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Polymers
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Processing and Structure–Property Relationships of Polymer Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications
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Processing and Structure–Property Relationships of Polymer Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 December 2022) | Viewed by 14926

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Shih-Feng Chou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75799, USA
Interests: fibrous membranes; tissue scaffolds; biopolymers; drug delivery; skin tissue engineering; wound healing; mechanical properties; biodegradation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding the effects of polymer processing on the structure–property relationships of polymer scaffolds is fundamental in polymer research for engineering applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Processing of polymer scaffolds covers a wide range of techniques, including injection molding, hydrogel forming, fiber extrusion/spinning, polymer freeze-drying/casting, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and compositing. Characterizations of resulting polymer scaffolds in terms of structure–property relationships can be carried out using physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal, pharmaceutical, and biological methods. In particular, experimental and/or computer-simulated structure–property results from the characterization of polymer scaffolds with respect to their corresponding biomedical applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering are highly anticipated.

This Special Issue aims to highlight novel aspects of the synthesis and processing of polymer scaffolds and their corresponding structure–property relationships for biomedical applications.

Dr. Shih-Feng Chou
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

  • synthesis and processing
  • microstructure
  • mechanical properties
  • chemical properties
  • pharmacological properties
  • biological properties
  • biodegradability
  • biocompatibility
  • drug delivery
  • tissue engineering
  • natural polymers
  • polymer blends

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 23453 KiB  
Article
Effects of Poloxamers as Excipients on the Physicomechanical Properties, Cellular Biocompatibility, and In Vitro Drug Release of Electrospun Polycaprolactone (PCL) Fibers
by Addison Faglie, Rachel Emerine and Shih-Feng Chou
Polymers 2023, 15(14), 2997; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15142997 - 10 Jul 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1091
Abstract
Electrospun microfibers are emerging as one of the advanced wound dressing materials for acute and/or chronic wounds, especially with their ability to carry drugs and excipients at a high loading while being able to deliver them in a controlled manner. Various attempts were [...] Read more.
Electrospun microfibers are emerging as one of the advanced wound dressing materials for acute and/or chronic wounds, especially with their ability to carry drugs and excipients at a high loading while being able to deliver them in a controlled manner. Various attempts were made to include excipients in electrospun microfibers as wound dressing materials, and one of them is poloxamer, an amphiphilic polymer that exhibits wound debridement characteristics. In this study, we formulated two types of poloxamers (i.e., P188 and P338) at 30% (w/w) loading into electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) fibers to evaluate their physicomechanical properties, biocompatibility, and in vitro drug release of a model drug. Our findings showed that the incorporation of poloxamers in the PCL solutions during electrospinning resulted in a greater “whipping” process for a larger fiber deposition area. These fibers were mechanically stiffer and stronger, but less ductile as compared to the PCL control fibers. The incorporation of poloxamers into electrospun PCL fibers reduced the surface hydrophobicity of fibers according to our water contact angle studies and in vitro degradation studies. The fibers’ mechanical properties returned to those of the PCL control groups after “dumping” the poloxamers. Moreover, poloxamer-loaded PCL fibers accelerated the in vitro release of the model drug due to surface wettability. These poloxamer-loaded PCL fibers were biocompatible, as validated by MTT assays using A549 cells. Overall, we demonstrated the ability to achieve a high loading of poloxamers in electrospun fibers for wound dressing applications. This work provided the basic scientific understanding of materials science and bioengineering with an emphasis on the engineering applications of advanced wound dressings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing and Structure–Property Relationships of Polymer Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications)
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16 pages, 8609 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Fibrin/Polyvinyl Alcohol Scaffolds for Skin Tissue Engineering via Emulsion Templating
by Guoying Zhou, Jiayan Zhu, Catriona Inverarity, Yifeng Fang, Zhao Zhang, Hua Ye, Zhanfeng Cui, Linh Nguyen, Haitong Wan and Julian F. Dye
Polymers 2023, 15(5), 1151; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15051151 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2014
Abstract
In the search for a novel and scalable skin scaffold for wound healing and tissue regeneration, we fabricated a class of fibrin/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) scaffolds using an emulsion templating method. The fibrin/PVA scaffolds were formed by enzymatic coagulation of fibrinogen with thrombin in [...] Read more.
In the search for a novel and scalable skin scaffold for wound healing and tissue regeneration, we fabricated a class of fibrin/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) scaffolds using an emulsion templating method. The fibrin/PVA scaffolds were formed by enzymatic coagulation of fibrinogen with thrombin in the presence of PVA as a bulking agent and an emulsion phase as the porogen, with glutaraldehyde as the cross-linking agent. After freeze drying, the scaffolds were characterized and evaluated for biocompatibility and efficacy of dermal reconstruction. SEM analysis showed that the formed scaffolds had interconnected porous structures (average pore size e was around 330 µm) and preserved the nano-scale fibrous architecture of the fibrin. Mechanical testing showed that the scaffolds’ ultimate tensile strength was around 0.12 MPa with an elongation of around 50%. The proteolytic degradation of scaffolds could be controlled over a wide range by varying the type or degree of cross-linking and by fibrin/PVA composition. Assessment of cytocompatibility by human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) proliferation assays shows that MSC can attach, penetrate, and proliferate into the fibrin/PVA scaffolds with an elongated and stretched morphology. The efficacy of scaffolds for tissue reconstruction was evaluated in a murine full-thickness skin excision defect model. The scaffolds were integrated and resorbed without inflammatory infiltration and, compared to control wounds, promoted deeper neodermal formation, greater collagen fiber deposition, facilitated angiogenesis, and significantly accelerated wound healing and epithelial closure. The experimental data showed that the fabricated fibrin/PVA scaffolds are promising for skin repair and skin tissue engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing and Structure–Property Relationships of Polymer Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications)
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Review

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44 pages, 2872 KiB  
Review
Functional Thermoresponsive Hydrogel Molecule to Material Design for Biomedical Applications
by Sagar Pardeshi, Fouad Damiri, Mehrukh Zehravi, Rohit Joshi, Harshad Kapare, Mahendra Kumar Prajapati, Neha Munot, Mohammed Berrada, Prabhanjan S. Giram, Satish Rojekar, Faraat Ali, Md. Habibur Rahman and Hasi Rani Barai
Polymers 2022, 14(15), 3126; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14153126 - 31 Jul 2022
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4477
Abstract
Temperature-induced, rapid changes in the viscosity and reproducible 3-D structure formation makes thermos-sensitive hydrogels an ideal delivery system to act as a cell scaffold or a drug reservoir. Moreover, the hydrogels’ minimum invasiveness, high biocompatibility, and facile elimination from the body have gathered [...] Read more.
Temperature-induced, rapid changes in the viscosity and reproducible 3-D structure formation makes thermos-sensitive hydrogels an ideal delivery system to act as a cell scaffold or a drug reservoir. Moreover, the hydrogels’ minimum invasiveness, high biocompatibility, and facile elimination from the body have gathered a lot of attention from researchers. This review article attempts to present a complete picture of the exhaustive arena, including the synthesis, mechanism, and biomedical applications of thermosensitive hydrogels. A special section on intellectual property and marketed products tries to shed some light on the commercial potential of thermosensitive hydrogels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing and Structure–Property Relationships of Polymer Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications)
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17 pages, 2938 KiB  
Review
Compositions and Structural Geometries of Scaffolds Used in the Regeneration of Cleft Palates: A Review of the Literature
by Víctor A. Reyna-Urrutia, Arely M. González-González and Raúl Rosales-Ibáñez
Polymers 2022, 14(3), 547; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14030547 - 28 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2786
Abstract
Cleft palate (CP) is one of the most common birth defects, presenting a multitude of negative impacts on the health of the patient. It also leads to increased mortality at all stages of life, economic costs and psychosocial effects. The embryological development of [...] Read more.
Cleft palate (CP) is one of the most common birth defects, presenting a multitude of negative impacts on the health of the patient. It also leads to increased mortality at all stages of life, economic costs and psychosocial effects. The embryological development of CP has been outlined thanks to the advances made in recent years due to biomolecular successions. The etiology is broad and combines certain environmental and genetic factors. Currently, all surgical interventions work off the principle of restoring the area of the fissure and aesthetics of the patient, making use of bone substitutes. These can involve biological products, such as a demineralized bone matrix, as well as natural–synthetic polymers, and can be supplemented with nutrients or growth factors. For this reason, the following review analyzes different biomaterials in which nutrients or biomolecules have been added to improve the bioactive properties of the tissue construct to regenerate new bone, taking into account the greatest limitations of this approach, which are its use for bone substitutes for large areas exclusively and the lack of vascularity. Bone tissue engineering is a promising field, since it favors the development of porous synthetic substitutes with the ability to promote rapid and extensive vascularization within their structures for the regeneration of the CP area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing and Structure–Property Relationships of Polymer Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications)
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22 pages, 1953 KiB  
Review
Cyclodextrins-Peptides/Proteins Conjugates: Synthesis, Properties and Applications
by Jakub Łagiewka, Tomasz Girek and Wojciech Ciesielski
Polymers 2021, 13(11), 1759; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13111759 - 27 May 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3342
Abstract
Cyclodextrins (CDs) are a family of macrocyclic oligosaccharides mostly composed of six, seven, or eight α-D-glucopyranose units with α-1,4-glycosidic bonds to form toroidal structures. The CDs possess a hydrophilic exterior and hydrophobic interior with the ability to form an inclusion complex, especially with [...] Read more.
Cyclodextrins (CDs) are a family of macrocyclic oligosaccharides mostly composed of six, seven, or eight α-D-glucopyranose units with α-1,4-glycosidic bonds to form toroidal structures. The CDs possess a hydrophilic exterior and hydrophobic interior with the ability to form an inclusion complex, especially with hydrophobic molecules. However, most existing studies are about conjugation CDs with peptide/protein focusing on the formation of new systems. The CD-peptide/protein can possess new abilities; particularly, the cavity can be applied in modulation properties of more complexed proteins. Most studies are focused on drug delivery, such as targeted delivery in cell-penetrating peptides or co-delivery. The co-delivery is based mostly on polylysine systems; on the other hand, the CD-peptide allows us to understand biomolecular mechanisms such as fibryllation or stem cell behaviour. Moreover, the CD-proteins are more complexed systems with a focus on targeted therapy; these conjugates might be controllable with various properties due to changes in their stability. Finally, the studies of CD-peptide/protein are promising in biomedical application and provide new possibilities for the conjugation of simple molecules to biomolecules. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing and Structure–Property Relationships of Polymer Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications)
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