PREPARATION AND PROPERTIES OF CHITOSAN/LIGNIN COMPOSITE FILMS

Biodegradable composite films based on chitosan and lignin with various composition were prepared via the solution-casting technique.FT-IR results indicate the existence of hydrogen bonding between chitosan and lignin,and SEM images show that lignin could be well dispersed in chitosan when the content of lignin is below 20 wt%due to the strong interfacial interaction.As a result of strong interaction and good dispersion,the tensile strength,storage modulus,thermal degradation temperature and glass transitio...

Biological analysis of an innovative biodegradable antibiotic eluting bioactive glass/gypsum composite bone cement for treating experimental chronic MRSA osteomyelitis

A multi-barrier antibiotics loaded biodegradable composite bone cement for resolving chronic osteomyelitis has been studied to understand the physico-mechanical properties,drug loading/eluting efficiency,and different merits and demerits prior to clinical application.After successful induction of bone infection in 28 rabbits using methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA)strains,calcium sulfate/bioactive glass based composite cement was implanted in 12 defects to assess its performance over parenteral therapy with microscopic and radiological examination for 90 days.The composite cement revealed acceptable physico-mechanical properties and controlled drug elution kinetics.Furthermore,the antibiotics concentrations in bone up to 42 days were sufficient to kill MRSA without eliciting adverse drug reactions.The striking feature of platelets aggregation by composite cement could assist bone healing.The controlled degradation with simultaneous entrapment of composite cement within the osteoid tissues and complete repair of infected cortical defects(holes)in rabbit tibia at 6 weeks indicated the excellent anti-infective and osteoconductive properties of composite cement.Thus,the animal study demonstrated the superiority of composite over injectable antibiotic therapy based on infection resolution and bone regeneration.We thereby conclude that the composite cement can be effectively applied in the treatment of resistant cases of chronic osteomyelitis.

Pseudomonas sp.ZXY-1,a newly isolated and highly efficient atrazine-degrading bacterium,and optimization of biodegradation using response surface methodology

Atrazine, a widely used herbicide, is increasing the agricultural production effectively, while also causing great environmental concern. Efficient atrazine-degrading bacterium is necessary to removal atrazine rapidly to keep a safe environment. In the present study, a new atrazine-degrading strain ZXY-1, identified as Pseudomonas, was isolated. This new isolated strain has a strong ability to biodegrade atrazine with a high efficiency of 9.09 mg/L/hr.Temperature, p H, inoculum size and initial atrazine concentration were examined to further optimize the degradation of atrazine, and the synthetic effect of these factors were investigated by the response surface methodology. With a high quadratic polynomial mathematical model（R^2= 0.9821） being obtained, the highest biodegradation efficiency of 19.03 mg/L/hr was reached compared to previous reports under the optimal conditions（30.71°C, pH 7.14, 4.23%（V/V） inoculum size and 157.1 mg/L initial atrazine concentration）.Overall, this study provided an efficient bacterium and approach that could be potentially useful for the bioremediation of wastewater containing atrazine.

Biodegradable Poly(propylene carbonate)/Layered Double Hydroxide Composite Films with Enhanced Gas Barrier and Mechanical Properties

Relatively well crystallized and high aspect ratio Mg-Al layered double hydroxides（LDHs） were prepared by coprecipitation process in aqueous solution and further rehydrated to an organic modified LDH（OLDH） in the presence of surfactant. The intercalated structure and high aspect ratio of OLDH were verified by X-ray diffraction（XRD） and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. A series of poly（propylene carbonate）（PPC）/OLDH composite films with different contents of OLDH were prepared via a melt-blending method. Their cross section morphologies, gas barrier properties and tensile strength were investigated as a function of OLDH contents. SEM results show that OLDH platelets are well dispersed within the composites and oriented parallel to the composite sheet plane. The gas barrier properties and tensile strength are obviously enhanced upon the incorporation of OLDH. Particularly, PPC/2%OLDH film exhibits the best barrier properties among all the composite films. Compared with pure PPC, the oxygen permeability coefficient（OP） and water vapor permeability coefficient（WVP） is reduced by 54% and 17% respectively with 2% OLDH addition. Furthermore, the tensile strength of PPC/2%OLDH is 83% higher than that of pure PPC with only small lose of elongation at break. Therefore, PPC/OLDH composite films show great potential application in packaging materials due to its biodegradable properties, superior oxygen and moisture barrier characteristics.

AZ91 Magnesium Alloy/Porous Hydroxyapatite Composite for Potential Application in Bone Repair

AZ91/HA composite was prepared by AZ91 magnesium alloy and porous HA using squeeze casting method. The microstructure and mechanical property of the AZ91/HA composite were studied. The results show that the molten AZ91 alloy completely infiltrated the preform without destroying the porous structure of the HA preform. The compressive strength of AZ91/HA composite increased significantly compared with that of the porous HA. The immersion test indicated that AzgI ahoy shows a lower corrosion resistance and is easier to be corroded in comparison with HA.