http://nathan.instras.com/ResearchProposalDB/doc-109.pdf

A review on polymer nanofibers by electrospinning and their applications in nanocomposites

Tissue-engineering scaffolds should be analogous to native extracellular matrix (ECM) in terms of both chemical composition and physical structure Polymeric nanofiber matrix is similar, with its nanoscaled nonwoven fibrous ECM proteins, and thus is a candidate ECM-mimetic material Techniques such as electrospinning to produce polymeric nanofibers have stimulated researchers to explore the application of nanofiber matrix as a tissue-engineering scaffold This review covers the preparation and modification of polymeric nanofiber matrix in the development of future tissue-engineering scaffolds Major emphasis is also given to the development and applications of aligned, core shell-structured, or surface-functionalized polymer nanofibers The potential application of polymer nanofibers extends far beyond tissue engineering Owing to their high surface area, functionalized polymer nanofibers will find broad applications as drug delivery carriers, biosensors, and molecular filtration membranes in future

Potential of nanofiber matrix as tissue-engineering scaffolds.

Toward 'smart' nano-objects by self-assembly of block copolymers in solution

Non-spherical nanostructures derived from soft matter and with uniform size-that is, monodisperse materials-are of particular utility and interest, but are very rare outside the biological domain. We report the controlled formation of highly monodisperse cylindrical block copolymer micelles (length dispersity < or = 1.03; length range, approximately 200 nm to 2 microm) by the use of very small (approximately 20 nm) uniform crystallite seeds that serve as initiators for the crystallization-driven living self-assembly of added block-copolymer unimers with a crystallizable, core-forming metalloblock. This process is analogous to the use of small initiator molecules in classical living polymerization reactions. The length of the nanocylinders could be precisely controlled by variation of the unimer-to-crystallite seed ratio. Samples of the highly monodisperse nanocylinders of different lengths that are accessible using this approach have been shown to exhibit distinct liquid-crystalline alignment behaviour.

Monodisperse cylindrical micelles by crystallization-driven living self-assembly

Tissue engineering is an emerging area of applied research with a goal of repairing or regenerating the functions of damaged tissue that fails to heal spontaneously by using cells and synthetic fun...

K. Saijo

Papers

Polystyrene‐block‐poly(2‐cinnamoylethyl methacrylate) Nanofibers—Preparation, Characterization, and Liquid Crystalline Properties