Synthetic polymers culture

In addition to natural materials, synthetic polymers might also be present in works of art. Since the end of the nineteenth century, synthetic polymers have been produced and used in the field of cultural heritage, to restore works of art [3], but also as paint binders, such as alkyd resins and acrylic water dispersions. Most synthetic polymers can be detected by GC/MS only through thermal degradation followed by GC/MS [4,5] (Chapter 12 deals with the characterisation of synthetic resins in detail). 

More recently, in the 1980s and 1990s new series of fused phenothiazine derivatives, the benzo[a,b or c]phenothiazines (BPHTs), were synthesized [3, 21 and references therein] and have received a great deal of attention, mainly because of their potential applications and their important biomedical properties [12-24]. Indeed, some BPHTs are coloured compounds and have been applied as polycyclic dyes or pigments for synthetic polymers, and also in optical recording media ([21] and references therein). Moreover, certain benzo [a or c]phenothiazine derivatives are potential anti-helmintics, possess an antiviral activity, for example inhibiting the multiplication of encephalomyocarditis viruses in tissue cultures ([21,22], and refer-... 

Polarization-based microscope Measures changes in polarization of light caused by ordered arrangements in a sample Collagen, muscle sarcomeres, remnant synthetic polymers in explanted tissues Cannot be performed in tissue culture plastic wares since they themselves cause polarization changes... 

Electrospun synthetic polymer scaffold for cartilage repair without cultured cells in an animal model. Arthroscopy, 26 (3), 375-383. 

Cell-culture studies have indicated that such structures promote cellular infiltration into the fibrillar network and can become densely populated in a reasonably short time. A number of natural and synthetic polymers have been successfully electrospun into fibrous scaffolds for the purpose collagen, elastin, gelatin, fibrinogen, polyglycolic acid, polylactic acid, polycaprolactone, polylactide-co-glycolide and polylactide-co-caprolac-tone. Recently published work indicates that an electrospun web formed... 

Table 1. Pinocytic uptake of some synthetic polymers by cells cultured in vitro... 

In the classic 1967 film The Graduate, the protagonist, Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman), is attempting to plan his postcollege path. His neighbor provides one word of advice, Plastics. This counsel has become part of American culture and is often parodied. But, it is good advice, because not since the transformations from stone to bronze and then to iron have new materials so completely transformed a society. Plastics made from synthetic polymers are ubiquitous, from Tupperware to artificial hearts. About half the world s chemists work in polymer-related industries. 

The high cost, low production, and vulnerability to infection of both biological-based dermal matrices and composite cultured skins have created interest in synthetic polymer technology. These fiscal and supply arguments are not the only impetus for this exploration, as synthetic polymers have the added advantage of customized design to enable properties such as molecular elution or fluid absorption to effect better wound healing. 

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