A bioactive polymer grafted on titanium oxide layer obtained by electrochemical oxidation. Improvement of cell response

The anchorage failure of titanium implants in human body is mainly due to biointegration problem. The proposed solution is to graft a bioactive polymer at the surface of the implant in order to improve and control the interactions with the living system. In this paper, we describe the grafting of poly sodium styrene sulfonate on titanium surface by using a silanization reaction. The key point is to increase the TiOH content at the surface of the implant which can react with methoxy silane groups of 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS). Two procedures were used: chemical oxidation and electrochemical oxidation. The last oxidation procedure was carried out in two different electrolytes: oxalic acid and methanol. These different oxidation methods allow controlling the roughness and the depth of the oxide layer. The methacryloyl group of MPS grafted at the titanium surface by silanization reaction is copolymerized with sodium styrene sulfonate using a thermal initiator able to produce radicals by heating. Colorimetric method, ATR-FTIR, XPS techniques and contact angle measurements were applied to characterize the surfaces. MG63 osteoblastic cell response was studied on polished, oxidized and grafted titanium samples. Cell adhesion, Alkaline Phosphatase activity and calcium nodules formation were significantly enhanced on grafted titanium surfaces compared to un-modified surfaces.     

Hydrodynamic structures of droplets engineered in rectangular micro-channels

This paper reports on numerical simulations of the hydrodynamics inside droplets in rectangular micro-channels. Two- and three-dimensional simulations are performed thanks to a finite-volume/front-capturing method. Droplet interface deformation and velocity fields inside both droplets and continuous phase can then be followed. This study leads to important results about droplet deformation and inner streamlines for mass and heat transfer studies. More particularly, the capillary number seems to have a great influence on the liquid/liquid flow hydrodynamics and this impact on film thickness and slip velocity is quantified through correlations.     

VEGF-R2/Caveolin-1 Pathway of Undifferentiated ARPE-19 Retina Cells: A Potential Target as Anti-VEGF-A Therapy in Wet AMD by Resvega,an Omega-3/Polyphenol Combination

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the main causes of deterioration in vision in adults aged 55 and older. In spite of therapies, the progression of the disease is often observed without reverse vision quality. In the present study, we explored whether, in undifferentiated ARPE-19 retinal cells, a disruption of the VEGF receptors (VEGF-R)/caveolin-1 (Cav-1)/protein kinases pathway could be a target for counteracting VEGF secretion. We highlight that Resvega^®, a combination of omega-3 fatty acids with an antioxidant, resveratrol, inhibits VEGF-A secretion in vitro by disrupting the dissociation of the VEGF-R2/Cav-1 complex into rafts and subsequently preventing MAPK activation. Moreover, DNA ChIP analysis reveals that this combination prevents the interaction between AP-1 and vegf-a and vegf-r2 gene promoters. By these pathways, Resvega could present a potential interest as nutritional complementation against AMD.     

Chemical reaction imaging within microfluidic devices using confocal raman spectroscopy: the case of water and deuterium oxide as a model system

Microfluidic devices face presently a tremendous interest, especially for the development of labs-on-a-chip systems. One of the primary challenges for such applications is the ability to perform local chemical detection and analysis from various species. In this paper, we investigate the use of confocal Raman spectroscopy from both qualitative and quantitative sides, to obtain spatially resolved concentration maps of chemically reactive fluids flowing in different channels networks. As a model chemical reaction, we used the isotopic exchange reaction between D(2)O and H(2)O, which is diffusion-controlled and whose equilibrium states exhibit distinct Raman signatures depending on the composition. Two types of chip technologies were studied, which are typical of those used for chemical kinetics investigations. In the first one, reagent mixing occurs by molecular interdiffusion of the two streams (H(2)O and D(2)O) flowing side by side in the same channel; in the second one, reagents are hosted in droplets moving in winding channels that enhance the mixing. In the first series of experiments, we were able to extract Raman images of H(2)O, D(2)O, and HOD concentrations in the main channel together with an estimate of an interdiffusion coefficient, and in the second one, we evidenced the influence of channel wiggles on mixing efficiency.