The superior biocompatibility and biodegradability of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) compared to man-made biopolymers such as polylactic acid promise huge potential in biomedical applications, especially tissue engineering (TE). Textile fiber-based TE scaffolds offer unique opportunities imitate the anisotropic, hierarchical, or strain-stiffening properties native tissues. A combination PHAs’ enh...

Silver sulfadiazine is used to prevent and treat infections of second- and third-degree burns. It kills a wide variety of bacteria. In this study silver sulfadiazine was used in gelatin based electro-spun nano-fibers with various drug to polymer ratios (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 %). SEM, EDX and FTIR analysis showed that the continuous, bead-free, fine fibers containing silver sulfadiazine as an anti...

We investigated the natural variation in silk composition and mechanical performance of the orb-weaving spider Argiope trifasciata at multiple spatial and temporal scales in order to assess how protein composition contributes to the remarkable material properties of spider dragline silk. Major ampullate silk in orb-weaving spiders consists predominantly of two proteins (MaSp1 and MaSp2) with di...

A device containing a 3D microchannel network (fabricated using sacrificial melt-spun microfibers) sandwiched between lithographically patterned microfluidic channels offers improved delivery of soluble compounds to a large volume compared to a simple stack of two microfluidic channel layers. With this improved delivery ability comes an increased fluidic resistance due to the tortuous network o...