Multi-layered electrospinning and electrospraying approach: Effect of polymeric supplements on chondrocyte suspension

2021 ◽  
pp. 088532822110644
Author(s):  
Ângela Semitela ◽  
Andreia Leal Pereira ◽  
Cátia Sousa ◽  
Alexandrina F. Mendes ◽  
Paula A.A.P. Marques ◽  
...  

Articular cartilage was expected to be one of the first tissues to be successfully engineered, but replicating the complex fibril architecture and the cellular distribution of the native cartilage has proven difficult. While electrospinning has been widely used to reproduce the depth-dependent fibre architecture in 3D scaffolds, the chondrocyte-controlled distribution remains an unsolved problem. To incorporate cells homogeneously through the depth of scaffolds, a combination of polymer electrospinning and cell seeding is necessary. A multi-layer approach alternating between polymer electrospinning with chondrocyte electrospraying can be a solution. Still, the success of this process is related to the survival rate of the electrosprayed chondrocytes embedded within the electrospun mesh. In this regard, the present study investigated the impact of the multi-layered process and the supplementation of the electrospray chondrocyte suspension with different concentrations of Gelatin and Alginate on the viability of electrosprayed chondrocytes embedded within a Polycaprolactone/Gelatin electrospun mesh and on the mechanical properties of the resulting meshes. The addition of Gelatin in the chondrocyte suspension did not increase significantly ( p > 0.05) the percentage of viable electrosprayed chondrocytes (25%), while 3 wt% Alginate addition led to a significant ( p < 0.05) increase in chondrocyte viability (50%) relative to the case without polymer supplement (15%). Furthermore, the addition of both polymer supplements increased the mechanical properties of the multi-layer construct. These findings imply that this multi-layered approach can be applied to cartilage TE allowing for automated chondrocyte integration during scaffolds creation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 6734-6742
Author(s):  
A. Syamsir ◽  
S. M. Mubin ◽  
N. M. Nor ◽  
V. Anggraini ◽  
S. Nagappan ◽  
...  

This study investigated the combine effect of 0.2 % drink cans and steel fibers with volume fractions of 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% and 3% to the mechanical properties and impact resistance of concrete. Hooked-end steel fiber with 30 mm and 0.75 mm length and diameter, respectively was selected for this study.  The drinks cans fiber were twisted manually in order to increase friction between fiber and concrete. The results of the experiment showed that the combination of steel fibers and drink cans fibers improved the strength performance of concrete, especially the compressive strength, flexural strength and indirect tensile strength. The results of the experiment showed that the combination of steel fibers and drink cans fibers improved the compressive strength, flexural strength and indirect tensile strength by 2.3, 7, and 2 times as compare to batch 1, respectively. Moreover, the impact resistance of fiber reinforced concrete has increase by 7 times as compared to non-fiber concretes. Moreover, the impact resistance of fiber reinforced concrete consistently gave better results as compared to non-fiber concretes. The fiber reinforced concrete turned more ductile as the dosage of fibers was increased and ductility started to decrease slightly after optimum fiber dosage was reached. It was found that concrete with combination of 2% steel and 0.2% drink cans fibers showed the highest compressive, split tensile, flexural as well as impact strength.    


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2323
Author(s):  
Yubing Du ◽  
Zhiqing Zhao ◽  
Qiang Xiao ◽  
Feiting Shi ◽  
Jianming Yang ◽  
...  

To explore the basic mechanical properties and size effects of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) with different substitution ratios of coarse recycled concrete aggregates (CRCAs) to replace natural coarse aggregates (NCA), the failure modes and mechanical parameters of RAC under different loading conditions including compression, splitting tensile resistance and direct shear were compared and analyzed. The conclusions drawn are as follows: the failure mechanisms of concrete with different substitution ratios of CRCAs are similar; with the increase in substitution ratio, the peak compressive stress and peak tensile stress of RAC decrease gradually, the splitting limit displacement decreases, and the splitting tensile modulus slightly increases; with the increase in the concrete cube’s side length, the peak compressive stress of RAC declines gradually, but the integrity after compression is gradually improved; and the increase in the substitution ratio of the recycled aggregate reduces the impact of the size effect on the peak compressive stress of RAC. Furthermore, an influence equation of the coupling effect of the substitution ratio and size effect on the peak compressive stress of RAC was quantitatively established. The research results are of great significance for the engineering application of RAC and the strength selection of RAC structure design.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3140
Author(s):  
Kamil Dydek ◽  
Anna Boczkowska ◽  
Rafał Kozera ◽  
Paweł Durałek ◽  
Łukasz Sarniak ◽  
...  

The main aim of this work was the investigation of the possibility of replacing the heavy metallic meshes applied onto the composite structure in airplanes for lightning strike protection with a thin film of Tuball single-wall carbon nanotubes in the form of ultra-light, conductive paper. The Tuball paper studied contained 75 wt% or 90 wt% of carbon nanotubes and was applied on the top of carbon fibre reinforced polymer before fabrication of flat panels. First, the electrical conductivity, impact resistance and thermo-mechanical properties of modified laminates were measured and compared with the reference values. Then, flat panels with selected Tuball paper, expanded copper foil and reference panels were fabricated for lightning strike tests. The effectiveness of lightning strike protection was evaluated by using the ultrasonic phased-array technique. It was found that the introduction of Tuball paper on the laminates surface improved both the surface and the volume electrical conductivity by 8800% and 300%, respectively. The impact resistance was tested in two directions, perpendicular and parallel to the carbon fibres, and the values increased by 9.8% and 44%, respectively. The dynamic thermo-mechanical analysis showed higher stiffness and a slight increase in glass transition temperature of the modified laminates. Ultrasonic investigation after lightning strike tests showed that the effectiveness of Tuball paper is comparable to expanded copper foil.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1128
Author(s):  
Sylwia Członka ◽  
Anna Strąkowska ◽  
Agnė Kairytė

In this study, coir fibers were successfully modified with henna (derived from the Lawsonia inermis plant) using a high-energy ball-milling process. In the next step, such developed filler was used as a reinforcing filler in the production of rigid polyurethane (PUR) foams. The impact of 1, 2, and 5 wt % of coir-fiber filler on structural and physico-mechanical properties was evaluated. Among all modified series of PUR composites, the greatest improvement in physico-mechanical performances was observed for PUR composites reinforced with 1 wt % of the coir-fiber filler. For example, on the addition of 1 wt % of coir-fiber filler, the compression strength was improved by 23%, while the flexural strength increased by 9%. Similar dependence was observed in the case of dynamic-mechanical properties—on the addition of 1 wt % of the filler, the value of glass transition temperature increased from 149 °C to 178 °C, while the value of storage modulus increased by ~80%. It was found that PUR composites reinforced with coir-fiber filler were characterized by better mechanical performances after the UV-aging.


Medicina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Chung-Min Yeh ◽  
Yi-Ju Lee ◽  
Po-Yun Ko ◽  
Yueh-Min Lin ◽  
Wen-Wei Sung

Background and objectives: Krüppel-like transcription factor 10 (KLF10) plays a vital role in regulating cell proliferation, including the anti-proliferative process, activation of apoptosis, and differentiation control. KLF10 may also act as a protective factor against oral cancer. We studied the impact of KLF10 expression on the clinical outcomes of oral cancer patients to identify its role as a prognostic factor in oral cancer. Materials and Methods: KLF10 immunoreactivity was analyzed by immunohistochemical (IHC) stain analysis in 286 cancer specimens from primary oral cancer patients. The prognostic value of KLF10 on overall survival was determined by Kaplan–Meier analysis and the Cox proportional hazard model. Results: High KLF10 expression was significantly associated with male gender and betel quid chewing. The 5-year survival rate was greater for patients with high KLF10 expression than for those with low KLF10 expression (62.5% vs. 51.3%, respectively; p = 0.005), and multivariate analyses showed that high KLF10 expression was the only independent factor correlated with greater overall patient survival. The significant correlation between high KLF10 expression and a higher 5-year survival rate was observed in certain subgroups of clinical parameters, including female gender, non-smokers, cancer stage T1, and cancer stage N0. Conclusions: KLF10 expression, detected by IHC staining, could be an independent prognostic marker for oral cancer patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilde Tiennot ◽  
Davide Iannuzzi ◽  
Erma Hermens

AbstractIn this investigation on the mechanical behaviour of paint films, we use a new ferrule-top nanoindentation protocol developed for cultural heritage studies to examine the impact of repeated relative humidity variations on the viscoelastic behaviour of paint films and their mechanical properties in different paint stratigraphies through the changes in their storage and loss moduli. We show that the moisture weathering impact on the micromechanics varies for each of these pigment-oil systems. Data from the nanoindentation protocol provide new insights into the evolution of the viscoelastic properties dsue to the impact of moisture weathering on paint films.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 779
Author(s):  
Mohamed Gomah ◽  
Guichen Li ◽  
Salah Bader ◽  
Mohamed Elkarmoty ◽  
Mohamed Ismael

The awareness of the impact of high temperatures on rock properties is essential to the design of deep geotechnical applications. The purpose of this research is to assess the influence of heating and cooling treatments on the physical and mechanical properties of Egyptian granodiorite as a degrading factor. The samples were heated to various temperatures (200, 400, 600, and 800 °C) and then cooled at different rates, either slowly cooled in the oven and air or quickly cooled in water. The porosity, water absorption, P-wave velocity, tensile strength, failure mode, and associated microstructural alterations due to thermal effect have been studied. The study revealed that the granodiorite has a slight drop in tensile strength, up to 400 °C, for slow cooling routes and that most of the physical attributes are comparable to natural rock. Despite this, granodiorite thermal deterioration is substantially higher for quick cooling than for slow cooling. Between 400:600 °C is ‘the transitional stage’, where the physical and mechanical characteristics degraded exponentially for all cooling pathways. Independent of the cooling method, the granodiorite showed a ductile failure mode associated with reduced peak tensile strengths. Additionally, the microstructure altered from predominantly intergranular cracking to more trans-granular cracking at 600 °C. The integrity of the granodiorite structure was compromised at 800 °C, the physical parameters deteriorated, and the rock tensile strength was negligible. In this research, the temperatures of 400, 600, and 800 °C were remarked to be typical of three divergent phases of granodiorite mechanical and physical properties evolution. Furthermore, 400 °C could be considered as the threshold limit for Egyptian granodiorite physical and mechanical properties for typical thermal underground applications.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 846
Author(s):  
Hastia Asadi ◽  
Joerg Uhlemann ◽  
Natalie Stranghoener ◽  
Mathias Ulbricht

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-coated glass fiber fabrics are used for long-lasting membrane structures due to their outstanding mechanical properties, chemical stabilities, and satisfying service life. During their operation time, different environmental impacts might influence their performance, especially regarding the mechanical properties. In this contribution, the impact of water on the tensile strength deterioration was assessed experimentally, providing evidence of considerable but partially reversible loss of strength by up to 20% among the various types of investigated industrially established fabrics.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1137
Author(s):  
Sascha Stanic ◽  
Thomas Koch ◽  
Klaus Schmid ◽  
Simone Knaus ◽  
Vasiliki-Maria Archodoulaki

Blends of two long-chain branched polypropylenes (LCB-PP) and five linear polypropylenes (L-PP) were prepared in a single screw extruder at 240 °C. The two LCB-PPs were self-created via reactive extrusion at 180 °C by using dimyristyl peroxydicarbonate (PODIC C126) and dilauroyl peroxide (LP) as peroxides. For blending two virgin and three recycled PPs like coffee caps, yoghurt cups and buckets with different melt flow rate (MFR) values were used. The influence of using blends was assessed by investigating the rheological (dynamic and extensional rheology) and mechanical properties (tensile test and impact tensile test). The dynamic rheology indicated that the molecular weight as well as the molecular weight distribution could be increased or broadened. Also the melt strength behavior could be improved by using the two peroxide modified LCB-PP blends on the basis of PODIC C126 or PEROXAN LP (dilauroyl peroxide). In addition, the mechanical properties were consistently enhanced or at least kept constant compared to the original material. In particular, the impact tensile strength but also the elongation at break could be increased considerably. This study showed that the blending of LCB-PP can increase the investigated properties and represents a promising option, especially when using recycled PP, which demonstrates a real “up-cycling” process.


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