TY - JOUR A1 - Langwald, Sarah Vanessa A1 - Ehrmann, Andrea A1 - Sabantina, Lilia ED - Hsiao, Benjamin S. T1 - Measuring Physical Properties of Electrospun Nanofiber Mats for Different Biomedical Applications JF - Membranes N2 - Electrospun nanofiber mats are nowadays often used for biotechnological and biomedical applications, such as wound healing or tissue engineering. While most studies concentrate on their chemical and biochemical properties, the physical properties are often measured without long explanations regarding the chosen methods. Here, we give an overview of typical measurements of topological features such as porosity, pore size, fiber diameter and orientation, hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties and water uptake, mechanical and electrical properties as well as water vapor and air permeability. Besides describing typically used methods with potential modifications, we suggest some low-cost methods as alternatives in cases where special equipment is not available. KW - apparent density KW - porometer KW - scanning electron microscopy (SEM) KW - surface area KW - fast Fourier transform (FFT) KW - water contact angle KW - surface roughness KW - tensile test KW - conductivity KW - Nanofaser KW - Biomedizinische Technik KW - Physical Properties KW - Electrospun KW - Nanofiber KW - Biomedical Application Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:523-16992 SN - 2077-0375 VL - 13 IS - 5 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Joshi, Jnanada Shrikant A1 - Langwald, Sarah Vanessa A1 - Ehrmann, Andrea A1 - Sabantina, Lilia ED - Zuorro, Antonio T1 - Algae-Based Biopolymers for Batteries and Biofuel Applications in Comparison with Bacterial Biopolymers—A Review JF - Polymers N2 - Algae-based biopolymers can be used in diverse energy-related applications, such as separators and polymer electrolytes in batteries and fuel cells and also as microalgal biofuel, which is regarded as a highly renewable energy source. For these purposes, different physical, thermochemical, and biochemical properties are necessary, which are discussed within this review, such as porosity, high temperature resistance, or good mechanical properties for batteries and high energy density and abundance of the base materials in case of biofuel, along with the environmental aspects of using algae-based biopolymers in these applications. On the other hand, bacterial biopolymers are also often used in batteries as bacterial cellulose separators or as biopolymer network binders, besides their potential use as polymer electrolytes. In addition, they are also regarded as potential sustainable biofuel producers and converters. This review aims at comparing biopolymers from both aforementioned sources for energy conversion and storage. Challenges regarding the production of algal biopolymers include low scalability and low cost-effectiveness, and for bacterial polymers, slow growth rates and non-optimal fermentation processes often cause challenges. On the other hand, environmental benefits in comparison with conventional polymers and the better biodegradability are large advantages of these biopolymers, which suggest further research to make their production more economical. KW - Mikroalgen KW - microalgal biofuel KW - algae-based biopolymers KW - bacterial biopolymers KW - polymer electrolyte KW - batteries KW - Biopolymere KW - Batterie KW - Biokraftstoff Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:523-18185 SN - 2073-4360 VL - 16 IS - 5 PB - MDPI ER -