Isothermal Stability of Dilute Aqueous-Solutions of Block Copolymers of Poly(Oxyethylene)-Poly(Oxypropylene)-Poly(Oxyethylene) - A Microcalorimetric Study Of Pluronic-F87 And Pluronic-F88

Dilute aqueous solutions of block copolymers of poly(oxyethylene)-poly(oxypropylene)-poly(oxyethylene) (pluronic F87 and pluronic F88) have been subject to an isothermal microcalorimetric study at 298 K. Thermal events consistent with a phase transition in solution are observed. Some of the thermodynamic and kinetic detail of these aging phenomena are reported, as are the consequences of the presence in solution of urea and of sodium chloride

Urban development corporations Performance and good practice

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:GPE/3785 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Urban development corporations Performance and good practice

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:GPE/3785 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel as a biocompatible viscoelastic mimetic for articular cartilage.

NoThe prevalence of suboptimal outcome for surgical interventions in the treatment of full-thickness articular cartilage damage suggests that there is scope for a materials-based strategy to deliver a more durable repair. Given that the superficial layer of articular cartilage creates and sustains the tribological function of synovial joints, it is logical that candidate materials should have surface viscoelastic properties that mimic native articular cartilage. The present paper describes force spectroscopy analysis by nano-indentation to measure the elastic modulus of the surface of a novel poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel with therapeutic potential as a joint implant. More than 1 order of magnitude decrease in the elastic modulus was detected after adsorption of a hyaluronic acid layer onto the hydrogel, bringing it very close to previously reported values for articular cartilage. Covalent derivatization of the hydrogel surface with fibronectin facilitated the adhesion and growth of cultured rat tibial condyle chondrocytes as evidenced morphologically and by the observance of metachromatic staining with toluidine blue dye. The present results indicate that hydrogel materials with potential therapeutic benefit for injured and diseased joints can be engineered with surfaces with biomechanical properties similar to those of native tissue and are accepted as such by their constituent cell type