Multicellular fibres formed by Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) are attracting interest because of their potential application as degradable biomaterials. However, mechanical properties of individual fibres remain unknown because of their small dimensions. Herein, a new approach is developed to investigate the tensile properties of individual fibres with an average diameter of 0.7 μm and a lengt...

Collagen is the main component of structural mammalian tissues. In tendons, collagen is arranged into fibrils with diameters ranging from 30 nm to 500 nm. These fibrils are further assembled into fibres several micrometers in diameter. Upon excessive thermal or mechanical stress, damage may occur in tendons at all levels of the structural hierarchy. At the fibril level, reported damage includes...

Phosphate glass fibres with composition 50P(2)O(5)-30CaO-9Na(2)O-3SiO(2)-3MgO-(5-x)K(2)O-xTiO(2)mol.% (x=0, 2.5, 5, respectively coded as TiPS(0), TiPS(2.5) and TiPS(5)) were drawn following the preform drawing approach. A 20-day solubility test in bi-distilled water was carried out on glass fibres with different compositions and diameters ranging between 25 and 82 μm. The results show that the...

Carbon fibres show great potential as multifunctional negative electrode for novel structural battery composites – a rechargeable electrochemical cell with function. The performance of carbon materials can be enhanced nitrogen heteroatoms, which conveniently are inherent in polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based fibres. However, it is not fully understood how the governed by microstructure and compositi...

This work is focused on the modification of interphase zone in short flax fibres / polypropylene (PP) composites by a bio-inspired called “nanostructuration” that uses adsorption biomass by-products, i.e. cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and xyloglucan (XG), to create hierarchical fibres. The wettability interfacial adhesion study reveals strong decrease polar character CNC modified fibres, hence i...

The objective of this work was to study the electrical anisotropy behaviour of beef meat during maturation for the purpose of early assessment of meat ageing. Early assessment of beef meat fibre strength allows customised ageing of raw materials and optimisation of refrigerated storage times. During the maturation phase connection proteins break down, causing structural changes, fragmentation o...

There is an urgent need for the research of the close and enigmatic relationship between nerve biomechanics and the development of neuropathies. Here we present a research strategy based on the application atomic force and confocal microscopy for simultaneous nerve biomechanics and integrity investigations. Using wild-type and hereditary neuropathy mouse models, we reveal surprising mechanical ...

The wood micro cellular structural constituents of five lesser used wood species in Nigeria among which are Butyrospermum paradoxum, Albizia zygia, Lanea acida, Parkia felicoida and Isoberlina doka are determined. Fibre cells accounts for 54% of the total wood micro cellular constituents of B. paradoxum while vessel, axial and ray parenchyma cells make up the rest of the wood micro structural c...

Alternative paradigm for spatial and fibre-type selective vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) was developed using realistic structural topography and tested in an isolated segment of a porcine cervical left vagus nerve (LVN). A spiral cuff (cuff) containing a matrix of ninety-nine electrodes was developed for selective VNS. A quasitrapezoidal stimulating pulse (stimulus) was applied to the LVN via an...