PVA-Based Films with Strontium Titanate Nanoparticles Dedicated to Wound Dressing Application.

Bioactive materials may be applied in tissue regeneration, and an example of such materials are wound dressings, which are used to accelerate skin healing, especially after trauma. Here, we proposed a novel dressing enriched by a bioactive component. The aim of our study was to prepare and characterize poly(vinyl alcohol) films modified with strontium titanate nanoparticles.

Nanostructural Characterization of Luminescent Polyvinyl Alcohol/Graphene Quantum Dots Nanocomposite Films.

This study focuses on the fabrication of polymer nanocomposite films using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/graphene quantum dots (GQDs). We investigate the relationship between the structural, thermal, and nanoscale morphological properties of these films and their photoluminescent response. Although according to X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and differential thermal analysis (DTA), the incorporation of GQDs does not significantly affect the percentage crystallinity of the PVA matrix, for a range of added GQD concentrations, atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed the formation of islands with apparent crystalline morphology on the surface of the PVA/GQD films.

Preparation and Application of Polymer Nanocomposites.

The incorporation of nanomaterials into polymer matrices opens new avenues for the development of advanced materials with unique novel properties and impact in many different fields [...

Nanostructural Arrangements and Surface Morphology on Ureasil-Polyether Films Loaded with Dexamethasone Acetate.

Ureasil-Poly(ethylene oxide) (ureasil-PEO500) and ureasil-Poly(propylene oxide) (u-PPO400) films, unloaded and loaded with dexamethasone acetate (DMA), have been investigated by carrying out atomic force microscopy (AFM), ultrasonic force microscopy (UFM), contact-angle, and drug release experiments. In addition, X-ray diffraction, small angle X-ray scattering, and infrared spectroscopy have provided essential information to understand the films' structural organization. Our results reveal that while in u-PEO500 DMA occupies sites near the ether oxygen and remains absent from the film surface, in u-PPO400 new crystalline phases are formed when DMA is loaded, which show up as ~30-100 nm in diameter rounded clusters aligned along a well-defined direction, presumably related to the one defined by the characteristic polymer ropes distinguished on the surface of the unloaded u-POP film; occasionally, larger needle-shaped DMA crystals are also observed.

Physicochemical Characterization of Bioactive Compounds in Nanocarriers.

The encapsulation of bioactive compounds is an emerging technique for finding new medicines since it provides protection against ambient degradation factors before reaching the target site. Nanotechnology provides new methods for encapsulating bioactive compounds and for drug carrier development. Nanocarriers satisfactorily impact the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion rate when compared to conventional carriers.

Ultrasonic force microscopy on poly(vinyl alcohol)/SrTiO(3) nano-perovskites hybrid films.

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Ultrasonic Force Microscopy (UFM) have been applied to the characterization of composite samples formed by SrTiO3 (STO) nanoparticles (NPs) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The morphological features of the STO NPs were much better resolved using UFM than contact-mode AFM topography. For high STO concentrations the individual STO NPs formed nanoclusters, which gathered in microaggregates.

Characterization of a new scaffold formed of polyelectrolyte complexes using atomic force and ultrasonic force microscopy.

Poly(acryloxyethyl-trimethylammonium chloride-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [poly(Q-co-H)]/ sodium alginate gel (Ca2+) [AlgNa]/poly-l-lysine [PLL] films have been prepared on a mica surface. The structural arrangement and elasticity of the polyelectrolyte complexes have been studied with nanoscale resolution using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Ultrasonic Force Microscopy (UFM). The elastic contrast on the AlgNa surface is indicative of the formation of a biopolymer network.