Polymer materials play an important role in various aspects of our lives. Most of them are solid, therefore, the key importance of such polymeric materials is related to their versatility, lightness, ...economy, durability and strength, corrosion resistance, electrical and thermal insulation (except conductive polymers), appropriate interface between the body and medical devices, and as well as design flexibility. In general, the importance of polymeric materials lies in their versatile properties, cost-effectiveness, and applicability in a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, healthcare, construction, packaging, and more. The purpose of this mini-review is to encourage future authors to submit outstanding contributions related to various aspects and frontiers of polymeric materials in the years to come.
Polymers are everywhere, even inside of the human body. Polymers can be produced by living organisms, in which case they are called biopolymers, while polymers which possess the ability to be in ...contact with a living system without producing any adverse effect are referred to as polymeric biomaterials 1. ....
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•Advanced wound dressings market is worth $11.4 billion annually.•Increased cases of diabetes and diabetic ulcers drive the wound dressing industry.•Novel hydrogel materials are ...suitable for many types of wounds.•High production costs of hydrogels limits their further commercialization.•Innovative wound dressings need to be developed but costs must be kept low.
Wound treatment has increased in importance in the wound care sector due to the pervasiveness of chronic wounds in the high-risk population including, but not limited to, geriatric population, immunocompromised and obese patients. Furthermore, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes is rapidly growing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global diabetic occurrence has increased from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014. As diabetes becomes a common medical condition, it has also become one of the major causes of chronic wounds which require specialised care to address patients’ unique needs. Wound dressings play a vital role in the wound healing process as they protect the wound site from the external environment. They are also capable of interacting with the wound bed in order to facilitate and accelerate the healing process. Advanced dressings such as hydrogels are designed to maintain a moist environment at the site of application and due to high water content are ideal candidates for wound management. Hydrogels can be used for both exudating or dry necrotic wounds. Additionally, hydrogels also demonstrate other unique features such as softness, malleability and biocompatibility. Nowadays, advanced wound care products make up around $7.1 billion of the global market and their production is growing at an annual rate of 8.3% with the market projected to be worth $12.5 billion by 2022.
The presented review focuses on novel hydrogel wound dressings, their main characteristics and their wound management applications. It also describes recent methodologies used for their production and the future potential developments.
Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an extracellular polymer produced by
which has been shown to possess a multitude of properties, which makes it innately useful as a next-generation biopolymer. The ...structure of BC is comprised of glucose monomer units polymerised by cellulose synthase in β-1-4 glucan chains which form uniaxially orientated BC fibril bundles which measure 3-8 nm in diameter. BC is chemically identical to vegetal cellulose. However, when BC is compared with other natural or synthetic analogues, it shows a much higher performance in biomedical applications, potable treatment, nano-filters and functional applications. The main reason for this superiority is due to the high level of chemical purity, nano-fibrillar matrix and crystallinity. Upon using BC as a carrier or scaffold with other materials, unique and novel characteristics can be observed, which are all relatable to the features of BC. These properties, which include high tensile strength, high water holding capabilities and microfibrillar matrices, coupled with the overall physicochemical assets of bacterial cellulose makes it an ideal candidate for further scientific research into biopolymer development. This review thoroughly explores several areas in which BC is being investigated, ranging from biomedical applications to electronic applications, with a focus on the use as a next-generation wound dressing. The purpose of this review is to consolidate and discuss the most recent advancements in the applications of bacterial cellulose, primarily in biomedicine, but also in biotechnology.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a group of bioplastics that have a wide range of applications. Extensive progress has been made in our understanding of PHAs' biosynthesis, and currently, it is ...possible to engineer bacterial strains to produce PHAs with desired properties. The substrates for the fermentative production of PHAs are primarily derived from food-based carbon sources, raising concerns over the sustainability of their production in terms of their impact on food prices. This paper gives an overview of the current carbon sources used for PHA production and the methods used to transform these sources into fermentable forms. This allows us to identify the opportunities and restraints linked to future sustainable PHA production. Hemicellulose hydrolysates and crude glycerol are identified as two promising carbon sources for a sustainable production of PHAs. Hemicellulose hydrolysates and crude glycerol can be produced on a large scale during various second generation biofuels' production. An integration of PHA production within a modern biorefinery is therefore proposed to produce biofuels and bioplastics simultaneously. This will create the potential to offset the production cost of biofuels and reduce the overall production cost of PHAs.
Cyclodextrins are cyclic oligosaccharides that have received special attention due to their cavity-based structural architecture that imbues them with outstanding properties, primarily related to ...their capacity to host various guest molecules, from low-molecular-mass compounds to polymers. Cyclodextrin derivatization has been always accompanied by the development of characterization methods, able to unfold complicated structures with increasing precision. One of the important leaps forward is represented by mass spectrometry techniques with soft ionization, mainly matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI). In this context, esterified cyclodextrins (ECDs) benefited also from the formidable input of structural knowledge, thus allowing the understanding of the structural impact of reaction parameters on the obtained products, especially for the ring-opening oligomerization of cyclic esters. The current review envisages the common mass spectrometry approaches such as direct MALDI MS or ESI MS analysis, hyphenated liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and tandem mass spectrometry, employed for unraveling the structural features and particular processes associated with ECDs. Thus, the accurate description of complex architectures, advances in the gas phase fragmentation processes, assessment of secondary reactions, and reaction kinetics are discussed in addition to typical molecular mass measurements.
The application of mulch films for preserving soil moisture and preventing weed growth has been a part of agricultural practice for decades. Different materials have been used as mulch films, but ...polyethylene plastic has been considered most effective due to its excellent mechanical strength, low cost and ability to act as a barrier for sunlight and water. However, its use carries a risk of plastic pollution and health hazards, hence new laws have been passed to replace it completely with other materials over the next few years. Research to find out about new biodegradable polymers for this purpose has gained impetus in the past few years, driven by regulations and the United Nations Organization's Sustainable Development Goals. The primary requisite for these polymers is biodegradability under natural climatic conditions without the production of any toxic residual compounds. Therefore, biodegradable polymers developed from fossil fuels, microorganisms, animals and plants are viable options for using as mulching material. However, the solution is not as simple since each polymer has different mechanical properties and a compromise has to be made in terms of strength, cost and biodegradability of the polymer for its use as mulch film. This review discusses the history of mulching materials, the gradual evolution in the choice of materials, the process of biodegradation of mulch films, the regulations passed regarding material to be used, types of polymers that can be explored as potential mulch films and the future prospects in the area.
Periodontitis (PD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of periodontal tissues caused by pathogenic microorganisms and characterized by disruption of the tooth-supporting structures. Conventional drug ...administration pathways in periodontal disease treatment have many drawbacks such as poor biodistribution, low selectivity of the therapeutic effect, burst release of the drug, and damage to healthy cells. To overcome this limitation, controlled drug delivery systems have been developed as a potential method to address oral infectious disease ailments. The use of drug delivery devices proves to be an excellent auxiliary method in improving the quality and effectiveness in periodontitis treatment, which includes inaccessible periodontal pockets. This review explores the current state of knowledge regarding the applications of various polymer-based delivery systems such as hydrogels, liposomes, micro-, and nanoparticles in the treatment of chronic periodontal disease. Furthermore, to present a more comprehensive understanding of the difficulties concerning the treatment of PD, a brief description of the mechanism and development of the disease is outlined.
The use of biodegradable polymers as matrices in composites gives a wide range of applications, especially in niche areas. The assessment of the effect of the filler content on the change of ...mechanical properties makes it possible to optimize the composition for specific needs. Biochar was used as a filler in the studied composites with two different biodegradable blends as a matrix. Poly(1,4-butylene adipate-
-1,4-butylene terephthalate)/polylactide/biochar (PBAT/PLA/BC) and polylactide/poly(
)-3-hydroxybutyrate-
-4-hydroxybutyrate/biochar (PLA/P(3HB-
-4HB)/BC) composites with 0, 10, 15, 20 and 30 wt% of biochar underwent mechanical tests. The test results revealed a change in the properties of the composites related to the filler content. The results of the tensile test showed that increasing the biochar content increased the tensile modulus values by up to 100% for composites with 30 wt% of biochar, compared to unfilled matrices, and decreased the elongation associated with the breaking of PBAT/PLA and PLA/P(3HB-
-4HB) matrix composites. The elongation values at break of PBAT/PLA and PLA/(3HB-
-4HB) composites with 30 wt% biochar were reduced by 50% and 65%, respectively, compared to the unfilled matrices. PLA/P(3HB-
-4HB) matrix composites, in contrast to PBAT/PLA/BC, showed a decrease in tensile strength with the increases in filler content from 35.6 MPa for unfilled matrix to 27.1 MPa for PLA/P(3HB-
-4HB)/BC30 composites. An increase in filler content increased the brittleness of the composites regardless of the matrix used, as determined under the Charpy impact-test. This phenomenon was observed for all tested PLA/P(3HB-
-4HB) composites, for which the impact strength decreased from 4.47 kJ/m
for the matrix to 1.61 kJ/m
for the composite containing 30 wt% biochar. PBAT/PLA-based composites with 10 wt% of biochar showed slightly lower impact strength compared to the unfilled matrix, but composites with 30 wt% biochar showed 30% lower impact strength than PBAT/PLA. The complex viscosity value increased with increased filler content. For all composites tested on both polyester matrices, the viscosity decreased with increasing angular frequency.
This perspective article summarizes the last decade’s developments in the field of phthalocyanine (Pc)-polymeric nanoparticle (NP) delivery systems for cancer photodynamic therapy (PDT), including ...studies with at least in vitro data. Moreover, special attention will be paid to the various strategies for enhancing the behavior of Pc-polymeric NPs in PDT, underlining the great potential of this class of nanomaterials as advanced Pcs’ nanocarriers for cancer PDT. This review shows that there is still a lot of research to be done, opening the door to new and interesting nanodelivery systems.
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