Alain Dufresne

Cellulose Nanomaterials and Polymer Nanocomposites   The International School of Paper, Print Media and Biomaterials (Pagora), Grenoble Institute of Technology, Grenoble, France

Biography

Alain Dufresne is currently Professor of The International School of Paper, Print Media and Biomaterials (Pagora) at Grenoble Institute of Technology, Grenoble, France. Professor Dufresne obtained a PhD in Electronics from the National Institute of Applied Sciences at Toulouse, France and he has already Masters in Chemical Engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal and in Solid State Physics from Paul Sabatier Univesity, Toulouse.

Dufresne is an expert on polysaccharide nanofibrils and nanocrystals (cellulose, chitin, starch), on processing and characterization of nanocomposites based on renewable resources and on valorization of the biomass. He is, at the same time, member of the Editorial Board of “Carbohydrate Polymers, "Packaging Research", "Fibers", "Materials Research Ibero-American Journal of Materials", "The Open Macromolecules Journal", "The Open Natural Products Journal", "The Open Colloid Science Journal", "The Open Polymer Science Journal", "Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology" and "Polímeros: Ciência e Tecnologia".

Alain Dufresne was Associate Professor of Physical and Metallurgy & Materials Physics Lab. at National Institute of Applied Sciences, Lyon, and professor in the Research Center on Vegetable Macromolecules (CERMAV) at Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble. He was, for one year, visiting professor at Program of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials (PEMM) of COPPE/UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, and visiting professor for one month at Polymer Research Centre (PORCE) at Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia. From 2014 to 2016, Alain Dufresne was at Fortaleza, Brazil, working in the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA).

Abstract

This work compares the tensile (uniaxial tension test) stiffness of different meshes used as prostheses in pelvic floor repair surgeries. Five different commercial meshes were analysed, all made from polypropylene but with different geometries: Aris™, TVTO™, Uretex™, Avaulta™ and Auto Suture ™. The mechanical tests performed allowed to identify significant differences on the mechanical properties of the polypropylene meshes used in urogynecology surgeries.