Atmospheric pressure non equilibrium plasma treatments have been implemented to produce solvent-free Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) scaffolds, to improve biocompatibility of PLLA mats and to increase electrolyte uptake of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) separators for lithium batteries. It has been observed that plasma treatments are a suitable way to improve polymeric solution electrospinnability,...

The formation of structures in poly(lactic acid) has been investigated with respect to producing areas of regular, superficial features with dimensions comparable to those of cells or biological macromolecules. Nanoembossing, a novel method of pattern replication in polymers, has been used for the production of features ranging from tens of micrometers, covering areas up to 1 cm(2), down to hun...

Lactic acid, which can be obtained through fermentation, is an interesting compound because it can be utilized in different fields, such as in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries as a bio-based molecule for bio-refinery. In addition, lactic acid has recently gained more interest due to the possibility of manufacturing poly(lactic acid), a green polymer that can replace petroleum-de...

In this work, an influence of bovine serum albumin proteins grafting on the surface properties of plasma-treated polyethylene and poly-l-lactic acid was studied. The interaction of the vascular smooth muscle cells with the modified polymer surface was determined. The surface properties were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, nano-LC-ESI-Q-TOF mass spectr...

Biomaterial and scaffold development underpins the advancement of tissue engineering. Traditional scaffolds based on biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactic acid) and poly(lactic acidco-glycolic acid) are weak and non-osteoconductive. For bone tissue engineering, polymer-based composite scaffolds containing bioceramics such as hydroxyapatite can be produced and used. The bioceramics can be e...

A new FTIR technique was developed for characterizing thin polymer films used in combinatorial materials science. Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy mapping technique was used to determine the composition of polymer blend gradients. Composition gradients were made from poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PDLLA) in the form of thin films (6 cm × 2 cm) deposited on IR ...