We report fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) measurements of the translational diffusion of two fluorescent nanoprobes, rhodamine (R6G) and carboxytetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA), embedded in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solutions and gels. The diffusion coefficient was measured as a function of the PVA concentration and pH. Furthermore, we designed and built an optical chamber to determine ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the behaviors of rat tooth germ (TG) cells cultured on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). It was found that TG cells suspended and aggregated to form three-dimensional spheroids on PVA. Compared with traditional monolayered cells on tissue culture polystyrene, TG cell spheroids on PVA obviously increased the alkaline phosphatase activity, the degree of minerali...

Poly (vinyl alcohol)-chitosan blend films were prepared by casting the respective polymer solutions. The glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linking agent. A series of PVA-chitosan blends were prepared by varying the ratio of the constituents. Mechanical and physical properties of blended films such as tensile properties in the dry and wet states, water uptake, surface tension and contact angle ...

Antifreeze (glyco) proteins are produced by many cold-acclimatized species to enable them to survive subzero temperatures. These proteins have multiple macroscopic effects on ice crystal growth which makes them appealing for low-temperature applications-from cellular cryopreservation to food storage. Poly(vinyl alcohol) has remarkable ice recrystallization inhibition activity, but its mode of a...

The potential of polymeric nanostructures obtained by extruding polymer solutions through reusable anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) nanopores for the fabrication is investigated systematically to be able unveil impact structure on cell culturing. Thus, nanostructured Na-alginate and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) polymers as well blended alginate/PVA hydrogels are fabricated. PVA fibers with different di...

We report neutron spin-echo measurements on two types of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) gels. The first is PVA gel in a mixture of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and water with volume ratio 60/40 , and the second is PVA gel in an aqueous borax solution. The observed normalized intermediate scattering functions I (Q,t) /I (Q,0) are very different between them. The former I (Q,t) /I (Q,0) shows a nondecayi...

Novel poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofiber mats were prepared for the first time through heterogeneous saponification of electrospun poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) nanofibers. The effect of varying the saponification conditions, including temperature, time, and concentration of the alkaline solution, on the morphology of the saponified PVA fibers were evaluated by field-emission scanning electron mi...

Self-healing proton-exchange membranes (PEMs) made of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and Nafion were synthesized using the freeze-thaw method. Since PVA is more selective towards water than methanol, blend membrane successfully reduced methanol permeability improved selectivity compared to recast membrane. The addition also helped self-heal by promoting formation hydrogen bonds. In contrast pristine...

A mix of biocompatible macromolecules (poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP)) has been shown previously to enhance the physical stability of non-aqueous pharmaceutical suspensions. The aim of this work was to assess the feasibility of employing such a combination to facilitate the formulation of deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) in a metered dose inhaler (MDI) using hydrofluor...

A simple strategy is provided to construct novel supramolecular hydrogels with both self-healing and shape memory properties. Starting from achieving self-healable hydrogel based on the dynamic interactions of phenylboronic acid modified sodium alginate (Alg-PBA) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), further formation of a complex of alginate with Ca(2+) renders this hydrogel with the capability of sh...