The hydrophilic, conducting, biocompatible and porous scaffolds were designed using poly(2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate)-co-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-poly(ε-caprolactone) (P(HEMA-b-NIPAAm-b-CL))/polyaniline (PANI) for the osteoblast applications. To this end, the PHEMA and P(HEMA-b-NIPAAm) were synthesized via reversible addition of fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and in ...

Flow cytometry was evaluated for the first time microbiological characterisation of samples collected from surfaces stone and mortar sculptures. The study carried out on outdoor sculptures located in district Porto (Portugal), which were using swabs poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) (poly(HEMA)) cryogels as non-invasive sampling methods. use poly(HEMA) tested an alternative to swabbing due diffi...

This study investigated the effect of intraoral humidity on microtensile bond strength (μTBS) to dentin two universal adhesives applied in self-etch (SE) mode. Forty extracted human molars were selected for this study. Dentin specimens allocated into four groups, standardized and then bonded with commercial multimode adhesives, according conditions (50% relative (RH) 90% RH). Following composit...

Mussel-inspired, catechol-containing monomers are being increasingly utilised to design versatile, adhesive, functional copolymers. This work reports the synthesis and detailed characterisation of a novel terpolymer comprising dopamine methacrylamide (DMA), in order produce surface coatings capable acting as biosensors for, e.g., toxins. DMA is copolymerised with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HE...

PURPOSE To formulate conventional contact lenses that incorporate nanosphere-encapsulated antibiotic and demonstrate that the lenses provide for sustained antibacterial activity. METHODS A copolymer composed of pullulan and polycaprolactone (PCL) was used to synthesize core-shell nanospheres that encapsulated ciprofloxacin. Bactericidal activity of the nanosphere-encapsulated ciprofloxacin (n...

Thermoresponsive polymeric platforms are used to optimise drug delivery in pharmaceutical systems and bioactive medical devices. However, the practical application of these systems is compromised by their poor mechanical properties. This study describes the design of thermoresponsive semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (s-IPNs) based on cross-linked p(NIPAA) or p(NIPAA-co-HEMA) hydrogels con...

Axons are guided to their targets by a combination of haptotactic and chemotactic cues. We previously demonstrated that soluble neurotrophic factor concentration gradients guide axons in a model system. In an attempt to translate this model system to a device for implantation, our goal was to immobilize a stable neurotrophic concentration gradient for axonal (or neurite) guidance. Nerve growth ...

For review on vitamin D: Michael F Holick, Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics and Molecular Medicine. Director, Vitamin D, Skin, and Bone Research Laboratory. Programme Director General Clinical Research Unit. Director, Biologic Effects of Light Research Centre, Director, Bone Healthcare, Boston. External Review Board: A Muruganathan, Anil K Jain, Dinesh K Dhanwal, G R Sridhar, H...