Springback effect and structural features during the drying of silica aerogels tracked by in-situ synchrotron X-ray scattering.

The springback effect during ambient pressure drying of aerogels is an interesting structural phenomenon, consisting of a severe shrinkage followed by almost complete re-expansion. The drying of gels causes shrinkage, whereas re-expansion is believed to be linked to repelling forces on the nanoscale. A multi-scale structural characterization of this significant volume change is key in controlling aerogel processing and properties.

A Martini 3 coarse-grain model for the simulation of the photopolymerizable organic phase in dental composites.

Light-hardening dental composites can be used in a large number of applications in restorative dentistry. They are based on photopolymerizable resins, which are highly relevant also in other industries like 3D printing. Much effort is therefore being put into developing and optimizing photopolymers.

Approaching Polymer Dynamics Combining Artificial Neural Networks and Elastically Collective Nonlinear Langevin Equation.

The analysis of structural relaxation dynamics of polymers gives an insight into their mechanical properties, whose characterization is used to qualify a given material for its practical scope. The dynamics are usually expressed in terms of the temperature dependence of the relaxation time, which is only available through time-consuming experimental processes following polymer synthesis. However, it would be advantageous to estimate their dynamics before synthesizing them when designing new materials.

Hybrid Epoxy-Alkyl Sol-Gel Coatings Reinforced with SiO Nanoparticles for Corrosion Protection of Anodized AZ31B Mg Alloy.

AZ31B Mg alloys were anodized at different potentials using an alkaline electrolyte. Then, an epoxy-alkyl silane sol reinforced with SiO nanoparticles was prepared by sol-gel and deposited on top of the optimized anodic layers. 1-Methyl imidazole was added to the sol to promote a partial epoxy ring aperture and improve the condensation degree of the inorganic network.

Polyoxazoline hydrogels fabricated by stereolithography.

The development of hydrogel materials in additive manufacturing displaying stiff and strong mechanical properties while maintaining high water uptake remains a great challenge. Taking advantage of the versatility of poly(oxazoline) (POx) chemistry and properties, we investigated in this article a new generation of POx hydrogels fabricated by stereolithography (SLA). A large range of photosensitive poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) resins were synthesized as hydrogel precursors for SLA photofabrication.

A disulfide-based linker for thiol-norbornene conjugation: formation and cleavage of hydrogels by the use of light.

Photolabile groups are the key components of photo-responsive polymers, dynamically tunable materials with multiple applications in materials and life sciences. They usually consist of a chromophore and a labile bond and are inherently light sensitive. An exception are disulfides, simple reversible linkages, which become photocleavable upon addition of a photoinitiator.

Hybrid spheroid microscaffolds as modular tissue units to build macro-tissue assemblies for tissue engineering.

Since its inception, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) has been relying on either scaffold-based or scaffold-free strategies. Recent reports outlined the possibility of a synergistic, convergence approach, referred to as the third TERM strategy, which could alleviate bottlenecks of the two previous options. This strategy requires the fabrication of highly porous microscaffolds, allowing to create single spheroids within each of them.

Fe-POM/attapulgite composite materials: Efficient catalysts for plastic pyrolysis.

This article describes the catalytic cracking of low-density polyethylene over attapulgite clay and iron substituted tungstophosphate/attapulgite clay (Fe-POM/attapulgite) composite materials to evaluate their suitability and performance for recycling of plastic waste into liquid fuel. The prepared catalysts enhanced the yield of liquid fuel (hydrocarbons) produced in cracking process. A maximum yield of 82% liquid oil fraction with a negligible amount of coke was obtained for 50% Fe-POM/attapulgite composite.

Synthesis and characterization of a collagen-based composite material containing selenium nanoparticles.

Multidrug-resistant bacterial strains represent an emerging global health threat and a great obstacle for bone tissue engineering. One of the major components of the extracellular matrix of the bone is a collagen protein, while selenium is an element that has antimicrobial potential, and is also important for bone metabolism and bone health. Here we represent the incorporation of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) synthesized by the green chemical reduction method into collagen gels to produce a composite material, collagen/SeNPs, with antimicrobial properties.

Multilevel structured PASS nanofiber filter with outstanding thermal stability and excellent mechanical property for high-efficiency particulate matter removal.

Particulate matter (PM) pollution from industrialization poses a great threat to people's health. Although fiber-based filters are used effectively to capture PM, the traditional filters with large diameter suffer from low filtration efficiency, high pressure drop and low temperature resistance. In this study, multilayer poly arylene sulfide sulfone (M-PASS) composite filter was designed and fabricated via electrospinning technology.

Ceramic Stereolithography of Bioactive Glasses: Influence of Resin Composition on Curing Behavior and Green Body Properties.

Herein we report on the preparation of a bioactive glass (BAG)-based photocurable resin for the additive manufacturing of BAG scaffolds with high filler loadings. The preparation of glass/ceramics resins for stereolithography with high filler loading is always a challenge, especially for fillers with a high refractive index variance. Various photocurable resin compositions with and without bioactive glass fillers have been investigated to see the influence of bioactive glass on physical properties of the resin and resulting green body.

In Vivo Biocompatibility Investigation of an Injectable Calcium Carbonate (Vaterite) as a Bone Substitute including Compositional Analysis via SEM-EDX Technology.

Injectable bone substitutes (IBS) are increasingly being used in the fields of orthopedics and maxillofacial/oral surgery. The rheological properties of IBS allow for proper and less invasive filling of bony defects. Vaterite is the most unstable crystalline polymorph of calcium carbonate and is known to be able to transform into hydroxyapatite upon contact with an organic fluid (e.

Synthesis and photoluminescence enhancement of the LiLa(MoO ) :Sm red phosphors by co-doping with Bi.

The LiLa(MoO ) :Sm and LiLa(MoO ) :Sm ,Bi phosphors were prepared using the citric-acid-fueled combustion method and the influence of concentrations of Bi dopant on LiLa(MoO ) :Sm red luminescence was investigated. The LiLa(MoO ) :Sm and LiLa(MoO ) :Sm ,Bi samples matched well with the scheelite structure and I4 /a space group and did not detect structural changes. Under an excitation of 403 nm, the prepared LiLa(MoO ) :Sm ,Bi phosphor was excited and produced orange-red emission.

High-Throughput Recognition of Tumor Cells Using Label-Free Elemental Characteristics Based on Interpretable Deep Learning.

With cancer seriously hampering the increasing life expectancy of people, developing an instant diagnostic method has become an urgent objective. In this work, we developed a label-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) method for high-throughput recognition of tumor cells. LIBS spectra were straightly collected from cells dropped on a silicon substrate and built into a deep learning model for simultaneous classification of various cancers.

Multimodal Locomotion and Active Targeted Thermal Control of Magnetic Agents for Biomedical Applications.

Magnetic microrobots can be miniaturized to a nanometric scale owing to their wireless actuation, thereby rendering them ideal for numerous biomedical applications. As a result, nowadays, there exist several mechano-electromagnetic systems for their actuation. However, magnetic actuation is not sufficient for implementation in biomedical applications, and further functionalities such as imaging and heating are required.

The Pulp Stones: Morphological Analysis in Scanning Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopic Chemical Quantification.

Pulp stones are hard tissue structures formed in the pulp of permanent and deciduous teeth. Few studies have evaluated their morphology and chemical composition. However, their formation, composition, configuration and role played in overall health status are still unclear.

Gelatin methacryloyl as environment for chondrocytes and cell delivery to superficial cartilage defects.

Cartilage damage typically starts at its surface, either due to wear or trauma. Treatment of these superficial defects is important in preventing degradation and osteoarthritis. Biomaterials currently used for deep cartilage defects lack appropriate properties for this application.

Increasing the Microfabrication Performance of Synthetic Hydrogel Precursors through Molecular Design.

Implementation of hydrogel precursors in two-photon polymerization (2PP) technology provides promising opportunities in the tissue engineering field thanks to their soft characteristics and similarity to extracellular matrix. Most of the hydrogels, however, are prone to post-fabrication deformations, leading to a mismatch between the computer-aided design and the printed structure. In the present work, we have developed novel synthetic hydrogel precursors to overcome the limitations associated with 2PP processing of conventional hydrogel precursors such as post-processing deformations and a narrow processing window.

Choosing an Effective Compatibilizer for a Virgin HDPE Rich-HDPE/PP Model Blend.

The most widely used commodity polymers in the rigid packaging industry are polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). For example, blow molding grade of HDPE as a bottle and injection molding grade of PP as a cap are often used to produce detergent bottles. Therefore, the recycled HDPE bottles from post-consumer waste include PP as a contaminant originated from PP bottle caps.

Impacts of Surface Hydrophilicity of Carboxylated Polyethersulfone Supports on the Characteristics and Permselectivity of PA-TFC Nanofiltration Membranes.

Our current study experimentally evaluates the impacts of surface hydrophilicity of supports on the properties of polyamide (PA) thin-film composite (TFC) nanofiltration (NF) membranes. A series of "carboxylated polyethersulfone" (CPES) copolymers with an increasing "molar ratio" (MR) of carboxyl units were used to prepare supports with diverse surface hydrophilicities by the classical nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) method. Then, the PA-TFC NF membranes were finely fabricated atop these supports by conventional interfacial polymerization (IP) reactions.

Photo-responsive polymeric nanocarriers for target-specific and controlled drug delivery.

Conventional drug delivery systems often have several pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic limitations related to their low efficacy and bad safety. It is because these traditional systems cannot always be selectively addressed to their therapeutic target sites. Currently, target-specific and controlled drug delivery is one of the foremost challenges in the biomedical field.

Wireless Manipulation Mechanism and Analysis for Actively Assistive Pinch Movements.

Pinching motions are important for holding and retaining objects with precision. Therefore, training exercises for the thumb and index finger are extremely important in the field of hand rehabilitation. Considering the need for training convenience, we developed a device and a driving system to assist pinching motions actively via a lightweight, simple, and wireless mechanism driven by the magnetic forces and torques generated by magnets attached to the tip of these two fingers.

Tomoscopy: Time-Resolved Tomography for Dynamic Processes in Materials.

The structure and constitution of opaque materials can be studied with X-ray imaging methods such as 3D tomography. To observe the dynamic evolution of their structure and the distribution of constituents, for example, during processing, heating, mechanical loading, etc., 3D imaging has to be fast enough.

Dataset on full width at half maximum of residual stress measurement of electron beam welded high strength structural steels (S960QL and S960M) by X-ray diffraction method.

In this paper, we presented the dataset values of full width at half maximum (FWHM) with errors at each point corresponding to the value of longitudinal and transverse residual stress along the three lines for 14 points measured in the EBW welded joints (S960QL and S960M) of the related article [1]. This dataset is used to plot figures and describes their correspondence points with the interrelation of the residual stress graphs (Fig. 4) of the article [1].