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Chitosan/gelatin and chitosan/gelatin/zeolite films prepared by solvent casting method are impregnated with a mixture of thymol and carvacrol using a green solvent, supercritical carbon dioxide at 35 °C and 30 MPa, during 18 h. Proposed method enables preparation of biocompatible and biodegradable blends with strong antioxidant and antibacterial activity, whereby amounts of loaded thymol/carvacrol (TC) mixture are in the range from 3.3% to 6%. After initial burst release, both types of films exhibit gradual release of bioactive compounds, with around 72% and 96% of impregnated TC mixture released in water and phosphate buffered saline solution (pH 7.4) during tested period of 10 days, respectively. Results of water vapor transmission rate (>76 g m−2 day−1) confirm that prepared composites are suitable for wound dressing application. Thermal analysis shows superior properties of prepared TC loaded films compared to control samples. In addition, mechanical and structural properties, as well as solubility and swelling behavior of the obtained films are investigated in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) stands out as the most promising biodegradable alternative to conventional petrochemical‐based polymers for manufacturing of high‐performance materials applied in medicine, pharmacy, food, textile, and electronic industry. This review was aimed to present the conventional and up‐to‐date technologies for PLA processing including melt blending and molding, hot melt extrusion, 3D printing, foaming, impregnation, thermally induced phase separation, nano‐ and microparticles preparation, wet and dry spinning processes. In addition, the effect of the processing parameters and polymer characteristics on the properties of the final material was elaborated. Diverse possibilities to tailor properties of PLA‐based materials by variation in polymer characteristics and concentration, solvent selection, drying method, processing pressure and temperature, incorporation of bioactive components, and so on were highlighted. The examples of the relations between processing methods, parameters, and end‐product properties are given for a better understanding of all aspects that need to be perceived for fabrication of PLA‐based materials with required performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerogels are materials with high specific surface area and high porosity, which can be produced from polysaccharides such as starch. Starch is an abundant and low-cost polymer with versatility in processing. Aerogel properties are influenced by the process parameters including starch-to-water ratio, gelatinization temperature (T), selection of non-solvent for water replacement in hydrogels, selection of drying method, drying pressure (P) and T, etc. Supercritical drying, which employs supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), is an environmentally friendly process that allows relatively fast production of aerogels. Despite the superior properties of starch aerogels, they do not express biological activity. This can be overcome by the incorporation of bioactive compounds (BCs) into aerogels using the supercritical impregnation (SCI) process. SCI implies the dissolution of BCs in scCO2, diffusion of BC-scCO2 solution into a polymer matrix, possible chemical or physical interaction of BC with polymer, and complete removal of scCO2 from the BC-polymer after a decrease of P and T to atmospheric. This process allows one-step production of solvent-free added value materials at relatively low T and the incorporation of high amounts of BC with various biological activities. Aerogels can be impregnated with pharmaceutical drugs but also with natural BCs (single or mixture) such as plant extracts. To produce aerogels, 10 g of cornstarch (amylose content 20−30%, HeMoss, Serbia) was mixed with 100 mL of distilled water, gelatinization T was changed from 70 to 100 °C, water contained in hydrogels was replaced with acetone or ethanol during 1 or 5 days, drying P was varied from 8 to 20 MPa while drying T was 35 or 40 °C. Drying of gels was performed in a 25 mL high-pressure view cell while impregnation of aerogels with BCs was performed in a 280 mL high-pressure unit (Eurotechnica GmbH, Germany). Developed aerogels were tested as possible carriers of hemp and bilberry extracts as well as carriers of neat components such as carvacrol and citronellol. Produced cornstarch aerogels showed high liquid absorption capacity (ca. 400%). Due to high specific surface area, low density, high porosity, and biocompatibility, obtained aerogels present promising candidates for the development of biomaterials that will release BCs in a controlled manner and enable antimicrobial activity. The SCI processes enabled the impregnation of a high amount of tested natural BCs achieving loadings up to 33%. By controlling preparation process parameters, which leads to tuning of pore size and pore size distribution, tailoring of aerogel properties for special purposes is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]