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A dual-functional material was fabricated to mimic the periosteum for guided bone regeneration. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was fabricated into a gold-coated electrospun membrane. The gold-coated PVDF membranes were observed and characterized for their morphology and structural formation using light microscopy and differential calorimetry, respectively. Hydrophilicity, mechanical behavior, and electrical properties were evaluated from the results of the contact angle, universal testing machine, and an inductance–capacitance–resistance meter, respectively. MC3T3E1 osteoblast cells were seeded onto PVDF membranes with and without the gold coating. The cells on the seeded membranes were cultured under either a non-dynamic condition or a dynamic condition by shaking at 100 rpm (1.67 Hz). In vitro testing was performed to evaluate the biological performance (cell proliferation and viability), protein analysis, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and calcium content. PVDF with the gold coating had a higher melting temperature, hydrophilicity, and dielectric constant than without the gold coating. The gold-coated PVDF membranes showed a lower Young's modulus than the uncoated PVDF membranes. The seeded gold-coated and uncoated PVDF membranes under the dynamic condition had higher cell proliferation, viability, protein amount, ALP activity, calcium content, and calcium deposition than the PVDF membrane without either the gold coating or under the dynamic condition. Finally, the results deduced that the gold-coated PVDF membranes were able to mimic the periosteum with a dual function and showed promise for guided bone regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water contamination is a major concern. To address this challenge, facile remediation methods are required. In this connection, outstanding properties and chemical composition of nanomaterials can play an important role. In this study, bismuth molybdenum oxide (Bi4MoO9) nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method to explore their properties as a photocatalyst and electrocatalyst. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized with zeta sizer, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic degradation has been studied against industrial dyes i.e., crystal violet (CV) and methyl orange (MO). The result indicated that Bi4MoO9 nanoparticles showed agglomerated morphology with −15 mV surface potential. Nanoparticles carried photo-degradation up to 93.8% and 72% for CV and MO dyes, respectively. In addition to that, chemical oxygen demand (COD) was reduced up to 65% for crystal violet and 53.57% for MO dyes. In addition, electrocatalysis of nanoparticles was studied using cyclic voltammetry. The sensitivity of electrochemical assay for binding ascorbic acid by Bi4MoO9 nanoparticles was achieved as low as 0.02 mM (S/N = 3). The results of the current research provide a new insight to synthesize nanomaterials with interesting chemical composition and to explore the photocatalytic and electrocatalytic properties for multiple applications in environmental and biomedical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]