An embolic filter balloon is disclosed. The embolic filter balloon may comprise an inflatable balloon portion. Further, the inflatable balloon portion may be coupled to a filter member. The embolic filter balloon may be disposed in a body lumen. In some embodiments, the embolic filter balloon may be configured such that when the inflatable balloon portion is at least partially inflated the filter member extends at least partially across the body lumen. Such a configuration may allow the embolic filter balloon, when deployed, to filter particles greater than a predetermined size from a fluid in the body lumen.

A scaffold for cell culture or tissue engineering is provided. The scaffold includes a fiber web having a three-dimensional network structure, which includes a biodegradable scaffold fiber. Therefore, a microenvironment suitable for migration, proliferation and differentiation of cells to be cultured is created, thereby improving a cell proliferation rate and cell viability. In addition, the scaffold may be easily removed from cells cultured therein without physical/chemical stimuli, and thus the cultured cells may be easily recovered, and is able to be grafted into the body while the cultured cells are included in the scaffold. Moreover, the cultured cells may be cultured to have a similar shape/structure to those of an actual animal body to make it more suitable to be applied in grafting into an in vitro experimental model or animal body.

An electrospun nanofiber membrane and a method for preparing the electrospun nanofiber membrane are provided to solve problems of poor mechanical properties, short service life, poor uniformity and consistency of orientation of fibers and poor stability of fiber networks in current electrospun composite nanofiber materials. The electrospun nanofiber membrane is prepared by spinning solution through a high-voltage electrospinning device. The spinning solution is blending solution of regenerated silk fibroin:polyvinyl alcohol:polylactic acid with a mass ratio being 75-85:10-20:5 dissolved in a mixed solvent of trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane with a volume ratio being 7:3. The method establishes a reasonable mass ratio parameter of the regenerated silk fibroin, the polyvinyl alcohol and the polylactic acid to blending spinning to improve spinnability of silk fibroin, as well as prepare the electrospun composite nanofiber membrane with good mechanical properties.

A stent or other prosthesis may be formed by coating a single continuous wire scaffold with a polymer coating. The polymer coating may consist of layers of electrospun polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Electrospun PTFE of certain porosities may permit endothelial cell growth within the prosthesis.

The present disclosure provides a preparation method of a plasma-treated nanofiber-based hydrogen gas sensing material, including the following steps: (1) stirring a mixed solution of absolute ethanol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), N, N-dimethylformamide, SnCl.sub.2.H.sub.2O, and Zn(CH.sub.3COO).sub.2.2H.sub.2O uniformly on a constant-temperature magnetic stirrer to obtain a spinning solution; (2) electrospinning the spinning solution and depositing on an aluminum foil to obtain a spinning fiber; (3) annealing the spinning fiber in a muffle furnace to obtain a hydrogen gas sensing material sample; and (4) subjecting the hydrogen gas sensing material sample to a vacuum argon plasma treatment with a Hall ion source to obtain the nanofiber-based hydrogen gas sensing material. In the method, nanofibers are prepared by electrospinning and subjected to the vacuum argon plasma treatment through the Hall ion source. The prepared sensing material has an extremely large specific surface area, and gas-sensing properties of rapid response and high sensitivity to hydrogen gas.

The invention provides a surface-functionalised polymeric object (10), comprising: a bulk material (11) comprising a copolymer containing constitution units derived from a first comonomer and constitution units derived from a second comonomer, the first comonomer being selected from L-lactide and D-lactide and forming sequences of oligo(L-lactide) or oligo(D-lactide) in the copolymer the copolymer having a substantially random, partially blocky structure with a dyad ratio of (lactide-lactide)-dyads to (lactide-second comonomer)-dyads of at least 2.0:1; and a surface layer (12) disposed on a surface of the bulk material (11), the surface layer (12) comprising a functionalising species and at least one chain of poly(D-lactide) or of poly(L-lactide) covalently bound to the functionalising species, and at least one chain being different from the oligo(L-lactide) sequences or oligo(D-lactide) sequences contained in the copolymer; wherein the surface layer (12) is attached to the bulk material (11) via stereocomplexes formed between the poly(D-lactide) chain(s) of the functionalising species and the oligo(L-lactide) sequences contained in the copolymer or via stereocomplexes formed between the poly(L-lactide) chain(s) of the functionalising species and the oligo(D-lactide) sequences contained in the copolymer, respectively. The surface-functionalised polymeric object can be produced in a one-step procedure by coaxial electrospinning.

The present invention provides a method for fabricating patterned cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) composite nanofibers and thin films for optical and electromagnetic sensor and actuator application, comprising the following steps of: selecting materials for fabricating patterned cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) composite nanofibers; and fabricating patterned CNCs composite nanofibers by incorporating secondary phases either during electrospinning or post-processing, wherein the secondary phases may include dielectrics, electrically or magnetically activated nanoparticles or polymers and biological cells mechanically reinforced by CNCs.

According to the present disclosure, a method of fabricating a metal-carbon fibrous structure is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (a) forming a fibrous support structure comprising composite nanocrystals and polymeric fibers, wherein each of the composite nanocrystals comprises metal ions connected by organic ligands; (b) growing the composite nanocrystals on the fibrous support structure; and (c) subjecting the fibrous support structure of step (b) to carbonization to form the metal-carbon fibrous structure, wherein the metal-carbon fibrous structure comprises metal nanoparticles derived from the composite nanocrystals. A metal-carbon fibrous structure comprising carbon based fibers arranged to form a porous network and the carbon based fibers are doped with metal nanoparticles, wherein the carbon based fibers have surfaces which comprise graphitic carbon, is also disclosed herein.

A method of preparing a polyvinyl alcohol nanofiber membrane includes a material for controlling cell specific adhesion, and a nanofiber membrane that can maintain cellular functions such as cell activity and growth is prepared by adding aqueous solutions containing a polyacrylic acid and a glutaraldehyde crosslinking agent in a polyvinyl alcohol and materials capable of enhancing or regulating cell adhesion, electrospinning, treating with hydrochloric acid vapor and dimethylformaldehyde solvent and treating with sodium hydroxide to control the cell adhesion.

Hybrid carbon nanofiber (Cnf) products (e.g., mats, yarns, webs, etc.) and methods of fabricating the same are provided. The hybrid Cnf products are flexible and lightweight and have high thermal conductivity. An electrospinning process can be used to fabricate the hybrid Cnf products and can include preparation of an electrospinning solution, electrospinning, and carbonization (e.g., under a vacuum condition).