Injectable and in situ foaming shape-adaptive porous Bio-based polyurethane scaffold used for cartilage regeneration

Irregular articular cartilage injury is a common type of joint trauma,often resulting from intense impacts and other factors that lead to irregularly shaped wounds,the limited regenerative capacity of cartilage and the mismatched shape of the scaffods have contributed to unsatisfactory therapeutic outcomes.While injectable materials are a traditional solution to adapt to irregular cartilage defects,they have limitations,and injectable materials often lack the porous microstructures favorable for the rapid proliferation of cartilage cells.In this study,an injectable porous polyurethane scaffold named PU-BDO-Gelatin-Foam(PUBGF)was prepared.After injection into cartilage defects,PUBGF forms in situ at the site of the defect and exhibits a dynamic microstructure during the initial two weeks.This dynamic microstructure endows the scaffold with the ability to retain substances within its interior,thereby enhancing its capacity to promote chondrogenesis.Furthermore,the chondral repair efficacy of PUBGF was validated by directly injecting it into rat articular cartilage injury sites.The injectable PUBGF scaffold demonstrates a superior potential for promoting the repair of cartilage defects when compared to traditional porous polyurethane scaffolds.The substance retention ability of this injectable porous scaffold makes it a promising option for clinical applications.

In situ formation of an intimate solid-solid interface by reaction between MgH_(2) and Ti to stabilize metal hydride anode with high active material content

MgH_(2) and TiH_(2) have been extensively studied as potential anode materials due to their high theoretical specific capacities of 2036 and 1024 mAh/g,respectively.However,the large volume changes that these compounds undergo during cycling affects their performance and limits practical applications.The present work demonstrates a novel approach to limiting the volume changes of active materials.This effect is based on mechanical support from an intimate interface generated in situ via the reaction between MgH_(2) and Ti within the electrode prior to lithiation to form Mg and TiH_(2).The resulting Mg can be transformed back to MgH_(2) by reaction with LiH during delithiation.In addition,the TiH_(2) improves the reaction kinetics of MgH_(2) and enhances electrochemical performance.The intimate interface produced in this manner is found to improve the electrochemical properties of a MgH_(2)-Ti-LiH electrode.An exceptional reversible capacity of 800 mAh/g is observed even after 200 cycles with a high current density of 1 mA/cm^(2) and a high proportion of active material(90 wt.%)at an operation temperature of 120℃.This study therefore showcases a new means of improving the performance of electrodes by limiting the volume changes of active materials.

Preparation and evaluation of ophthalmic thermosensitive in situ gels of penciclovir

Aim To develop pluronic F127 （PF127） based formulations of penciclovir （PCV） aimed at enhancing its ocular bioavailability. Methods Thermosensitive in situ gels of penciclovir were prepared through combination of HPMC K4M or carbopol 934P and pluronic F127. Optimized formulations were examined through measuring gelation temperature, rheology speciality, drug release behavior, pharmacokinetics and ocular irritation. Results The gelation temperature was reduced by adding HPMC K4M or carbopol 934P, and the viscosity was enhanced slightly. Either HPMC K4M or carbopol 934P delayed the release of PCV from in situ gel. PCV was released by non-Fickian diffusion. The study of ocular irritation for different PCV formulations did not show any irritation or damage for the cornea. PCV bioavailability from combination of carbopol 934P and pluronic F127 gels was higher than that obtained from any other gels. Conclusion Pluronic F127 formulations of PCV can be used as liquid for administration by instilling into the eye. Facilitated by the appropriate eye temperature, the formulations were transformed to gel phase. On the basis of in vitro and in vivo results, PCV formulations containing HPMC K4M or carbopol 934P and low concentration of pluronic F127 （12%） showed potential for use as a drug delivery system with improved ocular bioavailability.

DISPERSION AND IN SITU FORMED FIBER OF LOW MELTING POINT METALS IN POLYMER

The dispersion mechanism of low melting point metal (LMPM) particles in polymers was studied using Cox dilute emulsion model. The critical destruction shear stress sigma of LMPM droplets is sigma greater than 2 v/d. When sigma is small, LMPM droplets were dispersed and deformed ellipsoidal or bar droplets whose orientation direction is always at an angle of 45 degree with the direction of shear rate. When sigma is very big and droplets are very fine, polymer melt elasticity behavior and big boundary tension between a polymer melt and LMPM droplets make further fining LMPM droplets become more difficult. Therefore, LMPM droplets produce tensile flow and form LMPM microfibrils in situ in polymer melt. SEM photographs have shown the results predicted using dilute emulsion model. (Author abstract) 7 Refs.

Thermally removable in-situ formed ZnO template for synthesis of hierarchically porous N-doped carbon nanofibers for enhanced electrocatalysis

Rational design and simple synthesis of one-dimensional nanofibers with high specific surface areas and hierarchically porous structures are still challenging. In the present work, a novel strategy utilizing a thermally removable template was developed to synthesize hierarchically porous N-doped carbon nanofibers （HP-NCNFs） through the use of simple electrospinning technology coupled with subsequent pyrolysis. During the pyrolysis process, ZnO nanoparticles can be formed in situ and act as a thermally removable template due to their decomposition and sublimation under high-temperature conditions. The resulting HP-NCNFs have lengths of up to hundreds of micrometers with an average diameter of 300 nm and possess a hierarchically porous structure throughout. Such unique structures endow HP-NCNFs with a high specific surface area of up to 829.5 m2-g 1, which is 2.6 times higher than that （323.2 m2.g 1） of conventional N-doped carbon nanofibers （NCNFs）. Compared with conventional NCNFs, the HP-NCNF catalyst exhibited greatly enhanced catalytic performance and improved kinetics for the oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in alkaline media. Moreover, the HP-NCNFs even showed better stability and stronger methanol crossover effect tolerance than the commerdal Pt-C catalyst. The optimized ORR performance can be attributed to the synergetic contribution of continuous and three-dimensional （3D） cross-linked structures, graphene-like structure on the edge of the HP- NCNFs, high specific surface area, and a hierarchically porous structure.

Preparation of SiO_2 Nanoparticles by Silicon and Their Dispersion Stability

Silicon dioxide sol was synthesized by silicon in the presence of alkali catalyst. SiO_2 nanoparticles (size in 8-15 nm) aqueous dispersion was prepared by using dispersion and surface modification in situ. The effects of reaction time, temperature, medium pH value, dispersant and surface-modifier on their diameters, sizes distribution and dispersion stability were also studied.The experimental results show that the preparation method can effectively resolve the dispersion stability of SiO_2 nanoparticles in water.

Direct TEM Observation of Phase Separation and Crystallization in Cu_(45)Zr_(45)Ag_(10)Metallic Glass

The structural evolution of Cu_（45）Zr_（45）Ag_（10） metallic glass was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy heating experiments. The relationship between phase separation and crystallization was elucidated. Nucleation and growth-controlled nanoscale phase separation at early stage were seen to impede nanocrystallization, while a coarser phase separation via aggregation of Ag-rich nanospheres was found to promote the precipitation of Cu-rich nanocrystals.Coupling of composition and dynamics heterogeneities was supposed to play a key role during phase separation preceding crystallization.