This study is concerned with finding an improved route to achieve superior properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced nanocomposites by designing their interface using multi-scale modeling. CNTs, widely used as fillers in nanocomposites, and polymer epoxy matrices, are coarse-grained and simulated via dissipative particle dynamics. Then, reverse-mapping of the coarse-grained models into ato...

Hydrogels are crosslinked polymers with the ability to swell in an aqueous medium. Crosslinking in hydrogels occurs by chemical or physical means depending on the polymer properties and experimental conditions. Owing to a large variety in chemical structure and crosslinking methods, various hydrogels have been prepared for various applications in pharmaceutical and biomedical fields. This chapt...

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels are able to change their physical properties such as their elastic moduli in response to changes in their environment. If biocompatible polymers are used to prepare such materials and if living cells are encapsulated within these networks, their switchability allows the cell-matrix interactions to be investigated with unprecedented consistency. In this paper, thermo...

Large efforts have been made over the last 40 years to increase the mechanical strength of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers (CFs) using a variety of chemical or physical protocols. In this paper, we report a new method to increase CFs mechanical strength using a slow heating rate during the carbonization process. This new approach increases both the carbon sp(3) bonding and the numbe...

PURPOSE Regenerative medicine will benefit from technologies capable of fabricating soft matter to have appropriate architectures and that provide the necessary physical, chemical and biological cues to recruit cells and guide their development. The goal of this report is to review an emerging set of biofabrication techniques and suggest how these techniques could be applied for the fabrication...

In this study, the effect of 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) as trifunctional monomer on thermophysical properties of synthesized poly(ethylene tetrasulfide) (PETS) is investigated. To this end, different amounts of TCP (0-40 mol. % of halide-containing monomer) were incorporated into the structure of polysulfide polymer via interfacial condensation polymerization. Measuremen...

1. Results of Collagen Crosslinking for Keratoconus ................................. 2 2. Patient Selection ................................................................................. 14 3. Patient Subjective Visual Function after Crosslinking ............................ 22 4. Corneal Shape and Topography Changes ............................................. 27 5. Higher Order Aberratio...

In this paper, we studied a new preparation method of microcapsules for entrapment of genetically engineered cells. Polyvinyl alcohol microcapsules having well defined shape, high mechanical strength, good biochemical and permeability properties were prepared by using low temperature physical cross-linking method. Comparing with currently used alginate-polylysine-alginate microcapsules, polyvin...

Abstract The paper focuses on the recycling of end-of-life tires (ELTs) by admixing ELT recyclates to rubber compounds. It deals with physical and chemical interactions resulting from admixture finely ground powder a sulfur-cured compound. Using exemplary recipes, effects viscosity increase, accelerated crosslinking stiffness decrease are quantified underlying reasons explained.

Recently a novel crosslinkable and biodegradable copolymer poly(propylene fumarateco-caprolactone) (PPF-co-PCL) has been synthesized in our lab (Figure 1). By varying copolymer composition, controllable physical properties can be achieved to satisfy various needs in tissue engineering, particularly, bone and nerve regenerations. The physical properties of the copolymers have been extensively in...