Degradation behavior and compatibility of micro, nanoHA/chitosan scaffolds with interconnected spherical macropores.

Hydroxyapatite/Chitosan (HA/CS) composite have significant application in biomedical especially for bone replacement. Inorganic particle shape and size of composite affect the scaffold mechanical property, biological property, and degradation. The aim of this study was to fabricate HA/CS scaffold with good pore connectivity and analyze their biological, degradation properties. Microhydroxyapatite/chitosan (mHA/CS) and nanohydroxyapatite/chitosan (nHA/CS) composite scaffolds with interconnected spherical pore architectures were fabricated. Composite scaffolds structure parameters were analyzed using micro CT. Cell proliferation and morphology were tested and compared between two scaffolds using mouse osteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1. To research the composite degradation in lysozyme PBS solution, degradation rate and reducing sugar content were tested, and scaffolds morphology were observed by SEM. The results showed that microHA and nanoHA were fabricated by being calcined and synthesis methods, and their infrared spectra are very similar. EDAX composition analysis demonstrated that both of microHA and nanoHA were calcium deficiency HA. Micro-CT results demonstrated the scaffolds had interconnected spherical pores, and the structure parameters were similar. Cell viabilities were significant increased with cultured time, but there were no significant difference between microHA/CS and nanoHA/CS scaffolds. Scaffold structure was gradually destroyed and inorganic composition HA particles are more prominent with degradation time. SIGNIFICANCE: (1) Inorganic particle shape and size of composite affect the scaffold mechanical property, biological property, and degradation. NanoHA/CS and microHA/CS scaffolds with good pore connectivity were fabricated and their biological, degradation properties were studied in this manuscript. (2) The scaffold with interconnected porosity construct provides the necessary support for cells to proliferate and maintain their differentiated function, and its architecture related to the structure and morphology of new bone. Polymer scaffolds were fabricated by the technique of compression molding and particulate leaching method, and paraffin microspheres were used as the porogen. (3) MicroHA/CS and nanoHA/CS composite scaffolds are potential materials for use in bone tissue engineering.

Research status and development tendency of unmanned aerial vehicles for casualty evacuation / 医疗卫生装备

Objective To explore the application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) technology for casualty evacuation in disaster rescue.Methods The research status of casualty evacuation using unmanned aerial vehicles was described in the disaster medical rescue,and several UAVs involved in casualty evacuation were introduced.According to different dynamic structures,casualty evacuation UAVs were divided into four types,such as traditional rotor helicopter,multi-rotor aircraft,ducted fan aircraft,compound aircraft.Meanwhile,the load capacity and flight speed of involved UAVs were analyzed.Results The advantages of casualty evacuation UAVs in the previous researches related were summarized,with the problems and technical difficulty discussed.Furthermore,the development tendencies of casualty evacuation UAVs were predicted.Conclusion Casualty evacuation UAVs can transport the wounded to the professional medical institutions outside of the disaster scene instead of rescue crews,to reduce the casualty rate of rescuers and avoid secondary damage of the injured personnel,with accurate point to point casualty evacuation.

A mechanical evaluation of micro-HA/CS composite scaffolds with interconnected spherical macropores.

BACKGROUND: In the process of bone defective reparation and engineered bone tissue construction, osteoblasts are adhered to the surface of the scaffold materials and impart the external mechanical load to the osteoblasts. So, the dynamic mechanical property of the scaffolds play an important role in the bone tissue repair and it is valuable to research. Material type and the architectural design of scaffolds are also important to facilitate cell and tissue growth. The aim of this study was to prepare a kind of material with good pore connectivity and analyze its dynamic mechanical property. METHODS: Fabrication and characterization of micro-hydroxyapatite(m-HA)/chitosan(CS) polymer composite scaffolds with well interconnected spherical pore architectures were reports. Micro-HA was prepared by being calcined and ball milled. Paraffin spheres in the range of 160-330 µm were fabricated with a dispersion method and used as the porogen in the fabrication of the scaffolds. Polymer scaffolds were fabricated by the technique of compression molding and particulate leaching method. The effects of the porogen content on the properties of the scaffolds were studied. RESULTS: With the increase of porogen, the pore of the scaffolds increased and became interconnected. Cyclic loading of three scaffolds were tested with 10 % strain under four levels of loading frequency, 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 Hz. The porous composite scaffolds exhibited a viscosity-elastic behaviour with a maximum stress of 3-4 kPa. At each frequency, modulus value is decreased with the paraffin microspheres content, but there was no significance difference in the peak stress of the three samples. All the samples tested displayed clear hysteresis loops. There was no significance difference in the peak hysteresis of the three samples, and the hysteresis difference values between the sixth compression cycle and the initial cycle for three samples was similar, with no statistically significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: Micro-HA/CS composite scaffolds with interconnected spherical macropores were fabricated using pherical paraffin as porogen. The porous composite scaffolds exhibited a viscosity-elastic behaviour with good repeatability. It is benefit to study the influence of the mechanical load on the cell of the scaffold.