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22 pages, 5448 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical and Structural Properties of Polyhydroxybutyrate as Additive in Blend Material in Additive Manufacturing for Medical Applications

by Muhammad Zulhilmi Zainuddin, Ahmad Adnan Abu Bakar, Ahmad Nurhelmy Adam, Shahino Mah Abdullah, Nizam Tamchek, Muhammad Syafiq Alauddin, Mohd Muzamir Mahat, Nophadon Wiwatcharagoses, Ahmad Alforidi and Mohd Ifwat Mohd Ghazali

Polymers 2023, 15(8), 1849; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15081849 - 12 Apr 2023

Viewed by 2004

Abstract

Today, additive manufacturing (AM) is considered one of the vital tenets of the industry 4.0 revolution due to its high productivity, decentralized production and rapid prototyping. This work aims to study the mechanical and structural properties of polyhydroxybutyrate as an additive in blend [...] Read more.

Today, additive manufacturing (AM) is considered one of the vital tenets of the industry 4.0 revolution due to its high productivity, decentralized production and rapid prototyping. This work aims to study the mechanical and structural properties of polyhydroxybutyrate as an additive in blend materials and its potential in medical applications. PHB/PUA blend resins were formulated with 0 wt.%, 6 wt.%, 12 wt.% and 18 wt.% of PHB concentration. Stereolithography or an SLA 3D printing technique were used to evaluate the printability of the PHB/PUA blend resins. Additionally, from FESEM analysis, a change was observed in PUA’s microstructure, with an additional number of voids spotted. Furthermore, from XRD analysis, as PHB concentration increased, the crystallinity index (CI) also increased. This indicates the brittleness properties of the materials, which correlated to the weak performance of the tensile and impact properties. Next, the effect of PHB loading concentration within PHB/PUA blends and aging duration towards the mechanical performance of tensile and impact properties was also studied by using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a two-way method. Finally, 12 wt.% of PHB/PUA was selected to 3D print the finger splint due to its characteristics, which are compatible to be used in finger bone fracture recovery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials)

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18 pages, 5902 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Different Vat Polymerization Techniques on Mechanical and Biological Properties of 3D-Printed Denture Base

by Hao-Ern Lee, Muhammad Syafiq Alauddin, Mohd Ifwat Mohd Ghazali, Zulfahmi Said and Syazwani Mohamad Zol

Polymers 2023, 15(6), 1463; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15061463 - 15 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1913

Abstract

Three-dimensional printing is increasingly applied in dentistry to fabricate denture bases. Several 3D-printing technologies and materials are available to fabricate denture bases, but there is data scarcity on the effect of printability, mechanical, and biological properties of the 3D-printed denture base upon fabricating [...] Read more.

Three-dimensional printing is increasingly applied in dentistry to fabricate denture bases. Several 3D-printing technologies and materials are available to fabricate denture bases, but there is data scarcity on the effect of printability, mechanical, and biological properties of the 3D-printed denture base upon fabricating with different vat polymerization techniques. In this study, the NextDent denture base resin was printed with the stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP), and light-crystal display (LCD) technique and underwent the same post-processing procedure. The mechanical and biological properties of the denture bases were characterized in terms of flexural strength and modulus, fracture toughness, water sorption and solubility, and fungal adhesion. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc were used to statistically analyze the data. The results showed that the greatest flexural strength was exhibited by the SLA

(150.8 \pm 7.93 M P a)

, followed by the DLP and LCD. Water sorption and solubility of the DLP are significantly higher than other groups

(31.51 \pm 0.92 \frac{μ g}{m m^{3}})

and

(5.32 \pm 0.61 \frac{μ g}{m m^{3}}),

respectively. Subsequently, the most fungal adhesion was found in SLA

(221.94 \pm 65.80 C F U / m L)

. This study confirmed that the NextDent denture base resin designed for DLP can be printed with different vat polymerization techniques. All of the tested groups met the ISO requirement aside from the water solubility, and the SLA exhibited the greatest mechanical strength. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials)

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14 pages, 3916 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Use of 3D Polylactic Acid Scaffolds with Hydroxyapatite/Alginate Composite Injection and Mesenchymal Stem Cells as Laminoplasty Spacers in Rabbits

by Ahmad Jabir Rahyussalim, Dina Aprilya, Raden Handidwiono, Yudan Whulanza, Ghiska Ramahdita and Tri Kurniawati

Polymers 2022, 14(16), 3292; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14163292 - 12 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1629

Abstract

Several types of laminoplasty spacer have been used to fill bone gaps and maintain a widened canal. A 3D scaffold can be used as an alternative spacer to minimize the risk observed in allografts or autografts. This study aims to evaluate the in [...] Read more.

Several types of laminoplasty spacer have been used to fill bone gaps and maintain a widened canal. A 3D scaffold can be used as an alternative spacer to minimize the risk observed in allografts or autografts. This study aims to evaluate the in vivo biocompatibility and tissue–scaffold integration of a polylactic acid (PLA) scaffold with the addition of alginate/hydroxyapatite (HA) and mesenchymal stem cell (MSc) injections. This is an experimental study with a pretest and post-test control group design. A total of 15 laminoplasty rabbit models were divided into five groups with variations in the autograft, PLA, HA/alginate, and MSc scaffold. In general, there were no signs of inflammation in most samples (47%), and there were no samples with areas of necrosis. There were no significant differences in the histopathological results and microstructural assessment between the five groups. This demonstrates that the synthetic scaffolds that we used had a similar tissue reaction and tissue integration profile as the autograft (p > 0.05). We recommend further translational studies in humans so that this biocompatible fabricated scaffold can be used to fill bone defects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials)

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16 pages, 5941 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication of Tissue-Engineered Cartilage Using Decellularized Scaffolds and Chondrocytes

by Liang Lu, Xifu Shang, Bin Liu, Weijian Chen, Yu Zhang, Shuyun Liu, Xiang Sui, Aiyuan Wang and Quanyi Guo

Polymers 2022, 14(14), 2848; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14142848 - 13 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1593

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to explore the application value of tissue engineering for the construction of artificial cartilage in vitro. Chondrocytes from healthy porcine articular cartilage tissue were seeded on articular cartilage extracellular matrix (ACECM) scaffolds and cultivated. Type II collagen immunofluorescent [...] Read more.

In this paper, we aim to explore the application value of tissue engineering for the construction of artificial cartilage in vitro. Chondrocytes from healthy porcine articular cartilage tissue were seeded on articular cartilage extracellular matrix (ACECM) scaffolds and cultivated. Type II collagen immunofluorescent staining was used to assess secretion from the extracellular matrix. Chondrocytes, which were mainly polygonal and cobblestone-shaped, were inoculated on ACECM-oriented scaffolding for 7 days, and the neo-tissue showed translucent shape and toughness. Using inverted and fluorescence microscopy, we found that chondrocytes on the scaffolds performed well in terms of adhesion and growth, and they secreted collagen type II. Moreover, the porcine ACECM scaffolds had good biocompatibility. The inflammatory cell detection, cellular immune response assay and humoral immune response assay showed porcine ACECM scaffolds were used for xenotransplantation without significant immune inflammatory response. All these findings reveal that ACECM-oriented scaffold is an ideal natural biomaterial for cartilage tissue engineering. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials)

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19 pages, 13983 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrospun Poly(lactic acid) and Silk Fibroin Based Nanofibrous Scaffold for Meniscus Tissue Engineering

by Siripanyo Promnil, Chaiwat Ruksakulpiwat, Piya-on Numpaisal and Yupaporn Ruksakulpiwat

Polymers 2022, 14(12), 2435; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14122435 - 16 Jun 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2599

Abstract

Biopolymer based scaffolds are commonly considered as suitable materials for medical application. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is one of the most popular polymers that has been used as a bioscaffold, but it has poor cell adhesion and slowly degrades in an in vitro environment. [...] Read more.

Biopolymer based scaffolds are commonly considered as suitable materials for medical application. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is one of the most popular polymers that has been used as a bioscaffold, but it has poor cell adhesion and slowly degrades in an in vitro environment. In this study, silk fibroin (SF) was selected to improve cell adhesion and degradability of electrospun PLA. In order to fabricate a PLA/SF scaffold that offered both biological and mechanical properties, related parameters such as solution viscosity and SF content were studied. By varying the concentration and molecular weight of PLA, the solution viscosity significantly changed. The effect of solution viscosity on the fiber forming ability and fiber morphology was elucidated. In addition, commercial (l-lactide, d-lactide PLA) and medical grade PLA (pure PLLA) were both investigated. Mechanical properties, thermal properties, biodegradability, wettability, cell viability, and gene expression of electrospun PLA and PLA/SF based nanofibrous scaffolds were examined. The results demonstrated that medical grade PLA electrospun scaffolds offered superior mechanical property, degradability, and cellular induction for meniscus tissue regeneration. However, for commercial non-medical grade PLA used in this study, it was not recommended to be used for medical application because of its toxicity. With the addition of SF in PLA based scaffolds, the in vitro degradability and hydrophilicity were improved. PLAmed50:SF50 scaffold has the potential to be used as biomimetic meniscus scaffold for scaffold augmented suture based on mechanical properties, cell viability, gene expression, surface wettability, and in vitro degradation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials)

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14 pages, 5930 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel Antiviral and Antibacterial Durable Polyester Fabrics Printed with Selenium Nanoparticles (SeNPs)

by Tarek Abou Elmaaty, Khaled Sayed-Ahmed, Hanan Elsisi, Shaimaa M. Ramadan, Heba Sorour, Mai Magdi and Shereen A. Abdeldayem

Polymers 2022, 14(5), 955; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14050955 - 27 Feb 2022

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3648

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown the importance of developing advanced protective equipment, and new antiviral fabrics for the protection and prevention of life-threatening viral diseases are needed. In this study, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) were combined with polyester fabrics using printing technique to [...] Read more.

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown the importance of developing advanced protective equipment, and new antiviral fabrics for the protection and prevention of life-threatening viral diseases are needed. In this study, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) were combined with polyester fabrics using printing technique to obtain multifunctional properties, including combined antiviral and antibacterial activities as well as coloring. The properties of the printed polyester fabrics with SeNPs were estimated, including tensile strength and color fastness. Characterization of the SeNPs was carried out using TEM and SEM. The results of the analysis showed good uniformity and stability of the particles with sizes range from 40–60 nm and 40–80 nm for SeNPs 25 mM and 50 mM, respectively, as well as uniform coating of the SeNPs on the fabric. In addition, the SeNPs—printed polyester fabric exhibited high disinfection activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with an inhibition percentage of 87.5%. Moreover, a toxicity test of the resulting printed fabric revealed low cytotoxicity against the HFB4 cell line. In contrast, the treated fabric under study showed excellent killing potentiality against Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, and Escherichia coli). This multifunctional fabric has high potential for use in protective clothing applications by providing passive and active protection pathways. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials)

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10 pages, 1151 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical and Imaging Properties of a Clinical-Grade Kidney Phantom Based on Polydimethylsiloxane and Elastomer

by Izdihar Kamal, Hairil Rashmizal Abdul Razak, Muhammad Khalis Abdul Karim, Syamsiah Mashohor, Josephine Ying Chyi Liew, Yiin Jian Low, Nur Atiqah Zaaba, Mazlan Norkhairunnisa and Nur Athirah Syima Mohd Rafi

Polymers 2022, 14(3), 535; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14030535 - 28 Jan 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2425

Abstract

Medical imaging phantoms are considered critical in mimicking the properties of human tissue for calibration, training, surgical planning, and simulation purposes. Hence, the stability and accuracy of the imaging phantom play a significant role in diagnostic imaging. This study aimed to evaluate the [...] Read more.

Medical imaging phantoms are considered critical in mimicking the properties of human tissue for calibration, training, surgical planning, and simulation purposes. Hence, the stability and accuracy of the imaging phantom play a significant role in diagnostic imaging. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of hydrogen silicone (HS) and water (H₂O) on the compression strength, radiation attenuation properties, and computed tomography (CT) number of the blended Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) samples, and to verify the best material to simulate kidney tissue. Four samples with different compositions were studied, including samples S1, S2, S3, and S4, which consisted of PDMS 100%, HS/PDMS 20:80, H₂O/PDMS 20:80, and HS/H₂O/PDMS 20:40:40, respectively. The stability of the samples was assessed using compression testing, and the attenuation properties of sample S2 were evaluated. The effective atomic number of S2 showed a similar pattern to the human kidney tissue at 1.50 × 10⁻¹ to 1 MeV. With the use of a 120 kVp X-ray beam, the CT number quantified for S2, as well measured 40 HU, and had the highest contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) value. Therefore, the S2 sample formulation exhibited the potential to mimic the human kidney, as it has a similar dynamic and is higher in terms of stability as a medical phantom. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials)

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17 pages, 5040 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Coordination Properties of a Water-Soluble Material by Cross-Linking Low Molecular Weight Polyethyleneimine with Armed Cyclotriveratrilene

by Yoke Mooi Ng, Paolo Coghi, Jerome P. L. Ng, Fayaz Ali, Vincent Kam Wai Wong and Carmine Coluccini

Polymers 2021, 13(23), 4133; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13234133 - 26 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2126

Abstract

In this study, a full organic and water-soluble material was synthesized by coupling low molecular weight polyethylenimine (PEI-800) with cyclotriveratrilene (CTV). The water-soluble cross-linked polymer contains hydrophobic holes with a high coordination capability towards different organic drug molecules. The coordinating capability towards hydrophilic [...] Read more.

In this study, a full organic and water-soluble material was synthesized by coupling low molecular weight polyethylenimine (PEI-800) with cyclotriveratrilene (CTV). The water-soluble cross-linked polymer contains hydrophobic holes with a high coordination capability towards different organic drug molecules. The coordinating capability towards hydrophilic drugs (doxorubicin, gatifloxacin and sinomenine) and hydrophobic drugs (camptothecin and celastrol) was analyzed in an aqueous medium by using NMR, UV-Vis and emission spectroscopies. The coordination of drug molecules with the armed CTV unit through hydrophobic interactions was observed. In particular, celastrol exhibited more ionic interactions with the PEI moiety of the hosting system. In the case of doxorubicin, the host–guest detachment was induced by the addition of ammonium chloride, suggesting that the intracellular environment can facilitate the release of the drug molecules. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials)

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Review

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17 pages, 1726 KiB

Open AccessReview

Description of Poly(aryl-ether-ketone) Materials (PAEKs), Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) for Application as a Dental Material: A Materials Science Review

by Syazwani Mohamad Zol, Muhammad Syafiq Alauddin, Zulfahmi Said, Mohd Ifwat Mohd Ghazali, Lee Hao-Ern, Durratul Aqwa Mohd Farid, Nur A’fifah Husna Zahari, Aws Hashim Ali Al-Khadim and Azrul Hafiz Abdul Aziz

Polymers 2023, 15(9), 2170; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15092170 - 02 May 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3825

Abstract

Poly(aryl-ether-ketone) materials (PAEKs), a class of high-performance polymers comprised of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), have attracted interest in standard dental procedures due to their inherent characteristics in terms of mechanical and biological properties. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a restorative dental material widely used [...] Read more.

Poly(aryl-ether-ketone) materials (PAEKs), a class of high-performance polymers comprised of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), have attracted interest in standard dental procedures due to their inherent characteristics in terms of mechanical and biological properties. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a restorative dental material widely used for prosthetic frameworks due to its superior physical, mechanical, aesthetic, and handling features. Meanwhile, polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic embraced in the additive manufacturing market. In the present review study, a new way to fabricate high-performance polymers, particularly PEEK and PEKK, is demonstrated using additive manufacturing digital dental technology, or 3-dimensional (3D) printing. The focus in this literature review will encompass an investigation of the chemical, mechanical, and biological properties of HPPs, particularly PEEK and PEKK, along with their application particularly in dentistry. High-performance polymers have gained popularity in denture prosthesis in advance dentistry due to their flexibility in terms of manufacturing and the growing interest in utilizing additive manufacturing in denture fabrication. Further, this review also explores the literature regarding the properties of high-performance polymers (HPP) compared to previous reported polymers in terms of the dental material along with the current advancement of the digital designing and manufacturing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalization and Medical Application of Polymer Materials)

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