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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2015) | Viewed by 41604

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Prof. Dr. Armando J. D. Silvestre

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CICECO–Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: natural products; biorefinery; gc-ms; biobased polymers; HPLC-MS; extractives; biobased (nano)composites
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Prof. Dr. Carlos Pascoal Neto

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Ciceco, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: wood chemistry; pulp and paper chemistry; pulping and bleaching; bio refineries; cellulose-based materials; composites from renewable resources
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Prof. Dr. Carmen S. R. Freire

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CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: production and application of biogenic nanofibers (bacterial cellulose and protein fibrils); nanostructured biocomposites; bio-based materials for biomedical applications (wound healing, drug delivery and 3D-bioprinting); biocomposites and functional paper materials; chemical modification of (nano)cellulose fibers and other polysaccharides and their characterization and applications; chemistry of lignocellulosic materials (cellulose, wood, cork, etc.)
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of new biobased, nanocomposite materials is a domain that has been growing very fast in the last few years. This growth is partially attributable to their sustainable (and quite often green) connotations. However, the unique and diverse range of these materials’ features are the main reasons driving such growth. Such features include improved mechanical performance, biocompatibility, bioactivity, transparency, and conductivity. Thus, these materials allow for applications in a broad range of domains, from the biomedical to transparent electronic applications.

This Special Issue aims to receive original and innovative contributions or critical reviews concernng the development, characterization, and applications of these emerging materials.

Prof. Dr. Armando J. D. Silvestre
Prof. Dr. Carlos Pascoal Neto
Dr. Carmen S. R. Freire
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Research

6286 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Chitosan/Bacterial Cellulose Composite Films Containing Nanodiamonds as a Potential Flexible Platform for Wound Dressing

by Fatemeh Ostadhossein, Nafiseh Mahmoudi, Gabriel Morales-Cid, Elnaz Tamjid, Francisco Javier Navas-Martos, Belén Soriano-Cuadrado, José Manuel López Paniza and Abdolreza Simchi

Materials 2015, 8(9), 6401-6418; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma8095309 - 18 Sep 2015

Cited by 84 | Viewed by 9218

Abstract

Chitosan/bacterial cellulose composite films containing diamond nanoparticles (NDs) with potential application as wound dressing are introduced. Microstructural studies show that NDs are uniformly dispersed in the matrix, although slight agglomeration at concentrations above 2 wt % is seen. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy reveals formation of hydrogen bonds between NDs and the polymer matrix. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates reduced crystallinity of the polymer matrix in the presence of NDs. Approximately 3.5-fold increase in the elastic modulus of the composite film is obtained by the addition of 2 wt % NDs. The results of colorimetric analysis show that the composite films are transparent but turn to gray-like and semitransparent at high ND concentrations. Additionally, a decrease in highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap is also seen, which results in a red shift and higher absorption intensity towards the visible region. Mitochondrial activity assay using L929 fibroblast cells shows that the nanocomposite films are biocompatible (>90%) after 24 h incubation. Multiple lamellapodia and cell-cell interaction are shown. The results suggest that the developed films can potentially be used as a flexible platform for wound dressing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased Nanocomposite Functional Materials)

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2058 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Constructing Biopolymer-Inorganic Nanocomposite through a Biomimetic Mineralization Process for Enzyme Immobilization

by Jian Li, Jun Ma, Tao Jiang, Yanhuan Wang, Xuemei Wen and Guozhu Li

Materials 2015, 8(9), 6004-6017; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma8095286 - 09 Sep 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5421

Abstract

Inspired by biosilicification, biomimetic polymer-silica nanocomposite has aroused a lot of interest from the viewpoints of both scientific research and technological applications. In this study, a novel dual functional polymer, NH₂-Alginate, is synthesized through an oxidation-amination-reduction process. The “catalysis function” ensures the as-prepared NH₂-Alginate inducing biomimetic mineralization of silica from low concentration precursor (Na₂SiO₃), and the “template function” cause microscopic phase separation in aqueous solution. The diameter of resultant NH₂-Alginate micelles in aqueous solution distributed from 100 nm to 1.5 μm, and is influenced by the synthetic process of NH₂-Alginate. The size and morphology of obtained NH₂-Alginate/silica nanocomposite are correlated with the micelles. NH₂-Alginate/silica nanocomposite was subsequently utilized to immobilize β-Glucuronidase (GUS). The harsh condition tolerance and long-term storage stability of the immobilized GUS are notably improved due to the buffering effect of NH₂-Alginate and cage effect of silica matrix. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased Nanocomposite Functional Materials)

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1633 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanocomposites Reinforced with Bamboo Charcoal Nanoparticles: Mineralization Behavior and Characterization

by Cheng-Ming Tang, Yi-Hung Tian and Shan-Hui Hsu

Materials 2015, 8(8), 4895-4911; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma8084895 - 31 Jul 2015

Cited by 133 | Viewed by 12350

Abstract

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) demonstrates chemical stability and biocompatibility and is widely used in biomedical applications. The porous bamboo charcoal has excellent toxin absorptivity and has been used in blood purification. In this study, bamboo charcoal nanoparticles (BCNPs) were acquired with nano-grinding technology. The PVA and PVA/BCNP nanocomposite membranes were prepared and characterized by the tensile test, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results showed that the tensile strength and elongation of the swollen PVA membranes containing 1% BCNPs (PB₁) were significantly greater than those of PVA and other PVA/BCNP composite membranes. In addition, the major absorption band of OH stretching in the IR spectra shifted from 3262 cm⁻¹ for PVA membrane containing 1% BCNP to 3244 cm⁻¹ for PVA membrane containing 20% BCNP. This blue shift might be attributed to the interaction between the PVA molecules and BCNPs. Moreover, the intensity of the XRD peaks in PVA was decreased with the increased BCNP content. The bioactivity of the nanocomposites was evaluated by immersion in the simulated body fluid (SBF) for seven days. The mineral deposition on PB₅ was significantly more than that on the other samples. The mineral was identified as hydroxyapatite (HA) by XRD. These data suggest that the bioactivity of the composite hydrogel membranes was associated with the surface distribution of hydrophilic/hydrophobic components. The PVA/BCNP composite hydrogels may have potential applications in alveolar bone regeneration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased Nanocomposite Functional Materials)

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1404 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wet-Induced Fabrication of Heterogeneous Hump-on-String Fibers

by Cheng Song, Ruofan Du and Yongmei Zheng

Materials 2015, 8(7), 4249-4257; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma8074249 - 13 Jul 2015

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5501

Abstract

Inspired by the high adhesiveness of the electrospun fiber, we propose a method to fabricate multi-scale heterogeneous hump-on-string fiber via the adsorption of nanoparticles, the NPCTi which is the hydrolysate of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄) and the nanoparticles containing Al (NPCAl) which is produced by the hydrolysis of Trimethylaluminium (TMA, Al(CH₃)₃). The water collection efficiency of the fibers can be easily controlled via changing not only the size of the beads but also the ratio of the Ti and Al. In addition, we introduce a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to show the pressure distribution of on the surface of the fibers, which gives another explanation regarding the high water collection efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased Nanocomposite Functional Materials)

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773 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication and Characterization of Electrospun PCL-MgO-Keratin-Based Composite Nanofibers for Biomedical Applications

by Maame A. D. Boakye, Nava P. Rijal, Udhab Adhikari and Narayan Bhattarai

Materials 2015, 8(7), 4080-4095; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma8074080 - 07 Jul 2015

Cited by 76 | Viewed by 8315

Abstract

Polymeric nanofibers are of great interest in biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering, drug delivery and wound healing, due to their ability to mimic and restore the function of natural extracellular matrix (ECM) found in tissues. Electrospinning has been heavily used to fabricate nanofibers because of its reliability and effectiveness. In our research, we fabricated poly(ε-caprolactone)-(PCL), magnesium oxide-(MgO) and keratin (K)-based composite nanofibers by electrospinning a blend solution of PCL, MgO and/or K. The electrospun nanofibers were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), mechanical tensile testing and inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Nanofibers with diameters in the range of 0.2–2.2 µm were produced by using different ratios of PCL/MgO and PCL-K/MgO. These fibers showed a uniform morphology with suitable mechanical properties; ultimate tensile strength up to 3 MPa and Young’s modulus 10 MPa. The structural integrity of nanofiber mats was retained in aqueous and phosphate buffer saline (PBS) medium. This study provides a new composite material with structural and material properties suitable for potential application in tissue engineering. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased Nanocomposite Functional Materials)

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