Hydrogel

Injuries to the peripheral nervous system can cause substantial motor and sensory deficits. In the presented study, self-assembling peptide-based hydrogels are injected into a chitosan nanofiber scaffold and used as an artificial nerve graft.

Natural polysaccharides such as chitin and chitosan are excellent sources for new materials with exceptional properties. Here we present innovative applications of the biopolymer derived from crustaceans or mushrooms in bulletproof coatings and smart windows.

Worldwide, about 2.5 million people live with the consequences of a traumatic spinal cord injury. At the injured site formation of glia scar tissue prevents the regeneration of nerve cells. To date, complete functional recovery of the spinal cord is impossible, also because the cascade of events that takes place at the injured site is not fully understood yet.

Even in the beginning of summer chitin and chitosan research is going on. 130 articles were published in journals. 50 submitted papers edited in China, 10 in the US and 9 in South Corea. You want to learn more about the foci of interest? Just keep on reading.

Whats new in April? Many different articles about chitin and chitosan were published in scientific journals.

Have a look at published papers in march 2009.

H. pylori infections in the stomach are difficult to combat due to the formation of antibiotic resistance, biofilms and intracellular infections. In the presented study, a hydrogel platform based on chitosan and palmitic acid will be used as an alternative to antibiotic-based therapy.