Nucleation of the electroactive γ phase and enhancement of the optical transparency in low filler content poly(vinylidene)/clay nanocomposites

Poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, based nanocomposites with different clays structures have been processed by solvent casting and melt crystallisation. Depending on the melting temperature of the polymer, the nanocomposite recrystalises in the electroactive or non electroactive β-phase of the polymer. This fact is related to the thermal behaviour of the clay. For montmorillonite clay, the full crystallisation of the electroactiveγ-phase occurs for clay contents lower than 0.5 wt%, allowing the nanocomposites to maintain the mechanical properties of the polymer matrix. The electroactivity of the material has been proven by measuring the piezoelectric d33 response of the material. The obtained value of d33 is -7 pC/N, lower than in β-PVDF obtained by mechanical stretching, but still among the largest coefficients obtained for polymers. Further, the optical transmittance in the visible range is strongly enhanced with respect to the transmittance of the pure polymer. Finally, it is demonstrated that the nucleation of the β-phase can be also obtained in other clays, such as in kaolinite and laponite.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - NANO/NMed-SD/0156/2007, PTDC/CTM/69316/2006, PTDC/CTM-NAN/112574/2009, SFRH/BD/62507/2009.FEDER funds through the "Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETECOST Action MP1003, the ‘European Scientific Network for Artificial Muscles’ (ESNAM)

Characterization of mycelia from wood-decay species by TGA and IR spectroscopy

Abstract: Wood-decay fungi have been mainly studied for their medicinal or nutraceutical properties, lignocellulolytic enzymes as well as their pathological role in plants. Recently they have also been recognized as a potential source of biocomposite materials due to the features of mycelial mats in several species. Chemical, physical-morphological and biological properties are affected by interspecific and intraspecific differences in composition of the cell wall regarding both major and minor constituents; thus, a preliminary characterization can optimize the strain selection for applied and research purposes. In the present study, 52 strains from 18 wood-decay fungal species were considered to build a general descriptive model based on the cell wall in the light of interspecific variability. Pure-cultured mycelia were dried and examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to highlight the main different characteristics of each species. TGA profiles resulted more functional for a qualitative-quantitative description of major constituents (above all, β-glucans and chitin), whereas FTIR spectra are only qualitative and more difficult to analyze. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis confirmed the general descriptive model and allow interspecific comparison beyond intraspecific variability. In conclusion, TGA provides a simpler tool for screening of wood decay fungal strains and selection based on major cell wall constituents, namely chitin and glucans. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Wood decay fungal strains useful for bio-composite material production

Interest on wood decay fungi (WDF) has been increasing in the last years thanks to the potentiality of this kind of fungi; research on new WDF strains has increased as well thus pointing out the key role of the culture collections. One of the most recent biotechnological application of WDF is the development of novel materials from natural or recycled resources. Based on different combinations of fungal species, substrate and processing treatment involved (e.g. heat pressing), it is possible to achieve a wide variety of materials with different features useful for many industrial applications: from packaging to thermal and acoustic insulation. In comparison with the conventional ones, these materials represent a 100% natural and compostable alternative involving low amounts of energy in the production process. The purpose of the present work was to isolate and select WDF strains able to colonize and degrade different plant wastes thus producing a fungal biomass shapeable to achieve bio-composite materials. Strains were selected within the mycological culture collection of Pavia University (MicUNIPV, over 300 strains of WDF). The selected strains have been investigated with regards their ability to colonize and degrade plant residues from the local major cultivations (e.g. poplar, alfalfa, maize, rice and wheat) and produce the fungal biomass. The degradation of the substrate was assessed by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Chemical characterization confirmed that TGA and FTIR are complementary techniques able to provide quali-quantitative information on compositional and structural variation that occurs during the transformation from substrate to bio-composite material. This pilot study provides a fundamental step to tune further applications in fungus-residues composite biomaterials

Osteoblast, fibroblast and in-vivo biological response to poly(vinylidene fluoride) based composite materials

Electroactive materials can be taken to advantage for the development of sensors and actuators as well as for novel tissue engineering strategies. Composites based on poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, have been evaluated with respect to their biological response. Cell viability and proliferation were performed in vitro both with Mesenchymal Stem Cells differentiated to osteoblasts and Human Fibroblast Foreskin 1. In-vivo tests were also performed using six week-old C57Bl/6 mice. It was concluded that zeolite and clay composites are biocompatible materials promoting cell response and not showing in vivo pro-inflammatory effects, which renders both of them attractive for biological applications and tissue engineering, opening interesting perspectives to development of scaffolds from these composites. Ferrite and silver composites decrease osteoblast cell viability and carbon nanotubes decreased fibroblast viability. Further, carbon nanotube composites resulted in a significant increase in local vascularization accompanied an increase of inflammatory markers after implantation.This work is funded by FEDER funds through the "Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETE" and by national funds by FCT- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, project references NANO/NMed-SD/0156/2007. C. R. thanks the INL for a PhD grant. V.S. thanks the FCT for the SFRH/BPD/63148/2009 grants. The authors also thank the support of the COST Action MP1003, 2010 ‘European Scientific Network for Artificial Muscles’ (ESNAM)