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Chitosan films have been extensively studied as dressings in formulations for the treatment of chronic wounds. The incorporation of aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) into chitosan dressings could potentialize the healing process since aloe vera shows several pharmacological activities. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of aloe vera and chitosan concentrations on the physicochemical properties of the developed films. The films were obtained by casting technique and characterized with respect to their color parameters, morphology, barrier and mechanical properties, and thermal analysis. Results showed that the presence of aloe vera modified the films′ color parameters, changed barrier properties, increased fluid handling capacity (FHC), and decreased water-vapor permeability (WVP). The reduced elongation at break resulted in more rigid films. Aloe vera concentration did not significantly change film properties, but the presence of this gel increased the films′ stability at temperatures below 200 °C, showing similar behavior as chitosan films above 400 °C. The results suggest a crosslinking/complexation between chitosan and aloe vera, which combine appropriate physicochemical properties for application as wound dressing materials.

Silk fibroin (SF) is a promising and versatile biodegradable protein for biomedical applications. This study aimed to develop a prolonged release device by incorporating SF microparticles containing dyes into SF hydrogels. The influence of dyes on incorporation and release kinetics in SF based devices were evaluated regarding their hydrophilicity, molar mass, and cationic/anionic character. Hydrophobic and cationic dyes presented high encapsulation efficiency, probably related to electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions with SF. The addition of SF microparticles in SF hydrogels was an effective method to prolong the release, increasing the release time by 10-fold.

Many studies are focused on the development of materials for converting carbon dioxide into multicarbon oxygenates such as methanol and ethanol, because of their higher energy density and wider applicability. In this work, TiO 2 nanotubes (NT/TiO 2 ) were modified with Cu x O nanoparticles in order to investigate the contribution of different ratio of Cu 2 O/CuO and its distribution over NT/TiO 2 for CO 2 photoelectro-conversion to methanol. The photoelectrodes were built by anodization process to obtain NT/TiO 2 layer, and the decoration with Cu x O hybrid system was carried out by electrodeposition process, using Na 2 SO 4 or acid lactic as electrolyte, followed by annealing at different temperatures. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed the predominance of Cu +1 and Cu +2 at 150°C and 300°C, respectively. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy indicated that under lactic acid solution, the oxide nanoparticles exhibited small size, cubic shape, and uniform distribution on the nanotube wall. While under Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte, large nanoparticles with two different morphologies, octahedral and cubic shapes, were deposited on the top of the nanotubes. All modified electrodes converted CO 2 in methanol in different quantities, identified by gas chromatograph. However, the NT/TiO 2 modified with CuO/Cu 2 O (80:20) nanoparticles using lactic acid as electrolyte showed better performance in the CO 2 reduction to methanol (0.11 mmol L −1 ) in relation to the other electrodes. In all cases, a blend among the structures and nanoparticle morphologies were achieved and essential to create new site of reactions what improved the use of light irradiation, minimization of charge recombination rate and promoted high selectivity of products.Keywords CO 2 photoelectroreduction . Hybrid TiO 2 -Cu x O photocatalysts . p-n heterojunction . Electrolyte design . Methanol formation