Stress development in thin layers of lead titanate prepared by sol-gel processing was monitored by in situ laser reflectance measurements. Layers were spin coated onto silicon substrates and thermally cycled to 500 °C. The shrinkage normal to the rigid substrate was determined by in situ ellipsometry. Changes that occurred on drying and firing, which related to densification and stress developm...

Implant materials need to be highly biocompatible to avoid inflammation in clinical practice. Although biodegradable polymeric implants can eliminate the need for a second surgical intervention to remove the implant materials, they may produce acidic degradation products in vivo and cause non-bacterial inflammation. Here we show the strategy of "substrate-anchored and degradation-sensitive coat...

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a powerful technique to assemble metals, polymer, ceramics, and composite materials into 2D, 3D, intricately shaped implants. Polymers, proteins, peptides can be deposited via EPD at room temperature without affecting their chemical structures. Furthermore, being used deposit multifunctional coatings (i.e., bioactive, antibacterial, biocompatible coatings). R...

For high performance of hydrocarbon intumescent coatings, interactions between the acid source ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and inorganic fillers can be critical. In present work, low-borate concentration (ie, 1 wt% zinc borate) coatings with different ratios CaCO3 to APP were studied in an attempt map reaction mechanisms. The analysis coating was conducted using thermal insulation assessment a...

Ice accretion remains a costly, hazardous concern worldwide. Icephobic coatings reduce the adhesion between ice and a surface. However, only a handful of the icephobic systems reported to date reduce the ice adhesion sufficiently for the facile and passive removal of ice, such as under its own weight or by mild winds. Most of these icephobic surfaces have relied on sacrificial lubricants, which...

We report on the suitability of water-soluble non-polymeric electrospun cyclodextrin (CD) nanofiber templates by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to yield metal oxide tubes. To demonstrate this, watersoluble electrospun CD nanofibers were chosen as template to produce metal oxide tubes where we have tested two examples of ALD coatings, namely, Al2O3 and ZnO. After the ALD coating on the CD n...

Over the past decade the introduction of drug-eluting stents (DESs) has revolutionised the treatment of coronary artery disease. However, in recent years concern has arisen over the long-term safety and efficacy of DESs due to the occurrence of late adverse clinical events such as stent thrombosis. With this concern in mind, research and development is currently centred on increasing the long-t...

Nanotechnology has an extremely high potential to benefit society through applications in food packaging. It can make the products cheaper and the production more efficient by producing less waste and using less energy. However, any new technology carries an ethical responsibility for wise application and the recognition that there are potential unforeseen risks that may come with the tremendou...

In this study, we sought to develop strategies for improved endothelialization of a new polymer coating for vascular stents. Surface enhancement of the new poly-1,8-octanediol-co-citric acid (POC) polymer was achieved through conjugation of anti-CD34 antibody and incorporation of vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor-containing poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid microp...

The hydrothermal syntheses of hydroxyapatite and polymer composite materials were studied. The apatite precursor slurry was prepared by agitating a mixture of CaCO3 and CaHPO4·2H2O, and 3 kinds of polymeric fibers were added. The mixture was treated under hydrothermal conditions at 180 °C for 5 hours. The XRD patterns of the products showed that the products were well-crystallized hydroxyapatit...