Therapeutic Acellular Scaffolds for Limiting Left Ventricular Remodelling-Current Status and Future Directions

Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the leading causes of heart-related deaths worldwide. Following MI, the hypoxic microenvironment triggers apoptosis, disrupts the extracellular matrix and forms a non-functional scar that leads towards adverse left ventricular (LV) remodelling. If left untreated this eventually leads to heart failure. Besides extensive advancement in medical therapy, complete functional recovery is never accomplished, as the heart possesses limited regenerative ability. In recent decades, the focus has shifted towards tissue engineering and regenerative strategies that provide an attractive option to improve cardiac regeneration, limit adverse LV remodelling and restore function in an infarcted heart. Acellular scaffolds possess attractive features that have made them a promising therapeutic candidate. Their application in infarcted areas has been shown to improve LV remodelling and enhance functional recovery in post-MI hearts. This review will summarise the updates on acellular scaffolds developed and tested in pre-clinical and clinical scenarios in the past five years with a focus on their ability to overcome damage caused by MI. It will also describe how acellular scaffolds alone or in combination with biomolecules have been employed for MI treatment. A better understanding of acellular scaffolds potentialities may guide the development of customised and optimised therapeutic strategies for MI treatment.     

Template polymerization of sodium vinyl sulphonate in the presence of poly(allylamine) hydrochloride

The radical polymerization in aqueous solution of sodium vinly sulphonate in the presence of poly(allylamine) hydrochloride as a template has been studied using dilatometry and the obtained polyelectrolyte complexes have been characterized by viscosimetric and thermal analysis. The time–conversion curves have shown an unusual trend characterized by a slowing down phase followed by an increase in the polymerization rate. The same trend has been observed at various reaction temperatures, and at different monomer concentrations. The results of the viscosimetric analysis have indicated that the molecular weight of the formed polymer increases by increasing the initial template concentration, the other operating conditions remaining unchanged. The mechanism of this template polymerization is discussed in this paper.     

Synthesis,characterisation and properties of α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-dl-aspartamide-graft-maleic anhydride precursors and their stimuli-responsive hydrogels

A family of poly(amino acid)-maleic anhydride hydrogels were designed and synthesized. Water soluble polymeric precursors were prepared by partially substituting the hydroxyl groups of the α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-dl-aspartamide backbone with maleic anhydride, so as to provide double bonds for crosslinking and carboxylic acid groups for pH and electric field responsiveness. Reaction conditions (reactive mixture composition and catalysis) were systematically varied in order to obtain PHEA–MA precursors with different and reliable graft-maleic anhydride levels. PHEA–MA precursors were characterised by titration, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H NMR), Fourier-Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) for structural and molecular determination. Aqueous solutions of selected PHEA–MA precursors were subjected to gamma-irradiation at different irradiation doses and polymer to water concentrations in order to induce chemical crosslinking without the addition of crosslinking agents. The yield of crosslinking reactions was evaluated by solubility tests as well as the effect of ammonium persulphate, as assistant radical initiator for gamma crosslinking. Selected hydrogels were tested through swelling measurements to prove their pH and electric field responsiveness. Structural features of the different variants produced were related to the swelling behaviour.     

Controlling Cellular Uptake by Surface Chemistry,Size, and Surface Topology at the Nanoscale

Cell cytosol and the different subcellular organelles house the most important biochemical processes that control cell functions. Effective delivery of bioactive agents within cells is expected to have an enormous impact on both gene therapy and the future development of new therapeutic and/or diagnostic strategies based on single‐cell–bioactive‐agent interactions. Herein a biomimetic nanovector is reported that is able to enter cells, escape from the complex endocytic pathway, and efficiently deliver actives within clinically relevant cells without perturbing their metabolic activity. This nanovector is based on the pH‐controlled self‐assembly of amphiphilic copolymers into nanometer‐sized vesicles (or polymersomes). The cellular‐uptake kinetics can be regulated by controlling the surface chemistry, the polymersome size, and the polymersome surface topology. The latter is controlled by the extent of polymer–polymer phase separation within the external envelope of the polymersome.     

Uptake of Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae non-O1 and Enterococcus durans by, and depuration of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis)

The uptakes of Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae non-O1 and Enterococcus durans by mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and the times for depuration were investigated in order to determine the most useful indicator of vibrio contamination. The mussels were maintained in tanks of static seawater contaminated with bacteria at 5 log10 CFU/ml for bioaccumulation. Depuration was carried out by circulating fresh seawater through the tanks. Each organism was presented alone and with others to mussels, at temperatures of 14 and 21 degrees C. In water contaminated with either single or mixed organisms, the bacteria accumulated rapidly in the mussels reaching high concentrations after 1 h. With both single and mixed organisms, the maximum numbers of E. coli in mussels were 6.6 log10 CFU/g at 14 degrees C and 5.4 log10 CFU/g at 21 degrees C. Both V. cholerae non-O1 and E. durans alone or with other organisms reached a number ranging from 6.5 to 7 log10 CFU/g at both temperatures. During depuration the numbers of all the organisms slowly decreased, with E. coli alone, numbers ranged from 2.8 to 2 log10 CFU/g after 72 h at both 14 and 21 degrees C, and the organisms were undetectable after 144 h. With mixed organisms at 14 degrees C E. coli became undetectable after 168 h but at 21 degrees C no E. coli were recovered after 72 h. At 14 degrees C V. cholerae non-O1 alone also was undetectable after 168 h, but at 21 degrees C and with mixed organisms at both temperatures. V. cholerae was recovered after 168 h at numbers about 1 log10 CFU/g. After 168 h numbers of E. durans alone ranged from 2.6 log10 CFU/g at 14 degrees C to 1.5 log10 CFU/g at 21 degrees C, and with mixed organisms the numbers ranged from 2.3 to 2.0 log10 CFU/g at both temperatures. Of the three bacteria of faecal origin, E. durans is quickly acquired by mussels and released more slowly than the others, while E. coli quickly becomes undetectable. The results suggest that, for this kind of seafood, enterococci may be a more appropriate indicator than E. coli of risks to consumers from vibrios.     

Microextended X-ray absorption fine structure studies of cadmium speciation within single municipal solid waste fly ash particles

The local chemical structure of trace amounts of cadmium within microvolumes of highly inhomogeneous municipal solid waste fly ash particles was successfully monitored by means of micro-EXAFS. A new quantification procedure was developed for the evaluation of the micro-EXAFS data sets obtained from each individual particle based on a reverse Monte Carlo simulation. Evidence has been presented for the existence of cadmium silicate and cadmium chloride, with the cadmium silicate being the dominant form, and it has been demonstrated that the cadmium exists in both crystalline and amorphous states within the microspots analyzed.     

DNA-based analysis for authenticity assessment of monovarietal pasta

Because of the presence on the market of high-value monovarietal pasta, the aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of DNA profiling to test its authenticity. AFLP profiles obtained from eight monovarietal pasta samples and from the corresponding varieties were compared. The possibility of identifying the variety of an unknown monovarietal pasta by referring to a durum wheat molecular markers database is proposed.     

Filtering activity of Spongia officinalis var. adriatica (Schmidt) (Porifera, Demospongiae) on bacterioplankton: implications for bioremediation of polluted seawater

A study on the filtering activity has been carried out on reared specimens of the demosponge Spongia officinalis var. adriatica coming from an off-shore farm displaced off the Apulian coast (Ionian Sea). The experience was carried out under laboratory conditions, by using natural seawater collected from the sponge environment. The study demonstrates a high efficiency of the sponge in removing bacteria. Bacterial concentration significantly decreases in presence of the sponge, with a marked drop after 2 h from the start of the experience. The maximum clearance rate was 210 ml h(-1) g(-1) DW at 60 min. Retention efficiency reached the highest value of 61% at 120 min. The bacterial density removed by the S. officinalis filtering activity was 12.3 +/- 1.8 x 10(4) cells ml(-1) corresponding to a biomass of about 11.7 +/- 1.4 microg Cl(-1). The sponge fed preferentially large- and medium-size bacteria, whereas the small ones are fed after the removal of the largest size categories. The results obtained suggest that S. offcinalis is a suitable species for marine environmental bioremediation.