis and characterization of a novel chitosan/montmorillonite/hydroxyapatite nanocomposite for bone tissue engineering.

Recently, biopolymer-based nanocomposites have been replacing synthetic polymer composites for various biomedical applications. This is often because of the biocompatible and biodegradable behavior of natural polymers. Several studies have been reported pertaining to the synthesis and characterization of chitosan(chi)/montmorillonite(MMT) and chitosan (chi)/hydroxyapatite (HAP) for tissue engineering applications.

Role of coordinated metal ions on the orientation of phthalocyanine based coatings.

In the present work, we have investigated the molecular orientation of phthalocyanine films deposited on polycrystalline gold. Three films built from the following molecules are investigated: phthalocyanine (H2Pc), cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc). The films are prepared by spin coating and drop casting methods.