by Keyword: Composite materials
Balakrishnan, Harishankar, Millan-Solsona, Ruben, Checa, Marti, Fabregas, Rene, Fumagalli, Laura, Gomila, Gabriel, (2021). Depth mapping of metallic nanowire polymer nanocomposites by scanning dielectric microscopy Nanoscale 13, 10116-10126 
Polymer nanocomposite materials based on metallic nanowires are widely investigated as transparent and flexible electrodes or as stretchable conductors and dielectrics for biosensing. Here we show that Scanning Dielectric Microscopy (SDM) can map the depth distribution of metallic nanowires within the nanocomposites in a non-destructive way. This is achieved by a quantitative analysis of sub-surface electrostatic force microscopy measurements with finite-element numerical calculations. As an application we determined the three-dimensional spatial distribution of ?50 nm diameter silver nanowires in ?100 nm-250 nm thick gelatin films. The characterization is done both under dry ambient conditions, where gelatin shows a relatively low dielectric constant, ?r ? 5, and under humid ambient conditions, where its dielectric constant increases up to ?r ? 14. The present results show that SDM can be a valuable non-destructive subsurface characterization technique for nanowire-based nanocomposite materials, which can contribute to the optimization of these materials for applications in fields such as wearable electronics, solar cell technologies or printable electronics. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
JTD Keywords: composite, constant, electrodes, mode, nanostructures, objects, progress, subsurface, tomography, Composite materials, Dielectric materials, Electric force microscopy, Electrostatic force, Force microscopy, Low dielectric constants, Nanocomposites, Numerical calculation, Polymer nanocomposite, Printable electronics, Scanning dielectric microscopy, Silver nanowires, Solar cell technology, Stretchable conductors, Subsurface characterizations, Transparent electrodes, Wearable technology
Koch, M. A., Engel, E., Planell, J. A., Lacroix, D., (2008). Cell seeding and characterisation of PLA/glass composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering Journal of Biomechanics 
16th Congress, European Society of Biomechanics , Elsevier (Lucerne, Switzerland) 41, (Supplement 1), S162
In this study polymer-glass composite scaffolds were characterized by permeability and porosity, two important properties for the use in perfusion bioreactors. These scaffolds were seeded with osteoblast-like cells to assess the efficiency of the used bioreactor. The used PLA/glass composite scaffolds are adequate for the perfusion culture. The high porosity and pore interconnectivity allow an even cell distribution and incorporation of a high cell number. For optimisation of the perfusion bioreactor system, further research has to be dedicated to the cell seeding and culture.
JTD Keywords: Biomedical materials, Bioreactors, Bone, Cellular biophysics, Composite materials, Orthopaedics, Permeability, Polymers, Porosity, Porous materials, Tissue engineering
