In some embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to coatings or thin films comprising a dye or stain embedded within a matrix, e.g. a polymer matrix.

The present invention concerns a method for producing a hydrogel comprising the following steps in succession: a first step (i) of providing at least one powder of an anionic polymer (A) and at least one chitosan powder (B) comprising amine functions (—NH.sub.2); a second step (ii) consisting in dry mixing at least the powders (A) and (B) from the first step in order to form a mixture of powders; a third step (iii) of suspending the mixture of powders obtained from the second step in an aqueous medium having a pH that can enable the anionic polymer (A) to be dissolved without dissolving the chitosan (B); a fourth step (iv) of adding an acid to the suspension obtained from the third step in order to form the hydrogel; or the third (iii) and fourth (iv) steps are replaced by a mixing fifth step (v), comprising mixing an acidified aqueous medium including at least one compound (C) comprising at least one unit of a hexose or a unit derived from a hexose, and/or at least one phosphate of said compound (C), with said mixture comprising at least the powders (A) and (B) obtained from the second step (ii).

The present invention provides a nanocomposite hydrogel and a preparation method thereof, and relates to the field of nanocomposite materials. The nanocomposite hydrogel is prepared by mixing completely gelatinized short amylose with an aqueous gelatin solution having a mass concentration of 8%-14%, and then cooling. The present invention utilizes the nanoparticles formed by in-situ self-assembly of the short amylose in the aqueous gelatin solution as a reinforcing agent, and the nanoparticles are uniformly distributed in the hydrogel to form a stable crystallization system, such that the prepared nanocomposite hydrogel exhibits optimal mechanical properties in terms of viscoelasticity, hardness, compressive stress, etc. The preparation process of the present invention is green and environmentally friendly, simple and efficient, and can be widely applied to the fields of food, cosmetics and medicine.

A system for aerating a marker material. The system includes a first container, a second container, and an aeration connector. The aeration connector includes a body and a screen disk disposed within the body. The first container is in communication with the second container via the aeration connector. The screen disk of the aeration connector is configured to aerate a marker material as the marker material is repeatedly passed between the first container and the second container.

Bare porous polymer monoliths, fluidic chips, methods of incorporating bare porous polymer monoliths into fluidic chips, and methods for functionalizing bare porous polymer monoliths are described. Bare porous polymer monoliths may be fabricated ex situ in a mold. The bare porous polymer monoliths may also be functionalized ex situ. Incorporating the bare preformed porous polymer monoliths into the fluidic chips may include inserting the monoliths into channels of channel substrates of the fluidic chips. Incorporating the bare preformed porous polymer monoliths into the fluidic chips may include bonding a capping layer to the channel substrate. The bare porous polymer monoliths may be mechanically anchored to channel walls and to the capping layer. The bare porous polymer monoliths may be functionalized by ex situ immobilization of capture probes on the monoliths. The monoliths may be functionalized by direct attachment of chitosan.

A method for preparing a super absorbent polymer and a superabsorbent polymer prepared from the same are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a method includes mixing super absorbent polymer particles, water and an additive form a hydrated super absorbent polymer, wherein the super absorbent polymer particles comprise a base polymer powder including a cross-linked polymer polymerized from a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated monomer having an acidic group of which at least a part is neutralized, and a surface cross-linked layer formed on the base polymer powder, wherein the surface cross-linked layer is formed by further cross-linking the cross-linked polymer, and wherein the additive including a polyoxyalkylene aliphatic hydrocarbon ether carboxylic acid. The method can appropriately control the water content of the super absorbent polymer by water-addition or the like to suppress crushing or the like during transfer, and also can suppress deterioration of physical properties.

Disclosed is a macroporous polymeric hydrogel microsphere that contains polyacrylamide and chitosan. The hydrogel microsphere, having a diameter of 50-250 μm and an average pore size of 1-60 nm, is capable of transporting biomolecules conjugated to it. Also disclosed is a method of fabricating the microsphere based on a micromolding technique utilizing surface tension-induced droplet formation followed by photo-induced polymerization.

The method for preparing a super absorbent polymer according to the present disclosure reduces the generating amount of a fine powder while realizing the same particle size distribution in the process of pulverizing the dried polymer, thereby reducing the load of the fine powder reassembly, drying, pulverizing and classifying steps.

A method for managing and/or treating obesity and/or overweight and/or for inducing weight loss. The method includes orally administering to a patient a composition capable of being transformed into a hydrogel foam after its introduction into the patient stomach. The hydrogel foam occupies at least 20% of the volume of the patient stomach.

The invention relates to novel a high-volume swelling hydrogel which comprises a plurality of pores which are defined by an interpenetrating network, and/or a semi-interpenetrating network and/or simple cross-linked arrangement of a plurality of one or more species of hydrophilic polymers, optionally together with one or more biocompatible polymers and optionally together with one or more plasticising agents, characterised in that at least some of the pores are at least partially collapsed and/or flattened, and further characterised in that the interpenetrating network and/or semi-interpenetrating network and/or cross-linked arrangement which defines the collapsed and/or flattened pores is substantially unbroken. The invention also relates to a process for preparing such hydrogels, and to their use as an appetite suppressant.