iBB

Gelatin’s excellent foaming ability allows the application of in situ gas foaming as a preparation technique for porous scaffold development. Ina  recent publication in the International Journal of Polymeric Materials and Polymeric Biomaterials, a team of researchers from BERG-iBB, and from The University of Northampton, report on a new iterative experimental design for the preparation of gellatin scafolds by an in situ gas foaming method . The prepared scaffolds were studied for applying the findings to the future skin tissue engineering scaffolds. The thermal stability, mechanical properties, and pore structure of the scaffolds are reported and their degradation resistance by using collagenase enzyme and their cytotoxicity by using fibroblasts were studied. The results of this study demonstrated that gas foaming method can be modified to produce an interconnected porous structure with enhanced mechanical properties. Click on title to learn more.

Enzyme immobilization has been the focus of extensive research over decades, yet empiricism still often prevails over rational design. In a recent publication in the Journal of Molecular Catalysis, a team of researchers from BERG-iBB, Centro de Química Estrutural, Centro de Química-Física Molecular and IN, led by Pedro Fernandes from BERG-iBB, propose a more comprehensive characterization of heterogeneous bioconversion systems as a way of overcoming this pattern. Using the immobilization of invertase on glass substrate for the production of invert sugar syrup through sucrose hydrolysis as a model system,  the team combined a detailed characterization of every step of the immobilization protocol by contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy with an evaluation of enzyme loading and affinity towards the functionalized substrate using a quartz crystal microbalance. The successful deposition of the different coating reagents and of the enzyme was confirmed by the shifts in surface wettability and roughness. XPS highlighted the over-simplistic nature of common models for chemical interaction between layers.

In a recent paper published in Journal of Bionic Engineering, researchers from BERG-IBB studied the topography and wettability of the underside of English weed (Oxalis pes-caprae) leaves using epoxy replicas created via a two-step casting process. Leaves were found to be close to super hydrophobic due to the presence of a characteristic pattern of irregular 100 µm – 200 µm × 60 µm convex papillae. The water repellency properties of such microstructured surfaces may have important applications, including self-cleaning, anti-microbial and anti-fouling.

Photo details: SEM image of an epoxy replica of the leaf of English weed. P.M. Pereira, 2013.