Highly Durable Superhydrophobic Polymer Foams Fabricated by Extrusion and Supercritical CO Foaming for Selective Oil Absorption.

The severe water contamination caused by oil leakage is calling for low-cost and high-performance absorbent materials for selective oil removal. In this study, a scalable green method was proposed to produce polypropylene (PP)/poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) composite foams via conventional processing techniques including twin-screw extrusion and supercritical carbon dioxide foaming. To produce the superhydrophobic foam, micro- and nanosized PTFE particles were melt blended with PP and subsequently foamed.

Highly Stretchable and Biocompatible Strain Sensors Based on Mussel-Inspired Super-Adhesive Self-Healing Hydrogels for Human Motion Monitoring.

Integrating multifunctionality such as adhesiveness, stretchability, and self-healing ability on a single hydrogel has been a challenge and is a highly desired development for various applications including electronic skin, wound dressings, and wearable devices. In this study, a novel hydrogel was synthesized by incorporating polydopamine-coated talc (PDA-talc) nanoflakes into a polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogel inspired by the natural mussel adhesive mechanism. Dopamine molecules were intercalated into talc and oxidized, which enhanced the dispersion of talc and preserved catechol groups in the hydrogel.

Shish-kebab-structured poly(ε-caprolactone) nanofibers hierarchically decorated with chitosan-poly(ε-caprolactone) copolymers for bone tissue engineering.

In this work, scaffolds with a shish-kebab (SK) structure formed by poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers and chitosan-PCL (CS-PCL) copolymers were prepared via electrospinning and subsequent crystallization for bone tissue engineering applications. The aim of this study was to introduce nanosized topography and the high biocompatibility of chitosan onto PCL nanofibers to enhance cell affinity to PCL scaffolds. CS-PCL copolymers with various ratios were synthesized, and then spontaneously crystallized as kebabs onto the electrospun PCL fibers, which acted as shishes.

Electrospinning thermoplastic polyurethane/graphene oxide scaffolds for small diameter vascular graft applications.

Fabrication of small diameter vascular grafts plays an important role in vascular tissue engineering. In this study, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/graphene oxide (GO) scaffolds were fabricated via electrospinning at different GO contents as potential candidates for small diameter vascular grafts. In terms of mechanical and surface properties, the tensile strength, Young's modulus, and hydrophilicity of the scaffolds increased with an increase of GO content while plasma treatment dramatically improved the scaffold hydrophilicity.

Electrospun aligned poly(propylene carbonate) microfibers with chitosan nanofibers as tissue engineering scaffolds.

In this study, parallel-aligned poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) microfibers with a fiber diameter of 1.48±0.42 μm were prepared by electrospinning and modified by oxygen plasma treatment.

Properties and fibroblast cellular response of soft and hard thermoplastic polyurethane electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds.

Soft and hard thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and their blends were electrospun to fabricate nanofibrous scaffolds with various properties in order to investigate the substrate property effects on cellular response. The scaffolds were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle tests, and protein absorption tests. It was found that the hard segment content in the scaffold increased with the hard TPU ratio, which resulted in improved hydrophobicity and decreased over all protein absorption.

Electrospinning of unidirectionally and orthogonally aligned thermoplastic polyurethane nanofibers: fiber orientation and cell migration.

Unidirectionally and orthogonally aligned thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanofibers were electrospun using a custom-built electrospinning device. The unidirectionally aligned fibers were collected using two parallel copper plates, and the orthogonally aligned fibers were collected using two orthogonal sets of parallel copper plates with alternate negative connections. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) were added to modify the polymer solution.

Thermoplastic polyurethane/hydroxyapatite electrospun scaffolds for bone tissue engineering: effects of polymer properties and particle size.

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds were fabricated via electrospinning. The effects of TPU properties and HA particle size on scaffold physical properties and osteoblast-like cell performance were investigated. It was found that the addition of micro-HA (mHA), which was inlayed in the fiber, decreased the electrospun fiber diameter.

Characterization of thermoplastic polyurethane/polylactic acid (TPU/PLA) tissue engineering scaffolds fabricated by microcellular injection molding.

Polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) are two kinds of biocompatible and biodegradable polymers that can be used in biomedical applications. PLA has rigid mechanical properties while TPU possesses flexible mechanical properties. Blended TPU/PLA tissue engineering scaffolds at different ratios for tunable properties were fabricated via twin screw extrusion and microcellular injection molding techniques for the first time.