Toughened Poly(lactic acid)/BEP Composites with Good Biodegradability and Cytocompatibility

Recent progress in biosourced polylactic acid-based biocomposites for dentistry: A review

Polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable polymer derived from renewable biological macromolecules such as corn starch and sugarcane, exhibits excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and ease of functionalization, showing great potential in dental medicine applications. However, unmodified PLA has inherent drawbacks, such as poor mechanical ductility, slow degradation, and poor hydrophilicity, which limit its use in this field. This paper briefly introduces the structure and performance advantages of PLA and discusses various modification methods, including chemical and physical modifications. The properties of PLA composites are further elaborated on, with an emphasis on their latest advancements in dental implantation, restoration, orthodontics, maxillofacial surgery, and periodontal disease treatment. An outlook on the development trends of PLA-based composites in oral medicine is also provided, to enhance the role of PLA-based composites in this field and offer patients more treatment options and better outcomes.

Functional electrospun nanofibers: fabrication, properties, and applications in wound-healing process

Electrostatic spinning as a technique for producing nanoscale fibers has recently attracted increasing attention due to its simplicity, versatility, and loadability. Nanofibers prepared by electrostatic spinning have been widely studied, especially in biomedical applications, because of their high specific surface area, high porosity, easy size control, and easy surface functionalization. Wound healing is a highly complex and dynamic process that is a crucial step in the body's healing process to recover from tissue injury or other forms of damage. Single-component nanofibers are more or less limited in terms of structural properties and do not fully satisfy various needs of the materials. This review aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the literature on the use of electrostatically spun nanofibers to promote wound healing, to overview the infinite possibilities for researchers to tap into their biomedical applications through functional composite modification of nanofibers for advanced and multifunctional materials, and to propose directions and perspectives for future research.

Effect of poly (lactic acid) porous membrane prepared via phase inversion induced by water droplets on 3T3 cell behavior

Phase inversion induced by water droplets has garnered attention in the field of polymer science as a novel method for preparing porous membranes. This study investigates the effect of the porous structure of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) membranes prepared through phase inversion induced by water droplets at four different temperatures (25, 50, 75, and 100 °C) on the morphology and proliferation of 3T3 cells. The surface properties of the PLA porous membrane, including pore size, pore size distribution, surface roughness, surface hydrophilicity, and cytocompatibility with 3T3 cells, were evaluated. The results indicated that the synthesized PLA membrane had two surfaces with different structures. The upper surface in contact with the water droplets during preparation contained uniformly distributed micropores, whereas the bottom surface was smooth and composed of small particles in contacted with the mold. The upper surface showed high cytocompatibility with 3T3 cells, and the 3T3 cells migrated and grew within the pores at 25 °C. In contrast, the bottom surface exhibited low biocompatibility with the 3T3 cells. Our study has wide-ranging implications and will improve the fabrication and implementation of 3D cultured scaffolds with excellent cytocompatibility.