The present work aimed to study the properties of a novel nanocomposite with promising biomedical applications. Nanocomposites were prepared by the addition of different concentrations of chitosan decorated carbon nanotubes to acrylamide-co-acrylic acid hydrogels. The nanocomposites chemical structure was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The FT-IR shows the typical bands due to the hydrogel and additionally the peaks at 1750 cm and 1450 cm that correspond to the carbon nanotubes incorporated into the polymer matrix. Mechanical properties and swelling measurements in different buffer solutions were also performed. The nanocomposites showed improved mechanical properties and a stronger pH-response. In order to evaluate antimicrobial activity, the growth and adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus to nanocomposites were studied. Cytocompatibility was also evaluated by MTT assay on MDCK and 3T3 cell lines. The nanocomposites were found to be cytocompatible and showed a reduced bacterial colonization.

Direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) is a laser-based surface structuring method that stands out for its high throughput, flexibility and resolution for laboratory and industrial manufacturing. This top–down technique relies on the formation of an interference pattern by overlapping multiple laser beams onto the sample surface and thus producing a periodic texture by melting and/or ablating the material. Driven by the large industrial sectors, DLIP has been extensively used in the last decades to functionalize metallic surfaces, such as steel, aluminium, copper or nickel. Even so, DLIP processing of non-metallic materials has been gaining popularity in promising fields such as photonics, optoelectronics, nanotechnology and biomedicine. This review aims to comprehensively collect the main findings of DLIP structuring of polymers, ceramics, composites, semiconductors and other non-metals and outline their most relevant results. This contribution also presents the mechanisms by which laser radiation interacts with non-metallic materials in the DLIP process and summarizes the developed surface functions and their applications in different fields.

No abstract

No abstract