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Polymers
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Advanced Polymer Composites for Medical Applications
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Advanced Polymer Composites for Medical Applications

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2023) | Viewed by 16354

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ivan Guryanov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Biohybrid Technologies, Institute of Chemistry, Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg 199034, Russia
Interests: peptides; poly(amino acids); nanoparticles; drug delivery; gene therapy; oncology; nanotraps

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Modern medicine involves the treatment of various diseases with the aid of methods and approaches inspired by natural processes in biological systems. The study of these molecular and cellular mechanisms, as well as the development of algorithms for the construction of biomimetic systems, is an important direction of cutting-edge research in the fields of chemistry, biology, and medicine. New-generation biomaterials based on composite polymers are receiving increasing attention due to their outstanding properties, such as biocompatibility and easy functionalization, which produce highly specific molecular recognition of biomolecules and promote the required biological response, such as cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. These biomaterials are widely applied in the fields of drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.

The scope of this Special Issue “Advanced Polymer Composites for Medical Applications” is to present cutting-edge achievements in the design, physico-chemical and biological characterization, and biomedical applications of functional composite polymers. Research papers, reviews, and short communications are welcome for publication.

Dr. Ivan Guryanov
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Polymers 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 2700 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.

Keywords

  • biopolymers
  • functional polymers
  • biomaterials
  • tissue engineering
  • nanoparticles
  • drug delivery
  • ligand-receptor interactions
  • regenerative medicine

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2452 KiB  
Article
Influence of Air-Barrier and Curing Light Distance on Conversion and Micro-Hardness of Dental Polymeric Materials
by Lucian Toma Ciocan, Elena Iuliana Biru, Vlad Gabriel Vasilescu, Jana Ghitman, Ana-Roxana Stefan, Horia Iovu and Roxana Ilici
Polymers 2022, 14(24), 5346; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14245346 - 07 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1390
Abstract
This study aims to assess the conversion degree and hardness behavior of two new commercial dental restorative composites that have been submitted to light curing in different environments (air and glycerin, respectively) at various distances from the light source (1 to 5 mm) [...] Read more.
This study aims to assess the conversion degree and hardness behavior of two new commercial dental restorative composites that have been submitted to light curing in different environments (air and glycerin, respectively) at various distances from the light source (1 to 5 mm) and to better understand the influence of the preparation conditions of the restorative materials. Through FT-IR spectrometry, the crosslinking degree of the commercial restorative materials have been investigated and different conversion values were obtained (from ~17% to ~90%) but more importantly, it was shown that the polymerization environment exhibits a significant influence on the crosslinking degree of the resin-based composites especially for obtaining degrees of higher polymerization. Additionally, the mechanical properties of the restorative materials were studied using the nanoindentation technique showing that the nano-hardness behavior is strongly influenced not only by the polymerization lamp position, but also by the chemical structure of the materials and polymerization conditions. Thus, the nanoindentation results showed that the highest nano-hardness values (~0.86 GPa) were obtained in the case of the flowable C3 composite that contains BisEMA and UDMA as a polymerizable organic matrix when crosslinked at 1 mm distance from the curing lamp using glycerin as an oxygen-inhibitor layer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymer Composites for Medical Applications)
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19 pages, 9846 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of 3D Printed Polylactic-Acid (PLA) Green-Composite for Artificial Implant: Hip Joint Case Study
by Ahmed Fouly, Abdulaziz K. Assaifan, Ibrahim A. Alnaser, Omar A. Hussein and Hany S. Abdo
Polymers 2022, 14(23), 5299; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14235299 - 04 Dec 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2516
Abstract
Artificial implants are very essential for the disabled as they are utilized for bone and joint function in orthopedics. However, materials used in such implants suffer from restricted mechanical and tribological properties besides the difficulty of using such materials with complex structures. The [...] Read more.
Artificial implants are very essential for the disabled as they are utilized for bone and joint function in orthopedics. However, materials used in such implants suffer from restricted mechanical and tribological properties besides the difficulty of using such materials with complex structures. The current study works on developing a new polymer green composite that can be used for artificial implants and allow design flexibility through its usage with 3D printing technology. Therefore, a natural filler extracted from corn cob (CC) was prepared, mixed homogeneously with the Polylactic-acid (PLA), and passed through a complete process to produce a green composite filament suit 3D printer. The corn cob particles were incorporated with PLA with different weight fractions zero, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. The physical, mechanical, and tribological properties of the PLA-CC composites were evaluated. 3D finite element models were constructed to evaluate the PLA-CC composites performance on a real condition implant, hip joints, and through the frictional process. Incorporating corn cob inside PLA revealed an enhancement in the hardness (10%), stiffness (6%), compression ultimate strength (12%), and wear resistance (150%) of the proposed PLA-CC composite. The finite element results of both models proved an enhancement in the load-carrying capacity of the composite. The finite element results came in line with the experimental results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymer Composites for Medical Applications)
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30 pages, 6288 KiB  
Article
Design, Fabrication and Characterization of Biodegradable Composites Containing Closo-Borates as Potential Materials for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy
by Mariia Stepanova, Anatoliy Dobrodumov, Ilia Averianov, Iosif Gofman, Juliya Nashchekina, Ivan Guryanov, Ilya Klyukin, Andrey Zhdanov, Evgenia Korzhikova-Vlakh and Konstantin Zhizhin
Polymers 2022, 14(18), 3864; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14183864 - 15 Sep 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1923
Abstract
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been recognized as a very promising approach for cancer treatment. In the case of osteosarcoma, boron-containing scaffolds can be a powerful tool to combine boron delivery to the tumor cells and the repair of postoperative bone defects. [...] Read more.
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been recognized as a very promising approach for cancer treatment. In the case of osteosarcoma, boron-containing scaffolds can be a powerful tool to combine boron delivery to the tumor cells and the repair of postoperative bone defects. Here we describe the fabrication and characterization of novel biodegradable polymer composites as films and 3D-printed matrices based on aliphatic polyesters containing closo-borates (CB) for BNCT. Different approaches to the fabrication of composites have been applied, and the mechanical properties of these composites, kinetics of their degradation, and the release of closo-borate have been studied. The most complex scaffold was a 3D-printed poly(ε-caprolactone) matrix filled with CB-containing alginate/gelatin hydrogel to enhance biocompatibility. The results obtained allowed us to confirm the high potential of the developed composite materials for application in BNCT and bone tissue regeneration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymer Composites for Medical Applications)
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13 pages, 6274 KiB  
Article
Flexural Strength, Elastic Modulus and Remineralizing Abilities of Bioactive Resin-Based Dental Sealants
by Maria Salem Ibrahim, Mana’a S. Alabbas, Khalid U. Alsomaly, Abdullah A. AlMansour, Alhareth Abdulaziz Aljouie, Majed M. Alzahrani, Ahmed A. Asseri and Jehan AlHumaid
Polymers 2022, 14(1), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14010061 - 24 Dec 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3490
Abstract
Objective: To assess the remineralizing abilities and compare the flexural strength and elastic modulus of different bioactive pit and fissure sealants. Materials and Methods: Human enamel samples were randomly and blindly sealed with one of the following bioactive materials: BioCoat (Bc), ACTIVA KIDS [...] Read more.
Objective: To assess the remineralizing abilities and compare the flexural strength and elastic modulus of different bioactive pit and fissure sealants. Materials and Methods: Human enamel samples were randomly and blindly sealed with one of the following bioactive materials: BioCoat (Bc), ACTIVA KIDS (Av) and BeautiSealant (Bu). Seal-it (Si) was used as a non-bioactive sealant beside a control blank (B) group with no sealant. The sealed samples were subjected to a pH-cycling model (7 days of demineralization–remineralization cycles). The enamel surface hardness change (SHC), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and polarized light microscopy were used to assess the remineralizing abilities of the studied sealants. Flexural strength and elastic modulus were also assessed following the ISO 4049 protocols. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the results. Results: Bc sealant showed the highest FS and EM (p < 0.05). The contact with Bc and Bu sealants showed significantly lower %SHL (p < 0.05) in comparison to the other. These findings were supported by the results of SEM-EDX and polarized imaging by showing higher percentages of calcium and phosphate ions with the former sealants and thinner demineralized enamel bands. Conclusion: In this study, Bc showed the highest flexural strength. Bc and Bu sealants outperformed the other studied sealants in terms of their remineralization abilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymer Composites for Medical Applications)
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17 pages, 3870 KiB  
Article
Surface Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) Nanocomposites Reinforced by Nano-Sized Silica (SiO2) for Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry
by Ahmed Abd El-Fattah, Heba Youssef, Mohamed Abdel Hady Gepreel, Rafik Abbas and Sherif Kandil
Polymers 2021, 13(17), 3006; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13173006 - 05 Sep 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3589
Abstract
In the field of orthopedics and traumatology, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) serves a significant role as a suitable alternative to traditional metal-based implants like titanium. PEEK is being used more commonly to replace traditional dental products. For bonding with various adhesive agents and [...] Read more.
In the field of orthopedics and traumatology, polyether ether ketone (PEEK) serves a significant role as a suitable alternative to traditional metal-based implants like titanium. PEEK is being used more commonly to replace traditional dental products. For bonding with various adhesive agents and preserved teeth, the surface alteration of PEEK was investigated. The aim of this research was to understand how different types and contents of nano-sized silica (SiO2) fillers influenced the surface and mechanical properties of PEEK nanocomposites used in prosthodontics. In this work, PEEK based nanocomposites containing hydrophilic or hydrophobic nano-silica were prepared by a compression molding technique. The influence of nano-SiO2 type and content (10, 20 and 30% wt) on surface properties of the resultant nanocomposites was investigated by the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), surface roughness analysis, and contact angle measurement. The crystalline structures of PEEK/SiO2 nanocomposites were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. Mechanical properties were measured by microhardness, elastic compression modulus, and flexural strength. All nanocomposites showed increased surface roughness compared to pure PEEK. SEM images revealed that nanocomposites filled with low content hydrophobic nano-SiO2 showed uniform dispersion within the PEEK matrix. The introduction of 10 wt% of hydrophobic nano-SiO2 to the PEEK matrix improved elastic modulus, flexural strength, and microhardness, according to the findings. The addition of nano-SiO2 fillers in a higher weight percentage, over 10%, significantly damages the mechanical characteristics of the resultant nanocomposite. On the basis of the obtained results, PEEK/SiO2 nanocomposites loaded with low content hydrophobic nano-SiO2 are recommended as promising candidates for orthopedic and prosthodontics materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymer Composites for Medical Applications)
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17 pages, 63894 KiB  
Article
Model Composites Based on Poly(lactic acid) and Bioactive Glass Fillers for Bone Regeneration
by Xavier Lacambra-Andreu, Nora Dergham, Marlin Magallanes-Perdomo, Sylvain Meille, Jérôme Chevalier, Jean-Marc Chenal, Abderrahim Maazouz and Khalid Lamnawar
Polymers 2021, 13(17), 2991; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13172991 - 03 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2095
Abstract
Poly(l-lactide-co-d,l-lactide) PDLA/45S5 Bioglass® (BG) composites for medical devices were developed using an original approach based on a thermal treatment of BG prior to processing. The aim of the present work is to gain a fundamental understanding [...] Read more.
Poly(l-lactide-co-d,l-lactide) PDLA/45S5 Bioglass® (BG) composites for medical devices were developed using an original approach based on a thermal treatment of BG prior to processing. The aim of the present work is to gain a fundamental understanding of the relationships between the morphology, processing conditions and final properties of these biomaterials. A rheological study was performed to evaluate and model the PDLA/BG degradation during processing. The filler contents, as well as their thermal treatments, were investigated. The degradation of PDLA was also investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and mechanical characterization. The results highlight the value of thermally treating the BG in order to control the degradation of the polymer during the process. The present work provides a guideline for obtaining composites with a well-controlled particle dispersion, optimized mechanical properties and limited degradation of the PDLA matrix. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymer Composites for Medical Applications)
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