Direct ink writing of vancomycin-loaded polycaprolactone/ polyethylene oxide/ hydroxyapatite 3D scaffolds

Novel inks were formulated by dissolving polycaprolactone (PCL), a hydrophobic polymer, in organic solvent systems; polyethylene oxide (PEO) was incorporated to extend the range of hydrophilicity of the system. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) with a weight ratio of 55–85% was added to the polymer-based solution to mimic the material composition of natural bone tissue. The direct ink writing (DIW) technique was applied to extrude the formulated inks to fabricate the predesigned tissue scaffold structures; the influence of HAp concentration was investigated. The results indicate that in comparison to other inks containing HAp (55%, 75%, and 85%w/w), the ink containing 65% w/w HAp had faster ink recovery behavior; the fabricated scaffold had a rougher surface as well as better mechanical properties and wettability. It is noted that the 65% w/w HAp concentration is similar to the inorganic composition of natural bone tissue. The elastic modulus values of PCL/PEO/HAp scaffolds were in the range of 4–12 MPa; the values were dependent on the HAp concentration. Furthermore, vancomycin as a model drug was successfully encapsulated in the PCL/PEO/HAp composite scaffold for drug release applications. This paper presents novel drug-loaded PCL/PEO/HAp inks for 3D scaffold fabrication using the DIW printing technique for potential bone scaffold applications.     

High-Performance Solution-Processed Nondoped Circularly Polarized OLEDs with Chiral Triptycene Scaffold-Based TADF Emitters Realizing Over 20% External Quantum Efficiency

Recently, circularly polarized organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs) fabricated with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters are developed rapidly. However, most devices are fabricated by vacuum deposition technology, and developing efficient solution-processed CP-OLEDs, especially nondoped devices, is still a challenge. Herein, a pair of triptycene-based enantiomers, (S,S)-/(R,R)-TpAc-TRZ, are synthesized. The novel chiral triptycene scaffold of enantiomers avoids their intermolecular π–π stacking, which is conducive to their aggregation-induced emission characteristics and high photoluminescence quantum yield of 85% in the solid state. Moreover, the triptycene-based enantiomers exhibit efficient TADF activities with a small singlet-triplet energy gap (ΔE_ST) of 0.03 eV and delayed fluorescence lifetime of 1.1 µs, as well as intense circularly polarized luminescence with dissymmetry factors (|g_PL|) of about 1.9 × 10⁻³. The solution-processed nondoped CP-OLEDs based on (S,S)-/(R,R)-TpAc-TRZ not only display obvious circularly polarized electroluminescence signals with g_EL values of +1.5 × 10⁻³ and −2.0 × 10⁻³, respectively, but also achieve high efficiencies with external quantum, current, and power efficiency up to 25.5%, 88.6 cd A⁻¹, and 95.9 lm W⁻¹, respectively.     

Thin natural gelatin/chitosan nanofibrous scaffolds for retinal pigment epithelium cells

Damage of the retinal pigmented epithelial cells causes various diseases such as age-related macular degeneration in retinal tissue. Nowadays, scientists are attempting to replace lost retinal cells with healthy and efficient cells that provide better conditions for recovering and preventing blindness. In this study, gelatin/chitosan nanofibrous scaffolds with mean diameters of 180?nm were fabricated for subretinal space through electrospinning. Thickness and morphology of the gelatin–chitosan scaffolds were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the high rate of degradation, i.e., 90% damage was obtained after 1 month. The cell viability of gelatin/chitosan nanofibers were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The SEM results of cultured RPE on gelatin/chitosan scaffolds showed the appropriate adhesion of cells on the substrate. The results of the identity of RPE cells cultured on the scaffolds indicated that a large number of cells strongly expressed RPE65 and cytokeratin 8/18.     

聚乙烯醇/牛I型胶原支架材料的制备及评价

研究了一种聚乙烯醇(PVA)和胶原(COL)复合支架材料的制备方法。采用氨基硅烷对PVA海绵表面进行了氨基化修饰后，通过戊二醛溶液交联牛Ⅰ型胶原(COL)，最后通过赖氨酸溶液封闭，获得一种PVA/COL复合支架材料。采用扫描电镜(SEM)、X光电子能谱仪(XPS)、傅里叶红外光谱(FT-IR)等手段对支架材料的理化性能进行表征，并通过细胞实验对支架材料的生物学性能进行评价。结果表明，经过COL修饰的PVA孔隙率为21.33%，平均孔径为168.68 ?m且均匀分布，支架材料接触角为20.03°。对支架材料的生物学评价结果表明C3A细胞在复合材料上黏附良好，优于PVA组；CCK-8增殖检测结果表明细胞在复合材料上呈增殖生长趋势，与对照组PVA相比差异显著(P?0.01)。将PVA和COL复合制备得到的支架材料具有良好的理化及生物学特性，具有广阔的应用前景。     

Compressive and flexural properties of novel polylactic acid/hydroxyapatite/yttria-stabilized zirconia hybrid nanocomposite scaffold

The mechanical property is a crucial factor in the design of bone tissue engineering scaffolds. In the current study, novel PLLA (Poly-L-lactic acid)–Hydroxyapatite (HA)–yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) nanocomposite scaffold with various compositions was prepared and characterized. The effect of HA and YSZ contents on the mechanical behavior of the resultant composites was investigated. TEM micrograph revealed that HA particles are needle-like in shape and nano in size. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrograph also showed that YSZ powder is in granule form and submicron size. SEM disclosed that all scaffolds had a highly interconnected porous structure and X-ray diffractometry revealed that there were some molecular interactions between PLA (Polylactic acid), HA, and YSZ in the composites. The results depicted that introducing YSZ to the nanocomposite leads to a significant increase in compressive strength, modulus, and densification strain. In addition, flexural strength and modulus showed an upward trend by adding YSZ particles to scaffolds. It should be noted that PLA–20%HA–20%YSZ indicates the highest strength and modulus in both compression and bending tests, though, it did not demonstrate the proper strain compared to other scaffolds. Thus, PLA–15%HA–15%YSZ has been reported as the best candidate due to appropriate strength and strain. Also, energy absorption in nanocomposites showed an upward trend by increasing the amount of YSZ particles. It was found that the strength of samples was declined after being soaked in simulated body fluid. However, scaffolds with HA underwent more decrease in strength compared to samples containing YSZ.     

Microwave irradiated Carrageenan-Guar gum micro-porous IPN: a novel material for isotropic tissue scaffolding

In this study, a novel micro porous honeycomb structured Crg-GG-IPN material was incepted to be applicable as scaffold and accomplished. The hydrophilicity was confirmed by FT-IR and OCA. Amorphous nature and micro-rough surface were confirmed by XRD and AFM. Void fraction was 0.61?±?0.04. Void space, hemocompatibility and platelet adhesion were captured by SEM. Degradability of the material was confirmed by in-vitro degradation study. Incision method using mice model was a clear evidence for cell attachment and non-toxicity and was confirmed from hematology and histopathology. Thus, it appears that Crg-GG scaffolds can be useful as wound healing material for clinical applications.     

Preclinical Evaluation of 99mTc-ZHER2:41071, a Second-Generation Affibody-Based HER2-Visualizing Imaging Probe with a Low Renal Uptake

Radionuclide imaging of HER2 expression in tumours may enable stratification of patients with breast, ovarian, and gastroesophageal cancers for HER2-targeting therapies. A first-generation HER2-binding affibody molecule [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:V2 demonstrated favorable imaging properties in preclinical studies. Thereafter, the affibody scaffold has been extensively modified, which increased its melting point, improved storage stability, and increased hydrophilicity of the surface. In this study, a second-generation affibody molecule (designated ZHER2:41071) with a new improved scaffold has been prepared and characterized. HER2-binding, biodistribution, and tumour-targeting properties of [^99mTc]Tc-labelled ZHER2:41071 were investigated. These properties were compared with properties of the first-generation affibody molecules, [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:V2 and [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:2395. [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 bound specifically to HER2 expressing cells with an affinity of 58 ± 2 pM. The renal uptake for [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 and [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:V2 was 25–30 fold lower when compared with [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:2395. The uptake in tumour and kidney for [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 and [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:V2 in SKOV-3 xenografts was similar. In conclusion, an extensive re-engineering of the scaffold did not compromise imaging properties of the affibody molecule labelled with ^99mTc using a GGGC chelator. The new probe, [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 provided the best tumour-to-blood ratio compared to HER2-imaging probes for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) described in the literature so far. [^99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 is a promising candidate for further clinical translation studies.     

Alginate–chitosan composite hydrogel film with macrovoids in the inner layer for biomedical applications

Making of a layered composite using two biopolymer gels with regularly aligned voids in the inner layer is described in this article. Calcium alginate constituted the inner layer, within which voids of 500 μm diameter were embedded in monolayer or in multiple layers using a fluidic device for bubbling. The chitosan without any additional crosslinker was used to form the outer layer. The layered structure enabled compartmentalization of drug hold-up, and differential release rates. These aspects were reviewed using bovine serum albumin and vitamin B₁₂ as model solutes. The presence of voids at the inner layer of alginate increased the uptake, raising the level of absorptivity to more than 4000%. The composite film could hold two solutes at a time. The one, held inside the alginate layer started releasing only after 1 h of dipping in the release media. The adhesive strength between layers and the response of the composite film to compressive deformation are studied here. The effect of single or multiple layers of voids in the inner layer is reviewed. The slowing of degradation rate due to chitosan-encapsulation is experimentally determined. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47599.     

Preparation and characterization of the n-HA/PVA/CS porous composite hydrogel

In this paper, a new method combines chemical/physical crosslinking, and emulsification-foaming porogenic was adopted to prepare n-hydroxyapatite (n-HA)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/chitosan (CS) porous composite hydrogel using artificial cornea scaffold materials. The fabricate conditions, including the type and amount of emulsification-foaming porogen, mixing time and speed etc. were researched. The results showed the optimal condition that the alkylphenol polyoxyethylene ether (OP) acted as emulsification-foaming porogen, with the ratio of W_PVA/W_OP as 3.75, and mixing 15 min with a stirring speed of 800 r·min^-1. Additionally, the fabricated composite hydrogel scaffold materials possessed interconnected internal holes, a moisture content of above 65%, and tensile strength of above 6 MPa. In vitro cytotoxicity and acute systemic toxicity assay confirmed that the scaffolds did not show any cytotoxicity. The as-prepared hydrogel could be a promising candidate for artificial cornea scaffold material.