Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) based nanoparticles are biocompatible and biodegradable and therefore have been extensively investigated as therapeutic carriers. Here, we engineered diagnostically active PLGA nanoparticles that incorporate high payloads of nanocrystals into their core for tunable bioimaging features. We accomplished this through esterification reactions of PLGA to generate p...

This work describes flax fibre reinforced polymeric composites with recent developments. The properties of flax fibres, as well as advanced fibre treatments such as mercerization, silane treatment, acylation, peroxide treatment and coatings for the enhancement of flax/matrix incompatibility are presented. The characteristic properties and characterizations of flax composites on various polymers...

In this research, we present a simple and cost effective soft lithographic process to fabricate PLA scaffolds for tissue engineering. In which, the negative photoresist JSR THB-120N was spun on a glass subtract followed by conventional UV lithographic processes to fabricate the master to cast the PDMS elastomeric mold. A thin poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) layer was used as a mode release such that ...

There is need for bioplastics to replace some of the total petroleum plastics used in the world, and help alleviate environmental pollution. Compounding bioplastics with Polyethylene (PE) or Polylactic acid (PLA) containing a dairy-based bioplastic resulted in composites with good mechanical properties. In this study, mass ratios of a dairy-protein-based material (DBP) ranging from 0, 5, 10 and...

BACKGROUND Polylactic acid (PLA) is considered to be a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based polymers for many applications. Using cellulose fiber to reinforce PLA is of great interest recently due to its complete biodegradability and potential improvement of the mechanical performance. However, the dispersion of hydrophilic cellulose fibers in the hydrophobic polymer matrix is usually poo...

We have reported previously that daily intravenous infusions of a soluble nanobiotechnological complex, polyhemoglobin-tyrosinase [polyHb-Tyr], can suppress the growth of murine B16F10 melanoma in a mouse model. In order to avoid the need for daily intravenous injections, we have now extended this further as follows. We have prepared two types of biodegradable nanocapsules containing [polyHb-Ty...

Polylactic acid is one of the most used biopolymers due to its overall properties and biodegradability. Nevertheless, polylactic has important drawbacks such as brittleness, low thermal stability, higher cost than commodity polymers. In order overcome those disadvantages without compromising biodegradability, addition wood particles annealing on crystallinity impact strength wood-polylactic bio...