Glycine/alginate-based piezoelectric film consisting of a single, monolithic β-glycine spherulite towards flexible and biodegradable force sensor.

Development of piezoelectric biomaterials with high piezoelectric performance, while possessing excellent flexibility, biocompatibility, and biodegradability still remains a great challenge. Herein, a flexible, biocompatible and biodegradable piezoelectric β-glycine-alginate-glycerol (Gly-Alg-Glycerol) film with excellent and sensing performance was developed. Remarkably, a single, monolithic β-glycine spherulite, instead of more commonly observed multiple spherulites, was formed in alginate matrix, thereby resulting in outstanding piezoelectric property, including high piezoelectric constant (7.

Insect cuticle-inspired design of sustainably sourced composite bioplastics with enhanced strength, toughness and stretch-strengthening behavior.

Insect cuticles that are mainly made of chitin, chitosan and proteins provide insects with rigid, stretchable and robust skins to defend harsh external environment. The insect cuticle therefore provides inspiration for engineering biomaterials with outstanding mechanical properties but also sustainability and biocompatibility. We herein propose a design of high-performance and sustainable bioplastics via introducing CPAP3-A1, a major structural protein in insect cuticles, to specifically bind to chitosan.

An All-in-One Tannic Acid-Containing Hydrogel Adhesive with High Toughness, Notch Insensitivity, Self-Healability, Tailorable Topography, and Strong, Instant, and On-Demand Underwater Adhesion.

Hydrogels that are mechanically tough and capable of strong underwater adhesion can lead to a paradigm shift in the design of adhesives for a variety of biomedical applications. We hereby innovatively develop a facile but efficient strategy to prepare hydrogel adhesives with strong and instant underwater adhesion, on-demand detachment, high toughness, notch-insensitivity, self-healability, low swelling index, and tailorable surface topography. Specifically, a polymerization lyophilization conjugation fabrication method was proposed to introduce tannic acid (TA) into the covalent network consisting of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) of substantially high molecular weight.

Hydroxyapatite/tannic acid composite coating formation based on Ti modified by TiO nanotubes.

Oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction and accumulation would hinder the osseointegration process at the bone-implant interface, leading to a higher rate of implant failure. To endow titanium (Ti) implants with antioxidant activity, we developed a coating approach mediated by tannic acid (TA)-Ca coordination complexation. A hydroxyapatite (HA)/TA composite coating was prepared, based on Ti substrates modified by anodized and annealed titanium dioxide (TiO) nanotube arrays.

Ag nanoparticles decorated electrospinning carbon nanotubes/polyamide nanofibers.

Antibacterial composite nanofibers have recently been widely applied in biomedical fields. The purpose of this study is to combine Polyamide66 (PA) with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Ag nanoparticles through electrospinning and the aqueous reduction method to synthesis Ag@CNT/PA composite nanofibers with excellent conductivity, antibacterial property and cytocompatibility. The morphology and structure of Ag@CNT/PA composite nanofibers were analyzed by a series of characterizations.

Preparation and characterization of porous hydroxyapatite/β-cyclodextrin-based polyurethane composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

In this study, novel porous scaffolds containing hydroxyapatite and β-cyclodextrin-based polyurethane were first successfully fabricated by polymerizing β-cyclodextrin with hexamethylene diisocyanate and hydroxyapatite in situ for bone tissue engineering. The physicochemical and mechanical properties as well as cytocompatibility of porous scaffolds were investigated. The results showed that polyurethane reinforced with hydroxyapatite composites had cancellous bone-like porous structure.

Effect of hydroxyapatite fillers on the mechanical properties and osteogenesis capacity of bio-based polyurethane composite scaffolds.

A newly designed hydroxyapatite-polyurethane (HA-PU) composite scaffold was prepared by polymerizing glyceride of castor oil (GCO) with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and HA as fillers. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of HA fillers on the mechanical properties and osteogenesis capacity of the composite scaffolds. The physical and biological properties of the scaffold were evaluated by SEM observation, mechanical testing, cell culture and animal experiments.