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    Combining Biocompatible and Biodegradable Scaffolds and Cold Atmospheric Plasma for Chronic Wound Regeneration
    (Basel : Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI), 2021) Emmert, Steffen; Pantermehl, Sven; Foth, Aenne; Waletzko-Hellwig, Janine; Hellwig, Georg; Bader, Rainer; Illner, Sabine; Grabow, Niels; Bekeschus, Sander; Weltmann, Klaus-Dieter; Jung, Ole; Boeckmann, Lars
    Skin regeneration is a quite complex process. Epidermal differentiation alone takes about 30 days and is highly regulated. Wounds, especially chronic wounds, affect 2% to 3% of the elderly population and comprise a heterogeneous group of diseases. The prevailing reasons to develop skin wounds include venous and/or arterial circulatory disorders, diabetes, or constant pressure to the skin (decubitus). The hallmarks of modern wound treatment include debridement of dead tissue, disinfection, wound dressings that keep the wound moist but still allow air exchange, and compression bandages. Despite all these efforts there is still a huge treatment resistance and wounds will not heal. This calls for new and more efficient treatment options in combination with novel biocompatible skin scaffolds. Cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) is such an innovative addition to the treatment armamentarium. In one CAP application, antimicrobial effects, wound acidification, enhanced microcirculations and cell stimulation can be achieved. It is evident that CAP treatment, in combination with novel bioengineered, biocompatible and biodegradable electrospun scaffolds, has the potential of fostering wound healing by promoting remodeling and epithelialization along such temporarily applied skin replacement scaffolds.
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    Polyacrylonitrile-containing amphiphilic block copolymers: self-assembly and porous membrane formation
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2023) Gemmer, Lea; Niebuur, Bart-Jan; Dietz, Christian; Rauber, Daniel; Plank, Martina; Frieß, Florian V.; Presser, Volker; Stark, Robert W.; Kraus, Tobias; Gallei, Markus
    The development of hierarchically porous block copolymer (BCP) membranes via the application of the self-assembly and non-solvent induced phase separation (SNIPS) process is one important achievement in BCP science in the last decades. In this work, we present the synthesis of polyacrylonitrile-containing amphiphilic BCPs and their unique microphase separation capability, as well as their applicability for the SNIPS process leading to isoporous integral asymmetric membranes. Poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile)-b-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)s (PSAN-b-PHEMA) are synthesized via a two-step atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) procedure rendering PSAN copolymers and BCPs with overall molar masses of up to 82 kDa while maintaining low dispersity index values in the range of Đ = 1.13-1.25. The polymers are characterized using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and NMR spectroscopy. Self-assembly capabilities in the bulk state are examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements. The fabrication of isoporous integral asymmetric membranes is investigated, and membranes are examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The introduction of acrylonitrile moieties within the membrane matrix could improve the membranes’ mechanical properties, which was confirmed by nanomechanical analysis using atomic force microscopy (AFM).