The biomass accumulation and movement of biofilms in a microchannel is monitored by optical microscopy. First, the average optical density of the biofilm is monitored in time as a measure of biofilm thickness and structural heterogeneity. These results are used as inputs to calculate changing flow velocities due to resulting excluded volume. Next the displacement velocity of moving biofilm segments was recorded in different places in the microchannel. Quantitative analysis by a particle tracking routine showed differences in displacement velocity near and far from the microchannel corner, which is believed to be related to the local shear forces which vary depending on the height of the biofilm segment and its position in the microchannel. The effect of changing biofilm thickness and different hydrodynamic environments in the microchannel are then discussed in terms of their effects on molecular loading rates. Finally, a demonstration of a flow-templated growth approach as a means to homogenize the growth environment.

The major aim of the present study is to develop and explore the potential of large surface area electrospun polymer nanofabric as a carrier for controlled and sustained release, in particular for hydrophobic drugs. Gelatin (type A), FDA approved natural polymer was electrospun in a mixture of solvent (20% acetic acid in water) to yield long, continuous and uniform fibers with average diameter ∼ 200 nm. Piperine was chosen as a model hydrophobic drug in this study. As gelatin is highly soluble in aqueous medium, we crosslinked electrospun gelatin nanofibers using saturated GTA vapor to increase the water resistive properties. For controlled release over a period of 12 h, we devised several strategies to vary the crosslinking conditions and accordingly understand their effect on drug release mechanism. One of such successful efforts was based on deposition of multiple layers of electrospun fabric by sandwiching between drug loaded gelatin nanofibers and without drug gelatin nanofibers from both sides. Not only the layer by layer deposition, we also crosslinked the different layer in the same sequential way. Sequential crosslinking using GTA vapor in different layers of the fabric, helped in uniform crosslinking throughout the thickness compared to crosslinking after final deposition in the form of a single layer. Effect of different crosslinking strategies was investigated in terms of surface morphology and drug stability. Finally, in-vitro release study was performed maintaining the physiological conditions mimicking GI tract to analyze the effect of crosslinking on the drug release profile. The in-vitro studies concluded that the controlled drug release can be achieved by tuning the thickness of individual fabric layer followed by their sequential crosslinking, which finally affects the diffusional barrier for drug release. Interestingly, we also found that only 6 min exposure to saturated GTA vapor is sufficient to provide the required drug release in contrast to up to 24 h as reported in literature. This finding also addresses the toxicity problem associated with the use of GTA as a cross-linker.

We demonstrate an alternative route to synthesize functionalized silica nanoparticles through incorporation of alcohol compounds in the Stöber process. The Stöber process has been widely utilized for the synthesis of silica nanoparticles due to its simplicity and reliability. Silane based compounds have been incorporated in this process in order to tailor surface properties of the silica nanoparticles. These compounds do, however, have limitations in their utility due to side reactions with water and intermolecular polymerization. In this article, we report the incorporation of alcohol based reagents in the Stöber process as an alternative means of synthesis and functionalization of silica nanoparticles. In particular, choline chloride was chosen as an exemplary alcohol to be incorporated in the process for tuning overall surface charge of the silica nanoparticles. These silica nanoparticles with incorporated choline chloride were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), zeta potential measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in comparison with silica nanoparticles synthesized from the traditional Stöber process. While the size and shape of the nanoparticles exhibited little difference between the two synthetic routes, the zeta potential of the choline chloride incorporated nanoparticle was ∼10 mV higher than that of the traditional silica nanoparticles. Composition of the choline chloride containing silica nanoparticles was verified by XPS with the observation of strong N1s and C1s signals. The methods introduced in this article could be expanded to incorporate a range of alcohol containing compounds including choline chloride for the synthesis of silica nanoparticles with a tuned surface chemistry.

This work studied the effect of plasma treatment on the wettability of composite materials constituted of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) processed through the spin-coating and electrospinning techniques. For this purpose different polymeric solutions of PEG:PHB with proportions of 100:0, 80:20, 50:50, 20:80, and 0:100 were prepared. It found that the hydrophobicity of the as-prepared composite films processed by electrospinning was higher than those processed by spin-coating, using the same proportions of PEG:PHB. The electrospun samples with higher content of PHB (20:80 and 0:100) showed a surface morphology constituted by fibers of 1.7-1.9 μm in size. On the other hand, the electrospun samples processed with a lower content of PHB (100:0, 80:20, 50:50) did not form fibers and exhibited a rough surface. The subsequent plasma treatment with argon plasma of the electrospun samples produced a decrease in the contact angle, even in the samples with surface roughness. These contact angle values were similar to those obtained by spin-coating, or even lower, as in the case of the sample with PEG:PHB content of 20:80 in which the dip-coated film, the as-prepared membrane, and the plasma-treated membrane showed contact angles of 49°, 77.4°, and 0° (superhydrophilic) respectively.

Percolation of blood and of interstitial fluids into implantable continuous glucose sensors (CGS) for diabetics presently limits sensor lifetime between 3 and 7 days. Na+ mobile ions in body fluids damage Si-based CGS sensors electronics. The direct detection of Na percolation is investigated by Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) and Proton Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) in previously used CGS. Based on these results, a new technology called HemaDropTM is then tested to prepare small volume (5-10 µL) of blood for IBA. A species’s detectability by IBA scales with the square of the ratio of element’s atomic number Z to that of the substrate. Because Na has a low atomic number (Z=11), Si signals from sensor substrates can prevent Na detection in Si by 2 mega electron volt (MeV) IBA.

Using 4.7 MeV 23Na (α, α)23Na nuclear resonance (NR) can increase the 23Na scattering cross section and thus its detectability in Si. The NR energy, width, and resonance factor, is calibrated via two well-known alpha (α) particle signals with narrow energy spreads: a 5.486 ± 0.007 MeV 241Am α-source (ΔΕ = 0.12%) and the 3.038 ± 0.003 MeV 16O(α, α)16O NR (ΔΕ = 0.1%). Next, the NR cross section is calibrated via 100 nm NaF thin films on Si(100) by scanning the beam energy. The23Na (α, α) NR energy is found to be 4.696 ± 0.180 MeV, and the NR/RBS cross section 141 ± 7%. This is statistically significant but small compared to the 4.265 MeV 12C NR (1700%) and 3.038 MeV 16O NR (210%), and insufficient to detect small amounts of 23Na in Si. Next, a new method of sample preparation HemaDropTM, is tested for detection of elements in blood, such Fe, Ca, Na, Cl, S, K, C, N, and O, as an alternative to track fluid percolation and Na diffusion in damaged sensors. Detecting more abundant, heavier elements in blood and interstitial fluids can better track fluid percolation and Na+ ions in sensors. Both Na detection and accuracy of measured blood composition by IBA is greatly improved by using HemaDropTM sample preparation to create Homogeneous Thin Solid Films (HTSFs) of blood from 5-10 µL on most substrates. HTSF can be used in vacuo such as 10-8 –10-6 Torr).

Lenses in laparoscopes, arthroscopes, and laryngoscopes fog during closed body surgery due to humidity from bodily fluids and differences between body and operating room temperatures.1,2 Surgeons must repeatedly remove, clean, and reinsert scopes that are obscured by fog. As a result, surgery duration, infection risks, and scarring from air exposure increase.3,4 Current methods to address fogging introduce other complications. Acidic alcohol-based coatings scar tissue and quickly evaporate, and heated lenses require reheating every 5 to 20 minutes.3,4 This paper presents a new super-hydrophilic, biocompatible, non-toxic, pH neutral (7.2-7.4), and long-lasting anti-fog coating called VitreOx™.5-7 VitreOx™ can be used wet or dry, without use of alcohol, heat, or fluid evacuation. When applied as a liquid, it easily espouses lenses’ surfaces and edges, and dries within seconds to form a permanently super-hydrophilic surface on silica and polymer surfaces. VitreOx™ avoids current shortfalls by eliminating frequent reapplications, avoiding reapplication for surgeries lasting up to 72 hours.

VitreOx™'s anti-fog properties can be explained by nucleation and growth theory for thin films condensation: 1) 3-D droplets, resulting in fogging; 2) 2-D sheets resulting in a flat transparent film; or 3) mixed 3-D on 2-D, resulting in optical distortion. On hydrophobic surfaces (e.g. lenses), condensation occurs with fogging via spherical 3-D droplets, as in the Volmer-Weber model. 3-D droplets scatter light in all directions through refraction yielding opaque or translucent films (fog). VitreOx™ applied to hydrophobic lenses renders them super-hydrophilic. Similar to the 2-D Frank Van-der-Merwe Growth Mode, condensation with uniform wetting yields transparent 2-D films that do not distort optical images transmission.

In vitro and in vivo studies of VitreOx™ were conducted to measure performance and duration of anti-fog effectiveness and bio-compatibility. In vitro tests spanned from 3 to 72 hours over a 3-year range. Side-by-side in vivo gastro-endoscopies were conducted on Yucatan™ swine for 90 minutes using 1) VitreOx™, 2) bare lens, and 3) Covidien Clearify™ surfactant with warmer. VitreOx™ coated lenses did not fog nor need reapplication for 90 minutes, while Covidien Clearify™ lasted 38 minutes without fogging, requiring retreatment. No adverse reaction was observed on swines exposed toVitreOx™, in surgery and 12 months thereafter.

Dialysis is the process by which an artificial kidney device removes waste and excess water from a patient. An outstanding problem with dialysis is that the body has a remarkable immune function where proteins and antigens mark foreign objects as possible threats despite the biocompatibility of the material. Upon adhesion to polymeric materials used currently in dialysis, proteins are lost. In this study, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is investigated as a potential replacement material for dialysis tubing because of its unreactive nature. The focus is to determine if PTFE will prove a viable material in minimizing protein adhesion and further reducing antibody loss of the patient. Protein loss as a function of filtration time was measured. PVC and PTFE materials were investigated following the same battery of testing where the protein concentrations in the blood were characterized using UV Visible spectrophotometry. Results demonstrate a loss of nearly 12 percent of blood proteins to the PVC material over the course of a typical dialysis treatment. Conversely, the protein loss due to adhesion to PTFE was less than two percent.

Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPHN) have great potential as drug delivery devices for treatment of serious medical issues such as cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis, and cancer. Nanoprecipitation is a commonly used method to synthesize LPHN in a low cost manner. However, this multi-step process proves to be difficult in consistently producing uniformly sized nanoparticles. Here we developed a microfluidic device that utilizes a three-channel pathway and mixer channel to synthesize uniformly sized LPHN in a controlled manner. Dynamic light scattering results of the microfluidic synthesized nanoparticles show decrease in diameter size from 140 nm to 40 nm as the Reynolds number of the channel inflow increases. Transmission electron microscopy confirms the size and morphology of the nanoparticles. Three dimensional structure of the LPHN were observed using atomic force microscopy. The production of higher quality nanoparticles using our microfluidics device can expedite the research and development process of drug delivering lipid polymer nanoparticles.

Overall, autologous bone grafting continues to be the gold standard for the restoration of bone defects while other practices include metallic meshes and plates. These practices are not always suitable particularly when performing reconstructive surgery in the maxillofacial region as the defects tend to be complex in terms of size and shape. These bone defect usually occur due to trauma, infection or a result of oncologic surgeries and therefore the patient requires large amount of bone grafting material [1].

There is a need for alternative methods such as is artificial bone scaffolds with regenerative medicine approaches in order to enable original tissue regeneration. In order to stimulate tissue regeneration scaffolding materials are required to have certain properties such as biocompatibility, adequate mechanical properties and internal and surface topographical features in order to provide specific biological signals to promote cell attachment and proliferation. Ideally, it would also need to be biodegradable and provide sufficient support for both the particular defect area and cellular ingrowth to degrade over time as new bone tissue is formed [2]. This work analyses the mechanical and chemical properties of Hydroxyapatite (HA) - poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) and Hydroxyapatite (HA) - poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) based composites used as artificial bone scaffold material with internal structures optimized using finite element analysis (FEA) using Hyperworks OptiStruct (Altair, USA) Topological Optimization and manufactured using commercially available additive manufacturing techniques in order to develop a product that can be introduced directly into the patient. The technique allows implants to be custom made, having the right dimensions and the right mechanical properties.

Testing of the ceramic-hydrogel composite include mechanical testing in compression, tension, bending, impact and hardness while chemical analysis include Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Morphology was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy.