Attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared spectroscopy towards disclosing mechanism of bacterial adhesion on thermally stabilized titanium nano-interfaces

Titanium is widely used as medical implant material and as condenser material in the nuclear industry where its integrity is questioned due to its susceptibility to bacterial adhesion. A systematic investigation on the influence of thermally (50–800 °C) stabilized titanium (TS-Ti) nano oxide towards bacterial adhesion was carried out. The results showed that below 350 °C significant bacterio-phobicity was observed, while above 500 °C significant affinity towards bacterial cells was recorded. Conventional characterization tools such as HR-TEM and XRD did not provide much insight on the changes occurring on the oxide film with heat treatment, however, attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) of the surface showed significant changes in the spectral pattern as a function of increasing heat treatment. It was observed that elevated OH, N–H and C=O groups and rutile titania on the TS-Ti oxide films led to higher affinity for bacterial adhesion. On the other hand low temperature TS-Ti nanooxide films (<350 °C) showed high C–H groups and decreased OH groups on their surface, which possibly contributed towards their bacterio-phobicity. The TS-Ti nanooxide film grown at 50 °C was observed to be the most efficient anti-bacterial adhesion interface, while the 800 °C interface was the one showing highest affinity towards bacterial adhesion. This study confirms the successful application of ATR-FTIR technique for nano-oxide film characterization and towards understanding the variations in bacterial interaction of such nano interfaces.     

Differences in cytocompatibility,dynamics of the oxide layers’ formation,and nickel release between superelastic and thermo-activated nickel–titanium archwires

Superelastic (SE) and thermo-activated (TA) nickel–titanium (NiTi) archwires are used in everyday orthodontic practice, based on their acceptable biocompatibility and well-defined shape memory properties. However, the differences in their surface microstructure and cytotoxicity have not been clearly defined, and the standard cytotoxicity tests are too robust to detect small differences in the cytotoxicity of these alloys, all of which can lead to unexpected adverse reactions in some patients. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that the differences in manufacture and microstructure of commercially available SE and TA archwires may influence their biocompatibility. The archwires were studied as-received and after conditioning for 24 h or 35 days in a cell culture medium under static conditions. All of the tested archwires, including their conditioned medium (CM), were non-cytotoxic for L929 cells, but Rematitan SE (both as received and conditioned) induced the apoptosis of rat thymocytes in a direct contact. In contrast, TruFlex SE and Equire TA increased the proliferation of thymocytes. The cytotoxic effect of Rematitan SE correlated with the higher release of Ni ions in CM, higher concentration of surface Ni and an increased oxygen layer thickness after the conditioning. In conclusion, the apoptosis assay on rat thymocytes, in contrast to the less sensitive standard assay on L929 cells, revealed that Rematitan SE was less cytocompatible compared to other archwires and the effect was most probably associated with a higher exposition of the cells to Ni on the surface of the archwire, due to the formation of unstable oxide layer.     

New synthesis method of HA/P(D,L)LA composites: study of fibronectin adsorption and their effects in osteoblastic behavior for bone tissue engineering

A novel synthetic method to synthesize hydroxyapatite/poly (D,L) lactic acid biocomposite is presented in this study by mixing only the precursors hydroxyapatite and (D,L) LA monomer without adding neither solvent nor catalyst. Three compositions were successfully synthesized with the weight ratios of 1/1, 1/3, and 3/5 (hydroxyapatite/(D,L) lactic acid), and the grafting efficiency of poly (D,L) lactic acid on hydroxyapatite surface reaches up to 84?%. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the hydroxyapatite particles were successfully incorporated into the poly (D,L) lactic acid polymer and X ray diffraction analysis showed that hydroxyapatite preserved its crystallinity after poly (D,L) lactic acid grafting. Differential scanning calorimetry shows that Tg of hydroxyapatite/poly (D,L) lactic acid composite is less than Tg of pure poly (D,L) lactic acid, which facilitates the shaping of the composite obtained. The addition of poly (D,L) lactic acid improves the adsorption properties of hydroxyapatite for fibronectin extracellular matrix protein. Furthermore, the presence of poly (D,L) lactic acid on hydroxyapatite surface coated with fibronectin enhanced pre-osteoblast STRO-1 adhesion and cell spreading. These results show the promising potential of hydroxyapatite/poly (D,L) lactic acid composite as a bone substitute material for orthopedic applications and bone tissue engineering.     

Effect of enzymatic degradation of chitosan in polyhydroxybutyrate/chitosan/calcium phosphate composites on in vitro osteoblast response

Polyhydroxybutyrate/chitosan/calcium phosphate composites are interesting biomaterials for utilization in regenerative medicine and they may by applied in reconstruction of deeper subchondral defects. Insufficient informations were found in recent papers about the influence of lysozyme degradation of chitosan in calcium phosphate/chitosan based composites on in vitro cytotoxicity and proliferation activity of osteoblasts. The effect of enzymatic chitosan degradation on osteoblasts proliferation was studied on composite films in which the porosity of origin 3D scaffolds was eliminated and the surface texture was modified. The significantly enhanced proliferation activity with faster population growth of osteoblasts were found on enzymatically degraded biopolymer composite films with α-tricalcium phosphate and nanohydroxyapatite. No cytotoxicity of composite films prepared from lysozyme degraded scaffolds containing a large fraction of low molecular weight chitosans (LMWC), was revealed after 10 days of cultivation. Contrary to above in the higher cytotoxicity origin untreated nanohydroxyapatite films and porous composite scaffolds. The results showed that the synergistic effect of surface distribution, morphology of nanohydroxyapatite particles, microtopography and the presence of LMWC due to chitosan degradation in composite films were responsible for compensation of the cytotoxicity of nanohydroxyapatite composite films or porous composite scaffolds.     

Cell-protection mechanism through autophagy in HGFs/<Emphasis Type="Italic">S. mitis</Emphasis> co-culture treated with Chitlac-nAg

Silver-based products have been proven to be effective in retarding and preventing bacterial growth since ancient times. In the field of restorative dentistry, the use of silver ions/nanoparticles has been explored to counteract bacterial infections, as silver can destroy bacterial cell walls by reacting with membrane proteins. However, it is also cytotoxic towards eukaryotic cells, which are capable of internalizing nanoparticles. In this work, we investigated the biological effects of Chitlac-nAg, a colloidal system based on a modified chitosan (Chitlac), administered for 24–48?h to a co-culture of primary human gingival fibroblasts and Streptococcus mitis in the presence of saliva, developed to mimic the microenvironment of the oral cavity. We sought to determine its efficiency to combat oral hygiene-related diseases without affecting eukaryotic cells. Cytotoxicity, reactive oxygen species production, apoptosis induction, nanoparticles uptake, and lysosome and autophagosome metabolism were evaluated. In vitro results show that Chitlac-nAg does not exert cytotoxic effects on human gingival fibroblasts, which seem to survive through a homoeostasis mechanism involving autophagy. That suggests that the novel biomaterial Chitlac-nAg could be a promising tool in the field of dentistry.     

Characterization and physiological effect of tapioca maltodextrin colloid plasma expander in hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation model

Plasma expanders (PEs) are administered fluids to replace blood volume when massive blood loss has occured. Maltodextrin from tapioca starch was selected as a study candidate to prepare a colloid PE due to an uncomplicated production process. The formulations of mixture between tapioca maltodextrin and 0.9 % sodium chloride solution were prepared and then characterized. This was to investigate the effects of a dextrose equivalent (DE) and the concentration on the physical properties. Storage stability of each formulation was also determined and compared with clinically used PE [6 % hydroxyethyl starch (HES), 130/0.4]. The effects on the circulatory system in hamsters with hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation using prepared PE were also investigated. The results showed that low DE value led to high retrogradation, turbidity and viscosity but low colloid osmotic pressure and poor solubility. Among the prepared solutions, tapioca maltodextrin with DE6 at 10 % w/v concentration had comparable properties with 6 % HES 130/0.4. Animals resuscitated with 10 % DE6 PE had improved mean arterial blood pressure similar to those resuscitated with 6 % HES 130/0.4. However, several parameters in animals resuscitated with 10 % DE6 PE were lower than those resuscitated with 6 % HES 130/0.4, i.e., heart rate, functional capillary density. Therefore, if using tapioca maltodextrin for PE, some properties have to be considered and efficiently optimized.     

Pre-annealing induced oxide barrier to suppress the over-selenization of Mo contact

Molybdenum (Mo) is commonly used as the back contact material complying well with the formation of an ohmic contact for chalcogenide thin film solar cells. However, the easy formation of an over-thick MoSe₂ layer between the Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ absorber and Mo back contact significantly deteriorates the device performance. To overcome the degradation, the effects of thermal treatment on Mo layers have been investigated in this paper. It was found that pre-annealing Mo back contacts is effective to control the growth of interfacial MoSe₂ layer during selenization. Moreover, the thickness of MoSe₂ layer could be conveniently tailored by simply varying the pre-annealing temperature. The work provides direct proof that the appearance of a thin MoO₂ layer on the top of annealed Mo film indeed acts as a temporary barrier to block the over-selenization of Mo back contact.     

Synthesis of anisotropic NaNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> seed crystals and fabrication of textured (K<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Na<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>)NbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-based ceramics

High aspect ratio patelike NaNbO₃ particles with pure perovskite structure have been successfully synthesized by topochemical microcrystal conversion (TMC) from plate-like precursor particles of the layer-structured Bi_2.5Na_3.5Nb₅O₁₈. By changing the Bi_2.5Na_3.5Nb₅O₁₈/Na₂CO₃ ratio, large and thin NaNbO₃ particles with a thickness of approximately 0.5 μm and a width of approximately 20 μm were obtained. The obtained NaNbO₃ particles is quite suitable for fabricating textured (K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-based ceramics. Using the fine platelike NaNbO₃ particles as templates, dense <001> -oriented (K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-0.5 mol %MnO₂ ceramics with high texture quality (Lotgering factor F ₀₀₁ = 87 %) and excellent piezoelectric properties were produced by templated grain growth. Compared with randomly oriented ceramics, textured samples show greatly enhanced properties. The room-temperature strain S, the piezoelectric coefficient d ₃₃ ^* and d ₃₃ reach up to 0.093 %, 233 pm/V and 195pC/N, respectively, which are all about 1.5 times larger than those of non-textured ceramics.     

Comparison of gas sensing properties based on hollow and porous α-Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanotubes

Hollow and porous α-Fe₂O₃ nanotubes were successfully synthesized by single nozzle electrospinning method followed by annealing treatment. The crystal structures and morphologies of the as-prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The as-prepared materials were applied to construct gas sensor devices which gas sensing properties were further investigated. The obtained results revealed that porous α-Fe₂O₃ nanotube gas sensors exhibit a markedly enhanced gas sensing performance compared with hollow α-Fe₂O₃ nanotube gas sensors, which was about three times higher to 100 ppm acetone at 240 °C. Interestingly, hollow and porous α-Fe₂O₃ nanotube gas sensors both showed fast response–recovery time and good selectivity, but the porous ones possessed the shorter recovery time. The improved properties could be attributed to the unique morphology of porous nanotubes. Thus, further improvement of performance in metal-oxide-semiconductors materials could be realized by preparation the unique porous structures of nanotubes. Moreover, it is expected that porous metal-oxide-semiconductors nanotubes could be further design as promising candidates for gas sensing materials.