There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Hydrogels for tissue engineering: scaffold design variables and applications.

We have used the pH-induced self-assembly of a peptide-amphiphile to make a nanostructured fibrous scaffold reminiscent of extracellular matrix. The design of this peptide-amphiphile allows the nanofibers to be reversibly cross-linked to enhance or decrease their structural integrity. After cross-linking, the fibers are able to direct mineralization of hydroxyapatite to form a composite material in which the crystallographic c axes of hydroxyapatite are aligned with the long axes of the fibers. This alignment is the same as that observed between collagen fibrils and hydroxyapatite crystals in bone.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/294/5547/1684.full.pdf

Self-assembly and mineralization of peptide-amphiphile nanofibers

Tissue engineering applications commonly encompass the use of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds to provide a suitable microenvironment for the incorporation of cells or growth factors to regenerate ...

/pdf/three-dimensional-scaffolds-for-tissue-engineering-1huqh8s1ln.pdf

Three-dimensional scaffolds for tissue engineering applications : role of porosity and pore size

Structure and interactions in covalently and ionically crosslinked chitosan hydrogels for biomedical applications

Alginate based new materials.

Chemical, physical and biological properties of alginates and their biomedical implications

Alginic acid gels: the effect of alginate chemical composition and molecular weight

Introduction
Historical Outline
Chemical Structure
Conformation
Occurrence and Source Dependence
Physiological Function
Chemical Analysis and Detection
Chemical Composition and Sequence
Molecular Mass
Detection and Quantification


Biosynthesis and Biodegradation
Production: Biotechnological and Traditional
Isolation from Natural Sources / Fermentative Production
Molecular Genetics and in vitro Modification
Current and Expected World Market and Costs
Alginate Manufacturers


Properties
Physical Properties
Material Properties
“Biological” Properties


Applications
Technical Utilization
Medicine and Pharmacy
Foods


Relevant Patents
Outlook and Perspectives
Acknowledgements


Keywords:

alginates;
alginic acid gels;
biological source dependence;
composition and sequence;
gel formation;
gel swelling;
immobilization matrix;
ion binding;
lyases;
mannuronan C5-epimerases;
mixed systems;
polyelectrolyte nature;
regulatory status;
solubility;
stability

Kurt Ingar Draget

Papers

Alginate based new materials.

Chemical, physical and biological properties of alginates and their biomedical implications

Alginic acid gels: the effect of alginate chemical composition and molecular weight

Alginates from Algae

Physical and rheological properties of fish gelatin compared to mammalian gelatin