| 1. |
- Ngoc Pham, Tung, et al.
(författare)
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Industrially benign super-compressible piezoresistive carbon foams with predefined wetting properties : from environmental to electrical applications
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the present work electrically conductive, flexible, lightweight carbon sponge materials derived from open-pore structure melamine foams are studied and explored. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface properties - depending on the chosen treatment conditions - allow the separation and storage of liquid chemical compounds. Activation of the carbonaceous structures substantially increases the specific surface area from ,4 m2 g21 to ,345 m2 g21 , while retaining the original three-dimensional, open-pore structure suitable for hosting, for example, Ni catalyst nanoparticles. In turn the structure is rendered suitable for hydrogenating acetone to 2-propanol and methyl isobutyl ketone as well for growing hierarchical carbon nanotube structures used as electric double-layer capacitor electrodes with specific capacitance of ,40 F/g. Mechanical stress-strain analysis indicates the materials are super-compressible (.70% volume reduction) and viscoelastic with excellent damping behavior (loss of 0.69 6 0.07), while piezoresistive measurements show very high gauge factors (from ,20 to 50) over a large range of deformations. The cost-effective, robust and scalable synthesis - in conjunction with their fascinating multifunctional utility - makes the demonstrated carbon foams remarkable competitors with other three-dimensional carbon materials typically based on pyrolyzed biopolymers or on covalently bonded graphene and carbon nanotube frameworks.
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| 2. |
- Persson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of bioactive extruded PLA/HA composite films on focal adhesion formation of preosteoblastic cells
- 2014
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Ingår i: Colloids and Surfaces B. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-7765 .- 1873-4367. ; 121, s. 409-416
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The quality of the initial cell attachment to a biomaterial will influence any further cell function, including spreading, proliferation, differentiation and viability. Cell attachment is influenced by the material's ability to adsorb proteins, which is related to the surface chemistry and topography of the material. In this study, we incorporated hydroxyapatite (HA) particles into a poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composite and evaluated the surface structure and the effects of HA density on the initial cell attachment in vitro of murine calvarial preosteoblasts (MC3T3-EI). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that the HA particles were successfully incorporated into the PLA matrix and located at the surface which is of importance in order to maintain the bioactive effect of the HA particles. SEM and AFM investigation revealed that the HA density (particles/area) as well as surface roughness increased with HA loading concentration (i.e. 5, 10, 15 and 20wt%), which promoted protein adsorption. Furthermore, the presence of HA on the surface enhanced cell spreading, increased the formation of actin stress fibers and significantly improved the expression of vinculin in MC3T3-E1 cells which is a key player in the regulation of cell adhesion. These results suggest the potential utility of PLA/HA composites as biomaterials for use as a bone substitute material and in tissue engineering applications.
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