Publications by authors named "Veronika Melcova"

The improved production of a polar curable monomer, isosorbide monomethacrylate (MISD), with methacrylic anhydride (MAAH) as an acyl donor, was performed. A sustainable and cheap catalyst, potassium acetate (CHCOOK), was used for a solvent-free synthesis, requiring only the equimolar amount of reagents (no excess). The production included the quantitative separation of the secondary product, methacrylic acid (MAA), preventing the reaction batch from the purification process (neutralization of MAA), and gaining a usable reagent.

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In the presented work, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-PHB-based composite blends for bone medical applications and tissue engineering are prepared and characterized. PHB used for the work was in two cases commercial and, in one case, was extracted by the chloroform-free route. PHB was then blended with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) or polycaprolactone (PCL) and plasticized by oligomeric adipate ester (Syncroflex, SN).

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Methacrylated vegetable oils are promising bio-based polymerizable precursors for potential material application in several fields, such as coating technologies or 3D printing. The reactants' availability for their production is an enormous advantage, but the modified oils also exhibit high apparent viscosity values and poor mechanical properties. This work focuses on a way to produce oil-based polymerizable material precursors in a mixture with a viscosity modifier in a one-batch process.

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In the presented work, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-PHB-based composites for 3D printing as bio-sourced and biodegradable alternatives to synthetic plastics are characterized. The PHB matrix was modified by polylactide (PLA) and plasticized by tributyl citrate. Kaolin particles were used as a filler.

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Films prepared from poly(3-hydroxybutyrate--4-hydroxybutyrate) copolymers produced by sp. H1 using an automatic film applicator were homogeneous and had a defined thickness, which allowed a detailed study of physicochemical properties. Their properties were compared with those of a poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) homopolymer film prepared by the same procedure, which proved to be significantly more crystalline by DSC and XRD.

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Tissue engineering is a current trend in the regenerative medicine putting pressure on scientists to develop highly functional materials and methods for scaffolds' preparation. In this paper, the calibrated filaments for Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) based on plasticized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(d,l-lactide) 70/30 blend modified with tricalcium phosphate bioceramics were prepared. Two different plasticizers, Citroflex (-Butyryl tri--hexyl citrate) and Syncroflex (oligomeric adipate ester), both used in the amount of 12 wt%, were compared.

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This paper investigates the effect of plasticizer structure on especially the printability and mechanical and thermal properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-poly(lactic acid)-plasticizer biodegradable blends. Three plasticizers, acetyl tris(2-ethylhexyl) citrate, tris(2-ethylhexyl) citrate, and poly(ethylene glycol)bis(2-ethylhexanoate), were first checked whether they were miscible with poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-poly(lactic acid) (PHB-PLA) blends using a kneading machine. PHB-PLA-plasticizer blends of 60-25-15 (wt.

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This paper explores the influence of selected commercial plasticizers structure, which are based on esters of citric acid, on mechanical and thermal properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(lactic acid)/Plasticizer biodegradable blends. These plasticizers were first tested with respect to their miscibility with Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(lactic acid) (PHB/PLA) blends using a kneading machine. PHB/PLA/plasticizer blends in the weight ratio (wt %) of 60/25/15 were then prepared by single screw and corotating meshing twin screw extruders in the form of filament for further three-dimensional (3D) printing.

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