Nanomaterials are regularly added to crosslinkable polymers to enhance mechanical properties; however, important effects related to gelation behavior and crosslinking kinetics are often overlooked. In this study, we combine cellulose...

We report the fabrication of a composite containing nanostructured GaOOH and Matrigel with tunable radiosensitizing and stiffness properties. Composite characterization was done with microscopy and rheology. The utility of the interface was tested in vitro using fibroblasts. Cell viability and reactive oxygen species assays quantified the effects of radiation dosages and GaOOH concentrations. Fibroblasts' viability decreased with increasing concentration of GaOOH and composite stiffness. During ionizing radiation experiments the presence of the scintillating GaOOH triggered a different cellular response. Reactive oxygen species data demonstrated that one can reduce the amount of radiation needed to modulate the behavior of cells on interfaces with different stiffness containing a radiosensitizing material.

We study the interfacial energy parameters that explain the reinforcement of polymers with nanodiamond (ND) and the development of mechanical strength of electrospun ND-reinforced composites. Thermodynamic parameters such as the wettability ratio, work of spreading and dispersion/aggregation transition are used to derive a criterion to predict the dispersibility of carboxylated ND (cND) in polymeric matrices. Such a criterion for dispersion (D c ) is applied to electrospun cND-containing poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and polystyrene (PS) fiber composites. The shifts in glass transition temperature (ΔT g ), used as a measure of polymer/cND interfacial interactions and hence the reinforcement capability of cNDs, reveal a direct correlation with the thermodynamic parameter D c in the order of PAN < PS < PVA. Contrary to expectation, however, the tensile strength of the electrospun fibers correlates with the D c and ΔT g only for semicrystalline polymers (PAN < PVA) while the amorphous PS displays a maximum reinforcement with cND. Such conflicting results reveal a synergy that is not captured by thermodynamic considerations alone but also factor in the contributions of polymer/cND interface stress transfer efficiency. Our findings open the possibility for tailoring the interfacial interactions in polymer–ND fiber composites to achieve maximum mechanical reinforcement.