The manufacture of polyetheretherketone/hydroxyapatite (PEEK/HA) composites is seen as a viable approach to help enhance direct bone apposition in orthopaedic implants. A range of methods have been used to produce composites, including Selective Laser Sintering and injection moulding. Such techniques have drawbacks and lack flexibility to manufacture complex, custom-designed implants. 3D printing gets around many of the restraints and provides new opportunities for innovative solutions that are structurally suited to meet the needs of the patient. This work reports the direct 3D printing of extruded PEEK/HA composite filaments via a Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) approach. In this work samples are 3D printed by a custom modified commercial printer Ultimaker 2+ (UM2+). SEM-EDX and µCT analyses show that HA particles are evenly distributed throughout the bulk and across the surface of the native 3D printed samples, with XRD highlighting up to 50% crystallinity and crystalline domains clearly observed in SEM and HR-TEM analyses. This highlights the favourable temperature conditions during 3D printing. The yield stress and ultimate tensile strength obtained for all the samples are comparable to human femoral cortical bone. The results show how FFF 3D printing of PEEK/HA composites up to 30 wt% HA can be achieved.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym13040545 | DOI Listing |
Soft Matter
January 2025
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
The capillary break-up of complex fluid filaments occurs in many scientific and industrial applications, particularly in bio-printing where both liquid and polymerized droplets exist in the fluid. The simultaneous presence of fluid and solid particles within a carrier fluid and their interactions lead to deviations in the filament break-up from the well-established capillary breakup dynamics of single-phase liquids. To examine the significance of the dispersed phase and the internal interactions between liquid droplets and solid particles, we prepare emulsions through photopolymerization and conduct experimental investigations into the pinch-off dynamics of fluid filaments, focusing on the impact of varying concentrations of liquid droplets (before polymerization) and polymerized droplets.
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December 2024
Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, SRM Kattankulathur Dental College and Hospital, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, IND.
Lip prints, or cheiloscopy, are unique patterns of grooves and wrinkles, gaining prominence in forensic science as reliable tools for personal identification, akin to fingerprints and DNA profiling. Advances in imaging techniques have enhanced their forensic applicability. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis to explore global research trends, key contributors, and thematic developments in lip print research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Bioeng Biotechnol
January 2025
Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, United Kingdom.
Purpose: The study conducts a comparative analysis between two prominent methods for fabricating composites for bone scaffolds-the (solid) solvent method and the solvent-free (melting) method. While previous research has explored these methods individually, this study provides a direct comparison of their outcomes in terms of physicochemical properties, cytocompatibility, and mechanical strength. We also analyse their workflow and scalability potentials.
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January 2025
VERAXA Biotech GmbH, 69124 Heidelberg, Germany.
Microfluidic droplet sorting has emerged as a powerful technique for a broad spectrum of biomedical applications ranging from single cell analysis to high-throughput drug screening, biomarker detection and tissue engineering. However, the controlled and reliable retrieval of selected droplets for further off-chip analysis and processing is a significant challenge in droplet sorting, particularly in high-throughput applications with low expected hit rates. In this study, we present a microfluidic platform capable of sorting and dispensing individual droplets with minimal loss rates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Public Health
January 2025
College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
Background: The improper disposal of unwanted or unused medications is a pressing issue that can lead to drug misuse and environmental contamination. Pharmacists play a crucial role in promoting safe drug disposal by the public. This study explores pharmacists' perceptions of the causes of unwanted and unused medications, their practices, and the barriers to promoting safe medication disposal among the public in the United Arab Emirates.
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