Browsing by Author "Marques, Ana C."
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- Development of Composites of PLA Filled with Different Amounts of Rice Husk Fibers for Fused Deposition ModelingPublication . Pereira, Daniel F.; Branco, A. C.; Cláudio, R.; Marques, Ana C.; Figueiredo-Pina, CélioPolylactic acid (PLA) has been used as a matrix material to produce compo- sites with natural fibers, which present several advantages, being one of them the addition of value to agricultural waste. Thus, this study aims to develop a PLA 3D filament with the incorporation of a waste agriculture product (rice husk (RH)). For that, RH fibers were prepared, and PLA was loaded up to 20% RH. The filaments were obtained by extrusion. Finally, samples were produced by fused deposition modeling (FDM). The fibers and filaments’ density and thermal stability (TGA) were determined, and their chemical structure changes due to alkali treatment were accessed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Printability tests were performed, and printed samples were characterized in terms of density, water absorp- tion, and mechanical behavior (compression, tensile, and flexural tests). The results showed that the alkali treatment changed the chemical structure of RH fibers and TGA showed that the filaments did not degrade significantly until 250ºC. The best printability was achieved with 5% of HR content and was the one that showed the lowest mechanical properties reduction. Overall, the present work showed that RH fibers can be successfully used as a filler in PLA filaments for FDM.
- Development of polycarbonate urethane-based materials with controlled diclofenac release for cartilage replacementPublication . Oliveira, Andreia S.; Ferreira, Inês; Branco, Ana C.; Silva, João C.; Costa, Carolina; Nolasco, Pedro; Marques, Ana C.; Silva, Diana; Colaço, Rogério; Figueiredo-Pina, Célio; Serro, Ana P.ydrogels are very promising human cartilage replacement materials since they are able to mimic its structure and properties. Besides, they can be used as platforms for drug delivery to reduce inflammatory postsurgical reactions. Polycarbonate urethane (PCU) has been used in orthopedic applications due to its long-term biocompatibility and bio-durability. In this work, PCU-based hydrogels with the ability to release an anti-inflammatory (diclofenac) were developed, for the first time, for such purpose. The materials were reinforced with different amounts of cellulose acetate (CA, 10%, 15%, and 25% w/w) or carbon nanotubes (CNT, 1% and 2% w/w) in order to improve their mechanical properties. Samples were characterized in terms of compressive and tensile mechanical behavior. It was found that 15% CA and 2% CNT reinforcement led to the best mechanical properties. Thus, these materials were further character- ized in terms of morphology, wettability, and friction coefficient (CoF). Contrarily to CNTs, the addition of CA significantly increased the material's porosity. Both mate- rials became more hydrophilic, and the CoF slightly increased for PCU + 15%CA. The materials were loaded by soaking with diclofenac, and drug release experiments were conducted. PCU, PCU + 15%CA and PCU + 2%CNT presented similar release pro- files, being able to ensure a controlled release of DFN for at least 4 days. Finally, in vitro cytotoxicity tests using human chondrocytes were also performed and con- firmed a high biocompatibility for the three studied materials.