Stimuli-Responsive Biomaterials: Piezoelectric Biomaterials

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2022) | Viewed by 2632

Special Issue Editors

Advanced Materials Department, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova Cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: piezoelectric biomaterials; antimicrobial nanoparticles; poly-l-lactide; functionalized gold nanoparticles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Microelectronics Research Unit, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, FI-90570 Oulu, Finland
Interests: functional nanomaterials; biosensors; bioelectronics; bionanotechnology; carbon nanotubes; stimuli-responsive composites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: polymeric biomaterials; biodegradable polymers; pH- and temperature-sensitive hydrogels; polymeric systems for controlled drug release; antimicrobial polymeric biomaterials; polymeric wound dressings; polymeric scaffolds for tissue regeneration; biological properties of polymeric biomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The vital role of biological electrical fields in tissue growth has inspired numerous investigations to create advanced approaches in wound healing and tissue regeneration, not only for neural tissues but also for a wide range of other tissues (bone, cartilage, muscles, etc.). Electro-stimulators are most efficient if implanted inside soft tissue to obtain close contact between the electro-stimulating active surface and the place of injury. Current research is focused on more convenient designs, mainly in the form of thin membranes. There many questions about selecting the right materials to form an electro-stimulating surface. Piezoelectric materials, with the ability to generate an electrical signal upon mechanical deformation, provide wireless powering and are thus an excellent choice. However, the selection of the piezoelectric material that will meet the biocompatibility requirements in combination with the required piezoelectric coefficients is a big challenge

Dr. Marija Vukomanović
Prof. Dr. Gabriela Simone Lorite
Prof. Dr. Simonida Tomic
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • stimuli-responsive polymers
  • drug-delivery
  • tissue engineering
  • wound healing
  • electro-stimulation
  • piezo-stimulation
  • piezoelectric polymers
  • piezoelectric composites

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 3389 KiB  
Article
Hydrophilicity Affecting the Enzyme-Driven Degradation of Piezoelectric Poly-l-Lactide Films
by Lea Gazvoda, Bojana Višić, Matjaž Spreitzer and Marija Vukomanović
Polymers 2021, 13(11), 1719; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13111719 - 24 May 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2156
Abstract
Biocompatible and biodegradable poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) processed into piezoelectric structures has good potential for use in medical applications, particularly for promoting cellular growth during electrostimulation. Significant advantages like closer contacts between cells and films are predicted when their surfaces are modified [...] Read more.
Biocompatible and biodegradable poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) processed into piezoelectric structures has good potential for use in medical applications, particularly for promoting cellular growth during electrostimulation. Significant advantages like closer contacts between cells and films are predicted when their surfaces are modified to make them more hydrophilic. However, there is an open question about whether the surface modification will affect the degradation process and how the films will be changed as a result. For the first time, we demonstrate that improving the polymer surface’s wettability affects the position of enzyme-driven degradation. Although it is generally considered that proteinase K degrades only the polymer surface, we observed the enzyme’s ability to induce both surface and bulk degradation. In hydrophilic films, degradation occurs at the surface, inducing surface erosion, while for hydrophobic films, it is located inside the films, inducing bulk erosion. Accordingly, changes in the structural, morphological, mechanical, thermal and wetting properties of the film resulting from degradation vary, depending on the film’s wettability. Most importantly, the degradation is gradual, so the mechanical and piezoelectric properties are retained during the degradation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stimuli-Responsive Biomaterials: Piezoelectric Biomaterials)
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