Wetting behaviour of raw and water-repellent cotton fabrics using wetting kinetic measurements

93-98An electrical resistance technique has been developed to study the rate of horizontal wicking of different liquids into untreated and finish treated cotton fabrics by estimating the critical surface tension of both the fabrics and equivalent capillary spaces of fabric samples from the experimental work based on Washburn derivation. The finishing agents, namely Perlit based on modified fatty acid derivatives and Baygard 430 AFF with a fluorochemical base, have been used. It is observed that the penetration rate and wicking distance of finish treated samples reduce as compared to those of untreated samples. The results confirm different solid-vapor surface tension of the two types of samples due to the changes in surface characteristics of fabrics after finishing treatment. The radii of open channels which act as capillary tubes tend to decrease, leading to blockage of the tube during water-repellent finishing treatments

Co�electrospinning of lignocellulosic nanoparticles synthesized from walnut shells with poly(caprolactone) and gelatin for tissue engineering applications

Lignocellulose is the main component of plants that has gained considerable attention in biomedical applications due to exceptional biological properties, such as antioxidant activity, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. In this work, nanoparticles were produced from walnut shells (WS) via physical milling followed by a chemical treatment. FTIR, DLS, SEM, XRD, and TGA results confirmed their lignocellulosic chemical composition and dimensions of 560 nm with a 28 crystalline phase. WS nanoparticles were then co-electrospun with polycaprolactone (PCL) and gelatin. Morphological investigations showed that WS nanoparticles increase the average diameter of PCL and Gel nanofibers from 250 and 300 nm to around 600 and 550 nm, respectively. Interestingly, the moduli of coaxially electrospun PCL-Gel membranes increased from 11.9 to 16.6 MPa, while their thermal stability decreased from 345 to 285 °C. PCL-Gel nanofibers loaded with 2 WS particles were considered as the optimal sample because of their excellent mechanical properties. The scaffolds made from these fibers showed excellent viability, growth, and proliferation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs). Graphic abstract: Figure not available: see fulltext. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V