Interfacial water and its potential role in the function of sericin against biofouling.

Silk sericin is a globular protein whose resistance against fouling is important for applications in biomaterials and water-purification membranes. Here it is shown how sericin generates a water-exclusion zone that may facilitate antifouling behavior. Negatively charged microspheres were used to mimic the surface charge and hydrophobic domains in bacteria.

Rheological characterization of new thermosensitive hydrogels formed by chitosan, glycerophosphate, and phosphorylated β-cyclodextrin.

A novel thermosensitive hydrogel consisting of phosphorylated β-cyclodextrin (βCD-PH), β-cyclodextrin (βCD) and chitosan was prepared by embedding βCD and βCD-PH, into the well-studied chitosan/αβ-glycerophosphate system (CS/αβGP). The relevance of this work is the use of βCD-PH to partially substitute αβGP as the gelling agent. The role of βCD and βCD-PH on the rheological properties of hydrogels, gelation time, and gelation temperature were investigated.

Lysine-Grafted MCM-41 Silica as an Antibacterial Biomaterial.

This paper proposes a facile strategy for the zwitterionization of bioceramics that is based on the direct incorporation of l-lysine amino acid via the ε-amino group onto mesoporous MCM-41 materials. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies of lysine-grafted MCM-41 (MCM-LYS) simultaneously showed bands at 3080 and 1540 cm and bands at 1625 and 1415 cm corresponding to -NH/COO pairs, which demonstrate the incorporation of the amino acid on the material surface keeping its zwitterionic character. Both elemental and thermogravimetric analyses showed that the amount of grafted lysine was 8 wt.

Use of Agave tequilana-lignin and zinc oxide nanoparticles for skin photoprotection.

The use of sunscreens is essential for preventing skin damage and the potential appearance of skin cancer in humans. Inorganic active components such as zinc oxide (ZnO) have been used commonly in sunscreens due to their ability to block UVA radiation. This ultraviolet (UV) protection might be enhanced to cover the UVB and UVC bands when combined with other components such as titanium dioxide (TiO2).