As people in the 21st century become increasingly environmentally aware, environmentally friendly products have come into focus. As such, environmentally friendly textiles and eco-textiles have become an international trend in research and development. Poly(lactic acid) fiber, which is biodegradable, holds much promise, but it is difficult to deep dye. This study used chitosan, succine anhydrid...

OBJECTIVE Disinfection procedures often cause deterioration in a maxillofacial prosthesis. Color and hardness alterations could lead to a replacement of the prosthesis. MATERIAL AND METHODS An experimental chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) and a commercial polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) sample were treated with four different disinfection procedures for a period which simulates 1 year of clinical ...

BACKGROUND To treat total knee arthroplasty, 2-stage revision, including removal and reimplantation, remains the standard treatment for the infected arthroplasty. Articulating cement spacer has been shown to provide better functional results after reimplantation. However, its cost as a manufactured product is not always easily affordable and the choice of antibiotics is not flexible either. The...

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to synthesize two new siloxane-methacrylate (SM) monomers for application in dentin adhesives and to investigate the influence of different functionality of the siloxane-containing monomers on the adhesive photopolymerization, water sorption, and mechanical properties. METHODS Two siloxane-methacrylate monomers (SM1 and SM2) with four and eight met...

Trace detection of illicit drugs challenges the scientific community to develop improved sensitivity and selectivity in sampling and detection techniques. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is one of the prominent trace detectors for illicit drugs and explosives, mostly due to its portability, high sensitivity and fast analysis. Current sampling methods for IMS rely on wiping suspected surfaces or...

INTRODUCTION: One of the great challenges for both basic science study and tissue engineering is constructing a 3-D structure that closely mimics the in vivo microenvironments of cells . In bone tissue, osteocytes form the most abundant cell type, and are suggested as mechanosensor cells, which translate mechanical stimuli into downstream biochemical signals that further regulate bone remodelin...

Material properties of siloxanes are governed by the inherently low basicity of the siloxane linkage Si-O-Si and thus its inability to form hydrogen bonds with polar molecules like water. Due to the importance of the linkage in minerals (e.g. quartz, feldspars) and polymers (e.g. silicones), it is a point of major interest to find ways to tune the properties of the siloxane linkage to develop n...

It is becoming increasingly clear that cells are remarkably sensitive to the biophysical cues of their microenvironment and that these cues play a significant role in influencing their behaviors. In this study, we investigated whether the early pre-implantation embryo is sensitive to mechanical cues, i.e. the elasticity of the culture environment. To test this, we have developed a new embryo cu...

Red blood cells play a crucial role in the local regulation of oxygen supply in the microcirculation through the oxygen dependent release of ATP. Since red blood cells serve as an oxygen sensor for the circulatory system, the dynamics of ATP release determine the effectiveness of red blood cells to relate the oxygen levels to the vessels. Previous work has focused on the feasibility of developi...

PURPOSE Autoclaves and UV sterilizers have been commonly used to prevent cross-infections between dental patients and dental instruments or materials contaminated by saliva and blood. To develop a dental sterilizer which can sterilize most materials, such as metals, rubbers, and plastics, the sterilization effect of an atmospheric pressure non-thermal air plasma device was evaluated. MATERIAL...