Cartilage template formation via engineered extracellular matrix. Credit: Syam Nukavarapu/UConn Photo

A team of UConn Health researchers has designed a novel, hybrid hydrogel system to help address some of the challenges in repairing bone in the event of injury. There are over 200 bones in an adult human skeleton, ranging in size from a couple of millimeters in length to well over a foot. How these bones form and how they are repaired if injured varies, and has posed a challenge for many researchers in the field of regenerative medicine.

Two processes involved with human skeletal development help all the bones in our body form and grow. These processes are called intramembranous and endochondral ossification, IO and EO respectively...

Arp 256 is a stunning system of two spiral galaxies, about 350 million light-years away, in an early stage of merging. The image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, displays two galaxies with strongly distorted shapes and an astonishing number of blue knots of star formation that look like exploding fireworks. The star formation was triggered by the close interaction between the two galaxies. Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA

Galaxies are not static islands of stars – they are dynamic and ever-changing, constantly on the move through the darkness of the Universe. Sometimes, as seen in this spectacular Hubble image of Arp 256, galaxies can collide in a crash of cosmic proportions...

SEBACIC ACID

~ also known as decanedioic acid; 111-20-6; 1,8-Octanedicarboxylic acid; 1,10-Decanedioic acid. Sebacic acid is a saturated, straight-chain naturally occurring dicarboxylic acid with 10 carbon atoms and is a normal urinary acid. Sebacic Acid Market size was above USD 300 million in 2016 and consumption might surpass 100 kilo tons by 2024. 90% of world production occurs in China.

Chemical structure:  HOOC(CH₂)₈COOH or C₁₀H₁₈O₄ 

Properties: White flake or granular powder. Melting point 153°F. Slightly soluble in water and sublimes slowly at 750 mm Hg at melting point.

Production: Sebacic acid can be made from phenols and cresols, but castor oil oxidation is a greener process. Byproducts include glycerol, octanol and polymer residue. 

a) Castor oil is heated to about ...

ACETIC ACID

 

~ also known as Ethanoic acid; 64-19-7; Ethylic acid; Acetic acid, glacial; Methanecarboxylic acid etc. is the second simplest carboxylic acid (after methanoic acid) and is a weak monoprotic acid. Global demand for acetic acid is about 6.5 million metric tons per year (Mt/a), of which ~1.5 Mt/a is met by recycling; the rest made from methanol.

Chemical structure:  CH₃COOH (CH₃CO₂H, C₂H₄O₂). It has a methyl group attached to a carboxyl group.

Properties: hygroscopic, corrosive liquid with a vinegar-like odor. At physiological pHs, acetic acid is usually fully ionised to acetate.

Production: 

Acetic acid is produced industrially both synthetically and by bacterial fermentation

a) Methanol carbonylation (approximately 75% of acetic acid in the chemical industry): Metha...