OBJECTIVE The focus of tissue engineering of neocartilage has traditionally been on enhancing extracellular matrix and thus biomechanical properties. Emphasis has been placed on the enhancement of collagen type and quantity, and, concomitantly, tensile properties. The objective of this study was to improve crosslinking of the collagen network by testing the hypothesis that hypoxia could promote...

A new method for determining the extent of reaction of thermoset elastomers was developed based on equilibrium swelling and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The extent of reaction was defined based on the molecular weight between crosslinks (Mc) of a polymer sample in relation to Mc at the onset of gelation and at complete reaction. The molecular weight between crosslinks was measured using e...

We study trie elfects of threeand fourfold crosslinks on wormlike micelles. This

The primary functional role of collagen is as a supporting tissue and it is now established that the aggregated forms of the collagen monomers are stabilised to provide mechanical strength by a series of intermolecular cross-links. In order to understand the mechanical properties of collagen, it is necessary to identify and quantitatively determine the concentration of the cross-links during th...

Members of the human microbiota are increasingly being correlated to human health and disease states, but the majority of the underlying microbial metabolites that regulate host-microbe interactions remain largely unexplored. Select strains of Escherichia coli present in the human colon have been linked to the initiation of inflammation-induced colorectal cancer through an unknown small-molecul...