About
88
Publications
23,639
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
1,175
Citations
Introduction
Current institution
Additional affiliations
October 2015 - present
September 2010 - September 2015
Publications
Publications (88)
Bacterial cellulose (BC) has earned a well-defined place among biopolymers due to its unique physicochemical properties. Unfortunately, native BC lacks antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. To address this limitation, many BC-based nanocomposites with antimicrobial properties have been developed, primarily for applications in the biomedical fie...
The current work proposes the development of composite membranes based on bacterial cellulose (BC) loaded with silver (Ag) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures by in situ impregnation. The research involves the production and purification of BC, followed by its loading with different types of phases with the help of different precipitating solutions...
Electrospun nanofibres based on poly(styrene sulfonate) doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT:PSS) were fabricated using a straightforward procedure which combines electrospinning, sputtering deposition and electrochemical synthesis. In general, electrospun fibre meshes based on conducting polymers are prepared by mixing the conducting poly...
The current study reports the use of silver (Ag) and samarium (Sm) as dopants to improve the properties of standard bioglass in terms of biological performance. This experiment considers thin films of doped bioglass obtained by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and spin coating (SC). For both methods, some parameters were gradually varied, as the main...
The current study reports on the fabrication of composite scaffolds based on polycaprolactone (PCL) and cerium (Ce)-containing powders, followed by their characterization from compositional, structural, morphological, optical and biological points of view. First, CeO2, Ce-doped calcium phosphates and Ce-substituted bioglass were synthesized by wet-...
Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was applied to extract oil from blackberry (BB) seeds. The effect of UAE conditions on oil recovery and quality was investigated. Favorable experimental conditions (ultrasound intensity (UI), extraction temperature, and time) were investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). A Box–Behnken design was us...
Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a biopolymer whose properties have been intensively studied, especially for biomedical applications. Since BC has no antimicrobial activity, it is necessary to use bioactive substances for developing wound healing applications. Another drawback of BC is the loss if its water retention capacity after dehydration. In order...
Featured Application
The developed matrices could be used as sustainable drug delivery systems (transdermal patches). Mathematical modeling provides numerical evaluation of the phenomena occurring during drug release and valuable predictions on release behavior overall.
Abstract
Drug-loaded mono- and multilayer composite membranes were prepared. T...
Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a unique microbial biopolymer with a huge number of significant applications in the biomedical field, including bone tissue engineering. The present study proposes to obtain and characterize BC hybrid composites with calcium phosphate as biocompatible and bioactive membranes for bone tissue engineering. BC precursor memb...
The present work reports the synthesis and characterization of polycaprolactone fibers loaded with particulate calcium magnesium silicates, to form composite materials with bioresorbable and bioactive properties. The inorganic powders were achieved through a sol–gel method, starting from the compositions of diopside, akermanite, and merwinite, thre...
Due to the urgent need to develop and improve biomaterials, the present article proposes a new strategy to obtain porous scaffolds based on forsterite (Mg2SiO4) for bone tissue regeneration. The main objective is to restore and improve bone function, providing a stable environment for regeneration. The usage of magnesium silicate relies on its mech...
In this work, calcium magnesium silicate ceramics were processed through the sol–gel method in order to study the crystalline and morphological properties of the resulting materials in correlation with the compositional and thermal parameters. Tetraethyl orthosilicate and calcium/magnesium nitrates were employed as sources of cations, in ratios spe...
A new core-shell pH-responsive nanocarrier was prepared based on magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) core. Magnetic nanoparticles were first modified with hyperbranched polyglycerol as the first shell. Then the magnetic core was decorated with doxorubicin anticancer drug (DOX) and covered with PEGylated carboxymethylcellulose as the second shell. Borax was...
This study reports the investigation of a degraded polyethylene insert retrieved after the catastrophic failure of a mobile bearing knee implant, occurred after a traumatic event and leading to a late revision. Understanding wear mechanisms of polyethylene components is important to improve the implants for joint replacement. This model of unicompa...
In this work, polyvinylidene fluoride was obtained in the form of one-dimensional structures with the help of electrospinning technique. Several types of precursor solutions were tested to find the optimal experimental conditions to produce smooth, continuous and beadless fibres, morphologically suitable for the development of piezoelectric scaffol...
Cnicus benedictus fruits were used as raw material to extract oil, and the resulting oil was converted into biodiesel. Two extraction methods were tested: batch extraction, and ultrasound assisted extraction. Response surface methodology was considered for the optimization of the process efficiency. The selected key independent variables were tempe...
The corrosion of mild steel and Al alloy in Fomtec P 6% and 6% P Profoam 806 protein-based foam concentrates was investigated. Weight-loss data for steel showed corrosion penetration of 0.745 mipy in Fomtec and 2.269 mipy in Profoam, whereas for Al alloy the penetration levels were 0.474 and 1.093 mipy, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy an...
This study aimed to develop a facile synthesis procedure for heterogeneous catalysts based on organic guanidine derivatives superbases chemically grafted on silica-coated Fe 3 O 4 magnetic nanoparticles. Thus, the three organosilanes that were obtained by reacting the selected carbodiimides ( N , N ′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), N , N ′-diisopro...
Three different inorganic scaffolds were obtained starting from the oxide system SiO2‒P2O5‒CaO‒MgO, to which Ce4+/Sm3+/Sr2+ cations were added in order to propose novel materials with potential application in the field of hard tissue engineering. Knowing the beneficial effects of each element, improved features in terms of mechanical properties, an...
Mixtures consisting in carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), bacterial cellulose fibrils (BCF), pectin and blackberry pomace powder (BPP) were developed and characterized. Influence of pectin, BCF content and preparation temperature on rheological properties of mixtures on the one hand, and the influence over the antioxidant activity and water resistance o...
Two core-double-shell pH-sensitive nanocarriers were fabricated using Fe3O4 as magnetic core, poly(glycidyl methacrylate-PEG) and salep dialdehyde as the first and the second shell, and doxorubicin as the hydrophobic anticancer drug. Two nanocarriers were different in the drug loading steps. The interaction between the first and the second shell as...
Bacterial cellulose (BC) has a unique nanofibrillar structure which determines its potential applications, especially in the medical field. Even if its application as textile material does not have a large spread, its potential is very promising, being a green material which could replace other textile materials, including leather, with many advant...
The aim of this study was the synthesis of silica hollow spheres-based materials doped with metal nanoparticles or metal oxides. Two different strategies based on the use of polymer colloids and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as dual templates were developed. The first strategy involves the use of soap-free emulsion polymerization for the tr...
The current study presents a comparison within the framework of 45S5 Bioglass® composition, between two types of coatings, achieved by physical or chemical means. The oxide composition was established within SiO2–P2O5–CaO–MgO–SrO–Na2O system, while the preparation techniques were pulsed laser deposition and spin coating. The target necessary for la...
The aim of this paper was the synthesis of amphiphilic copolymers by employing an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), control polymerization "grafting from" method, initiated both on the surface of an iodinated polyvinyl chloride (PVC-I) membrane and in solution. The iodination of PVC was performed through a Conant-Finkelstein reaction tha...
The purpose of this study resides in the design and deposition of several types of bioactive interfaces with complex composition, targeting a superior osseointegration of bone implants. The experimental approach is framed by two oxide systems, SiO2‒CaO‒P2O5‒ZnO‒MgO and SiO2‒CaO‒P2O5‒ZnO‒SrO, while the percentage values were established as optimised...
In this work, composite fibers connected in three-dimensional porous scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning, starting from polycaprolactone and inorganic powders synthesized by the sol-gel method. The aim was to obtain materials dedicated to the field of bone regeneration, with controllable properties of bioresorbability and bioactivity. The...
Due to the fact of their ability to bond with human’s hard tissue, bioglasses have gained interest in the biomedical field with certain purposes regarding their usage in the replacement, healing or repair of bones. In the form of thin films, they trigger an increase in biocompatibility for the inert supports after implantation, based on surface eng...
The purpose of this work was to propose and evaluate a new composition for a bioactive glass-ceramic starting from the well-known 45S5 commercial product. Thus, we developed a modified version, including MgO, an oxide that turned out to induce superior mechanical properties and improved biological response. This had the following molar percentages:...
Taking into account the potential of barium titanate to deliver electrical stimulation to the physiological microenvironment and offer beneficial conditions for the cellular metabolism, this mineral phase was selected for the development of new composites. In this context, calcium phosphates and barium titanate were deposited on bacterial cellulose...
The current work focuses on the development of mineral scaffolds with complex composition and controlled morphology by using a polymeric template in the form of nonwoven fibre webs fabricated through electrospinning. By a cross-linking process, gelatine fibres stable in aqueous solutions were achieved, these being further subjected to a loading ste...
Glass‐ceramic 3D porous structures were obtained by from a polymeric template, which was successively loaded with calcium phosphates, by chemical reaction and a dried gel based on barium and titanium by physical attachment. The resulting composite was subjected to a freeze‐drying procedure in order to maintain the spongy morphology. Under the effec...
This work aims the obtaining of composite scaffolds based on polycaprolactone fibres loaded with inorganic powders, hydroxyapatite or/and barium titanate, through the electrospinning technique, as well as their characterization both from physicochemical point of view and biological side in order to establish the potential of such materials for inte...
This study aimed to obtain possible materials for future antimicrobial food packaging applications based on biodegradable bacterial cellulose (BC). BC is a fermentation product obtained by Gluconacetobacter xylinum using food or agricultural wastes as substrate. In this work we investigated the synergistic effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NP...
Our study was focused on the synthesis of photocatalytic materials for the degradation of organic dyes based on the valorization of biomass resources. The biochar resulted from pyrolysis process of cherry pits wastes was activated by CO2 flow. Activated and inactivated carbon was used to obtain carbon-based photocatalysts impregnated with different...
The main objective of the tissue engineering field is to regenerate the damaged parts of the body by developing biological substitutes that maintain, restore, or improve original tissue function. In this context, by using the electrospinning technique, composite scaffolds based on polycaprolactone (PCL) and inorganic powders were successfully obtai...
Within the field of tissue engineering, thin films have been studied to improve implant fixation of metallic or ceramic materials in bone, connective tissue, oral mucosa or skin. In this context, to enhance their suitability as implantable devices, titanium-based substrates received a superficial vitroceramic coating by means of laser ablation. Fur...
Pure and Co doped ZnO thin films were deposited on Ti substrates by spin coating and further thermally treated at 500 or 600 °C in order to achieve implantable metallic materials with improved biocompatibility and antibacterial effect. The influence of dopant concentration on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics was also approached...
The objective of this paper is to highlight the influence of barium titanate, a material well known for its piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties, on the behaviour of hybrid biocomposites based on collagen and hydroxyapatite. The specimens were produced in the form of scaffolds, being obtained from a collagen gel together with two powdered raw...
Ceramic scaffolds were prepared starting from a sol–gel powder, which was mixed with glucose as a pore-generating substance and subsequently thermally treated at different temperatures and for different periods in order to ensure the formation of a resistance structure. The final materials were characterized in terms of structure, morphology, and b...
Two types of natural gypsum from different regions of Romania and two types of synthetic gypsum resulted in the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) industrial installation where characterized from compositional, structural and morphological point of view by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive...
n this paper, we present for the first time the obtaining and characterization of new antibacterial and biocompatible nano-ZnO–bacterial cellulose (BC) material with controlled interfaces for studying in vitro microorganisms (Escherichia Coli (ATCC 8737), B. subtilis Spizizenii Nakamura (ATCC 6633), Candida albicans (ATCC10231)) and mammalian cells...
Sea buckthorn (SB) seeds were used as raw material to obtain SB oil using two extraction methods: ultrasound and microwave assisted extraction. The favorable experimental conditions that maximize the extraction efficiency were investigated by applying response surface methodology (RSM). The selected key independent variables were ultrasonic intensi...
The aim of the present paper is to develop ceramic thin films by laser ablation in order to improve the biological behaviour of metallic implants dedicated to hard tissue restoration. The composition of the coatings was selected within SiO2–P2O5–CaO–MgO–ZnO–CaF2 system, while their processing has gone through two stages: target preparation via a we...
Gold nanoparticles were decorated on/into the SBA-15 channels covalently functionalized by new class of symmetrical tridentate NNN-pincer ligand. This provides a unique support for stabilization of Au NPs preventing agglomeration due to the strong ligation of pincer ligand. The catalyst proved to be highly active for the reduction of nitroarenes. T...
Electrospun sub-micrometer polymer fiber mats represent an interesting substrate which can be employed as a transparent conducting electrode. Functionalization by using nanostructures represents a convenient way of increasing the range of applications. The present paper describes an electrodeposition process which can be applied for preparing ZnO n...
Pd nanoparticles are stabilized onto the surface of Fe3O4-entrapped poly(aminoethyl acrylamide) via functionalization of polymer with a new class of NNN-pincer ligand providing a high loading and stable catalyst for aerobic oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes. Varieties of alcohols are oxidized to the corresponding aldehydes with good selectivity us...
The present work aimed to investigate the possibility to enhance Pb(II) removal from wastewater by ultrasound-assisted adsorption using unmodified hazelnut shell, as locally and readily available agricultural waste. The main objective was to optimize operational parameters, to allow efficient (fast and low-cost) lead removal. Thus, parameters as co...
Bacterial cellulose membranes were employed as templates for calcium phosphates deposition by successive immersion in solutions of Ca(NO3)2·4H2O and (NH4)2HPO4, under ultrasonication. During the wet chemical reaction, mineral phases were loaded on bacterial cellulose fibrils, leading to precursor hybrid composites. These were subjected to a lyophil...
Ceramic thin films belonging to SiO2–P2O5–CaO– MgO–ZnO–CaF2 system were obtained by combining the sol-gel approach with the spin coating technique. Titanium plates were employed as substrates. The deposited coatings were characterized in terms of composition, structure and morphology with the help of the following methods: X-ray diffraction, Fourie...
The goal of this paper was to synthesize a new family of composites starting from mineral binder powders and biocellulose membranes, with applications in endodontics. An important achievement consisted in the crushing of biocellulose 3D structure in a polygranular powder via an hydrothermal treatment. Afterwards, the polymer powder was mixed with s...
The influence of vitroceramic coatings deposited onto Ti-Zr alloy plates on the biological properties of the final biomaterials was investigated. In this regard, two vitroceramic masses, different from compositional point of view, were synthesized by a sol-gel route, being subsequently converted into ceramic targets, suitable for ablation experimen...
Multiple and complex functionalities are a demand nowadays for almost all materials, including common day-to-day materials such as paper, textiles, wood, etc. In the present report, the surface temperature control of different types of materials, including paper and textiles, was demonstrated by Joule heating of metallic-web transparent electrodes...
Starting from SiO2–CaO–P2O5–ZnO–CaF2 oxide system, vitroceramic materials were obtained by employing the sol-gel approach, followed by thermal treatment in order to provide, in a controlled manner, the nucleation and growth of crystalline phases in the parent glassy matrix. Thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy d...
Bacterial cellulose - calcium phosphates composite materials were synthesized by successive immersing of bacterial cellulose membranes prepared in our laboratory in precursor solutions under ultrasonic irradiation, which provides the necessary cations for the formation of calcium phosphate phases at the surface of bacterial cellulose fibers. The su...
The integration of ceramic powders in composite materials for bone scaffolds can improve the osseointegration process. This work was aimed to the synthesis and characterization of new collagen-hydroxyapatite/barium titanate (Coll-HA/BT) composite materials starting from barium titanate (BT) nanopowder, hydroxyapatite (HA) nanopowder and collagen (C...
ZnO nanofibers were obtained by electrospinning a solution of zinc acetate dihydrate and polyvinylpyrrolidone in N,N-dimethylformamide, followed by calcination at 500, 650 or 800 °C for 1 h. X-ray diffraction, selected area electron diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, reflectance spectroscopy and photolumine...
Low dimensional nanostructures represent a hot scientific field nowadays due mainly to the tremendous potential for applications. Low dimensions open the possibilities for both ultra-miniaturization and increase in functionality. Numerous procedures were developed for fabricating such nanostructures. Template replication represents a highly effecti...
ZnO nanofibers were obtained by calcination of electrospun Zn(Ac)(2)center dot 2H(2)O/PMMA composite fibers and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The thermal treatment led to polymer burning and polycrystalline hexagonal ZnO phase formation. The average fiber diameters range between...
In this work, LixZn2−xVxSi1−xO4 (x=0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.5, 0.3, 0.2, and 0.1) ceramics were obtained by the conventional solid-state reaction method, using a different sintering temperatures for each x. We report on the compositional and morphological characterization of LixZn2−xVxSi1−xO4 samples, as well as on the influence of the composition on the p...
Luminescent polymer fibers were obtained by electrospinning solutions of 8% (in ethanol) polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) doped with three different dyes (coumarin 6, rhodamine 6G and sulforhodamine 101). Using the same parameters for the electrospinning process, nanofibers with diameters between 200 and 800 nm and different sizes and distributions of th...
Recently, vanadium oxide based materials have been intensively studied due to their unique structural, optical, electrical and magnetical properties. In this work, LiZnVO4ceramics were obtained by the conventional solid-state reaction method or by the sol-gel technique. We report on the compositional and morphological characterization of LiZnVO4 sa...
Ba(X1/3Ta2/3)O3 (X = Mg, Zn) thin films were grown on commercial Pt-coated Si substrates by radiofrequency plasma beam assisted pulsed laser deposition (RF-PLD) method. Single phase Ba(Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3 and Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O3 ceramic targets having an ordered hexagonal structure (with P3¯m1 space group) were used for deposition. Structural, morphological...
The ceramics of Nb5+, Zr4+ or Eu3+ doped BaZn1/3Ta2/3O3 complex perovskite oxide were obtained by the conventional solid-state reaction method, being sintered in air, at temperatures between 1400 and 1600°C, for 2 h. Xray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and dielectric measurements were used for the compositional, structural, morphological...
Ba(X1/3Ta2/3)O3 (X=Zn, Mg) perovskites were prepared by using the solid state reaction method. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were employed for structural and morphological characterization of Ba(X1/3Ta2/3)O3 samples. The dielectric constant of the resonators was 28 for Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O3 and 24 for Ba(Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3. A strong infl...
In this work, I have studied three different tantalum-based compositions: Ba(Y1/2Ta1/2)O3, Ba(Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3 and Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O3. The ceramic bodies were obtained by the solid-state reaction method or via a modified Pechini method. The Pechini powders, as well as the final ceramics were compositional, structural and morphological characterized by t...
Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O-3 (BZT) perovskite material has stimulated a large interest due to its excellent dielectric properties in microwave frequency range, enabling the miniaturization of communications devices. In this work, BZT ceramics were prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction method, being doped with Nb5+, Ce4+ or Yb3+. BZT resonators wer...
Ba(Mg 1/3Ta 2/3)O 3 (BMT) compound is one of the most studied complex perovskite oxide with adequate properties for microwave applications, such as filters or antennas. BMT thin films were obtained by a modified sol-gel method, using the spin coating technique. Pt-coated Si or α-Al 2O 3 plates were used as substrates. X-ray diffraction, energy disp...
The Ba1-xPbxNd2Ti5O14 ceramic material (BNT) is very attractive for applications at frequencies around few GHz [1]. The temperature coefficient of the resonant frequency ôf decreases from + 70 ppm/°C to - 15 ppm/°C with the Pb content x increase up to 0.5. The samples with high Pb content exhibit a dielectric constant up to 86.6, but the product Q...
Synthesis of oxide powders by soft chemistry methods has certain advantages over the solid-state reaction route in terms of homogeneity and morphology, leading to a better sinterability of the ceramics. BaMg1/3Ta2/3O3 powders were synthesized by various wet-chemical methods in order to improve the dielectric properties. Our paper reports, for the f...
Pulberile oxidice sintetizate prin metode chimice în soluţie prezintă o omogenitate chimică mai bună şi o dimensiune a particulelor mai redusă decât cele obţinute prin metoda reacţiilor în fază solidă, aceste caracteristici conducând la îmbunătăţirea sinterabilităţii. În această lucrare, prezentăm sinteza şi caracterizarea ceramicilor BaMg1/3(Ta1-x...
