Creating juiciness, tenderness, and taste for alternative proteins is a challenge that remains to be solved. Vegetable oil on plant-based meat is prone to leaching and oxidation. Animal fat in cultured meat faces hurdles in co-culture with muscle cells. Vegetable fat analogous to animal fat, derived from canola oil, can be integrated into meat analogs through encapsulation techniques using sodium alginate, a non-toxic, edible, biocompatible, and biodegradable material. The present work proposed the development of edible and tunable alginate microspheres containing canola oil, as a solution for a stable and simple fat substitute for plant-based and cell-based meat. Alginate concentrations between 0.5 % and 3 % w/v were combined in three oil concentrations (20 %, 40 %, and 60 % v/v) to form emulsions, subsequently cross-linked with CaCl2 and characterized for their stability and oil encapsulation efficiency. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) further validated the chemical structure of the materials. Microsphere stability in aqueous media was also evaluated. Using chicken primary muscle cells, we demonstrated that canola oil microspheres were not cytotoxic and did not interfere with cell proliferation. Data presented here indicate that canola oil microparticles produced in this work have great potential to add fat properties to plant-based and cultivated meat products.

Fat is an essential component of meat which contributes to its sensory characteristics. Therefore, producing cultivated fat is essential to replicate the texture, flavor, and juiciness of conventional meat. One of the challenges in obtaining cultivated fat is that once adipocytes reach differentiation in culture, they tend to float. In this study, we tested whether immortalized pre-adipocytes could be viable, grow, and differentiate when cultivated onto a fibrous scaffold produced by the electrospun of cellulose acetate. Our results demonstrated that the cells attach, proliferate, colonize, and differentiate into mature adipocytes in the three-dimensional fibrous structure during the culture period. Moreover, when layers of the scaffold containing differentiated cells were stacked, it acquired a characteristic similar to conventional animal fat. Therefore, this research suggests that fibrous scaffolds produced using cellulose acetate are a promising substrate for producing cultivated fat.

Overcoming the challenge of creating thick, tissue-resembling muscle constructs is paramount in the field of cultivated meat production. This study investigates the remarkable potential of random cellulose acetate nanofibers (CAN) as a transformative scaffold for muscle tissue engineering (MTE), specifically in the context of cultivated meat applications. Through a comparative analysis between random and aligned CAN, utilizing C2C12 and H9c2 myoblasts, we unveil the unparalleled capabilities of random CAN in facilitating muscle differentiation, independent of differentiation media, by exploiting the YAP/TAZ-related mechanotransduction pathway. In addition, we have successfully developed a novel process for stacking cell-loaded CAN sheets, enabling the production of a three-dimensional meat product. C2C12 and H9c2 loaded CAN sheets were stacked (up to four layers) to form a ~300–400 μm thick tissue 2 cm in length, organized in a mesh of uniaxial aligned cells. To further demonstrate the effectiveness of this methodology for cultivated meat purposes, we have generated thick and viable constructs using chicken muscle satellite cells (cSCs) and random CAN. This groundbreaking discovery offers a cost-effective and biomimetic solution for cultivating and differentiating muscle cells, forging a crucial link between tissue engineering and the pursuit of sustainable and affordable cultivated meat production.

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) exhibits high wear resistance, low coefficient of friction (COF), and high impact strength. The operating conditions can influence the performance of the UHMWPE in specific applications. Graphene is applied as reinforcement to the UHMWPE matrix in order to improve the tribological and mechanical properties. In the present work, the effects of the test parameters on the hardness and tribological behavior of nanocomposites are evaluated. The Vickers microhardness of the UHMWPE/rGO nanocomposites increases by up to 25% at 0.50 wt% of rGO, regardless of the indentation applied load. Pin-on-disc tests are performed for the polymer at several sliding speeds and applied normal loads to get information about friction responses. Once the most suitable parameters have been defined, the pin-on-disc tests of the UHMWPE/rGO nanocomposites are performed, resulting in a decrease of up to 48% of the COF at 0.25 wt% of rGO.

The strategy of combining the traditional reinforcement of glass fibers (GF) with lighter hollow glass microspheres (HGM) can afford to fulfill the need for potential light-weight and high-strength modern materials required in various sectors, such as automotive and aerospace industry applications. This work fabricated composites of PA6/GF/HGM by melting blending in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder, and subsequently, injection molded. The effects of HGM content on the density, morphological and mechanical properties were investigated and the PA6/GF/HGM composites properties were compared to the properties of the traditional PA6/GF (70/30) wt% composite, widely used today in automotive industries. With the increase of HGM amount in the formulations, a reduction of between 3 and 12% in density was achieved with a slight reduction in its mechanical properties, showing that this new strategy can be applied to replace the PA6/GF (70/30) wt% composite, providing a considerable weight reduction for these materials.

Carbon paste electrodes (CPE) were modified with nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) synthesized at 750 degrees C (N-CNT750) and 850 degrees C (N-CNT850), carboxyl functionalized carbon nanotubes (MWCNTCOOH), and pristine carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). Their electrochemical properties were investigated and compared towards a common redox probe, potassium ferricyanide (K3[Fe(CN)6]). The electrochemical responses were probed using cyclic voltammetry, and the results unveiled that modification with carbon nanotubes enhanced anodic peak currents (Ipa) for the electrodes CPE/MWCNTCOOH, CPE/N-CNT750 and CPE/N-CNT850 (Ipa, p < 0.05 in relation to pure CPE). In particular, CPE modified with N-CNTs synthesized at 850 degrees C (CPE/N-CNT850) exhibited better electrochemical response, with lower peak-to-peak potential separation (Delta Ep, p < 0.05 in relation to pure CPE). Complementary studies were conducted to investigate the electroactive area (A) and heterogeneous electron transfer kinetics (k0). CPE/N-CNT850 (0.034 +/- 0.005 cm2) and CPE/MWCNTCOOH (0.057 +/- 0.002 cm2) pre-sented more satisfactory results for the anodic and cathodic electroactive area (A), respectively. Kinetic studies revealed a higher k(0) (1.03 x 10(-3) cm.s(-1)) for the CPE/N-CNT850 electrode. Differential pulse voltammetry was employed for the electrochemical detection of Acetaminophen (AC). The response was linear for an AC con-centration range from 66.2 to 259.7 mu mol L-1, with the lowest detection limit (LOD) of 0.37 mu mol L-1 and the highest sensitivity of 0.244 +/- 0.002 mu A L mu mol(-1) for the respective electrodes CPE/N-CNT850 and CPE/ MWCNTCOOH. The CPE/N-CNT850 and CPE/MWCNTCOOH electrodes show the best correlation of results, the presence of polar groups on the surface of MWCNTCOOH and a higher amount of graphitic nitrogen bond of N-CNT850 suggest that these CNTs are particularly promising for applications in electrochemical fields.

In this work, the effect of the addition of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanofillers to UHMWPE was investigated. The UHMWPE/rGO nanocomposites were prepared at rGO contents of 0.010, 0.10, 0.25, and 0.50 wt%. The morphological, mechanical, and surface properties of the nanocomposites and the neat UHMWPE were evaluated and related with their tribological behavior. For that, DSC, SEM, contact angle, MO, and profilometry techniques, besides shore D hardness tests, instrumented indentation tests and pin-on-disc sliding wear tests were performed. The results showed that nanocomposites with rGO contents of 0.10 and 0.25 wt% exhibited higher crystallinity degree than the neat UHMWPE, which improved significantly their mechanical and tribological behavior through increases of around 40% in the instrumented hardness and the elastic modulus, and a significant reduction of up to 48% in the coefficient of friction when compared to the neat UHMWPE. Additionally, the presence of rGO decreased the work of adhesion of the nanocomposites/counterface pairs, resulting in friction and wear mechanisms changes in comparison with the neat polymer.

RESUMO Mantas de nanofibras de acetato de celulose (NFAC) possuem potencial aplicação como scaffolds por combinar elevada área superficial, elevada porosidade e interconexão entre os poros. Além disso, esses materiais também apresentam biodegradabilidade, boas propriedades mecânicas e compatibilidade com tecidos vivos, características essenciais para a aplicação na engenharia de tecidos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi produzir e caracterizar mantas de NFAC pela técnica de eletrofiação, visando investigar a influência dos parâmetros de processamento, tensão elétrica e distância de trabalho, nas características morfológicas das nanofibras. Para isso, foram produzidas mantas de NFAC utilizando soluções poliméricas em uma combinação dos solventes acetona/DMF, na concentração de 12% m/v. A morfologia das mantas de nanofibras obtida foi avaliada por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), a caracterização química foi realizada por espectroscopia no infravermelho com transformada de Fourier (FTIR) e as propriedades térmicas investigadas por análise termogravimétrica (TGA). As NFAC produzidas apresentaram estrutura morfológica no formato cilíndrico e alongado com diâmetro no intervalo de 154 a 185 nm, contendo contas com dimensões entre 0,5 e 4,0 nm, a depender dos parâmetros de processo utilizados. As NFAC obtidas para a distância de trabalho de 12 cm e tensões de 12 e 15 kV apresentaram maior uniformidade na distribuição dos diâmetros com valor médio de 184 ± 30 nm e com média de 23 ± 1 contas por área.

Cellulose acetate nanofiber (CAN) have great potential for application as scaffolds, for combining properties such as high surface area, high porosity and interconnection between poles. In addition, these materials also have biodegradability, good mechanics and compatibility with living tissues, characteristics for the application of tissues in tissue engineering. The aim of the work was to produce and characterize CAN blankets by the electrospinning technique, in order to investigate the influence of processing parameters, the applied voltage and the working distance, on the morphological characteristics of nanofibers. Therefore, CAN blanks were produced using polymeric solutions at a concentration of 12% m/v in a combina-tion of acetone/DMF solvents. The morphology of the nanofiber blankets was analyzed by images of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the chemical characterization was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the thermal properties investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The CAN produced showed a morphological structure in a cylindrical and elongated shape with diameters in the range of 154 to 185 nm, containing beads with dimen-sions between 0.5 and 4.0 nm, depending on the process parameters used. The CAN, obtained for the working distance of 12 cm and voltages of 12 and 15 kV, showed greater uniformity in the distribution of diameters with an average value of 184 +/- 30 nm and an average of 23 +/- 1 beads per area.

In this work, novel immiscible polymer blends with remarkable self-healing properties were developed. The blends are based on poly(ethylene glycol-co-cyclohexane-1,4-dimethanol terephthalate) (PETG), a nonself-healing polymer, and the ionomer sodium-neutralized poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (EMAA), with self-healing abilities. The ratios of (PETG)/ (EMAA) was varied from 0 to 100% (w/w) and mixtures were prepared using a twin-screw melt extrusion. The blend studied compositions were characterized by scanning electron microscope, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis and self-repair tests. The results revealed that blends samples were able to self-repair damages created by Vickers microhardness indentations. The self-repair is presented through video records where the establishment of scars in the damaged area can be observed. For the composition 50/50 (w/w), the whole repair was observed due the synergic effect between polymer chain mobility, new chemical interactions promoted between PETG and EMAA, thus improving its self-healing ability.

In this study we prepared annatto-loaded cellulose acetate nanofiber scaffolds and evaluated both in vitro cytotoxicity and potential for wound healing in a rat model. Annatto extract, which has been used to accelerate wound healing, was added to cellulose acetate polymer and the resulting material was used to produce nanofiber scaffolds via electrospinning. Physicochemical, and thermal evaluation of the resulting nanofiber mats showed that incorporating annatto did not significantly affect the thermal or chemical stability of the polymer. Annatto extract did not demonstrate cytotoxicity in the HET-CAM assay or MTT assay for fibroblast culture. Scanning electron microscopy of the fibroblasts confirmed that cells spread and penetrated into the nanofiber. In vivo experiments confirmed that cellulose acetate retained its biocompatibility when associated with crude annatto extract, and suggested that dose/response modulation occurs between the annatto-functionalized nanofibers and mast cells, indicating the potential of this material for wound healing applications.

Muffins are snacks made from flour and chocolate and preserved with synthetic additives. Following consumer trends, the search for natural food additives has gained traction. Plants such as rosemary, lemon balm, and oregano were analyzed following an optimization of ultrasound assisted extraction, screened for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity and incorporated in chocolate muffins, comparing them to synthetic preservatives over the course of 8 days. The nutritional profile, organic and fatty acids, soluble sugars, texture profile, external color and digital imaging of the muffin pores were analyzed. Slight changes were sought for the muffins incorporated with the natural extracts. By means of linear discriminant analysis, rosemary extract was considered the most promising extract to preserve the muffins due to its similarity to potassium sorbate, showing no changes in the muffins it was incorporated in, although it showed a lower amount of phenolic compounds when compared to lemon balm.

In this work, ionomers were employed to improve the adhesion between 3D printed layers of poly(ethylene glycol-co-cyclohexane-1,4-dimethanol terephthalate) (PETG), a commonly used polymer in 3D printing. The printability, rheology, and mechanical properties of PETG were tailored by incorporating poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) neutralized with sodium (EMAA), a soft ionomer. PETG/EMAA polymer blends were prepared by melt extrusion to yield filaments for 3D fused filament fabrication (FFF) printing in different compositions by weight: 70/30, 50/50, and 30/70. The filaments and 3D printed samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, rheological and tensile tests. The results revealed that the interaction between PETG and EMAA favored the production of 3D printed samples with enhanced adhesion of layers, ductility, and toughness compared to neat PETG. Increases of 83.5 times in toughness and 86.4 times in ductility were achieved. The blends 30/70 and 50/50 presented the best printability in terms of adhesion between printed layers and mechanical properties.

The development of textile materials with functional nanoparticles has been driven by the advancement of materials science, the globalized market, competitiveness and the relentless pursuit of solutions that generate innovations in processes and products environmentally correct. Advancement in the studies with quantum dots and semiconductors nanoparticles applied to the surface modifications such as textile fibers and plastics with the purpose of adding specific properties has been one of the reasons for the growth of nanotechnology applied in the textile industry, mainly in the area of multifunctional finishing. The application of many of these inorganic nanocoatings on textiles allows functionalize so as to improve their performance in a wide variety of uses ranging from technical textiles (geotextiles, medical, microelectronic, solar cells and many others) to the conventional textile, giving them new properties, such as the photoluminescence, antibacterial properties, fungicides, self-cleaning, UV protection, flame retardant, supercapacitors, sensors and controlled drugs release. In the years 50–70 have emerged many patents related to the inorganics material coating on textile fibers for technical applications, but it was only in the early 90 that appeared the first patents and publications with application of quantum dots and others inorganics nanoparticles in coating of optical fibers, glass fibers, cellulosic fibers, wool, silk, non-woven and paper. Various techniques of application of functional coatings have been studied: Chemical techniques (wet finishing) carried out mainly by reactions, depletion and chemicals dispersions: examples: sol-gel, electrodeposition, self-assembly and other; techniques carried out by physical and chemical methods of low environmental impact, examples, ALD, PVD, PECVD, CDV, PLD and others. In this chapter proposed aims to contribute to describe the development of functional and smart textiles using quantum dots and others inorganics nanocoatings. And yet in this chapter intends to describe to new physical and chemical processes of nanocoatings with different semiconductors quantum dots, metals and ceramics nanoparticles (Au, Ag, AgCl, ZnO, TiO2, SiO2, Al2O3 and others), carbon nanotubes, graphenes, in order to obtain a smart textile material, as well as describe the properties that textiles may have showing their performance and applications.

The objective of the present study was the preparation and characterization of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and thermoplastic starch (TPS) blends reinforced with cellulose nanoparticles (CNCs) by extrusion. The work was conducted in four steps. Initially, the CNCs were prepared from eucalyptus cellulose pulp by acid hydrolysis. The second step was the preparation of the nanocomposite (TPS-CNC), composed of cassava starch, CNC, glycerol, and citric and stearic acids, by double screw extrusion. The third step was the preparation of PBAT/TPS-CNC blends in twin-screw extruders. In the fourth step, the films were produced by flat extrusion. Blends exhibited similar rheological behavior, increasing the CNC concentration in blends increased the viscosity as a function of the shear rate, and altered the behavior of the shear storage (G ') and shear loss (G '') curves as a function of the oscillation frequency (omega). The presence of CNC in blend provided improvements significant in mechanical properties, with 120% increase in Young's modulus, and 46% increase in maximum tensile. Thermal behavior (thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry) was altered with the incorporation of the CNC, showing a single melt peak (T-m) and a slight increase inT(g), indicating good dispersion between the phases of the blends, corroborating with the fracture surface microscopy of films.

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) were synthesized at various temperatures ranging from 650 to 950 degrees C, at 100 degrees C intervals, by chemical vapor deposition technique (CVD). The synthesized N-CNTs were employed as modifiers of glassy carbon paste electrodes (GCPE), which were further used as electrochemical sensors for the determination of dopamine (DA) and epinephrine (EP), two important catecholamines that display biological roles as neurotransmitters and hormones. The results revealed that electrodes modified with the N-CNTs synthesized at 650 degrees C (GCPE/N-CNT650) and 950 degrees C (GCPE/N-CNT950) presented better electrocatalytic activities and sensing capabilities than the others (GCPE/N-CNT750 and GCPE/N-CNT850). N-CNT950 had the highest graphitization and the highest powder conductivity, whereas N-CNT650 had the lowest graphitization and the lowest powder conductivity. However, both N-CNT950 and N-CNT650 had the highest nitrogen contents, 3.5 and 3.8 at.%, respectively, which probably enhanced their number of electroactive sites to interact with DA and EP molecules. This result is of high significance, because the use of the lowest temperature (650 degrees C) in the CVD process, yielded N-CNTs with improved electrocatalytic activity and less energy consumption during CVD.

Novel cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers incorporated with hormone progesterone (P-4) were prepared by electrospinning and its potential as a controlled release system for medicine and veterinary was evaluated by controlled release essay. The morphology, thermal behavior, and structure of P-4-loaded CA nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The analyses revealed that the incorporation of P-4 increased nanofibers' diameter from around 340 to 892 nm to 8% w/w P-4-loaded CA nanofibers. Furthermore, P-4 has demonstrated high interaction with CA affecting its crystalline structure, since pure CA nanofibers presented 67.23% of crystallinity while P-4-loaded CA nanofibers where amorphous. Ultimately, the drug release essay demonstrated a two-stage profile, and regarding release kinetics, the samples evidenced a diffusion mechanism depending on P-4 concentration in the nanofiber.

A medida que surgem novas tecnologias, ocorre o aumento no descarte inadequado de produtos eletroeletronicos que rapidamente se tornaram obsoletos. Estima-se que o Brasil seja o setimo maior produtor de lixo eletroeletronico do mundo gerando cerca de 1,5 mil toneladas por ano, e desse total, apenas 3% passa pelo processo de reciclagem, sendo o restante descartado incorretamente. Devido ao aumento na geracao desse residuo, o estudo de reciclagem e consequente diminuicao do descarte inadequado desse material, vem chamando a atencao de diversos pesquisadores. Esse trabalho utilizou diversos materiais eletroeletronicos, sendo a maioria equipamentos obsoletos e/ou avariados para um estudo de viabilidade tecnica de reciclagem. Os materiais separados de acordo com suas caracteristicas e funcionalidades (Mouse, teclado, entre outros). Posteriormente os constituintes polimericos foram identificados de acordo com suas caracteristicas, sendo possivel a separacao majoritaria em dois tipos: ABS e ABS + HIPS. Esses materiais foram caracterizados atraves dos ensaios de TGA, DSC e FTIR para a identificar possivel degradacao e composicao quimica dos materiais apos processamento. Analisando os resultados foi possivel observar que nao houve perdas significativas nas propriedades dos materiais, sendo possivel a reciclagem e transformacao em inumeros produtos que vao desde pecas de decoracao, ate filamentos para impressao 3D, sendo esse o objetivo de novos estudos.

Este trabalho apresenta a aptidao climatica do Estado de Alagoas para oito culturas agricolas: algodao herbaceo, cana-de-acucar, feijao phaseolus, feijao vigna, mamona, mandioca, milho e sorgo. O estudo foi desenvolvido pela Embrapa Solos UEP Recife, em parceria com o Governo do Estado de Alagoas / Secretaria de Estado da Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Agrario, com o objetivo de gerar informacoes para subsidiar o planejamento e o aperfeicoamento do uso das terras do estado. No que se refere a metodologia, foram utilizados procedimentos diferentes dos tradicionalmente adotados nos zoneamentos climaticos, os quais se baseiam nas medias historicas dos totais mensais de chuva. Nesta nova abordagem, tres cenarios pluviometricos foram considerados: anos secos, anos regulares e anos chuvosos, com base nas series historicas de dados de chuva, as quais representam a variabilidade natural do regime pluviometrico. A ideia e que um dos cenarios pluviometricos disponibilizados seja adotado pelo usuario, em funcao dos prognosticos de previsao pluviometrica publicados antecipadamente pelos nucleos de meteorologia, obtidos por meio de analises dos modelos numericos regionais e globais atualmente em uso. Esta nova abordagem climatologica e especialmente importante nos ambientes semiaridos do Nordeste do Brasil, onde sao grandes as variacoes anuais nas precipitacoes pluviometricas. Observou-se que nos anos considerados secos a deficiencia hidrica restringe o cultivo de praticamente todas as culturas no semiarido de Alagoas. Nesse cenario de menor precipitacao pluvial, o sorgo, o algodao, a mamona e o feijao caupi sofrem menor restricao para seu cultivo em funcao da maior tolerância as condicoes de deficiencia hidrica. Em anos com chuvas regulares, cerca de 40% da area do estado nao apresenta restricoes climaticas para as culturas avaliadas, excetuando-se o milho e o feijao phaseolus. Os anos chuvosos apresentam as melhores condicoes climaticas para os cultivos, no entanto, partes da regiao da Zona da Mata e do Litoral do estado podem apresentar moderado excesso hidrico, podendo prejudicar a colheita e secagem de graos, principalmente nas areas limitrofes com o Estado de Pernambuco.

The combination of copper and dielectric materials have emerged as one of the most promising alternatives for the next generation of charge storage devices and microelectronic integrated circuits. In this work, copper nanowires (CuNW) were synthesized using a hard template technique, where copper was electrodeposited into and then liberated from porous alumina templates. Flexible nanofibers of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/copper nanowire (PVDF/CuNW) at different loadings were then obtained using the technique of electrospinning. SEM and TEM images showed that the CuNW had a straight, rigid structure with an average length and diameter of 1.5 pm and 30 nm, respectively. The morphological characterizations also revealed that the CuNW were embedded and aligned inside the nanofibers of PVDF, leading to an increase in the diameters of the generated electrospun nanofibers, e.g., 154 nm and 227 nm for pure PVDF and PVDF/CuNW (20 wt%), respectively. The polymorphic behavior of the PVDF/CuNW nanofibers was studied by FTIR and WAXD, confirming the positive impact of electrospinning on piezoelectric 13 phase formation of the PVDF matrix. Dielectric measurements indicated that the real permittivity of the mats of the nanofibers increased with CuNW loading. The ascending trend of the real permittivity with the filler content was ascribed to the formation of nanocapacitor structures, i.e., the copper conductive nanofillers acting as nanoelectrodes and the polymer matrix as nanodielectrics. Thus, the results of this study showed that the electrospun PVDF/CuNW nanofibers could be suitable in applications where flexible dielectric and piezoelectric materials are required.