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Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials: Preparation, Characterization and Applications (Second Volume)

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomaterials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 9236

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Physics of Polymers and Polymeric Materials, Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, 41 A Grigore Ghica Voda Alley, 700487 Iasi, Romania
Interests: surface modification of polymers; DC and RF plasma; biomaterials; polymer composites; chemical and morphological characterization of polymers
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Further to the success of the Special Issue of Materials on “Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials: Preparation, Characterization and Applications”, we are delighted to open a new Special Issue entitled “Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials: Preparation, Characterization and Applications (Second Volume)”.

The rapidly growing field of biomedical engineering has been driven by advances in materials preparation and characterization techniques for target applications. The similarities between natural tissues, proteins and polymers (either synthetic or natural) with their long-chain architecture lead to the reasonable conclusion that polymers are better representations of natural tissue response compared with metals and ceramics, for example. For these reasons, polymers have attracted a lot of interest, even if their industrial application is prevented by their poor mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of innovative and advanced biomaterials based on natural or synthetic polymers with natural and synthetic additives, both inorganic and organic, in order to provide an improved performance, in terms of cell adhesion, mechanical reinforcement, and antioxidant and antimicrobial features and to elicit specific biological responses, or to regenerate tissue or organs.

The present Special Issue on “Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials: Preparation, Characterization and Applications (Second Volume)” welcomes contributions in the form of full articles, short communications, or review articles in topics related to the design, synthesis, characterization, surface modification and processing of multifunctional polymeric and composite biomaterials for use in different biomedical applications, including but not limited to medical implants and devices, drug delivery, tissue engineering and biosensors. This Special Issue represents a good opportunity for chemists, biologists, physicists, pharmacologists and physicians to put together different aspects of their research that aim to control complex and tunable chemical, mechanical and biological functions in vitro and in vivo.

Dr. Magdalena Aflori
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biopolymers
  • biomimetic polymers
  • scaffolds
  • porous polymers
  • composite materials
  • hydrogels
  • extracellular matrices
  • surface modification
  • tissue engineering
  • micropatterns
  • regenerative medicine
  • cell adhesion
  • cell proliferation
  • cell–material interaction
  • biocompatibility
  • biodegradation
  • antimicrobial

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 2904 KiB  
Article
Composite Materials Based on Gelatin and Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for MRI Accuracy
by Mioara Drobota, Stelian Vlad, Luiza Madalina Gradinaru, Alexandra Bargan, Iulian Radu, Maria Butnaru, Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu, Romeo Cristian Ciobanu and Magdalena Aflori
Materials 2022, 15(10), 3479; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15103479 - 12 May 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2744
Abstract
The majority of recent studies have focused on obtaining MRI materials for internal use. However, this study focuses on a straightforward method for preparing gelatin-based materials with iron oxide nanoparticles (G–Fe2O3 and G–Fe3O4) for external use. [...] Read more.
The majority of recent studies have focused on obtaining MRI materials for internal use. However, this study focuses on a straightforward method for preparing gelatin-based materials with iron oxide nanoparticles (G–Fe2O3 and G–Fe3O4) for external use. The newly obtained materials must be precisely tuned to match the requirements and usage situation because they will be in close touch with human/animal skin. The biocompatible structures formed by gelatin, tannic acid, and iron oxide nanoparticles were investigated by using FTIR spectroscopy, SEM-EDAX analysis, and contact angle methods. The physico-chemical properties were obtained by using mechanical investigations, dynamic vapor sorption analysis, and bulk magnetic determination. The size and shape of iron oxide nanoparticles dictates the magnetic behavior of the gelatin-based samples. The magnetization curves revealed a typical S-shaped superparamagnetic behavior which is evidence of improved MRI image accuracy. In addition, the MTT assay was used to demonstrate the non-toxicity of the samples, and the antibacterial test confirmed satisfactory findings for all G-based materials. Full article
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22 pages, 5967 KiB  
Article
Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Plant Extracts Films: Preparation, Surface Characterization and Antibacterial Studies against Gram Positive and Gram Negative Bacteria
by Mihaela Barbălată-Mândru, Diana Serbezeanu, Maria Butnaru, Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu, Alexandru Alin Enache and Magdalena Aflori
Materials 2022, 15(7), 2493; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15072493 - 28 Mar 2022
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3623
Abstract
In this study, we aim to obtain biomaterials with antibacterial properties by combining poly(vinyl alcohol) with the extracts obtained from various selected plants from Romania. Natural herbal extracts of freshly picked flowers of the lavender plant (Lavandula angustifolia) and leaves of [...] Read more.
In this study, we aim to obtain biomaterials with antibacterial properties by combining poly(vinyl alcohol) with the extracts obtained from various selected plants from Romania. Natural herbal extracts of freshly picked flowers of the lavender plant (Lavandula angustifolia) and leaves of the peppermint plant (Mentha piperita), hemp plant (Cannabis sativa L.), verbena plant (Verbena officinalis) and sage plant (Salvia officinalis folium) were selected after an intensive analyzing of diverse medicinal plants often used as antibacterial and healing agents from the country flora. The plant extracts were characterized by different methods such as totals of phenols and flavonoids content and UV-is spectroscopy. The highest amounts of the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, respectively, were recorded for Salvia officinalis. Moreover, the obtained films of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) loaded with plant extracts were studied concerning the surface properties and their antibacterial or cytotoxicity activity. The Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared analysis described the successfully incorporation of each plant extract in the poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix, while the profilometry demonstrated the enhanced surface properties. The results showed that the plant extracts conferred significant antibacterial effects to films toward Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and are not toxic against fibroblastic cells from the rabbit. Full article
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18 pages, 4025 KiB  
Article
Tuning Alginate Microparticle Size via Atomization of Non-Newtonian Fluids
by Beatriz Arauzo, Álvaro González-Garcinuño, Antonio Tabernero, Maria Pilar Lobera, Jesus Santamaria and Eva María Martín del Valle
Materials 2021, 14(24), 7601; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247601 - 10 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2308
Abstract
A new approach based on the atomization of non-Newtonian fluids has been proposed to produce microparticles for a potential inhalation route. In particular, different solutions of alginate were atomized on baths of different crosslinkers, piperazine and barium chloride, obtaining microparticles around 5 and [...] Read more.
A new approach based on the atomization of non-Newtonian fluids has been proposed to produce microparticles for a potential inhalation route. In particular, different solutions of alginate were atomized on baths of different crosslinkers, piperazine and barium chloride, obtaining microparticles around 5 and 40 microns, respectively. These results were explained as a consequence of the different viscoelastic properties, since oscillatory analysis indicated that the formed hydrogel beads with barium chloride had a higher storage modulus (1000 Pa) than the piperazine ones (20 Pa). Pressure ratio (polymer solution-air) was identified as a key factor, and it should be from 0.85 to 1.00 to ensure a successful atomization, obtaining the smallest particle size at intermediate pressures. Finally, a numerical study based on dimensionless numbers was performed to predict particle size depending on the conditions. These results highlight that it is possible to control the microparticles size by modifying either the viscoelasticity of the hydrogel or the experimental conditions of atomization. Some experimental conditions (using piperazine) reduce the particle size up to 5 microns and therefore allow their use by aerosol inhalation. Full article
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