Materials Science & Engineering. C, Materials for Biological Applications

High-efficiency repair of critical bone defects is a pressing problem in clinical practice. However, most biological replacement materials do not simultaneously satisfy the dual requirements of mechanical strength and cell compatibility. In this study, chitosan methacryloyl (CSMA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) were subjected to photo-crosslinking to form the CSMA/β-TCP composite hydrogel, which has strong mechanical properties contributing to bone regeneration. In addition, its scaffold can alter the morphology of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), promote their proliferation, enhance the expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and augment the nodular deposition of calcium...

Implant infection, undesirable inflammation, and poor osseointegration are the primary reasons for implant failure, so it is pivotal to endow bone implants with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and osteogenic properties. Here, a multifunctional fluorine-doped zirconium-metal organic framework (Zr-MOF) film was constructed on the titanium to modify its biological performances. The fumaric acid, a common antioxidant, was selected as the ligand of Zr-MOF, and the hydrofluoric acid was used as the modulator to control the growth of Zr-MOF film...

In vitro triple cultures of human primary osteoblasts, osteocytes and osteoclasts can potentially help to analyze the effect of drugs and degradation products of biomaterials as a model for native bone tissue. In the present study, degradation products of Magnesium (Mg), which has been successfully applied in the biomedical field, were studied with respect to their impact on bone cell morphology and differentiation both in osteocyte single cultures and in the triple culture model. Fluorescence microscopic and gene expression analysis, analysis of osteoclast- and osteoblast-specific enzyme activities as well as osteocalcin protein expression were performed separately for the three cell types after cultivation in triple culture in the presence of extracts, containing 5 and 10 mM Mg2+ ...

Scaffolds capable of mediating overlapping multi-cellular activities to support the different phases of wound healing while preventing scarring are essential for tissue regeneration. The potential of polysucrose as hydrogels and electrospun mats for wound healing was evaluated in vitro by seeding fibroblasts, endothelial cells and macrophages either singly or in combination. It was found that the scaffold architecture impacted cell behaviour. Electrospun mats promoted fibroblasts flattened morphology while polysucrose methacrylate (PSucMA) hydrogels promoted fibroblast spheroids formation, accentuated in the presence of endothelial cells...

The present work aims the production of composite bioceramic scaffolds by robocasting suppressing sintering as post printing process. To achieve this purpose, extrudable ink compositions containing a high concentration of bioceramic powders (hydroxyapatite and β-tricalcium phosphate) embedded in aqueous polymeric solutions of chitosan and silk fibroin were fine-tuned. Polymeric solutions of chitosan/silk fibroin with different ratios were tested, maintaining the total amount of bioceramic solids at 30 vol%...

In this study, a novel hybrid bilayer wound dressing (HBD) has been developed for delivering a thermally unstable probiotic, Lactobacillus brevis. The HBD was composed of two layer, a hydrocolloid layer and a Lactobacillus brevis-loaded hydrogel layer as a block supporter and drug carrier, respectively. Moreover, various probiotic-loaded hydrogel layers in HBD were prepared with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and numerous hydrophilic polymers via a freezing and thawing method, and their mechanical property, release and wound recovery were assessed...

Three-dimensional cellular aggregates can mimic the natural microenvironment of tissues and organs and obtaining them through controlled and reproducible processes is mandatory for scaling up and implementing drug cytotoxicity and efficacy tests, as well as tissue engineering protocols. The purpose of this work was to develop and evaluate the performance of a device with two different geometries fabricated by additive manufacturing. The methodology was based on casting a microwell array insert using a non-adhesive hydrogel to obtain highly regular microcavities to standardize spheroid formation and morphology...

As an emerging additive manufacturing (AM) technique, melt electrospinning writing (MEW) is used to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) submicron filament-based scaffolds with adjustable pore size and customized structure for bone regeneration. Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) scaffold with excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility is first successfully manufactured using our self-assembled MEW device. However, the ultralow cell affinity and poor bioactivity severely hamper their practical applications in bone tissue engineering...

Cell behaviour is influenced by external factors including the physical properties of the substrate such as its surface topography and stiffness. Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of aerogels as biomaterials and specifically as neural scaffolds. The 3-D structure inherent to aerogels offers an advantage over other biocompatible substrates which lack the dimensionality needed to mimic the in vivo topography of tissues. Here, we used a variety of aerogel types to correlate the extension of neurites by neuronal cells with surface roughness ranging from 0 to 3 μm and stiffness 10 kPa-4 MPa...

The objective of this work was to investigate the use of Biogran® functionalized with parathyroid hormone (PTH) 1-34 by sonochemistry for the local delivery of this anabolic agent to the implant site. The effects of Biogran® and topical administration of PTH 1-34 on peri-implant bone regeneration were evaluated from the microscale to ultrastructural levels in healthy (SHAM) and orchiectomized (ORQ). While some animals only received a titanium implant in their tibial metaphyses (CLOT group), in others the peri-implant defect was first filled with Biogran® either without or with PTH 1-34 functionalization (BG and BGPTH groups, respectively) prior to implant installation...

Three protein microenvironment-sensitive pillar[5]arene-based fluorescent probes (3/4/5C-B) were designed and synthesized based on intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism. Unlike the majority of micromolecular ICT probes, the aforementioned probes displayed differentiated sensitivity to multiple proteins. The 7-(diethylamino)coumarin-3-formic acid (DCCA) group in the probes was essential for their sensitivity. The presence of a pillar[5]arene group was also crucial as they benefit 3/4/5C-B form complexes with the proteins, although it changed the electron density distribution of the DCCA group...

Biotin is one of the water-soluble B-complex group of vitamins. Recent studies have found that the relative protein expression of BMP2, BSP and OPG in MC3T3-E1 cells is prominent after 14 days of co-culture with biotin film, especially for BMP2. It is also found that the rapid degradation of biotin film in vivo limits its application value. In this work, magnesium-doped hydroxyapatite (MgHA) film can form a porous network structure as a biological sustained-release film. Therefore, the multilayer (MgHA|biotin|MgHA|biotin) film was prepared by pulsed laser assisted electron beam deposition technique...

Osteoplastic materials PLA/PCL/HA and PHB/HA and scaffolds with a highly porous structure based on them with potential applications in regenerative medicine have been obtained by solvent casting with thermopressing and salt leaching for PLA-based samples and solid-state mixing with subsequent thermopressing and salt leaching for PHB-based samples. The scaffolds were characterized by SEM-EDX, DSC, FTIR spectroscopy, mechanical tests in compression, measurement of the contact angle, in vitro studies, including loading by recombinant BMP-2 and EPO and their release kinetics, and in vivo studies on a model of regeneration of critical-sized cranial defects in mice...

Herein, a novel microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) reinforced natural polymer-based sponge composed of carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) and oxidized starch (OS) with hemostatic, repairing-promoting, and antimicrobial performances was fabricated for chronic wound repair. When the content of MFC reached 1.2 wt%, the prepared sponge exhibited ultra-fast water or blood-trigged shape recovery property within 3 s. Moreover, sponge was functionally modified with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and recombinant humanized collagen type III (rhCol III)...

The development of tissue adhesive embolization microspheres with imaging ability is one of the important methods to improve the efficacy of interventional embolization. This study reported the synthesis of iodine (I)-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)@polydopamine (PDA) microspheres to achieve the computed tomography image, drug loading and controlled release, and the enhanced embolization of liver portal vein. The I-PVA@PDA microspheres with a diameter of 147.9 μm showed an excellent computed tomography imaging ability...

This study sets the stage for the therapeutic use of Ac5 ManNTProp, an N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) analog that installs thiol-modified sialoglycans onto the surfaces of human neural stem cells (hNSC). First, we compared hNSC adhesion to the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins laminin, fibronectin, and collagen and found preferential adhesion and concomitant changes to cell morphology and cell spreading for Ac5 ManNTProp-treated cells to laminin, compared to fibronectin where there was a modest response, and collagen where there was no observable increase...

Scaffolds combined with bioactive agents can enhance bone regeneration at therapeutic sites. We explore whether combined supplementation with coumaric acid and recombinant human-cartilage oligomeric matrix protein-angiopoietin 1 (rhCOMP-Ang1) is an ideal approach for bone tissue engineering. We developed coumaric acid-conjugated absorbable collagen scaffold (CA-ACS) and investigated whether implanting CA-ACS in combination with rhCOMP-Ang1 facilitates ACS- or CA-ACS-mediated bone formation using a rat model of critically sized mandible defects...

Low-cost sensors to detect cancer biomarkers with high sensitivity and selectivity are essential for early diagnosis. Herein, an immunosensor was developed to detect the cancer biomarker p53 antigen in MCF7 lysates using electrical impedance spectroscopy. Interdigitated electrodes were screen printed on bacterial nanocellulose substrates, then coated with a matrix of layer-by-layer films of chitosan and chondroitin sulfate onto which a layer of anti-p53 antibodies was adsorbed. The immunosensing performance was optimized with a 3-bilayer matrix, with detection of p53 in MCF7 cell lysates at concentrations between 0...

Vascular stents are widely used in the clinical treatment of coronary heart disease, but the long-term safety still needs to be improved. Surface biological functional modification is an effective way to improve the biocompatibility and clinical performance of cardiovascular materials, but how to achieve long-term effective and precise regulation of in situ vascular intimal repair through the reasonable construction of the surface physical and chemical structure is still an important task in the current surface modification research...

Nacre exhibited noticeable similarities in fundamental material buildup and biological characteristics with tooth hard tissue, so the present study aims to achieve bionic dentine remineralization by duplicating nacre's "bottom-up" assembly concept. Inspired by nacre's mineralization mechanism, the present project starts to synthesize a "seawater-like" mineralizing precursor medium, then monitor its in vitro dentinal tubules occlusion effect, acid-resistant stability, the "fingerprint" dynamic components change in real time on in vitro sensitive tooth model as well as its in vitro cellular biological response towards human dental pulp stem cells...