No / The prevalence of suboptimal outcome for surgical interventions in the treatment of full-thickness articular cartilage damage suggests that there is scope for a materials-based strategy to deliver a more durable repair. Given that the superficial layer of articular cartilage creates and sustains the tribological function of synovial joints, it is logical that candidate materials should have surface viscoelastic properties that mimic native articular cartilage. The present paper describes force spectroscopy analysis by nano-indentation to measure the elastic modulus of the surface of a novel poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel with therapeutic potential as a joint implant. More than 1 order of magnitude decrease in the elastic modulus was detected after adsorption of a hyaluronic acid layer onto the hydrogel, bringing it very close to previously reported values for articular cartilage. Covalent derivatization of the hydrogel surface with fibronectin facilitated the adhesion and growth of cultured rat tibial condyle chondrocytes as evidenced morphologically and by the observance of metachromatic staining with toluidine blue dye. The present results indicate that hydrogel materials with potential therapeutic benefit for injured and diseased joints can be engineered with surfaces with biomechanical properties similar to those of native tissue and are accepted as such by their constituent cell type.

The separation characteristics of binary alcohol-water mixtures were studied overa wide range of feed concentration and temperature using polymeric and zeoliticpervaporation membranes. For the hydrophilic PVA membrane, the total flux (at 55 0C)for the ethanol-water system decreased from 0.45 to 0.05 kg/m2/hr as the feed ethanolconcentration was increased from 30 to 95 wt. %. The separation factor (water/ethanol)was found to increase by about 100 times for the same range of concentration. TheUNIQUAC theory was used to predict the activity of binary alcohol-water mixtures in thePVA membrane. The UNIQUAC theory successfully takes into account the nonidealitiespresent in the alcohol/water-PVA membrane system. The transport of waterand alcohol species through the PVA membrane was modeled using the UNIQUACtheory in conjunction with the conventional activity driving force model. Using themodel and the experimental pervaporation data, the diffusivity correlations andconcentration profiles for various species through the membrane were developed. Basedon the developed diffusivity correlations, the water and alcohol fluxes through the PVAmembrane were predicted at 80 ??C.Experiments were also conducted on the water selective zeolite (type NaA)membrane using various alcohol-water mixtures and with dimethylformamide-watermixture over a wide range of temperatures (25 to 70 ??C) and solvent concentrations (0 -100 wt. %). The total flux for the ethanol-water mixture was found to decrease from 2 to0.05 kg/m2/hr at 60 ??C as the feed ethanol concentration was increased from 0 to 100 wt.%. Both, the water to ethanol and water to isopropanol separation factors were observedto lie between 1000 and 5000 over a wide range of solvent concentrations. The Maxwell-Stefan theory was used to model the permeation of water through zeolite NaAmembranes. The precise micropore structure of the zeolite cage helps in a partialmolecular sieving of the large solvent molecules leading to high separation factors. Thezeolite membrane active layer may contain certain non-zeolitic interstitial pores withpreferential water sorption. A high degree of hydrophilicity of the zeolite membrane issuggested from a pure water sorption value of 0.6 gm/gm zeolite. The detailedinterpretation of this result, however, requires consideration of both true zeoliticmicrocavity uptake as well as interstitially held water between crystallites. The use ofpervaporation for volume reduction and solvent recovery applications in thepharmaceutical industry has been demonstrated.

The main aim of the diploma thesis is to investigate the influence of incorporated polyelecrolyte additives on the mechanical and transport properties of hydrogel. Hydrogels, based on polyvinylalcohol, were selected for these experiments. Gelation of polyvinylalcohol can be induced physically or chemically. The aim was to investigate the influence of sodium alginate, sodium polystyrene sulfonate and sodium polyglutamate. Mechanical properties were studied by rheology, through viscoelastic properties. Transport properties were analyzed by using two methods: diffusion pair and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

The presented diploma thesis deals with a targeted modification of the structural properties of hydrogels, which is closely related to the application properties of these materials (eg transport). Due to the desired pharmacological applications of the use of these materials for targeted drug release, hydrogels based on chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol as substances with good biocompatibility were selected for the study. The combination of these polymers ensured swelling (controlled by the presence of chitosan) and viscoelastic (influenced by the presence of polyvinyl alcohol) properties, which were characterized by a wide range of analytical and physicochemical methods (swelling, tensile strength, rheology, atomic force microscopy or specific surface area, etc.). Information on structural properties played a crucial role not only for a detailed description of the studied materials in terms of whether the structural properties can be changed in a targeted manner, but also served as an explanation for the different release of the active substance diclofenac from the hydrogel matrix. With regard to the literature search, the effect of pH and crosslinking was chosen to modify the properties. From the measured results it was found that even a slight change in pH has an effect on the transport or release of the active substance. The results obtained in this work may be useful in the formation of hydrogel matrices with drugs depending on the intended medical applications.

Vitiligo is a skin disease with 2 % prevalence in a worldwide population. It is characterised by loss or decrease in activity of epidermal melanocytes, which lead to skin and hair depigmentation. It has negative impact on psyche, social relationships of patients and reduces the protection of the organism against UV radiation. One of the treatment methods is autologous transplantation of melanocytes or suspension of melanocytes with keratinocytes. Use of the biocompatible membrane, which allows the cultivation of these cells with resulting transplantation on the depigmented lesion, could improve treatment and make it more efficient. The main goal of this work was to create the biocompatible membrane from nanofiber layers of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) which can stand as a carrier for cell transplants in vitiligo therapy. PVA scaffolds were prepared by electrostatic spinning and later on modified by cold methane plasma (CH4) for lowering their hydrofility. Samples of modified nanofiber carriers were analysed according to their physical and chemical characteristics (visualization fiber morphology by SEM, XPS and surface Zeta potential analysis and contact angle). Consequently, adhesion, proliferation and metabolic activity of cultivating mice cell lines of melanocytes (Melan-a) and keratinocytes (XB2) were examined...

This diploma thesis focuses on the problematics of preparation of biodegradable starch based packaging. The aim of the thesis is to optimize the preparation and verify the characteristics for further adaptation and production technologies. The films consisted of starch, PVA and glycerol. Four types of starches, three types of PVA and different ratios of glycerol were tested. Films were prepared by casting with glycerol as a plasticizer, instead of distilled water, to reduce the energy cost of the preparation. The mechanical properties of the films were tested as well. The experimentally determined values of elongation at break and tensile strength of the wheat starch films were compared with a semiempirical model. Results revealed that the preparation of thermoplasticization of starch with glycerol leads to a considerable increase in elongation at break but at the same time to a marked decrease in tensile strength compared to the preparation from solution. The rheological properties of the prepared films were also investigated. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to study the structure of the films.

This diploma thesis deals with the study of inkjet print degradation on handmade paper modified by polymer layer containing light stabilizers and inorganic filler. The polymer layer coated on the medium consisted of polyvinylalcohol, titanium dioxide and light stabilizer. The influence of light promoted degradation and light stabilizers was observed. The experiments were carried out on Q-SUN Xenon Test Chamber device, Model Xe-1-B/S. Colorimetric values of test chart were measured and the influence of different light stabilizers on the color difference between original and faded sample was evaluated.

The aim of this master thesis deals with the optimization of the preparation of thin hydrogel films based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with the possibility of incorporating suitable additives (polyelectrolytes, plasticizers, etc.) into the structure of the prepared film to modify its properties. DEAE-Dextran hydrochloride and polyglutamic acid (PGA) were used as polyelectrolytes. The basic characterization of the properties was performed on modified films, which were compared with pure PVA films. The films were characterized by thickness, swelling ability, barrier properties, tensile properties, specific surface area, antimicrobial tests, and thermogravimetric analysis. The swelling ability of PVA/PGA films was very high, which may be a disadvantage for their use in the packaging industry. Swelling increases the amount of water in the matrix of the PVA film, what leads to a higher growth of microorganisms and to degradation of thin film. The water vapor transmission rate was greatly affected by the addition of a plasticizer. The small specific surface area of the films indicates a smooth surface that promotes good barrier properties. Films with the addition of a plasticizer showed relatively good mechanical properties. The values of tensile strength, elongation and elastic modulus were comparable to commercially available films such as polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE). Based on all experiments, PVA, PVA/DEAEDextran films and their variants with the addition of glycerol as a plasticizer were evaluated as the best candidates for the use of these films as packaging materials. The follow-up work could be dealing with the optimization of PVA films for oxygen permeability. Furthermore, the possibilities of using these films in the packaging industry based on the relative humidity of the environment, could be defined as other interesting area of future research.

The subject of the diploma thesis is the preparation of macro-defect-free (MDF) composites based on calcium-aluminate cement and organic polymer polyvinylalcohol. Attention focused on the optimization of the dose, the degree of hydrolysis and molecular weight of the polymer with respect to the heat resistance of the material. Thermal degradation of polyvinyl alcohol leads to changes in the structure of MDF composite. The study was mainly focused on the characteristics of polyvinyl alcohol dosage associated with the resultant mechanical properties of the material. During the work were monitored for changes in the mechanical properties of samples were cured at 60 °C and subsequently fired at 180 °C, 600 °C, 1000 °C and 1400 °C. It was tested in flexural strength, heat microscopy, TGA-DTA-EGA and SEM analysis.

Modification of nanofibers is an actual trend in tissue engineering. Polyvinylacohol (PVA) is nontoxic and biodegradable polymer suitable for preparation of submicron fibers by electrospinning. Main disadvantage of PVA fibers is rapid degradation in aqueous environment. On the other hand surface of fibers contains free hydroxyl group that could be chemically modified. In recent work, chemical modification of PVA nanofibers prepared by needleless electrospinning was investigated. Polyethylenglykol (PEG) linker was introduced to the fiber surface by acylation (PVA-PEG) and further modified by biotin (PVA-PEG-b) as a function agent. Process of chemical modification does not affected fibrous morphology of samples. Interestingly, linkage of PEG-b linker promoted stability of PVA in aqueous environment. PVA-PEG-b sample was stable for 41 days. Stability of samples was strongly dependent on amount of introduced PEG-b linker, thus proposed method of modification allows to prepare nanofibers of different solubility. Additionally, biocompatibility of chemically modified nanofibers with both mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and chondrocytes was determined. Proliferation of both cell types was not sufficient and number of cells decreased in time, probably because of high hydrophility of modified PVA scaffold. To...