BACKGROUND The combination of biliary stent with photodynamic and chemotherapy seemed to be a beneficial palliative treatment of unresectable cholangiocarcinoma. However, by intravenous delivery to the target tumor the distribution of the drug had its limitations and caused serious side effect on non-target organs. Therefore, in this study, we are going to develop a localized eluting stent, nam...

In this article we describe the preparation and characterization of a water-triggered shape memory polymer (SMP) family, PCL–PEG based thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs). Upon immersion in water, water molecules selectively swelled the hydrophilic PEG domains, resulting in durable hydrogels with strain-to-failure values greater than 700%. Dry samples fixed in a temporary shape underwent watertr...

The purpose of this study was to answer 2 questions: Does the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) produce femoral rollback in a single-design, cruciate-sparing total knee arthroplasty (TKA)? Does the PCL prevent posterior tibial displacement when it is retained after a single-design, cruciate-sparing TKA? Knee kinematics and limits of motion were measured with the knees in the following states: (...

Experimental/theoretical analyses have already been performed on poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) loaded with organic-inorganic fillers (PCL/TiO₂ and PCL/ZrO₂) to find a correlation between the results from the small punch test and Young's modulus of the materials. PCL loaded with Ti2 (PCL = 12, TiO₂ = 88 wt %) and Zr2 (PCL = 12, ZrO₂ = 88 wt %) hybrid fillers showed better performances than those ob...

Surgical resection is the primary mode for glioma treatment, while gross total resection is difficult to achieve, due to the invasiveness of the gliomas. Meanwhile, the tumor-resection region is closely related to survival rate and life quality. Therefore, we developed optical/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) bifunctional targeted micelles for glioma so as to delineate the glioma location befor...

Nanoparticle shape can improve drug delivery, based in part on recent fi ndings that fl exible, worm-like nanocarriers (Worms) increase the amount of drug delivered to tumors and shrink the tumors more effectively than spherical micelles (Spheres). Here, all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to build a rational coarse grain (rCG) model that helps clarify shape-dependent effects ...

Biodegradable materials have attracted considerable attention to be applied in maintaining food quality and safety due their ability of a sustained release antimicrobial agents. In this study, cinnamon essential oil (CEO) loaded poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (?-caprolactone) (PEG-PCL) micelles (CEO-micelles) were prepared for humidity-controlled CEO preservation strawberry quality. The CEO-micell...