<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Multiscale analysis of mechanical and structural properties of agarose–silk fibroin hydrogels</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">International Journal of Biological Macromolecules</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2025</style></year></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141813025086908</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">330</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">148133</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;This study provides a comprehensive characterization of the agarose–silk fibroin hydrogels, using atomic force microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy to analyse their structure and assess the effect of composition on mechanical properties via nanoindentation and rheological analysis. These measurements enabled determination of mechanical properties, including the elastic and viscoelastic moduli at both the micro- and macroscale. The hydrogels exhibited a wide range of moduli depending on different degrees of network crosslinking, influenced by varying concentrations of agarose (1 or 2&amp;nbsp;wt%) and the percentage of fibroin fibres (0–4.5&amp;nbsp;wt%) as an interpenetrating component. The viscoelastic modulus (G') and the elastic modulus determined using a relaxation model (E), were 5–57&amp;nbsp;kPa and 1.2–110&amp;nbsp;kPa, respectively. The adhesion energy of these hydrogels was determined from nanoindentation curves and analysed using the JKR model, with values ranging from 0.031 to 0.066&amp;nbsp;J&amp;nbsp;m−2. These results provide insight into how the hydrogels' microstructure influences their mechanical and transport properties. Incorporating fibroin into these gels modifies biological and biochemical characteristics of the gels, suggesting that such composite hydrogels could be further explored for potential applications in controlled release systems, extracellular matrix models, or tissue engineering scaffolds.&lt;/p&gt;</style></abstract></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The role of polyhydroxyalkanoates in adaptation of Cupriavidus necator to osmotic pressure and high concentration of copper ions</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">International Journal of Biological Macromolecules</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2022</style></year></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141813022005712</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">206</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">977-989</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are abundant microbial polyesters accumulated in the form of intracellular granules by numerous prokaryotes primarily as storage of carbon and energy. Apart from their storage function, the presence of PHA also enhances the robustness of the microbial cells against various stressors. In this work, we investigated the role of PHA in Cupriavidus necator, a model organism concerning PHA metabolism, for adaptation to osmotic pressure and copper ions. In long-term laboratory evolution experiments, the bacterial culture was cultivated in presence of elevated doses of sodium chloride or copper ions (incubations lasted 78 passages for Cu2+ and 68 passages for NaCl) and the evolved strains were compared with the wild-type strain in terms of growth and PHA production capacity, cell morphology (investigated by various electron microscopy techniques), activities of selected enzymes involved in PHA metabolism and other crucial metabolic pathways, the chemical composition of bacterial biomass (determined by infrared and Raman spectroscopy) and also considering robustness against various stressors. The results confirmed the important role of PHA metabolism for adaptation to both tested stressors.&lt;/p&gt;</style></abstract></record></records></xml>