Development of microspheres for biomedical applications: a review

An overview of microspheres manufactured for use in biomedical applications based on recent literature is presented in this review. Different types of glasses (i.e. silicate, borate, and phosphates), ceramics and polymer-based microspheres (both natural and synthetic) in the form of porous , non-porous and hollow structures that are either already in use or are currently being investigated within the biomedical area are discussed. The advantages of using microspheres in applications such as drug delivery, bone tissue engineering and regeneration, absorption and desorption of substances, kinetic release of the loaded drug components are also presented. This review also reports on the preparation and characterisation methodologies used for the manufacture of these microspheres. Finally, a brief summary of the existing challenges associated with processing these microspheres which requires further research and development are presented

Magnetism and transport properties of melt-spun ribbon Cu2MnAl Heusler alloy

The magnetism and transport characterizations of the melt-spun ribbon Cu2MnAl alloy are presented. The temperature dependence of magnetization agrees well with the spin-wave theory. A qualitative interpretation has been given for the transport properties and led to information about the microscopic scattering mechanisms involved. A negative GMR for Cu2MnAl ribbons up to 3.5\% at high field is reported. The maximal magnetic scattering resistivity is estimated by the magnetic measurements. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Subretinal implantable artificial photoreceptor

The present study reports a subretinal implant device which can imitate the function of photoreceptor cells. Photodiode (PD) arrays on the chip translate the incident light into current according to the intensity of light. With an electrode at the end of every photodiode, the PDs transfer the current to the remnant healthy visual cells such as bipolar cells and horizontal cells and then activate these cells. Biocompatible character of the materials and artificial photoreceptor itself were tested and the photoelectric characteristics of the chips in simulative condition were described and discussed