Metais são bastante usados como materiais implantáveis, principalmente para dispositivos feitos na área de ortopedia. Há uma constante relação dos processos de corrosão nesse biomateriais com a agressividade do meio fisiológico. Usando quatro tipo de metais e ligas metálicas – titânio puro, liga de titânio, aço inoxidável de baixo carbono e liga de cobalto – o processo de corrosão foi estudado. Além disso, o desempenho desses materiais revestidos com nitreto de titânio foi avaliado. Dois processos de revestimento por PVD – evaporação e magnetron sputtering – foram executados, verificando a eficiência desses materiais em meio fisiológico - O melhor comportamento se deu para o revestimento obtido por evaporação. O mecanismo de corrosão predominante para as amostras foi indicado. / Metals are very much used as implantable materials mainly for the construction of devices orthopaedic area. There is a constant concern about the corrosion process in those metallic biomaterials due to the aggressiveness of the physiological environment. By using four types of metals and metallic alloys – pure titanium, titanium alloy, low carbon stainless steel and cobalt-chromium alloy – the corrosion process in physiologic environment has been studied. Also, the performance of such materials coated with titanium nitrate was evaluated. Two PVD coating methods – evaporation and magnetron sputtering – were performed, and the efficiency of those materials in physiologic medium was verified. The best behaviour was found by the evaporation coating method. The predominant corrosion mechanism for coated samples was suggested.

For intermediate analysis and technological characterization tests conducted on samples of resinated and non-resinated rocks with distinct structural and geological characteristics, we sought to verify the effectiveness of the resin with respect to physical and mechanical resistance of these rocks, as well as evaluating the reduction of agents that produce the same changes and pathology. The investigation of this research has focused on three types of rocks: the first refers to a commercially called White granite Blizzard, which is an isotropic rock with some degree of fracture, equigranular texture and average grain size of the fine and the second was represented petrographically for a garnet-biotite-musvovita roughly gnaissificado, commercially known as Casa Blanca, having a coarse-grained, with lineations and foliations with a high presence of micaceous minerals, and the third is a volcanic rock, trade name Wood Stone, material considered exotic because of their textural heterogeneity, with a high degree of fissuring, having very fine grain. After the results of tests and analysis, they were correlated and evaluated the effectiveness of the resin, being featured in that it produces significant improvements in physical and mechanical resistance of these rocks, especially regarding the levels of porosity and water absorption, which are the gateway of the causative agents of change and generations of pathologies in ornamental and coating. Research has shown that materials with restricted use, or even inappropriate to certain environments, due to its physical and mechanical resistance, using the resin, the same could be used without restrictions. The importance of testing materials whose marketing is made using resin was evident due to changes often significant parameters of the results of characterization of technology, which serve as reference in the specification suitable for use as coating materials or ornamental, the construction works.The apparent porosity and water absorption were reduced by 9, 7% and 91.46% respectively after the material is resin. / Por intermÃdio de anÃlises e ensaios de caracterizaÃÃo tecnolÃgica realizados em amostras resinadas e nÃo resinadas de rochas ornamentais, com caracterÃsticas geolÃgicas e estruturais distintas, buscou-se verificar a eficÃcia da resina no tocante a resistÃncia fÃsica e mecÃnica dessas rochas, bem como avaliar a reduÃÃo dos efeitos dos agentes que produzem alteraÃÃes e patologias nas mesmas, e na exalaÃÃo do gÃs radÃnio. A investigaÃÃo desta pesquisa foi focada em trÃs tipos de rochas: a primeira representada por um granito comercialmente denominado Branco Nevasca, que constitui uma rocha isotrÃpica com pouco grau de fraturamento, textura equigranular e granulaÃÃo de mÃdia a fina; a segunda um granada-biotita-musvovita grosseiramente gnaissificado, granulaÃÃo grosseira,apresentando lineaÃÃes e foliaÃÃes com elevada presenÃa de minerais micÃceos, denominado Casa Blanca; e, a terceira uma rocha vulcÃnica, com nome comercial Wood Stone, material considerado exÃtico em funÃÃo de sua heterogeneidade textural, com alto grau de fissuramento, possuindo granulaÃÃo muito fina. ApÃs os resultados dos ensaios e anÃlise, os mesmos foram correlacionados e avaliada a eficÃcia da resina, sendo constatado que a mesma produz melhoras significativas na resistÃncia fÃsica e mecÃnica dessas rochas, especialmente no tocante aos Ãndices de porosidade e de absorÃÃo dâÃgua, que sÃo a porta de entrada dos agentes causadores de alteraÃÃes e geraÃÃes de patologias, nas rochas ornamentais e de revestimento. TambÃm demonstrou eficiÃncia na reduÃÃo da exalaÃÃo do gÃs radÃnio A pesquisa mostrou que materiais com uso restrito, ou mesmo inadequado a certos ambientes, em funÃÃo de sua resistÃncia fÃsica e mecÃnica, com o uso da resina os mesmos poderiam ser utilizados sem restriÃÃes. A importÃncia de se realizar ensaios nos materiais cuja comercializaÃÃo à feita com uso de resina, ficou evidenciada devido Ãs alteraÃÃes, muitas vezes significativas, nos parÃmetros dos resultados de caracterizaÃÃo tecnolÃgica, os quais servem de referÃncia na especificaÃÃo adequada de uso dos materiais utilizados como revestimento ou ornamental nas obras de construÃÃo civil. A porosidade aparente e a absorÃÃo dâÃgua foram reduzidas em 90,7% e 91,46%, respectivamente, apÃs os materiais serem resinados.

There are very few studies that have investigated directly the effect of an oxide film on tin whisker growth, since the cracked oxide theory was proposed by Tu in 1994. The current work has investigated the effect of using an electrochemically formed oxide and both a molybdate conversion coating and a tungstate conversion coating on tin whisker growth from Sn-Cu electrodeposits on Cu, and compared it with that from a native air-formed oxide. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to investigate the effect of coating parameters on the thickness and composition of the oxide film. The XPS studies show that the oxide film formed using either of the conversion coating baths was significantly thicker than that produced from the potassium bicarbonate-potassium carbonate bath. Initial observations suggest that both the tungstate-based conversion coatings and the molybdate-based conversion coatings significantly reduced whisker growth by over 80 %, compared with a native air-formed oxide, and provide improved whisker mitigation compared with the electrochemically formed oxides. The current work has also investigated the potential of using a dual-layer system, comprised of both an electrochemically formed oxide bottom layer and an acrylic conformal coating top layer, for the mitigation of tin whisker growth. The electrochemically formed oxide used in the dual-layer system was produced at 2 V vs. Ag/AgCl while passing a charge of 60 mC cm-2 and the thickness of the conformal coating was aimed to be between ~5 μm to ~6 μm. This thickness was chosen to enable the study of whisker growth on a shorter time scale and to study the effect the electrochemically formed oxide had when used in conjunction. Initial observations showed that the dual-layer system provided improved whisker mitigation compared with both the electrochemically formed oxides and acrylic conformal coatings when used singularly. As part of the self-healing work, nanocapsules filled with the reactive agent were needed to be synthesised and the compatibility of them with different solvents needed to be studied. Capsules filled with the reactive agent were successfully synthesised, however, it was found that the capsules agglomerated and the size of the capsules, in some instances, were too large to be incorporated into a thin conformal coating. Regardless, the capsules were still analysed to check the compatibility with different solvents, to identify a suitable conformal coating mixture that would not dissolve the polymer shell of the capsules. It was observed that the capsules were stable in three out of the five solvents that were analysed, them being isopropanol (IPA), butanone and methylcyclohexane.

This thesis examined how the sustainability of laminated and coated textile barriers can be compared by analysing them through an environmental and functional perspective. This was done by building an evaluation model in which an analysis of the functional performance and an analysis of the environmental performance was combined and applied on a case study of a laminated and a coated material used for workwear. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate the environmental impact. To evaluate the functional performance a series of material testing was made for tear strength, waterproofness and permeability. The LCA measured the environmental impact in terms of water use, climate change, and human toxicity. The results showed a similar impact on climate change and water use for both barriers. The assessment of human toxicity showed that the solvent dimethylformamide, used in the coating paste, meant a potential risk for human health. From the material testing it could be stated that the coating performed better in terms of tear resistance and waterproofness, but that the laminate showed more even results and higher breathability. To conclude, the study showed that the production of the coated textile barrier had the largest environmental impact due to the use of a toxic solvent, but that the functional performance generally was better for this coated material. The use of an evaluation model to compare coated and laminated textiles demanded knowledge and experience of LCA to be used. Though with the right LCA knowledge, the combined methods of functional testing and environmental impact may lead to conclusions which would otherwise go unnoticed. / I den här rapporten undersöktes hur hållbarheten hos laminerade och textila barriärer kan jämföras genom både ett funktionellt och ett miljömässigt perspektiv. Det gjordes genom att bygga en utvärderingsmodell inom vilken en analys av den funktionella prestandan och en analys av den miljömässiga prestandan kombinerades för att appliceras på en fallstudie av ett laminat och en beläggning som används för arbetskläder. En livscykelanalys (LCA) användes för att analysera den miljömässiga prestandan. För att analysera den funktionell prestandan utfördes en serie materialtester i rivstyrka, vattentäthet och permeabilitet.LCAn mätte miljömässig prestanda genom påverkanskategorierna klimatförändring, vattenanvändning och humantoxicitet. Resultaten visade liknande påverkan avseende klimatförändring och vattenanvändning för materialen. Utvärdering av påverkan gällande humantoxicitet visade att lösningsmedlet dimetylformamid, som används i beläggningspastan, innebär en risk för människors hälsa. I materialtesterna gav beläggning bättre resultat i rivstyrka och vattentäthet, men laminatet visade en mindre spridning i resultaten och en högre permeabilitet. Efter viss förslitning och tvätt uppvisade materialen dock mer liknande värden.Sammanfattningsvis visade studien att det belagda materialet hade störst miljöpåverkan på grund av utsläpp av det toxiska lösningsmedlet, men att det belagda materialet generellt hade bättre funktionell prestanda. Nackdelen med utvärderingsmodellen som togs fram för jämförelsen av materialen, var att den krävde kunskap och erfarenhet av LCA för att kunna användas. Med det sagt är en LCA det bästa verktyget tillgängligt för att mäta miljöpåverkan, och med den rätta kunskapen om LCA kan den kombinerade modellen leda till insikter som annars skulle missas. Därför kan utvärderingsmodellen vara ett framgångsrikt verktyg för att jämföra textila barriärer, och även utgöra ett steg på vägen i arbetet mot att kunna mäta hållbarhet.

This study is to evaluate the effect of curing and casting methods on the physicochemical properties of polymeric coating systems. Aqueous-dispersion-based and organic-solvent-based Kollicoat® SR30D (poly(vinyl acetate)) and Kollicoat® MAE100P (poly(methacrylic acid-ethyl acrylate)) free films or film-coated pellets were used to evaluate the physicochemical properties resulting from different solvents and different curing treatments. Diffusion coefficients of water in organic-solvent-based films were lower than those in aqueous-dispersion-based films. Increases in curing temperature and curing time decreased the diffusion coefficient. Regardless of preparation method, the tensile strengths of films increased with an increase in curing temperature and curing time. Changes in elongation percentage of the films were dependent on the polymer and curing. The tensile strengths of aqueous-dispersion-based SR30D films are lower compared to those of organic-solvent-based SR30D films. However, the “core-shell” structure is preserved in the aqueous-dispersion-based MAE100P film and formed a rigid frame, which greatly increased the mechanical properties of the films. Therefore, the tensile strength of aqueous-dispersion-based MAE100P films is greater than in the case of organic-solvent-based films. In swelling studies, water uptake and weight loss for all of the films increased with an increase in incubation time. The water uptake and weight loss of SR30D films cast from water were higher than those of organic-solvent-based films. However, contradictory results were observed for MAE100P films due to the core-shell structure in the aqueous-dispersion-based MAE100P films. An increase in curing time and temperature increased the Tg of SR30D films. Curing treatments led to a second glass transition temperature for MAE100P films, which may result from microphase separation. Curing decreased acetaminophen release from pellets coated with an aqueous-dispersion-based SR30D film. Curing effects are also dependent on the coating formulation and coating parameters. The drug release rate from organic-solvent-based film-coated pellets was slower in comparison to pellets coated with aqueous-dispersion-based films. Acetaminophen release in 0.1 N HCl from aqueous-dispersion-based MAE100P coated pellets was reduced after the curing treatment. Curing has no effect on drug release for acetaminophen-containing pellets coated with organic-solvent-based SR30D or MAE100P films. The ionization of surface carboxylic-acid groups on MAE100P polymer particles alters the properties of polymer films by increasing ionic aggregates and solubilizing the polymer chains. Increased ionic aggregates improve the mechanical properties of films. However, solubilizing polymer chains will change the film formation mechanism from a dispersion-based film to a solution-based film. Therefore, tensile strength was decreased with an increase in ionization degree. The drug release rates were continuously increased when the degree of ionization of surface acid groups increased. Overall, curing and casting methods have significant effects on the physicochemical properties of SR30D and MAE100P films and on the drug release behavior from film-coated, drug-loaded pellets. The core-shell structure in aqueous-dispersion-based MAE100P films also greatly changed the properties of this film or coat.

Photopolymerization, which uses light rather than heat to initiate polymerization, is a facile technique used to fabricate adhesives, protective coatings, thin films, photo-resists, dental restoratives, and other materials. Epoxide monomers, which are polymerized via cationic photoinitiation, have received less attention in fundamental research in comparison to free radical polymerized acrylate monomers. The characterization of propagation mechanisms, network structures, and physical properties is yet lacking. This project focused on the reactivity and physical properties of 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3,4-epoxycyclohexane carboxylate (EEC), and the kinetic and physical effects of chain transfer agents (CTAs) in EEC based formulations were characterized. This characterization was carried out using real-time Raman spectroscopy, real-time infrared spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, simple gel fraction measurements, and atomic force microscopy. The effects of water, organic alcohols, processing conditions (e.g., UV light intensity, humidity, post-illumination curing temperature), and photoinitiation systems were investigated. In general, increasing the concentration of CTAs in a crosslinking epoxide resin increases the rate of polymerization and the overall epoxide conversion level. High CTA levels also correspond to lower glass transition temperatures (Tg) and lower crosslink densities. A post-illumination annealing was critical in obtaining stable physical properties for high Tg epoxide materials. In addition, humidity (water being the most universal contaminant type of CTA) was found to impact the surface properties of an epoxide polymer negatively by reducing the surface hardness. Hybrid acrylate-epoxide systems are much more complex and unpredictable in curing behavior. The use of hydroxy acrylates in hybrid systems allows for grafting between the epoxide and the acrylate domains, via the AM mechanism. Another intricacy of hybrid systems is the initiation system. In order to maximize the conversion of both the epoxide and the acrylate moieties, the free-radical photoinitiator must not hinder the polymerization of the epoxide monomer. Some very efficient free-radical photoinitiators limit the epoxide polymerization by absorbing the majority of the deep-UV incident photons. Finally, a renewable acrylate oligomer was synthesized to provide a green alternative to petroleum-based oligomers currently used. The oligomer was freely miscible and readily photopolymerized with a wide range of commercial monomers. The Tg relationship between the commercial monomers and the parent resin followed the Fox equation. The results of this research provide strategies for controlling epoxide kinetics and physical properties in neat and hybrid systems. This information is useful for tailoring resin formulations to specific end-use applications, especially in films, coatings, and adhesives. Hybrid epoxide-acrylate photopolymerization affords the unique opportunity to structure polymer networks in time and to engineer advanced material properties. These hybrid systems are based on formulations that contain both an epoxide moiety, which undergoes cationic ring-opening photopolymerization, and an acrylate moiety, which undergoes free-radical photopolymerization. Through the combination of these two independent reactive systems, hybrid polymers exhibit lower sensitivity to oxygen and moisture and offer advantages such as increased cure speed and improved film-forming properties. The ability to design the polymer network architecture and to tune mechanical properties can be realized through control of the cationic active center propagation reaction relative to the cationic chain transfer reaction. Specifically, grafted polymer networks can be developed through the covalent bonding of the epoxide chains to the acrylate chains via hydroxyl substituents. This work demonstrates the formation of these grafted polymer networks and overviews the physical properties obtained through control of hydroxyl content and hybrid formulation composition.

L'oxyde de nickel est l'un des matériaux électrochromes les plus utilisés dans le domainedes fenêtres intelligentes qui contrôlent la lumière et la chaleur provenant de l'extérieur versl'intérieur des bâtiments. Il est important de mentionner que l’oxyde de nickelstoechiométrique est un isolant à température ambiante. Les propriétés microstructurales,chimiques, optiques et électrochromes des couches minces dépendent fortement du procédéde préparation et traitement final. En outre, l’un des principaux défis consiste à fabriquer lescouches minces sur des substrats souples afin de fabriquer des fenêtres électrochromes degrande taille ce qui demande un traitement à T ambiante. A cet égard peu d’étudesbibliographiques ont évalué l’effet du traitement par les rayonnements UV sur les propriétésdes couches électrochromes. Dans ce travail, des couches minces d'oxyde de nickel (NiO) ontété préparées par la méthode Sol-Gel associée aux techniques de dépôts par centrifugation(spin-coating) et par trempage-retrait (dip-coating). L’ajustement des paramètresexpérimentaux relatifs à ce procédé (la concentration du précurseur, la nature du solvant et dustabilisant, le nombre de couches déposées et le type des traitement final (calcinationà 300 °C ou traitements UV) a permis d’optimiser les conditions de préparation des couchesminces et par la suite de contrôler les caractéristiques chimiques, microstructurales et optiquesdes couches développées. Cette étude a montré qu'une concentration de 0,3 M d'acétate denickel, le méthanol comme solvant et le triton X-100 en tant que stabilisant conduisent à unecouche mince NiO avec les meilleures performances optiques. Les caractérisations par lestechniques (DRX, ATG, FT-IR, XPS et GDOES) ont particulièrement mis en évidence le rôledes conditions de traitement final sur la composition et la morphologie des couches d’oxydede nickel élaborées. La DRX a montré qu’elles sont faiblement cristallisées et que la structuredevient plus amorphe avec le traitement UV. La spectrométrie UV-visible et les CV ont révéléque les couches traitées par UV en utilisant une lampe de 30 W pendant 5 h (UV-30W-5h)possèdent le contraste optique le plus élevé et la meilleure stabilité électrochimique. L'analysemorphologique a montré que les couches minces déposées par la technique de spin coatingsouffrent de la formation de fissures et d’une hétérogénéisation de la surface. Pour résoudre ceproblème, le procédé de spin-coating a été remplacé par la technique dip-coating tout enconservant les paramètres optimisés précédemment. Cette technique a permis de produire descouches minces plus homogènes et moins fissurées. D'autre part, pour continuer à améliorerles propriétés électrochromes, ces couches ont été dopées par le lithium. Les résultats obtenusont montré l’importance de l’addition de Li sur l’amélioration des propriétés électrochromesde Li : NiO cyclé dans KOH comme électrolyte. En effet, une variation de la transmittanceΔT de 70% (à 450 nm) a été obtenue dans les couches minces 8 % Li: NiO. Le résultat quiressort des caractérisations FT-IR et ATG, porte sur le fait que les couches calcinéescontiennent moins de composés organiques, à l’inverse de celles traitées par UV riches enmatière organique. L'analyse XPS a montré que la teneur en Ni2+ est plus élevée dans lescouches dopées. L’analyse GDOES a montré une distribution homogène de Li dans toutel’épaisseur de la couche. Toutefois, les couches minces de 8% de Li: NiO traitées par UV-30W-5h souffrent d’une dégradation de leurs performances électrochromes dans le KOHaprès quelques cycles, pour cette raison, elles ont été cyclées dans d’autres électrolytesliquides ioniques, tels que le LiTFSI-EMITFSI, le NaTFSI-EMITFSI et le KTFSI-EMITFSI.Les meilleures propriétés électrochromiques ont été obtenues avec l'électrolyte KTFSIEMITFSI.Ce résultat important représente une bonne perspective pour l'avenir. / Nickel oxide is one of the most widely used electrochromic materials in the field of smartwindows that control light and heat from the outside to the inside of buildings. It is importantto mention that stoichiometric nickel oxide is an insulator at room temperature. Themicrostructural, chemical, optical and electrochromic properties of the films are highlydependent on the process of preparation and final treatment. In addition, one of the mainchallenges is the elaboration of thin films on flexible substrates suitable for electrochromicapplications which requires treatment at ambient T. In this respect, in literature, few studieshave reported the effect of UV treatment on the properties of electrochromic layers. In thiswork, thin films of nickel oxide (NiO) were prepared by the Sol-Gel method associated withspin-coating and dip-coating techniques. The adjustment of the experimental parametersrelating to this process (the concentration of the precursor, the nature of the solvent and thestabilizer, the number of deposited layers and the type of final treatment (calcination at300 °C or UV treatments) made it possible to optimize conditions for the preparation of thinlayers and subsequently to control their chemical, microstructural and optical characteristics.This study showed that a concentration of 0.3 M nickel acetate, methanol as solvent and triton100-X as a stabilizer lead to NiO thin film with the highest optical properties. The techniquesof characterizations (DRX, ATG, FT-IR, XPS and GDEOS) have particularly highlighted therole of the final treatment conditions on the composition and the morphology of the preparednickel oxide thin films. The XRD results showed that they are weakly crystallized and thestructure becomes even more amorphous for UV treated samples. UV-visible spectrometryand cyclic voltammetry revealed that UV-treated thin films using a lamp of 30 W for 5 h(UV-30W-5h) have the highest optical contrast and the highest electrochemical stability.Morphological analysis (SEM) indicated that the thin films deposited by the spin-coatingtechnique suffer from crack formation and surface heterogenization. To solve this issue, thespin-coating process has been replaced by the dip-coating technique while retaining thepreviously optimized parameters. This technique has made it possible to produce thin filmsthat are more homogeneous and less cracked. On the other hand, to continue to improve theelectrochromic properties, these thin films were doped with lithium. The results showed theimportance of the addition of Li on the improvement of the electrochromic properties ofLi : NiO cycled in KOH as electrolyte. Indeed, a variation of the ΔT transmittance of 70 %was reached for the thin films 8 % Li : NiO. The result of the FT-IR and ATGcharacterizations showed that the calcined thin films contain lesser amount of organiccompounds compared to those treated by UV which still contains large amount of organicmatter. XPS analysis has shown that the Ni2+ content is higher in the doped layers. GDOESanalysis showed a homogeneous distribution of Li along the thickness of the thin film.However, 8% Li: NiO thin films treated with UV-30W-5h suffer from a degradation of theirelectrochromic performances in KOH after a few cycles. For this reason, their cyclingproperties have been investigated in a large range of electrolytes, based on ionic liquidincluding LiTFSI-EMITFSI, NaTFSI-EMITFSI and KTFSI-EMITFSI. The highestelectrochromic properties were obtained with KTFSI-EMITFSI as an electrolyte. Thisimportant result presents a good prospect for the future.

The dissolution profile of orally delivered drugs can be controlled through the use of osmotically controlled drug delivery devices. The most commonly used device is the osmotic tablet, which is essentially a tablet core that is coated with a rate-limiting semipermeable membrane. The feasibility of applying a coating onto a tablet using dense gas techniques was studied. Two different coating materials, polymethymethacrylate (PMMA, Mw = 120,000 g/mol) and cellulose acetate (CA, 39.8 wt% acetyl content) were applied onto an 8 mm osmotic tablet core using the Gas Anti-solvent (GAS) process. For PMMA, the pressurisation rate, coating temperature and volumetric expansion of up to 250% had minimal effect on the coating quality. The concentration, solvent type and the use of polyethylene glycol (Mw = 200 g/mol) had a more pronounced effect on the coating. The coating process was optimised to apply a smooth and uniform coating with a 50 ??m thickness. For CA, the pressurisation rate and the coating temperature had little effect on the coating that was applied. The process was more sensitive to a change in the concentration of the solution and the volumetric expansion that was used. It was found that the concentration could not be increased too much without affecting the coating quality. A CA coating was applied onto a PMMA-coated tablet using the optimised conditions. The thickness in the tablet coating increased by 10 ??m. Dissolution tests of the uncoated and coated tablets were carried out. The CA coatings were found to be insufficient in limiting the rate of water entering the tablet and performed similarly to an uncoated tablet core. The PMMA coatings were found to limit the rate of delivery of the model drug. However, variations in the PMMA coatings resulted in an inconsistent delivery profile across batches. The tablets coated with both PMMA and CA had a delivery rate in between that of uncoated and PMMA-coated tablets, indicating that the application of the second coating had compromised the initial PMMA coating.

As science and technology has developed, the manner by which drugs can be delivered has grown. This research explores an alternative method for the delivery of therapeutic compounds to the body. The basis of the study involves the application of traditional medicines on textiles. Boswellia Serrata Extract (B.S.E.) is a common traditional medicine used for curing body pains. The most common form of B.S.E. based products are creams that are applied directly to the skin. Experiments show that these creams were not suitable as a basis for applying to textile materials because the creams contain highly volatile compounds, which on drying the treated textile, post application, cause almost total loss of the B.S.E. The approach used was the application on textiles of a 'commercial' topical medicine applied as a cream for, where B.S.E. is a major constituent. Cotton woven fabric was padded with this cream and tested for washing and rubbing fastness. The presence of highly volatile substances in the topical cream resulted in a negligible amount of the medicine on the dried treated fabric. Another approach was used for the application of B.S.E. onto the textile substrate. A commercially available B.S.E. powder was applied to woven fabric using a pad mangle. Tests were carried out to validate the

<p>Implants are commonly used for orthopaedic and dental applications. There is however a problem with implants; they have a tendency to get loose after 10-15 years of usage. Bone that is not used will get weaker; this can be concluded from studies of people being immobilised or in microgravity. When an implant is put into bone, the surrounding bone does not experience any deformation and it will resorb. This is called stress shielding. Finally the implant will get loose. To avoid this problem we want to give electrical stimulation to the bone surrounding the implant. Electricity has been used before to stimulate bone, and it has been shown that immobilised bone can almost be maintained by using electric stimulation.</p><p>Piezoelectricity is a property of certain materials that make them generate electricity when they are deformed. When an implant is coated with a piezoelectric material, electrical stimulation can be achieved for the surrounding bone that is stress shielded.</p><p>In this diploma work, a test-equipment is built to stimulate cells. Cells will be grown on a piezoelectric plate that is bent by the test-equipment. Thus, the cells will be stimulated by both mechanical stress and electric potential since the piezoelectric material generates electricity when it is deformed. Piezoelectric samples and culture wells suitable for bending applications are prepared and tested in the equipment.</p><p>Some initial cell growth experiments have been performed to see that the material is suitable for cell growth.</p>