Seed coating containing fertilizer nutrients and plant growth biostimulants is an innovative technique for precision agriculture. Nutrient delivery can also be conducted through multilayer seed coating. For this purpose, sodium alginate with NPK, which was selected in a preliminary selection study, crosslinked with divalent ions (Cu(II), Mn(II), Zn(II)) as a source of fertilizer micronutrients, was used to produce seed coating. The seeds were additionally coated with a solution containing amino acids derived from high-protein material. Amino acids can be obtained by alkaline hydrolysis of mealworm larvae (Gly 71.2 ± 0.6 mM, Glu 55.8 ± 1.3 mM, Pro 48.8 ± 1.5 mM, Ser 31.4 ± 1.5 mM). The formulations were applied in different doses per 100 g of seeds: 35 mL, 70 mL, 105 mL, and 140 mL. SEM-EDX surface analysis showed that 70 mL of formulation/100 g of seeds formed a continuity of coatings but did not result in a uniform distribution of components on the surface. Extraction tests proved simultaneous low leaching of nutrients into water (max. 10%), showing a slow release pattern. There occurred high bioavailability of fertilizer nutrients (even up to 100%). Pot tests on cucumbers (Cornichon de Paris) confirmed the new method’s effectiveness, yielding a 50% higher fresh sprout weight and four times greater root length than uncoated seeds. Seed coating with hydrogel has a high potential for commercial application, stimulating the early growth of plants and thus leading to higher crop yields.

The purpose of this work is to obtain comprehensive reference data of the Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy base material: its microstructure, mechanical, and physicochemical properties. In order to obtain extensive information on the tested materials, a number of examination methods were used, including SEM, XRD, and XPS to determine the phases occurring in the material, while mechanical properties were verified with static tensile, compression, and bending tests. Moreover, the alloy’s corrosion resistance in Ringer’s solution and the cytotoxicity were investigated using the MTT test. Studies have shown that this alloy has the structure α’, α, and β phases, indicating that parts of the β phase transformed to α’, which was confirmed by mechanical properties and the shape of fractures. Due to the good mechanical properties (E = 84.1 GPa), high corrosion resistance, as well as the lack of cytotoxicity on MC3T3 and NHDF cells, this alloy meets the requirements for medical implant materials. Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy can be successfully used in implants, including bone tissue engineering products and dental applications.

Electron beam melting (EBM) is an additive manufacturing technique, which allows forming customized implants that perfectly fit the loss of the anatomical structure of bone. Implantation efficiency depends not only on the implant’s functional or mechanical properties but also on its surface properties, which are of great importance with regard to such biological processes as bone regeneration or microbial contamination. This work presents the impact of surface modifications (mechanical polishing, sandblasting, and acid-polishing) of EBM-produced Ti6Al4V ELI implants on essential biological parameters. These include wettability, cytotoxicity toward fibroblast and osteoblast cell line, and ability to form biofilm by Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. Obtained results indicated that all prepared surfaces exhibited hydrophilic character and the highest changes of wettability were obtained by chemical modification. All implants displayed no cytotoxicity against osteoblast and fibroblast cell lines regardless of the modification type. In turn, the quantitative microbiological tests and visualization of microbial biofilm by means of electron microscopy showed that type of implant’s modification correlated with the species-specific ability of microbes to form biofilm on it. Thus, the results of the presented study confirm the relationship between such technological aspects as surface modification and biological properties. The provided data are useful with regard to applications of the EBM technology and present a significant step towards personalized, customized implantology practice.

Owing to the possibility of direct processing of CAD models into three-dimensional objects, additive manufacturing (AM) is widely used in the production of individualized bone scaffolds that can lead to perfect restoration of anatomical structures of missing bone tissues. In this work, one of the AM technologies was applied, referred to as Electron Beam Melting (EBM), using Ti6Al4V ELI alloy to produce open-cell structures. Scaffold architecture influences its mechanical properties and is important from the point of view of biological considerations. To optimize mechanical properties, designed geometries were subjected to Finite Element Method analysis and experimental static compression tests. Also, geometric CT analysis of manufactured scaffolds was carried out (geometry deviations up to ± 300 µm). Obtained results have shown that AM can be used to produce Ti6Al4V ELI alloy scaffolds displaying mechanical parameters similar to those of bone tissue ( E = 0.45–2.88 MPa). The EBM process affects the microstructure and macrostructural properties of manufactured parts, e.g., through internal porosities present in the material by to unmelted powder particles (internal porosity in range of 1.25–2.25%). To assess the quality and suitability of additively manufactured implants, a multidimensional verification of the impact of the manufacturing process on the properties of the final product was performed.

In this work, we present femtosecond laser cutting of microchannels in a nodeless antiresonant hollow-core fiber (ARHCF). Due to its ability to guide light in an air core combined with exceptional light-guiding properties, an ARHCF with a relatively non-complex structure has a high application potential for laser-based gas detection. To improve the gas flow into the fiber core, a series of 250 × 30 µm microchannels were reproducibly fabricated in the outer cladding of the ARHCF directly above the gap between the cladding capillaries using a femtosecond laser. The execution time of a single lateral cut for optimal process parameters was 7 min. It has been experimentally shown that the implementation of 25 microchannels introduces low transmission losses of 0.17 dB (<0.01 dB per single microchannel). The flexibility of the process in terms of the length of the performed microchannel was experimentally demonstrated, which confirms the usefulness of the proposed method. Furthermore, the performed experiments have indicated that the maximum bending radius for the ARHCF, with the processed 100 µm long microchannel that did not introduce its breaking, is 15 cm.

In this paper, polyamide 12 (PA12) blends with three types of metallic fillers are tested, which differ in the type of material and its’ morphology. Low content mixtures are taken into consideration (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0 wt%), since a low impact on mechanical properties along with obtaining antibacterial properties are desired. The investigation focuses on filler distribution as well as the influence on microstructural homogeneity of the base material after processing with polymer Laser Sintering. Moreover, the influence of the filler content on the mechanical properties and fracture behaviour were examined. Processability PA12 with bioactive metal fillers was confirmed, and no significant changes in ductile behaviour of PA 12 were observed. An in-depth analysis of the effect of the filler on microstructural homogeneity was conducted. Graphical abstract