Polylactide (PLA) is the oldest and potentially one of the most interesting and useful biodegradable man-made polymers because of its renewable origin, controlled synthesis, good mechanical properties, and inherent biocompatibility. The blending of PLA with functional nanoparticles can yield a new class of hybrid materials, commonly known as bionanocomposites, where 1-5% nanoparticles by volume...

Functional bionanocomposites based on two layered silicates, the commercial montmorillonite known as Cloisite®Na and a natural bentonite from Algeria, were prepared by intercalation of cationic starch, synthesized with two different degrees of substitution, 0.85 and 0.55. After characterization of the prepared bionanocomposites by XRD and zeta potential measurements, batch studies were conducte...

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a biocompatible, transparent hydrogel with physical strength that makes it promising as a material for an artificial cornea. In our previous study, type I collagen was immobilized onto PVA (PVA-COL) as a possible artificial cornea scaffold that can sustain a functional corneal epithelium. The cellular adhesiveness of PVA in vitro was improved by collagen immobilizatio...

Blends of collagen dispersion (COL) with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in different weight ratios were investigated by oscillatory rheometry, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that even with 80% of PVA, the COL/PVA blends behaved more like collagen dispersion than pure PVA solution in the dynamic thermal and frequency processing, for instance, a ...

Measurement of the increase in digital pulse volume amplitude (PVA) during reactive hyperemia relative to baseline (PVA-RH) is being applied widely as a convenient test of nitric oxide bioavailability. However, evidence linking digital PVA-RH to nitric oxide is currently lacking. Accordingly, we investigated whether nitric oxide is responsible for the increase in digital PVA. During reactive hy...

Traditional food packaging systems help reduce wastage, but they also produce environmental impacts when not properly disposed of. Bio-based polymers are a promising solution to overcome these impacts, have poor barrier and mechanical properties. This work evaluates two strategies improve properties in pectin films: the incorporation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) or sodium montmorillonite (MM...

This chapter gives an introduction on the general aspects of cellulose, natural rubber and their bionanocomposites. A brief literature review on what has been done so far on the cellulose, natural rubber nanocomposites research area is also included in this chapter. This chapter also describes the structure, properties and characterization of cellulose as a biobased nanomaterial in natural rubber.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) containing the fixative mercuric chloride is considered the "gold standard" for the fixation of ova and parasites in the preparation of permanently stained smears of stool specimens. However, mercuric chloride is potentially hazardous to laboratory personnel and presents disposal problems. We compared three new alternative, nontoxic fixatives with PVA, analyzing ease of ...

Background. Left ventricular mechanical efficiency is one of the most important measures of left ventricular pump performance. Several clinical studies, however, have shown that mechanical efficiency does not fall substantially as the heart fails. To clarify the insensitivity of mechanical efficiency to the change in pump performance, we analyzed human left ventricular mechanical efficiency, ap...