The unique physical, chemical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes make them attractive for a variety of biomedical applications. Carbon nanotubes have been used to modify conventional biomedical materials to enhance mechanical properties, biocompatibility, or to impart other functionalities. New multifunctional composite materials using carbon nanotubes have been developed by combinin...

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news & views limits cell spreading 5 , and prompts adhesion sites to align and provide signals that must be distinct from those received from a non-confined ligand 2. Cell collectives also sense open edges via the reduced impact of auto-inhibitory activity, such as the release of the cytokine TGF-β between cells 6 , or via the lack of cell–cell junctions mediated by cadherins or other adhesion ...

Dextran is a bacterial polysaccharide consisting essentially of -1,6 linked glucopyranoside residues with a small percentage of -1,3 linked residues. In the first part of the chapter we discuss methodologies to chemically modify dextran. Taking into account our previous work, we focus our attention in the oxidation of dextran and in the transesterification of dextran by enzymatic means. We disc...

Superhydrophobic materials, with surfaces possessing permanent or metastable non-wetted states, are of interest for a number of biomedical and industrial applications. Here we describe how electrospinning or electrospraying a polymer mixture containing a biodegradable, biocompatible aliphatic polyester (e.g., polycaprolactone and poly(lactide-co-glycolide)), as the major component, doped with a...