ijms-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Molecular Dynamics, Structures, and Applications of Polymeric Materials

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2025) | Viewed by 2358

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Materials Engineering, University of Silesia in Katowice, 75. Pułku Piechoty 1a, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
Interests: liquid crystal materials; polymeric materials (biopolymers, nano-composites); biological materials; molecular dynamics; structure, organization and macroscopic properties of these materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is concerned with the prospects for the development of research into new materials, which are the basis of modern technologies. The Special Issue is intended to reveal the correlation between the chemical structure and the physical, mechanical, and thermal characteristics of polymeric materials for appropriate material selection, design, and processing. One of the special features is the extensive discussion and explanation of the interdependence between polymer structure and properties and processing. The ultimate properties or behavior of all materials are governed by their molecular as well as microscopic structures. An understanding of the structural features and factors affecting structural features is important for their practical applications.

Our goal is also to demonstrate how molecular dynamics computer simulation techniques can contribute to this basic understanding by showing directly how the properties of a dense polymer structure are related to the monomer-level interactions. This offers a new approach to improving the design of polymer materials. Much of our current understanding of the properties of polymers is based on the successful application of statistical dynamical theories to conceptually simple models which ignore the detailed structures of the individual chains.

Modern polymeric materials find applications in many areas of life such as medicine, materials for photonic applications, in telecommunications, high-strength materials, flame retardants, biodegradable material, and many others. Considering the application possibilities, this Special Issue provides an opportunity for researchers to present their multidisciplinary results in a very broad research field.

For this Special Issue, we would like to invite papers related, but not limited, to the following themes:

  • Polymers in medicine;
  • Liquid Crystal Polymers;
  • Biopolymers for soft and hard tissue repair and regeneration;
  • Hybrid materials;
  • Composites and biocomposites;
  • Research in the multidisciplinary subject spectrum associated with aspects of basic medical science, materials science, clinical medicine, and dentistry;
  • Characterizations (chemical, physical, biological, mechanical, thermal, electro-optical, and structural);
  • Spectroscopy as characterization;
  • Molecular dynamics;
  • Studies of the dynamics and structure of polymeric materials.

Dr. Katarzyna Merkel
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomaterials
  • bioengineering
  • dental material
  • biocomposites
  • polymers
  • tissue engineering scaffolds
  • biological molecule

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

24 pages, 12087 KiB  
Article
The Degradation of Absorbable Surgical Threads in Body Fluids: Insights from Infrared Spectroscopy Studies
by Katarzyna Merkel, Katarzyna Grzybowska, Aleksandra Strach and Marcin Gierek
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(20), 11333; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252011333 - 21 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1741
Abstract
This study investigates the degradation of six different types of absorbable surgical threads commonly used in clinical practice, focusing on their response to exposure to physiological fluids. The threads were subjected to hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation in physiological saline, bile, and pancreatic juice. [...] Read more.
This study investigates the degradation of six different types of absorbable surgical threads commonly used in clinical practice, focusing on their response to exposure to physiological fluids. The threads were subjected to hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation in physiological saline, bile, and pancreatic juice. Our findings demonstrate that bile and pancreatic juice, particularly when contaminated with bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., and Enterococcus faecalis, significantly accelerate the degradation process. Using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tensile strength testing, we observed distinct differences in the chemical structure and mechanical integrity of the sutures. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the FTIR spectra revealed that PDS threads exhibited the highest resistance to degradation, maintaining their mechanical properties for a longer duration compared with Monocryl and Vicryl. These results highlight the critical role of thread selection in gastrointestinal surgeries, where prolonged exposure to bile and pancreatic juice can compromise the suture integrity and lead to postoperative complications. The insights gained from this study will contribute to improving the selection and application of absorbable threads in clinical settings. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop