Robocasting of 3D printed and sintered ceria scaffold structures with hierarchical porosity for solar thermochemical fuel production from the splitting of CO.

We report the first ever robocast (additive manufacturing/3D printing) sintered ceria scaffolds, and explore their use for the production of renewable fuels solar thermochemical fuel production (STFP, water and carbon dioxide splitting using concentrated solar energy). CeO catalyst scaffolds were fabricated as 50 mm diameter discs (struts and voids ∼500 μm), sintered at 1450 °C, with specific surface area of 1.58 m g.

Cellular Response to Sol-Gel Hybrid Materials Releasing Boron and Calcium Ions.

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-SiO-CaO-based hybrid materials prepared by sol-gel have proved to be very promising materials for tissue engineering applications and drug-delivery systems. These hybrids are biocompatible and present osteogenic and bioactive properties supporting osteoblast attachment and bone growth. The incorporation of therapeutic elements in these materials, such as boron (B) and calcium (Ca), was considered in this study as an approach to develop biomaterials capable of stimulating bone regeneration.

Cytotoxicity and bioactivity assessments for Cu and La doped high-silica sol-gel derived bioglasses: The complex interplay between additive ions revealed.

We show the influence of two functional ions (Cu and La ), incorporated into a quaternary (Si, Ca, Na, P) sol-gel derived bioactive glass system, on its particle size, cytotoxicity, and bioactivity. By doping the parent glass with the two ions in singular or combined forms, 15 doped glasses were prepared by a rapid sol-gel technique. The influence of the combined doping on the particle size and cell viability was successfully evaluated by the aid of signal-to-noise-ratio (S/N), using Taguchi analysis.

Robocasting of Cu & La doped sol-gel glass scaffolds with greatly enhanced mechanical properties: Compressive strength up to 14 MPa.

This research details the successful fabrication of scaffolds by robocasting from high silica sol-gel glass doped with Cu or La. The parent HSSGG composition within the system SiO-CaO-NaO-PO [67% Si - 24% Ca - 5% Na - 4% P (mol%)] was doped with 5 wt% Cu or La (Cu5 and La5). The paper sheds light on the importance of copper and lanthanum in improving the mechanical properties of the 3-D printed scaffolds.

Enhanced bioactivity of a rapidly-dried sol-gel derived quaternary bioglass.

Novel quaternary (67Si-24Ca-10Na-8P) glass powders were successfully synthesised by sol-gel followed by two alternative drying schedules, conventional drying (CD) and an innovative fast drying (FD) process (200 times quicker). The glasses were thermally stabilised at 550 °C, and then characterised by different complementary techniques. The samples showed very similar silica network structures, with the FD one having slightly lower degree of polymerisation than the CD sample.

Synthesis and bioactivity assessment of high silica content quaternary glasses with Ca: P ratios of 1.5 and 1.67, made by a rapid sol-gel process.

Sol-gel glasses in quaternary silica-sodium-calcium-phosphorous systems have been synthesized using a rotary evaporator for rapid drying without ageing. This novel fast drying method drastically decreases the total drying and ageing time from several weeks to only 1 hour, thus overcoming a serious drawback in sol-gel preparation procedures for bioglasses. This work investigates the bioactivity behavior of two glasses synthesized by this fast method, with Ca:P ratios of 1.

Novel route for rapid sol-gel synthesis of hydroxyapatite, avoiding ageing and using fast drying with a 50-fold to 200-fold reduction in process time.

We have developed an innovative, rapid sol-gel method of producing hydroxyapatite nanopowders that avoids the conventional lengthy ageing and drying processes (over a week), being 200 times quicker in comparison to conventional aqueous sol-gel preparation, and 50 times quicker than ethanol based sol-gel synthesis. Two different sets of experimental conditions, in terms of pH value (5.5 and 7.

PDMS-SiO2-TiO2-CaO hybrid materials - Cytocompatibility and nanoscale surface features.

Two PDMS-SiO2-TiO2-CaO porous hybrid materials were prepared using the same base composition, precursors, and solvents, but following two different sol-gel procedures, based on the authors' previous works where for the first time, in this hybrid system, calcium acetate was used as calcium source. The two different procedures resulted in monolithic materials with different structures, microstructures, and surface wettability. Even though both are highly hydrophobic (contact angles of 127.

A biocompatible hybrid material with simultaneous calcium and strontium release capability for bone tissue repair.

The increasing interest in the effect of strontium in bone tissue repair has promoted the development of bioactive materials with strontium release capability. According to literature, hybrid materials based on the system PDMS-SiO2 have been considered a plausible alternative as they present a mechanical behavior similar to the one of the human bone. The main purpose of this study was to obtain a biocompatible hybrid material with simultaneous calcium and strontium release capability.

Evaluating structural and microstructural changes of PDMS-SiO2 hybrid materials after sterilization by gamma irradiation.

PDMS-SiO2 hybrid materials obtained by sol-gel process have been extensively studied over the past years due to its promising biomedical applications namely as bone substitutes, catheters, and drug delivery devices. Regardless of the intended biomedical application, all these materials should go through a sterilization process before interfacing with a living structure. However, it is unclear whether they undergo structural and microstructural changes when subjected to sterilization by gamma irradiation.

Synthesis and electrochemical study of a hybrid structure based on PDMS-TEOS and titania nanotubes for biomedical applications.

Metallic implants and devices are widely used in the orthopedic and orthodontic clinical areas. However, several problems regarding their adhesion with the living tissues and inflammatory responses due to the release of metallic ions to the medium have been reported. The modification of the metallic surfaces and the use of biocompatible protective coatings are two approaches to solve such issues.