Carboxymethylated and Sulfated Furcellaran from Furcellaria lumbricalis and Its Immobilization on PLA Scaffolds

This study involved the creation of highly porous PLA scaffolds through the porogen/leaching method, utilizing polyethylene glycol as a porogen with a 75% mass ratio. The outcome achieved a highly interconnected porous structure with a thickness of 25 μm. To activate the scaffold's surface and improve its hydrophilicity, radiofrequency (RF) air plasma treatment was employed. Subsequently, furcellaran subjected to sulfation or carboxymethylation was deposited onto the RF plasma treated surfaces with the intention of improving bioactivity. Surface roughness and water wettability experienced enhancement following the surface modification. The incorporation of sulfate/carboxymethyl group (DS = 0.8; 0.3, respectively) is confirmed by elemental analysis and FT-IR. Successful functionalization of PLA scaffolds was validated by SEM and XPS analysis, showing changes in topography and increases in characteristic elements (N, S, Na) for sulfated (SF) and carboxymethylated (CMF). Cytocompatibility was evaluated by using mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (NIH/3T3).

Controlled release of enrofloxacin by vanillin-crosslinked chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol blends

In transdermal drug delivery applications uniform drug distribution and sustained release are of great importance to decrease the side effects. In this direction in the present research, vanillin crosslinked chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blend based matrix-type transdermal system was prepared by casting and drying of aqueous solutions for local delivery of enrofloxacin (ENR) drug. Subsequently, the properties including the morphology, chemical structure, thermal behavior, tensile strength, crosslinking degree, weight uniformity, thickness, swelling and drug release of the CS-PVA blend films before and after crosslinking were characterized. In vitro drug release profiles showed the sustained release of ENR by the incorporation of vanillin as a crosslinker into the CS-PVA polymer matrix. Furthermore, the release kinetic profiles revealed that the followed mechanism for all samples was Higuchi and the increase of vanillin concentration in the blend films resulted in the change of diffusion mechanism from anomalous transport to Fickian diffusion. Overall, the obtained results suggest that the investigated vanillin crosslinked CS-PVA matrix-type films are potential candidates for transdermal drug delivery system.

3D Porous Ti3C2 MXene/NiCo-MOF Composites for Enhanced Lithium Storage

To improve Li storage capacity and the structural stability of Ti₃C₂ MXene-based electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), a facile strategy is developed to construct three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous Ti₃C₂/bimetal-organic framework (NiCo-MOF) nanoarchitectures as anodes for high-performance LIBs. 2D Ti₃C₂ nanosheets are coupled with NiCo-MOF nanoflakes induced by hydrogen bonds to form 3D Ti₃C₂/NiCo-MOF composite films through vacuum-assisted filtration technology. The morphology and electrochemical properties of Ti₃C₂/NiCo-MOF are influenced by the mass ratio of MOF to Ti₃C₂. Owing to the interconnected porous structures with a high specific surface area, rapid charge transfer process, and Li⁺ diffusion rate, the Ti₃C₂/NiCo-MOF-0.4 electrode delivers a high reversible capacity of 402 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ after 300 cycles; excellent rate performance (256 mAh g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹); and long-term stability with a capacity retention of 85.7% even after 400 cycles at a high current density, much higher than pristine Ti₃C₂ MXene. The results highlight that Ti₃C₂/NiCo-MOF have great potential in the development of high-performance energy storage devices.