Publications by authors named "Kristina Klinkhammer"

Smart textiles have properties that outperform the conventional protective and decorative function of textiles. By integrating special sensors into clothing, body functions and movements can be detected. Piezoresistive sensors measure a change in electrical resistance due to the application of force in the form of stretching, pressure or bending.

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The best available treatment of peripheral nerve lesions involves transplantation of an autologous nerve. This approach, however, entails sensory deficits at the donor site and requires additional surgery. Such limitations have motivated the search for a bioengineering solution to design artificial implants.

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Microfibers produced with electrospinning have recently been used in tissue engineering. In the development of artificial implants for nerve regeneration they are of particular interest as guidance structures for cell migration and axonal growth. Using electrospinning we produced parallel-orientated biocompatible fibers in the submicron range consisting of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) and star shaped NCO-poly(ethylene glycol)-stat-poly(propylene glycol) (sPEG).

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Novel water-insoluble, and reduction-responsive nonwoven scaffolds were fabricated from gamma-PGA and tested in cell culture. An electrospinning method was developed to produce scaffolds of fibers with diameters of 0.05-0.

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Aim: Electrospun nanofibers represent potent guidance substrates for nervous tissue repair. Development of nanofiber-based scaffolds for CNS repair requires, as a first step, an understanding of appropriate neural cell type-substrate interactions.

Materials & Methods: Astrocyte-nanofiber interactions (e.

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Recent in vitro studies with electrospun nanofibers have used a range of techniques. The in vitro system presented in this article describes electrospun fibers deposited onto chemically reactive substrates to provide fiber adherence and surface chemistry control of the substrate. Fibers of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) or of a blend of PCL and collagen type I (C/PCL) were electrospun directly onto collectors coated with isocyanate-terminated star (polyethylene glycol) (sPEG).

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Electrospun fibers that are protein resistant and functionalized with bioactive signals were produced by solution electrospinning amphiphilic block copolymers. Poly (ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D,L-lactide) (PEG-b-PDLLA) was synthesized in two steps, with a PEG segment of 10 kDa, while the PDLLA block ranged from 20 to 60 kDa. Depending on the PEG and PDLLA segment ratio, as well as solvent selection, the hydrophilicity and protein adsorption could be altered on the electrospun mesh.

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Our long-term goal is to develop an artificial implant as a conduit for axonal regeneration after peripheral nerve injury. In this study, biodegradable, aligned poly-epsilon-caprolactone (PCL) and collagen/PCL (C/PCL) nanofibers designed as guidance structures were produced by electrospinning and tested in cell culture assays. We compared fibers of 100% PCL with fibers consisting of a 25:75% C/PCL blend.

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The electrospinning of polymer melts can offer an advantage over solution electrospinning, in the development of layered tissue constructs for tissue engineering. Melt electrospinning does not require a solvent, of which many are cytotoxic in nature, and the use of nonwater soluble polymers allows the collection of fibers on water or onto cells. In this article, melt electrospinning of a blend of PEO-block-PCL with PCL was performed with in vitro cultured fibroblasts as the collection target.

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