Control of protein adsorption is essential for successful integration of healthcare materials into the body. Human plasma fibrinogen (HPF), especially its conformation is a key upstream regulator for platelet behavior and thus pathological clot formation at the blood‐biomaterial interface. A previous study by the authors revealed that the conformation of adsorbed HPF can be controlled by rutile surface crystallographic orientation. Therefore, it is hypothesized that pre‐adsorbed HPF on specific rutile orientation can regulate platelets adhesion and activation. Here, it is shown that platelets exposed to the four low index (110), (100), (101), (001) facets of TiO2 (rutile) exhibit surface‐specific behavior. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of platelets morphology and P‐selectin expression measurement revealed that on (110) facets, platelets adhesion and activation are suppressed. In contrast, extensive surface coverage by fully activated platelets is observed on (001) facets. Platelets' behavior has been linked to the HPF conformation and thereby availability of platelet‐binding sequences. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging supported by immunochemical analysis shows that on (110) facets, HPF is adsorbed in trinodular conformation rendering the γ400‐411 platelet‐binding sequence inaccessible. This research has potential implications on the bioactivity of different materials crystal facets, reducing the risk of pathological clot formation and thromboembolic complications.
Triacylglycerol-based oils and fats have been increasingly employed as refinery
feedstocks, replacing traditional petroleum feedstocks. However, they readily decompose
into relatively reactive species containing oxygen and/or acidic moieties, raising
concerns about their detrimental effect to piping and process equipment. Despite these
concerns, there is limited existing knowledge on the corrosion mechanisms of
biofeedstocks on carbon steels under process conditions. There is a crucial need to
expand our understanding of how biofeedstocks induce corrosion and develop new methods
for quantifying and predicting their corrosive effect.In this work, we systematically
characterized the corrosion behavior and thermal decomposition of various
biofeedstock/white oil blends at elevated temperature and pressure over 30 hours. The
corrosion is characterized via mass change and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
while the chemical evolution of the biofeedstocks is characterized via Fourier transform
infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. In this work, the corrosion rate of
steel coupons increased non-linearly with biofeedstock concentration and autoclave time.
Interestingly, our experiments show that the presence of the carbon steel in the
autoclave accelerates the triacylglyceride hydrolysis into fatty acids, which in turn
accelerates the corrosion rate. Simultaneously, we will describe our efforts to
characterize and understand the thermal decomposition of the triacylglycerol throughout
the autoclave process. This work will inform our future efforts to be able to predict
the corrosivity of biofeedstocks as well as develop methods to limit the corrosivity of
the solutions.
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