Macromolecular Materials and Engineering

Aliphatic polycarbonates based on nanocomposites are widely used in drug delivery, tissue engineering, electrolytes and biomedical instruments. One can synthesize these biopolymers by different methods. The nanoparticles can improve the physical and chemical properties of the biopolymers.

Porous chitosan scaffold is produced by in situ crosslinking with glutaraldehyde, combining pore formation and crosslinking in one step. Pore formation and mechanical strength are influenced by chitosan molecular weight and degree of deacetylation, glutaraldehyde concentration, and cooling speed. The addition of calcium phosphate phases to the scaffolds allows manipulation of bioactivity, as well as the liquid change regime.

Artificial fibers are dry-spun using a multichannel microfluidic chip, serving with highly viscous core solution of regenerated silk fibroin and lowly viscous sheath solution of sericin. The core–sheath, groove, and spindle-knots structures of the fibers can be manipulated by controlling the flow rates and viscosities of the two microfluids.

Immersion Electrospinning, a new method, combines electro- and wet-spinning. A stationary needle submerged in a coagulation bath reduces fiber speed and mitigates bending instabilities found in traditional electrospinning. With selective application of voltage to electrodes, fibers are steered through the bath. By altering the configuration and quantity of electrodes, fibers have the potential to be directed into endless designs.

A novel and stable dual-crosslinked affinity-based drug delivery system based on dextran, human serum albumin, and poly(ethylene glycol) is reported. This hydrogel drug delivery system can be flexibly prepared using thiol-vinyl sulfone Michael addition. By utilizing human serum albumin as an affinity-based drug carrier in this material, a chemotherapeutic can be delivered to MCF-7 human breast cancer cells.