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Topic Review
Permeation Enhancers of Hormones Penetration through the Skin
Hormones have attracted considerable interest in recent years due to their potential use in treatment of many diseases. Their ability to have a multidirectional effect leads to searching for new and increasingly effective drugs and therapies. Limitations in formulating drug forms containing hormones are mainly due to their low enzymatic stability, short half-life and limited bioavailability. One of the solutions may be to develop a hydrogel as a potential hormone carrier, for epidermal and transdermal application. 
  • 680
  • 01 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Available Sampling Methods for Plastic Waste
Given the rapid development of plastics recycling in recent years, the need for guidelines for sampling and material characterization is steadily emerging. However, there still exists a considerable scarcity of methods that enable proper material data acquisition. It was found that neither the literature nor the standards provide a comprehensive practice that considers the distinctive characteristics of plastic waste and applies it to different situations along the value chain. Two variants of the proposed plan were evaluated based on the flake size distribution and the apparent density of four different pretreated polyolefin (PO) waste materials. Combining stratified random sampling with composite sampling yields a good sampling technique for rigid PO waste. Moreover, the analysis of a composite sample adequately conveys the true material properties of a sublot or lot.
  • 1.4K
  • 31 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Polymeric Carriers
RNA therapeutics have gained popularity due to their ability to affect targets that small molecules cannot. Additionally, they can be manufacture more rapidly and cost-effectively than small molecules or recombinant proteins. RNA therapeutics can be synthesised chemically and altered quickly, which can enable a more personalised approach to treatment. Even though a wide range of RNA therapeutics are being developed for various indications, none has reached the clinic to date. One of the main reasons for this is attributed to the lack of safe and effective delivery systems for this type of therapeutic. Polymeric carriers have been widely studied for the delivery of RNA therapeutics because of their versatility, potential multi-functionality and relative low cost.
  • 517
  • 29 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Assessment of Bio-Based Polyurethanes
Among numerous synthetic macromolecules, polyurethane in its different forms has proven its sheer dominance and established a reputation as a reliable and trusted material due to its proficiency in terms of superior properties, which include: high mechanical strength and abrasion resistance, good durability, good adhesion, good thermal stability, excellent chemical and weathering resistance. Synthetic polyurethane materials are non-biodegradable, poisonous, and use petrochemical-based raw materials, which are now depleting, leading to a surge in polyurethane production costs. Enormous kinds of available bio-renewable sources as predecessors for the production of polyols and isocyanates have been explored for the development of “greener” PU materials; these bio-based polyurethanes have significant potential to be used as future PU products, with a partial or total replacement of petroleum-based polyurethanes, due to increasing concern about the environment, their relatively low cost and biodegradability.
  • 1.7K
  • 12 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Multicomponent Shape-Memory Polymers
Shape-memory polymers (SMPs)  are often combined with other functional materials. For example, polymers, metals, or other inorganic materials, in the shape of particles, fibers, and laminates, are combined to create multicomponent systems. Since these multicomponent systems are built up from discrete phases consisting of SMPs mixed with other polymers at the macroscopic or molecular level or reinforced with other domains (e.g., inorganic particle), they are particularly suited for the realization of multifunctionality.
  • 375
  • 09 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Broadening the Reflection Bandwidth in Cholesteric Liquid Crystals
Cholesteric liquid crystal (ChLC) materials with broadband reflection are witnessing a significant surge in interest due to their unique ability to self-organize into a helical supra-molecular architecture and their excellent selective reflection of light based on the Bragg relationship. How to realize the broadening of the reflection bandwidth within the desired reflection spectrum is still one of the critical problems to be solved for the application of ChLCs. It is necessary to adjust the pitch gradient or the non-uniform pitch distribution in the ChLC material system to achieve the broadening of the reflection bandwidth.
  • 523
  • 08 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Chitin and Chitosan
Chitin and its derivative chitosan are highly abundant polymers in nature, appearing in both the shells and exoskeletons of various marine and non-marine species. Since they possess favorable properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and non-immunogenicity, they have gained recent attention due to their enormous potential biomedical applications. The polycationic surface of chitosan enables it to form hydrogenic and ionic bonds with drug molecules, which is one of its most useful properties. Because chitosan is biocompatible, it can therefore be used in drug delivery systems. The development of chitosan-based nanoparticles has also contributed to the significance of chitin as a drug delivery system that can deliver drugs topically. Furthermore, chitin can be used in cancer treatment as a vehicle for delivering cancer drugs to a specific site and has an antiproliferative effect by reducing the viability of cells. Finally, chitosan can be used as a wound dressing in order to promote the faster regeneration of skin epithelial cells and collagen production by fibroblasts.
  • 1.3K
  • 01 Aug 2022
Topic Review
4D Printing Technologies
3D printing has played a crucial role in the last decades as an innovative technology for tissue and organ fabrication, patient-specific orthoses, drug delivery, and surgical planning. However, biomedical materials used for 3D printing are usually static and unable to dynamically respond or transform within the internal environment of the body. These materials are fabricated ex situ, which involves first printing on a planar substrate and then deploying it to the target surface, thus resulting in a possible mismatch between the printed part and the target surfaces. The emergence of 4D printing addresses some of these drawbacks, opening an attractive path for the biomedical sector. By preprogramming smart materials, 4D printing is able to manufacture structures that dynamically respond to external stimuli. Despite these potentials, 4D printed dynamic materials are still in their infancy of development. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) could push these technologies forward enlarging their applicability, boosting the design space of smart materials by selecting promising ones with desired architectures, properties, and functions, reducing the time to manufacturing, and allowing the in situ printing directly on target surfaces achieving high-fidelity of human body micro-structures. 
  • 1.1K
  • 29 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Modification of Glucomannan as an Excipient
Glucomannan (GM) is a polysaccharide generally extracted from the tuber of Amorphophallus konjac. It consists of mannose and glucose residues linked by β-(1-4) and exhibits hydrocolloid characteristics which can be applied as thickening and gelling agents. However, it has poor water resistance and low mechanical strength when used as an excipient in solid form. Several physical and chemical modifications have been carried out to improve these drawbacks. Chemical modification involves the substitution of functional groups in GM’s structure including esterification and etherification. It causes a decrease in its high hydrophilic film behavior and produce water-resistant films. Physical modification involves mixing native GM with other excipients through processes involving milling, moisture, temperature, pressure, radiation, etc. It causes variations to particle size, shape, surface properties, porosity, density, and to functional properties such as swelling capacity and gelation ability
  • 764
  • 26 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Constituents of a Free Radical UV Curing System
The essential constituents of a UV curing system are a resin, which is an oligomer whose backbone confers the properties to the final polymer; a monomer, which acts as a cross-linking agent and adjusts the viscosity of the mixture to an acceptable level for application; and a photoinitiator, which is responsible for the light absorbance and governs the curing depth and rate.
  • 2.0K
  • 21 Jul 2022
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