Current knowledge indicates that the molecular cross-talk between stem cells and biomaterials guides the stem cells’ fate within a tissue engineering system. In this work, we have explored the effects of the interaction between the poly(L-lactide) acid (PLLA) polymer film and human adult adipose stem cells (hASCs), focusing on the events correlating the materials’ surface characteristics and th...

Background The Nutrition Therapeutic Programme (NTP) involves the provision of food supplements at primary health clinics (PHCs) to correct nutritional deficiencies in vulnerable groups. Although previous studies have identified problems with implementing the programme at PHCs, assessments of its efficiency have been scarce. Objective To evaluate implementation of the NTP at PHCs that provide...

INTRODUCTION Adequate migration and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells is essential for regeneration of large bone defects. To achieve this, modern graft materials are becoming increasingly important. Among them, electrospun nanofiber scaffolds are a promising approach, because of their high physical porosity and potential to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). MATERIALS AND METHODS ...

Abstract Multifunctionality of electrospun polylactic acid (PLA) nonwovens was generated by the morphological design nanofibers. Coaxial fibers with a lower number average molar mass M n PLLA core and higher PDLA shell form PDLA–PLLA stereocrystals at interface, induced annealing. In tensile tests under physiological conditions, core–shell crystallinity (22% compared to 11–14%) had Young’s modu...

Photonic crystals PhCs with a degenerate band edge DBE are dispersion-tailored materials composed of a periodic arrangement of misaligned anisotropic dielectric layers and an isotropic dielectric layer. DBE PhCs yield an approximately quartic dispersion relation just below the DBE frequency rather than the conventional quadratic dispersion relation present below a regular band edge RBE . We pre...

Bioremediation has achieved acceptance as a cost-effective technique for the remediation of soils and groundwater contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC). A range of laboratory techniques to assess the biodegradability and bioavailability of PHCs are presented. Biodegradability and bioavailability are important determinants of the bioremediation performance of PHCs. Novel methods for the...

Scaffolds were fabricated from poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA)/dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) composite by indirect casting. Sodium citrate and PLLA were used to improve the mechanical properties of the DCPD scaffolds. The resulting PLLA/DCPD composite scaffold had increased diametral tensile strength and fracture energy when compared to DCPD only scaffolds (1.05 vs. 2.70 MPa and 2.53 vs. 12.67...

In this study, poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA)/trifluoroethanol (TFE) solution was electrospun to fabricate fibrous scaffolds with different fiber orientations. Random and parallel PLLA nanofiber alignments were achieved by using a metal plate and a rolling rod as the receiver, respectively. The parallel PLLA fibrous scaffolds were further hot-stretched to obtain hyperparallel PLLA fibrous scaffold...

A supercritical antisolvent (SAS) process for obtaining zidovudine-poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) solid dispersions (SDs) was used to attain a better intestinal permeation of this drug. A 3(2) factorial design was used, having as independent variables the ratio 3'-azido-2'3'-dideoxythymidine (AZT)-PLLA and temperature/pressure conditions, as dependent variables the process yield and particle macros...

Piezoelectric polymers have been widely used in a variety of applications, including tactile sensors, energy harvesting, polymer actuators, and biological devices. In this investigation, we fabricated the PLLA (poly(L-lactic Acid)-based bimorph structures for piezoelectric motor applications. First, strain measurement setup was established to measure PDLA film at different temperatures. The eff...