Fe-Mn-Cu alloy as biodegradable material with enhanced antimicrobial properties

Degradable iron (Fe) based materials have been widely investigated for fracture fixation to overcome complications of permanent implants. Our study is focused on the development of a new Fe-Mn-Cu alloy with enhanced antimicrobial properties. In this work, Fe-Mn-Cu alloys, with up to 10 wt% copper (Cu), were prepared by powder metallurgy route. Degradation behaviour of the alloys were studied using potentiodynamic polarization test which showed nearly about 6 times increase in corrosion rate for 10 wt% Cu compared to the base alloy. Addition of Cu has significantly increased microhardness for up to 5 wt% and decreased thereafter. Broth micro-dilution test showed increased antimicrobial activity with Cu addition in Fe-Mn alloy while in vitro cytocompatibility study showed more than 70% cell viability for all alloys. Present study indicates that Cu alloying in Fe-Mn makes it a suitable material for internal fracture fixation devices with enhanced antimicrobial properties. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Protection of human γB-crystallin from UV-induced damage by epigallocatechin gallate: spectroscopic and docking studies

The transparency of the human eye lens depends on the solubility and stability of the structural proteins of the eye lens, the crystallins. Although the mechanism of cataract formation is still unclear, it is believed to involve protein misfolding and/or aggregation of proteins due to the influence of several external factors such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation, low pH, temperature and exposure to chemical agents. In this article, we report the study of UV induced photo-damage (under oxidative stress) of recombinant human γB-crystallin in vitro in the presence of the major green tea polyphenol, (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). We have shown that EGCG has the ability to protect human γB-crystallin from oxidative stress-induced photo-damage

Gradient crystallinity and its influence on the poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate) membrane-derived by immersion precipitation method

Herein, phase inversion poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PVDF/PMMA) microporous membranes were prepared at various PMMA concentration by immersion precipitation method. Increment in the PMMA concentration has a significant influence in the PVDF membrane crystallinity, which is studied by differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray diffractometer, and small-angle X-ray scattering analyses. Properties such as membrane bulk structure, porosity, hydrophilicity, mechanical stability, and water flux vary in terms of PMMA concentration. Porosity is increased, and tensile strength decreased when PMMA concentration is beyond 30 wt %. Thermodynamic instability during the liquid to solid phase separation and variation in the crystallinity has an intense effect on these membrane properties. Then, 70/30 blend membrane selected as optimum composition owing to the high porosity and pure water flux compared to other compositions. This membrane is modified with a composite filler derived from the graphene oxide and titanate crosslinked by chitosan. The antibacterial, antifouling, and bovine serum albumin separation studies reveal that the developed nanocomposite membrane is a potential candidate for the separation application