Biodegradable Photo-Crosslinked Thin Polymer Networks Based on Vegetable Oil Hydroxy Fatty Acids

Polycaprolactone usage in additive manufacturing strategies for tissue engineering applications: A review

Polycaprolactone (PCL) has been extensively applied on tissue engineering because of its low-melting temperature, good processability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, mechanical resistance, and relatively low cost. The advance of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in the past decade have boosted the fabrication of customized PCL products, with shorter processing time and absence of material waste. In this context, this review focuses on the use of AM techniques to produce PCL scaffolds for various tissue engineering applications, including bone, muscle, cartilage, skin, and cardiovascular tissue regeneration. The search for optimized geometry, porosity, interconnectivity, controlled degradation rate, and tailored mechanical properties are explored as a tool for enhancing PCL biocompatibility and bioactivity. In addition, rheological and thermal behavior is discussed in terms of filament and scaffold production. Finally, a roadmap for future research is outlined, including the combination of PCL struts with cell-laden hydrogels and 4D printing.

A garlic oil-based organo-hydrogel for use in pH-sensitive drug release

In this study, six different organo-hydrogels containing agar-glycerol (AG)-based garlic oil (GO) were synthesized using two different crosslinkers (N,N, methylenebisacrylamide (MBA), glutaraldehyde (GA)) to ensure the controlled release of ceftriaxone (Ce) and carboplatin (Cp). Synthesized organo-hydrogels were characterized by FT-IR. Afterward, swelling behaviors were investigated in DI, tap water, ethanol, acetone, ethanol/DI water (1:1), acetone/DI water (1:1) and gasoline environments and different pH. As a result of hemolysis, blood clotting and antioxidant analysis, organo-hydrogels have been shown to have blood compatibility and antioxidant properties. Ce and Cp release properties of the prepared organo-hydrogels were also determined. The highest Ce release rate was obtained to be 37.8% for p (AG-g-GO)³ at pH 8.0 after 7 days. However, the highest Cp release rate was found to be 95.4% for p (AG-g-GO)³ at pH 7.4 after 1 day.

Synthesis and characterization of novel organo-hydrogel based agar, glycerol and peppermint oil as a natural drug carrier/release material

The very recent Covid-19 pandemic has made the need to understand biocompatible polymers as support material in drug delivery systems and controlled release clearer, especially for organo-hydrogels. This study aims to synthesize various new polymeric materials called gels, hydrogels, and organo-hydrogels according to the monomer used and to investigate their use as drug release systems. The agar-glycerol (AG) pair was used to synthesize the polymers, N, N, methylene bisacrylamide (MBA, m) and glutaraldehyde (GA, g) were used as cross-linkers and peppermint oil (PmO) was included to obtain the organo-hydrogels. Therefore, one AG gel and two p (AG-m) and p (GA-g) hydrogels were synthesized within the scope of the study. Six different organo-hydrogels based on p(AG-m-PmO) or p (AG-g-PmO) were also synthesized by varying the amount of peppermint oil. Paracetamol and carboplatin were selected as the sample drugs. Synthesized gels, hydrogels and organo-hydrogels were characterized by FTIR and SEM analysis. Additionally, swelling behaviors of the synthesized gels were investigated in different media (ID water, tap water, ethanol, acetone, ethanol/ID water (1:1), acetone/ID water (1:1) and gasoline) and at different pHs. Moreover, it was determined that organo-hydrogels were blood compatible and had antioxidant properties based on hemolysis, blood clotting and antioxidant analysis. Therefore, the release of paracetamol (a known antipyretic-painkiller, recommended and used in the treatment of Covid-19) and carboplatin (widely used in cancer treatment) were studied. Evidently, as the amount of PMO oil increases, the -OH groups in organo-hydrogels will increase and the chemical and physical bonding rates will increase; therefore it was observed that increasing peppermint oil in the organo-hydrogels structure to 0.3 mL stimulated the release of the drugs. For instance, maximum paracetamol release amount from p(AG-g-PmO) and p(AG-m-PmO) organo-hydrogels was calculated to be 72.3% at pH 7.4 and 69.8% at pH 2.0, respectively. The maximum carboplatin release amount from p(AG-g-PmO) and p(AG-m-PmO) organo-hydrogels was calculated to be 99.7% at pH 7.4 and 100% at pH 7.4, respectively. It was concluded that the synthesized organo-hydrogels might easily be used as drug carrier and controlled drug release materials.

Bacterial Cellulose and Emulsified AESO Biocomposites as an Ecological Alternative to Leather

This research investigated the development of bio-based composites comprising bacterial cellulose (BC), as obtained by static culture, and acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO) as an alternative to leather. AESO was first emulsified; polyethylene glycol (PEG), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and perfluorocarbon-based polymers were also added to the AESO emulsion, with the mixtures being diffused into the BC 3D nanofibrillar matrix by an exhaustion process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that the tested polymers penetrated well and uniformly into the bulk of the BC matrix. The obtained composites were hydrophobic and thermally stable up to 200 °C. Regarding their mechanical properties, the addition of different polymers lead to a decrease in the tensile strength and an increase in the elongation at break, overall presenting satisfactory performance as a potential alternative to leather.

Microbial Conversion of Vegetable Oil to Hydroxy Fatty Acid and Its Application to Bio-Based Polyurethane Synthesis

New polyurethanes were synthesized based on dihydroxy fatty acid obtained by the microbial conversion of olive oil. Monounsaturated 7,10-dihydroxy-8(E)-octadecenoic acid (DOD) was produced from olive oil by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PR3 and reacted with hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI) at different ratios to form polyurethanes. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry confirmed the synthesis of DOD. The thermal and tensile properties of the polyurethanes were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and a universal testing machine. At an isocyanate/hydroxyl ratio of 1.4, the polyurethane exhibited an elongation at break of 59.2% and a high tensile strength of 37.9 MPa. DOD was also mixed with polycaprolactone diol or polyethylene glycol at different weight ratios and then reacted with HMDI to produce new polyurethanes of various properties. These polyurethanes displayed higher elongation at break and good thermal stability. This is the first report on the synthesis of polyurethanes based on DOD produced by the microbial conversion of vegetable oil.

Effect of Molecular Weight and Functionality on Acrylated Poly(caprolactone) for Stereolithography and Biomedical Applications

Degradable polymers are integral components in many biomedical polymer applications. The ability of these materials to decompose in situ has become a critical component for tissue engineering, allowing scaffolds to guide cell and tissue growth while facilitating gradual regeneration of native tissue. The objective of this work is to understand the role of prepolymer molecular weight and functionality of photocurable poly(caprolactone) (PCL) in determining reaction kinetics, mechanical properties, polymer degradation, biocompatibility, and suitability for stereolithography. PCL, a degradable polymer used in a number of biomedical applications, was functionalized with acrylate groups to enable photopolymerization and three-dimensional printing via stereolithography. PCL prepolymers with different molecular weights and functionalities were studied to understand the role of molecular structure in reaction kinetics, mechanical properties, and degradation rates. The mechanical properties of photocured PCL were dependent on cross-link density and directly related to the molecular weight and functionality of the prepolymers. High-molecular weight, low-functionality PCLDA prepolymers exhibited a lower modulus and a higher strain at break, while low-molecular weight, high-functionality PCLTA prepolymers exhibited a lower strain at break and a higher modulus. Additionally, degradation profiles of cross-linked PCL followed a similar trend, with low cross-link density leading to degradation times up to 2.5 times shorter than those of more highly cross-linked polymers. Furthermore, photopolymerized PCL showed biocompatibility both in vitro and in vivo, causing no observed detrimental effects on seeded murine-induced pluripotent stem cells or when implanted into pig retinas. Finally, the ability to create three-dimensional PCL structures is shown by fabrication of simple structures using digital light projection stereolithography. Low-molecular weight, high-functionality PCLTA prepolymers printed objects with feature sizes near the hardware resolution limit of 50 μm. This work lays the foundation for future work in fabricating microscale PCL structures for a wide range of tissue regeneration applications.

Synthesis, characterization and enzymatic degradation of copolymers of ε-caprolactone and hydroxy-fatty acids

New copolymers of ε-caprolactone with three hydroxy-fatty acids, 12-hydroxy stearic acid, 16-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid and ricinoleic acid, were synthesized by catalytic polyesterification. The reactions were carried out in solvent-free systems and in organic solvents as well, using tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate as catalyst, at different temperatures and molar ratios of the comonomers. Cyclic and linear polymeric products with medium molar weight of about 2000 Da have been synthesized and their chemical structures were confirmed by FT-IR, NMR and MALDI-TOF MS analysis. The synthesis parameters were optimized and the ε-caprolactone/hydroxy acid molar ratio was set as 5:1, according to mass spectrometry results. The biodegradability of the newly synthesized polymers was studied in the presence of Candida antarctica B lipase in phosphate buffer solutions (pH=7.4), at 37°C. The weight-loss profile emphasized the degradation of the 16-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid based polymer samples at more than 50% of their initial weight in 18 days of incubation in the presence of the lipase. The composition of the degradation products was assessed using the GC-MS technique and displayed residues of the comonomers moieties.

Selectivity of lipases for estolides synthesis

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of estolides starting from different saturated (C16 16OH, C18 12OH) and unsaturated (C18:1 9 cis 12-OH) hydroxy-fatty acids was investigated. For this reason, the catalytic efficiency of several native and immobilized lipases in different organic reaction media at temperatures up to 75 °C was studied. The formation of mono- and di-lactone as well as estolide’s chain elongation depends on the type and source of lipase. The lipase from Pseudomonas stutzeri immobilized by cross-linking as cross-linked enzymes aggregates (CLEAs) was the best biocatalyst in terms of chain elongation. Estolides with polymerization degree up to 10 were obtained at substrate conversions higher than 80 %.