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Topic Review
Biography
Topic Review
Fully Implanted Hearing Systems
The ear and brain work together in the hearing process. Sound energy in the audible frequency range (20 Hz–20 kHz) propagates through air medium as an acoustical mechanical wave which enters from the outer ear towards the middle ear to vibrate the eardrum.
636
02 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Functional Polymer Materials for Energy Applications
This entry provides insight into the recent energy applications of polymers.
1.8K
15 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Functional Polymeric Plastic for Bakery Products
Polymeric materials including plastic and paper are commonly used as packaging for bakery products. The incorporation of active substances produces functional polymers that can effectively retain the quality and safety of packaged products. Polymeric materials can be used to produce a variety of package forms such as film, tray, pouch, rigid container and multilayer film.
339
28 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Functionalized Chitosan Nanomaterials
Quorum sensing (QS) is the mechanism by which the microbial colonies in a biofilm modulate and intercept communication without direct interaction. Hence, the eradication of biofilms through hindering this communication will lead to the successful management of drug resistance and may be a novel target for antimicrobial chemotherapy. Chitosan shows microbicidal activities by acting electrostatically with its positively charged amino groups, which interact with anionic moieties on microbial species, causing enhanced membrane permeability and eventual cell death. Therefore, nanoparticles (NPs) prepared with chitosan possess a positive surface charge and mucoadhesive properties that can adhere to microbial mucus membranes and release their drug load in a constant release manner. As the success in therapeutics depends on the targeted delivery of drugs, chitosan nanomaterial, which displays low toxicity, can be safely used for eradicating a biofilm through attenuating the quorum sensing (QS).
487
10 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Fundamental Concepts of Hydrogels
Hydrogels are three-dimensional crosslinked porous networks and can be synthesized from natural polymers, synthetic polymers, polymerizable synthetic monomers, and combination of natural and synthetic polymers. Synthesis of hydrogels involves physical, chemical and hybrid bonding. The bonding is formed via different routes such as solution casting, solution mixing, bulk polymerization, free radical mechanism, radiation method, and interpenetrating network formation. The synthesized hydrogels have significant properties such as mechanical strength, flexibility, biocompatibility, biodegradability, swellability, and stimuli sensitivity. Furthermore, owing to the smart and aqueous medium, robust mechanical strength, adhesiveness, stretchability, strain sensitivity, and self-healability, hydrogels can be potentially used in biomedical, electrochemical, sensors, contact lens, and soft robotic applications.
2.1K
03 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Furane-Based Photoinitiators of Polymerization
Photopolymerization is an active research field enabling to polymerize in greener conditions than that performed with traditional thermal polymerization. A great deal of effort is devoted to developing visible light photoinitiating systems. Indeed, the traditional UV (Ultra Violet) photoinitiating systems are currently the focus of numerous safety concerns so alternatives to UV light are being actively researched. However, visible light photons are less energetic than UV photons so the reactivity of the photoinitiating systems should be improved to address this issue. In this field, furane constitutes an interesting candidate for the design of photocatalysts of polymerization due to its low cost and its easy chemical modification.
402
09 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Gelatin-Based Hybrid Scaffolds
Gelatin is a biopolymer with interesting properties that have greatly attracted the attention of many biomedical researchers, such as low antigenicity, good biodegradability, and biocompatibility in the physiological environment. The gelatin-based materials offer excellent characteristics of wound dressings. The fast degradation time and highly hydrophilic surface make gelatin inappropriate as a base material for the development of wound dressings.
685
08 Sep 2021
Topic Review
General Characteristics of Chitosan
Chitosan is a naturally occurring compound that can be obtained from deacetylated chitin, which is obtained from various sources such as fungi, crustaceans, and insects. Commercially, chitosan is produced from crustaceans. Based on the range of its molecular weight, chitosan can be classified into three different types, namely, high molecular weight chitosan (HMWC, >700 kDa), medium molecular weight chitosan (MMWC, 150–700 kDa), and low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC, less than 150 kDa).
341
14 Jul 2023
Topic Review
General Synthesis Methods of Poly (ε-caprolactone)-Based Graft Copolymers
Synthetic biopolymers are attractive alternatives to biobased polymers, especially because they rarely induce an immune response in a living organism. Poly ε-caprolactone (PCL) is a well-known synthetic aliphatic polyester universally used for many applications, including biomedical and environmental ones. To expand the range of applications for PCL, researchers have investigated the possibility of grafting polymer chains onto the PCL backbone. As the PCL backbone is not functionalized, it must be first functionalized in order to be able to graft reactive groups onto the PCL chain. These reactive groups will then allow the grafting of new reagents and especially new polymer chains. Grafting of polymer chains is mainly carried out by “grafting from” or “grafting onto” methods.
560
29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Glass–fibre–reinforced Polymer
Wind barrier structures are usually installed on railway bridges to reduce wind effects on travelling trains for safety considerations. This however adversely transfers wind loads and causes associated aerodynamic effects to the bridge. An innovative concept of wind barriers using glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites is proposed in this work with experimental investigations and numerical modelling. This work provides a solution to mitigate the wind and associated aerodynamic loads. With an appropriate design of bending stiffness, the proposed barriers may deform adaptively in strong wind scenarios and let the wind to pass through their deformed shape and therefore transfer less load to the bridge. Wind-tunnel experiments and numerical studies are conducted on the aerodynamic responses of the train-barrier-bridge system under crosswind with various speeds. The influences of barrier height, air-flow speed and location of the train on the aerodynamic responses of the system were clarified. Both reduced-scale and full-scale finite element models were established for the train-barrier-bridge system and the results were validated with the experimental results to further support the research findings.
573
22 Oct 2020
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