Chitosan coatings on titanium-based implants - From development to characterization and behavior: A systematic review

Chitosan is a promising natural polymer for coatings, it combines intrinsic antibacterial and pro-osteoblastic properties, but the literature still has a gap from the development to behavior of these coatings, so this systematic review aimed to answer, "What is the relationship between the physical and chemical properties of polymeric chitosan coatings on titanium implants on antibacterial activity and osteoblast viability?". PRISMA guidelines was followed, the search was applied into 4 databases and grey literature, without the restriction of time and language. The selection process occurred in 2 blinded steps by the authors. The criteria of eligibility were in vitro studies that evaluated the physical, chemical, microbiological, and biological properties of chitosan coatings on titanium surfaces. The risk of bias was analyzed by the specific tool. Of 734 potential articles 10 were included; all had low risk of bias. The coating was assessed according to the technique of fabrication, FT-IR, thickness, adhesion, roughness, wettability, antibacterial activity, and osteoblast viability. The analyzed coatings showed efficacy on antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility dependent on the class of material incorporated. Thus, this review motivates the development of time-dependent studies to optimize manufacturing and allow for an increase in patents and availability on the market.

Novel PEG6000-Silica-MWCNTs Shape-Stabilized Composite Phase-Change Materials (ssCPCMs) for Thermal-Energy Storage

This paper describes the preparation of new PEG₆₀₀₀-silica-MWCNTs composites as shape-stabilized phase change materials (ssPCMs) for application in latent heat storage. An innovative method was employed to obtain the new organic-inorganic hybrid materials, in which both a part of the PEG chains, used as the phase change material, and a part of the hydroxyl functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-OH), used as thermo-conductive fillers, were covalently connected by newly formed urethane bonds to the in-situ-generated silica matrix. The study's main aim was to investigate the optimal amount of PEG₆₀₀₀ that can be added to the fixed sol-gel reaction mixture so that no leakage of PEG occurs after repeated heating-cooling cycles. The findings show that the optimum PEG₆₀₀₀/NCOTEOS molar ratio was 2/1 (~91.5% PEG₆₀₀₀), because both the connected and free PEG chains interacted strongly with the in-situ-generated silica matrix to form a shape-stabilized material while preserving high phase-transition enthalpies (~153 J/G). Morphological and structural findings obtained by SEM, X-ray and Raman techniques indicated a distribution of the silica component in the amorphous phase (~27% for the optimum composition) located among the crystalline lamellae built by the folded chains of the PEG component. This composite maintained good chemical stability after a 450-cycle thermal test and had a good storage efficiency (~84%).

Blend Hybrid Solid Electrolytes Based on LiTFSI Doped Silica-Polyethylene Oxide for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Organic/inorganic hybrid membranes that are based on GTT (GPTMS-TMES-TPTE) system while using 3-Glycidoxypropyl-trimethoxysilane (GPTMS), Trimethyletoxisilane (TMES), and Trimethylolpropane triglycidyl ether (TPTE) as precursors have been obtained while using a combination of organic polymerization and sol-gel synthesis to be used as electrolytes in Li-ion batteries. Self-supported materials and thin-films solid hybrid electrolytes that were doped with Lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) were prepared. The hybrid network is based on highly cross-linked structures with high ionic conductivity. The dependency of the crosslinked hybrid structure and polymerization grade on ionic conductivity is studied. Ionic conductivity depends on triepoxy precursor (TPTE) and the accessibility of Li ions in the organic network, reaching a maximum ionic conductivity of 1.3 × 10⁻⁴ and 1.4 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at room temperature and 60 °C, respectively. A wide electrochemical stability window in the range of 1.5–5 V facilitates its use as solid electrolytes in next-generation of Li-ion batteries.

Viscoelastic and self-healing behavior of silica filled ionically modified poly(isobutylene-co-isoprene) rubber

Rubber composites were prepared by mixing bromobutyl rubber (BIIR) with silica particles in the presence of 1-butylimidazole. In addition to pristine (precipitated) silica, silanized particles with aliphatic or imidazolium functional groups, respectively, were used as filler. The silanization was carried out either separately or in situ during compounding. The silanized particles were characterized by TGA, ¹H–²⁹Si cross polarization (CP)/MAS NMR, and Zeta potential measurements. During compounding, the bromine groups of BIIR were converted with 1-butylimidazole to ionic imidazolium groups which formed a dynamic network by ionic association. Based on DMA temperature and strain sweep measurements as well as cyclic tensile tests and stress–strain measurements it could be concluded that interactions between the ionic groups and interactions with the functional groups of the silica particles strongly influence the mechanical and viscoelastic behavior of the composites. A particularly pronounced reinforcing effect was observed for the composite with pristine silica, which was attributed to acid–base interactions between the silanol and imidazolium groups. In composites with alkyl or imidazolium functionalized silica particles, the interactions between the filler and the rubber matrix form dynamic networks with pronounced self-healing behavior and excellent tensile strength values of up to 19 MPa. This new approach in utilizing filler–matrix interactions in the formation of dynamic networks opens up new avenues in designing new kinds of particle-reinforced self-healing elastomeric materials with high technological relevance.

A self-healing rubber/silica composite with superior mechanical performance was obtained by tuning specific noncovalent filler–matrix interactions.

Vegetable oil hybrid films cross-linked at the air-water interface: formation kinetics and physical characterization

Vegetable oil based hybrid films were developed thanks to a novel solvent- and heating-free method at the air-water interface using silylated castor oil cross-linked via a sol-gel reaction. To understand the mechanism of the hybrid film formation, the reaction kinetics was studied in detail by using complementary techniques: rheology, thermogravimetric analysis, and infrared spectroscopy. The mechanical properties of the final films were investigated using nano-indentation, whereas their structure was studied using a combination of wide-angle X-ray scattering, electron diffraction, and atomic force microscopy. We found that solid and transparent films form in 24 hours and, by changing the silica precursor to castor oil ratio, their mechanical properties are tunable in the MPa-range by about a factor of twenty. In addition to that, a possible optimization of the cross-linking reaction with different catalysts was explored, and finally cytotoxicity tests were performed on fibroblasts proving the absence of film toxicity. The results of this work pave the way to a straightforward synthesis of castor-oil films with tunable mechanical properties: hybrid films cross-linked at the air-water interface combine an easy and cheap spreading protocol with the features of their thermal history optimized for possible future micro/nano drug loading, thus representing excellent candidates for the replacement of non-environmentally friendly petroleum-based materials.

Active corrosion inhibition of mild steel by environmentally-friendly Ce-doped organic–inorganic sol–gel coatings

A bi-layer siloxane-methacrylate coating (26 μm) doped with cerium on mild steel combining a barrier effect with self-healing in 3.5 wt NaCl.

The influence of applied silica nanoparticles on a bio-renewable castor oil based polyurethane nanocomposite and its physicochemical properties

Bio-renewable castor oil polyurethane–silica nanocomposite films with improved thermal, surface and mechanical properties were prepared. These films find application in biomaterials development.