Isolation and characterization of biologically metal-doped protein as semiconducting biopolymer

Metal-doped (Cu₂O, CdO and PbO) muscle protein from fish (Clarious batracus Lin.) was isolated, purified and characterized for its potential as semiconducting biopolymer. The initial characterization of the isolated protein was carried out by circular dichrosim (CD), FTIR and AAS. Protein thin film was prepared using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and characterized for its surface morphology by SEM/EDAX and crystallinity by XRD spectrum. The physical properties such as Raman shift, optical coefficient and electron transfer reaction such as electrical conductivity, temperature dependent conductivity and cyclic voltammeter (CV) were studied. The present study concludes that the Cd and Cu-doped fish protein behaves like semiconductor and has the potential application in molecular electronics like protein semiconductors, protein based (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell, drug delivery and nanotechnology.     

Polymeric nanostructured materials for biomedical applications

Polymeric nanostructured materials (PNMs), which are polymeric materials in nanoscale or polymer composites containing nanomaterials, have become increasingly useful for biomedical applications. In specific, advances in polymer-related nanoscience and nanotechnology have brought a revolutionary change to produce new biomaterials with tailored properties and functionalities for targeted biomedical applications. These materials, including micelles, polymersomes, nanoparticles, nanocapsules, nanogels, nanofibers, dendrimers and nanocomposites, have been widely used in drug delivery, gene therapy, bioimage, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This review presents a comprehensive overview on the various types of PNMs, their fabrication methods and biomedical applications, as well as the challenges in research and development of future PNMs.     

Structural Differences Between Biogenic Amorphous Calcium Carbonate Phases Using X‐ray Absorption Spectroscopy

We compare the organization of the first coordination shells around the calcium ion in biogenic ACC phases from three different sources. The results show that although the three biogenic samples have the same chemical composition, which is referred to collectively under the name “amorphous calcium carbonate”, they are structurally different from one another. These differences may be attributed to the diverse modes of formation of such biogenic materials and may account for their known variations in stability.     

Biomaterials for 4D stem cell culture

Stem cells reside in complex three-dimensional (3D) environments within the body that change with time, promoting various cellular functions and processes such as migration and differentiation. These complex changes in the surrounding environment dictate cell fate yet, until recently, have been challenging to mimic within cell culture systems. Hydrogel-based biomaterials are well suited to mimic aspects of these in vivo environments, owing to their high water content, soft tissue-like elasticity, and often-tunable biochemical content. Further, hydrogels can be engineered to achieve changes in matrix properties over time to better mimic dynamic native microenvironments for probing and directing stem cell function and fate. This review will focus on techniques to form hydrogel-based biomaterials and modify their properties in time during cell culture using select addition reactions, cleavage reactions, or non-covalent interactions. Recent applications of these techniques for the culture of stem cells in four dimensions (i.e., in three dimensions with changes over time) also will be discussed for studying essential stem cell processes.     

Fabrication and Characterization of Nanopillar-Like HA Coating on Porous Ti6Al4V Scaffold by a Combination of Alkali–Acid-Heat and Hydrothermal Treatments

Porous titanium scaffold with suitable porous architecture exhibits enormous potentials for bone defect repairs. However,insufficient osteointegration and osteoinduction still remain to open as one of the major problems to achieve satisfactory therapeutic effect. To solve this problem, many studies have been carried out to improve the bioactivity of porous titanium scaff old by surface modifications. In this study, porous Ti6Al4V scaff olds were fabricated using additive manufacturing technique. Porous architectures were built up based on a diamond pore structure unit. Alkali–acid-heat(AH) treatment was applied to create a TiO_2 layer on the porous Ti6Al4V scaff old(AH-porous Ti6Al4V). Subsequently, a hydrothermal treatment was employed to enable the formation of HA coating with nanopillar-like morphology on the alkali–acid-heat-treated surface(HT/AH-porous Ti6Al4V). The effects of surface modifications on apatite-forming ability, protein adsorption,cell attachment, cell proliferation and osteogenic gene expression were studied using apatite-forming ability test, protein adsorption assay and in vitro cell culture assay. It was found that the HT/AH-porous Ti6Al4V exhibited the highest apatite formation ability and best affinity to fibronectin and vitronectin. In vitro studies indicated that the mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) cultured on the HT/AH-porous Ti6Al4V presented improved adhesion and differentiation compared with the porous Ti6Al4V and AH-porous Ti6Al4V.     

Alternative technique for hydroxyapatite coatings

Flame Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (FACVD), a novel technique that shows an enormous potential in porous oxides deposition, was employed for the first time aiming to obtain hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings on 316 L stainless steel metallic substrates. Calcium acetate and ammonium phosphate diluted in ethanol were employed as precursor salts. A Ca/P molar ratio of 1.66 was employed in precursor solution, which is equivalent to stoichiometric hydroxyapatite. A porous coating, formed by an open and interconnected network, was observed by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and associated with homogenous reactions. Thickness of hydroxyapatite coating was 412 ± 3 μm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated the presence of crystalline coatings, mainly constituted by hydroxyapatite phase and traces of tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). Carbonate in the hydroxyapatite coatings was identified by Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.     

In situ micro/nano-hydrogel synthesis from acrylamide derivates with lecithin organogel system

Acrylamide based hydrogel particles with variable charge were synthesized in different sizes using a biocompatible surfactant. We use microemulsion polymerization to synthesize the hydrogel particles in lecithin organogel systems. The phospholipid, lecithin, is a soybean extract that exhibits a rich phase behavior depending on various factors such as amount of water, co-solvent, additives and their concentrations. By UV irradiation of water-in-oil microemulsions of lecithin, containing different monomers, phospholipid coated hydrogels were synthesized in situ. The hydrogel particle size varies from a few hundred nanometers to tens of micrometer. The response time of these micron sized hydrogel particles, as measured by swelling experiments, is very fast (∼10⁰ s) in comparison with their corresponding bulk hydrogels (∼10¹ h). The positively charged cationic hydrogel microparticles were embedded/dispersed into another hydrogel matrix to render responsive behavior to a non-responsive matrix. Besides TEM and SEM studies, fluorescein dye absorption studies were also performed in order to visualize the hydrogel microparticles. Additionally, anionic hydrogel micro/nano-particles were also synthesized in the lecithin system.     

Stiff macro-porous bioactive glass–ceramic scaffold: Fabrication by rapid prototyping template,characterization and in vitro bioactivity

Bioactive glass–ceramic scaffolds with interconnected pore networks suitable for bone regeneration were produced through rapid prototyping techniques by a photosensitive resin mold. The 45S5 Bioglass^® was used in this study with a composition (wt%): 45% SiO₂, 24.5% CaO, 24.5% Na₂O and 6% P₂O₅. All variables in the process were investigated systematically to devise an optimal process. Characterization methods such as XRD, FTIR and FESEM were used for determination of the in vitro bioactivity of the scaffolds after immersion in SBF. The results show that hydroxycarbonate apatite crystals formed and to be a layer in 14 days. The compressive strength of the scaffolds was approximately 12.37 ± 1.25 MPa for the well-defined interconnected pores with a mean diameter of 900 μm, which is thought to be a suitable porous network for vascularized bone regeneration. This scaffold has the potential to bond to bone for application in bone repair and regeneration.