Electrospinning of a sandwich-structured membrane with sustained release capability and long-term anti-inflammatory effects for dental pulp regeneration

Current electro spun membranes used for pulp capping still lack the sustained-release capability and long-term anti-inflammatory effects that are favorable for dental pulp regeneration.In this work,a single-layered poly(lac tic acid)(PLA)electro spun membrane loaded with amorphous calcium phosphate(ACP)and aspirin(PLA/ACP/Aspirin membrane,i.e.,PA A membrane)is sandwiched between two poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)(PLGA)electro spun membranes as a novel sandwich-structured PLGA and PA A composite electro spun membrane(PLGA-PAA membrane)to resolve the need for sustained-release design and anti-inflammatory effects.Contact angle measurements indicate that the PLGA-PAA membrane is more hydrophilic than the PAA membrane.An in vitro release study reveals that PLGA membranes coated on PAA membrane could slightly slow down ion release,while signiificantly prolonging aspirin release.We also co-cultured membranes with dental pulp stem cells(DPSCs)and human monocytic THP-1 cells to evaluate their osteogenic ability and anti-inflammatory effects,respectively.Compared with the PAA membrane,the PLGA-PAA membrane promotes cell adhesion,proliferation,and osteogenic differentiation.A prolonged anti-inflammatory effect of up to 18 days is also observed in the PLGA-PAA group.The results suggest a promising strategy for fabricating an electro spun membrane system with controlled release capabilities and long-term anti-inflammatory effects for use as pulp-capping material for regeneration of the dentin-pulp complex.

Design of a biofluid-absorbing bioactive sandwich-structured Zn-Si bioceramic composite wound dressing for hair follicle regeneration and skin burn wound healing

The deep burn skin injures usually severely damage the dermis with the loss of hair follicle loss,which are difficult to regenerate.Furthermore,severe burns often accompanied with large amount of wound exudates making the wound moist,easily infected,and difficult to heal.Therefore,it is of great clinical significance to develop wound dressings to remove wound exudates and promote hair follicle regeneration.In this study,a sandwich-structured wound dressing(SWD)with Janus membrane property was fabricated by hot compression molding using hydrophilic zinc silicate bioceramics(Hardystonite,ZnCS)and hydrophobic polylactic acid(PLA).This unique organic/inorganic Janus membrane structure revealed excellent exudate absorption property and effectively created a dry wound environment.Meanwhile,the incorporation of ZnCS bioceramic particles endowed the dressing with the bioactivity to promote hair follicle regeneration and wound healing through the release of Zn^(2+)and SiO^(2-)_(3)ions,and this bioactivity of the wound dressing is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of Zn^(2+)and SiO^(2-)_(3)to promote the recruitment,viability,and differentiation of hair follicle cells.Our study demonstrates that the utilization of the Janus membrane and synergistic effect of different type bioactive ions are effective approaches for the design of wound dressings for burn wound healing.

Analysis of a New Composite Material for Watercraft Manufacturing

In this paper, we investigate the properties of an alternative material for use in marine engineering, namely a rigid and light sandwich-structured composite made of expanded polystyrene and fiberglass. Not only does this material have an improved section modulus, but it is also inexpensive, light, easy to manipulate, and commercially available in various sizes. Using a computer program based on the finite element method, we calculated the hogging and sagging stresses and strains acting on a prismatic boat model composed of this material, and determined the minimum sizes and maximum permissible stresses to avoid deformation. Finally, we calculated the structural weight of the resulting vessel for comparison with another structure of comparable dimensions constructed from the commonly used core material Divinycell.

Preparation, Characterization and Frictional Properties of Silane Self-Assembled Elastomeric Nanocomposite Polymer Layers

A novel surface modification method was proposed to improve the tribological property of Si. Multilayers were grown on Si（100） substrate by self-assembling monolayer （SAMs） method and filtered catholic vacuum arc （FCVA） technique. The film composition and structure were characterized by using x-ray photoelectron spectroscope （XPS） and Raman spectroscopy （Raman）. Surface morphology and the roughness were also analyzed by an atomic force microscope （AFM） and a scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The frictional behaviors of the films were evaluated by a UMT tester. Results showed that elastomeric nanocomposite monolayer prepared by SAM was uniformly distributed and isotropy, and the diamond-like carbon （DLC） film was successfully deposited by the FCVA technique. The friction coefficients of the prepared samples were in the range of 0.108-0.188. Furthermore, the friction coefficient slightly increased but the surface quality of the wear trace was improved after adding the copolymer elastomeric macromolecules SEBS on aminopropyl-triethoxysilane （APS） layer due to the inherent long chain of SEBS which abated the immediate impulsion at the interface and changed the kinetic energy into elastic potential energy, and stored it in SEBS.

Pt-Al₂OM₃Composite Material Designed for Cyclic Production of Optical Glasses under High Temperature Conditions

The article considers one of the possible approaches to the solution of an urgent issue of metal consumption reduction, increase of operating life and maximum operating temperature as well as reduction of irrecoverable losses of platinum products and alloys when operating under high temperature conditions, particularly for glassblowing and single crystal growing crucibles. A two-layered composite material based on platinum-group metals and corundum plasma ceramics is thoroughly investigated. A successful experience of crucibles exploitation, designed for production of high temperature optical glasses from the composite and results of the research on composite material specimens are described.

Enhancement of shear stability of a Fe-based amorphous alloy using electrodeposited Ni layers

Tensile and fracture behaviors of sandwich-structured composites consisting of a Fe-based amorphous layer with a constant thickness and ultrafine-grained Ni layers with different thicknesses were investigated. The results indicate that the initiation and the stable propagation of the shear band in the amorphous layer was dominated by the Ni layers due to their strong constraint role. The catastrophic fracture of the amorphous layer was postponed in the sandwich composites through properly increasing the constrained Ni layer thickness, which effectively decreased the shear stress on the shear fracture planes of the amorphous layer, and thus led to stable propagation of the primary SB characterized by the increase in the smooth region size of the shear band.