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Topic Review
Electrospun Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
Electrospun fiber scaffolds offer distinct characteristics, including a high surface area-to-volume ratio, excellent porosity, fiber uniformity, compositional diversity, flexibility, and the ease of functionalization with bioactive molecules. These scaffolds can effectively control the release rate of bioactive molecules, making them promising candidates for delivering antibiotics, proteins, and growth factors.
  • 1.4K
  • 08 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Chitosan in Sustainable Development
The chitosan shows interesting and unique properties, thus it can be used for different purposes which contributes to the design and development of sustainable novel materials. This helps in promoting sustainability through the use of chitosan and diverse materials based on it. 
  • 1.3K
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Types of Scaffolds in Cartilage Regeneration
There are two main types of scaffolds: natural polymers and synthetic polymers. On the one hand, natural polymers are proteins (e.g., collagen, SF) and polysaccharides (e.g., Alg, CS, and HA derivatives). Natural polymers already have a long history of application in wound treatment. They are the closest substances to human tissue and show biocompatibility and biodegradability without toxic byproducts, and their technologies and properties have been widely investigated. Furthermore, in the form of hydrogels, they can retain a great amount of water. However, natural polymers are normally poor in mechanical strength. On the other hand, synthetic polymers have different properties. They allow the better control of formation, surface morphology, mechanical strength and physicochemical properties than natural polymers. Among them, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(urethanes) (PU) are the most popular candidates in osteochondral regeneration. The limitations of synthetic polymers are poor hydrophilicity, proinflammatory degradation byproducts, and unmatched degradation rates. It is noticeable that these two types of polymers are not independent.
  • 1.3K
  • 08 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
Stimuli-responsive hydrogels, also known as smart hydrogels, exhibit responsiveness to diverse external stimuli. These gels can undergo reversible or irreversible changes in physical or chemical properties upon exposure to stimuli, enabling a highly controllable drug release pattern. This capability contributes to achieving precise drug administration and enhancing treatment effectiveness and safety.
  • 1.3K
  • 24 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Applications of Transglutaminase
Stabilization and reusability of enzyme transglutaminase (TGM) are important goals for the enzymatic process since immobilizing TGM plays an important role in different technologies and industries. TGM can be used in many applications. Enzyme TGM gained much attention due mainly to its potential for industrial applications. In their earlier uses, TGMs focused mostly on the cheesemaking processes, mainly improving the characteristics of the cheese itself. Later on, beverage properties were being improved by decreasing viscosity and solubility increases, as well as reduction in yoghurt syneresis. Therefore, the majority of investigations of applying TGMs in different processes focused mostly on improving the functional properties of proteins that can be utilized to develop improved food ingredients, such as crosslinked milk powders and high-added food products. Such improvements were also possible due to the different immobilization techniques of TGM.
  • 1.3K
  • 16 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Carbon-Based Nanomaterials for Bone Regeneration
This work explores the potential research opportunities and challenges of 3D printed biodegradable composite-based scaffolds containing carbon-based nanomaterials for bone tissue engineering applications. Bone possesses an inherent capacity to fix itself. However, when a defect larger than a critical size appears, external solutions must be applied. Traditionally, autograft has been the most used solution in these situations. However, it presents some issues such as donor-site morbidity. In this context, porous biodegradable scaffolds have emerged as an interesting solution. For adequate performance, these scaffolds must meet specific requirements: biocompatibility, interconnected porosity, mechanical properties, and biodegradability. The development of additive manufacturing methods has proposed a promising solution for this application since they allow the complete customization and control of scaffolds geometry and porosity. Furthermore, carbon-based nanomaterials present the potential to impart osteoconductivity and antimicrobial properties and reinforce the matrix from a mechanical perspective. These properties make them ideal for use as nanomaterials to improve the properties and performance of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. 
  • 1.3K
  • 09 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Metallic and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles
Diseases caused by infections are becoming harder to treat as the antibiotics used become less effective. A combination of strategies to develop active biomaterials that enhance antibacterial effects are desirable, especially ones that cause fewer side effects and promote healing properties. The development of new antimicrobial products is necessary to avoid the transmission of infection in healthcare environments. In this sense, metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have been gaining attention due to their unique size-dependent physical and chemical properties. The best known examples of this category are the NPs of elements such as silver, copper, gold, palladium, and platinum, which are used in varied areas of application (catalytic, biomedical, and electronic) as their properties are distinguished from those presented by the bulk. NPs are especially effective against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. 
  • 1.3K
  • 18 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Medical and Dental Applications of Titania Nanoparticles
Titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are successfully employed in human food, drugs, cosmetics, advanced medicine, and dentistry because of their non-cytotoxic, non-allergic, and bio-compatible nature when used in direct close contact with the human body. These NPs are the most versatile oxides as a result of their acceptable chemical stability, lower cost, strong oxidation properties, high refractive index, and enhanced aesthetics. These NPs are fabricated by conventional (physical and chemical) methods and the latest biological methods (biological, green, and biological derivatives), with their advantages and disadvantages in this epoch. The significance of TiO2 NPs as a medical material includes drug delivery release, cancer therapy, orthopedic implants, biosensors, instruments, and devices, whereas their significance as a dental biomaterial involves dentifrices, oral antibacterial disinfectants, whitening agents, and adhesives. In addition, TiO2 NPs play an important role in orthodontics (wires and brackets), endodontics (sealers and obturating materials), maxillofacial surgeries (implants and bone plates), prosthodontics (veneers, crowns, bridges, and acrylic resin dentures), and restorative dentistry (GIC and composites).
  • 1.3K
  • 02 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Characteristics of Collagen
Collagen (CLG) is a structural protein composed of amino acids that create collagen fibers, characterized by exceptional strength and high elasticity. This protein is composed of three left-handed α polypeptides that wind around themselves and their axis to form a right-handed superhelix. Its structure varies depending on its functions and place of occurrence. CLG is one of the most important proteins in the human body because it is responsible for maintaining the appropriate structure of tissues and organs and constitutes as much as one-third of the total body protein mass. It occurs, among the main organs in the body that provide appropriate elasticity and strength. It is also an essential building block of the skin; without CLG, it would not be able to perform its functions properly.
  • 1.3K
  • 14 Mar 2024
Topic Review
RNAi Delivery
Bone-related injury and disease constitute a significant global burden both socially and economically. Current treatments have many limitations and thus the development of new approaches for bone-related conditions is imperative. Gene therapy is an emerging approach for effective bone repair and regeneration, with notable interest in the use of RNA interference (RNAi) systems to regulate gene expression in the bone microenvironment. Calcium phosphate nanoparticles represent promising materials for use as non-viral vectors for gene therapy in bone tissue engineering applications due to their many favorable properties, including biocompatibility, osteoinductivity, osteoconductivity, and strong affinity for binding to nucleic acids. However, low transfection rates present a significant barrier to their clinical use. This article reviews the benefits of calcium phosphate nanoparticles for RNAi delivery and highlights the role of surface functionalization in increasing calcium phosphate nanoparticles stability, improving cellular uptake and increasing transfection efficiency. Currently, the underlying mechanistic principles relating to these systems and their interplay during in vivo bone formation is not wholly understood. Furthermore, the optimal microRNA targets for particular bone tissue regeneration applications are still unclear. Therefore, further research is required in order to achieve the optimal calcium phosphate nanoparticles-based systems for RNAi delivery for bone tissue regeneration.
  • 1.3K
  • 17 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Renewable Carbon
Renewable carbon is one of the most important materials which have been used in a wide range of applications, such as chemical catalysis, medicinal purification, environmental cleaning and metal extraction. Meanwhile, with the development of technology, the use field of renewable carbon keeps expanding to new areas, such as electrode and super-capacitors for energetic cell, as well as many other innovative industries. Similar to carbon nanotube (CNT) or graphene, it has variable characteristics of surface groups, along with high interface reactivity. These surface groups provide abundant reaction sites for chemical modification via electrostatic/van der Waals force, chemical bonding or noncovalent π-π interactions, thus imparting carbon particles with excellent natural affinity toward a large number of substrates. Moreover, the highly developed porous structure renders renewable carbon with a large range of surface area (500-3000 m2/g). It consists of thin graphite layers with exceptional mechanical strength, which highlights its great potential to be used as reinforcement agent in advanced packaging composites.
  • 1.3K
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Smart Porous Multi-Stimulus Polysaccharide-Based Biomaterials
Recently, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine studies have evaluated smart biomaterials as implantable scaffolds and their interaction with cells for biomedical applications. Porous materials have been used in tissue engineering as synthetic extracellular matrices, promoting the attachment and migration of host cells to induce the in vitro regeneration of different tissues. Biomimetic 3D scaffold systems allow control over biophysical and biochemical cues, modulating the extracellular environment through mechanical, electrical, and biochemical stimulation of cells, driving their molecular reprogramming. In this review, first we outline the main advantages of using polysaccharides as raw materials for porous scaffolds, as well as the most common processing pathways to obtain the adequate textural properties, allowing the integration and attachment of cells. The second approach focuses on the tunable characteristics of the synthetic matrix, emphasizing the effect of their mechanical properties and the modification with conducting polymers in the cell response. The use and influence of polysaccharide-based porous materials as drug delivery systems for biochemical stimulation of cells is also described. Overall, engineered biomaterials are proposed as an effective strategy to improve in vitro tissue regeneration and future research directions of modified polysaccharide-based materials in the biomedical field are suggested.
  • 1.3K
  • 24 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Characteristics and Functionalities of Edible Films and Coatings
As a novel post-harvesting strategy, edible films and coatings for fruits and vegetables offer preservation measures to meet the growing needs of hunger and agricultural management. Biopolymers, including polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids, are the main sources of preparing edible films and coatings. These biomacromolecules make stable colloidal dispersions that deliver processing convenience with various formulation, blending, casting, coating, and film-forming methods.
  • 1.3K
  • 07 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Self-Assembling Nucleobase-Containing Peptides
The self-assembly of bio-inspired nanomaterials and biological nanostructures confers new properties and functions to conjugated biomaterials, such as the ability to respond to external stimuli. Nucleobase-containing peptides can be considered as aromatic peptides and, similar to these self-assembling structures, they can lead to interesting functional nanostructures as hereafter explained. Self-assembling nucleopeptides can form hydrogels based on supramolecular structures held by non-covalent molecular interactions occurring between the peptide segments, as well as π–π stacking and Watson–Crick interactions via complementary DNA bases.
  • 1.3K
  • 16 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Cell Penetrating Peptides
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are peptides that can directly adapt to cell membranes and then permeate into cells. They are usually cationic for the electronic interactions between CPPs and anionic cell membrane. Meanwhile, some of them can target a specific protein at the same time. In nanomedicine, as an element, CPPs are usually covalently linked to the surface of nanocarriers to endow their permeability to the whole system.
  • 1.3K
  • 14 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Phase Transition of Lipid Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery
Lipid based nanoparticles effectively transport delicate molecules for therapeutic purposes, protecting them from degradation, increasing their stability in the blood circulation and allowing to convey and release the transported substances in specific areas of the body. The formulation of liposomes, cubosomes and hexosomes can be tuned to obtain pH- or temperature responsive nanoparticles. Understanding the response to such external stimuli is of paramount importance for the design and production of efficient drug delivery systems. 
  • 1.3K
  • 13 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Magnification of Iris in Ocular Prosthesis
The ocular prostheses, used for the prosthetic rehabilitation of ocular defects, are generally made from acrylic resin. As the thickness of clear acrylic over the iris is increased on the ocular prosthesis, the size of the iris is also increased, due to magnification through the clear resin.
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Receptor Targeted Molecular Imaging Probes for HCC Theranostics
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most commonly malignant tumor and the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the world, and the early diagnosis and treatment of patients with HCC is core in improving its prognosis. The early diagnosis of HCC depends largely on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI has good soft-tissue resolution, which is the international standard method for the diagnosis of HCC. However, MRI is still insufficient in the diagnosis of some early small HCCs and malignant nodules, resulting in false negative results. With the deepening of research on HCC, researchers have found many specific molecular biomarkers on the surface of HCC cells, which may assist in diagnosis and treatment. On the other hand, molecular imaging has progressed rapidly in recent years, especially in the field of cancer theranostics. Hence, the preparation of molecular imaging probes that can specifically target the biomarkers of HCC, combined with MRI testing in vivo, may achieve the theranostic purpose of HCC in the early stage.
  • 1.3K
  • 02 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Progress on Plant-Inspired Soft Robotics
Millions of years’ evolution has imparted life on earth with excellent environment adaptability. Of particular interest to scientists are some plants capable of macroscopically and reversibly altering their morphological and mechanical properties in response to external stimuli from the surrounding environment. These intriguing natural phenomena and underlying actuation mechanisms have provided important design guidance and principles for man-made soft robotic systems. Constructing bio-inspired soft robotic systems with effective actuation requires the efficient supply of mechanical energy generated from external inputs, such as temperature, light, and electricity. By combining bio-inspired designs with stimuli-responsive materials, various intelligent soft robotic systems that demonstrate promising and exciting results have been developed. As one of the building materials for soft robotics, hydrogels are gaining increasing attention owing to their advantageous properties, such as ultra-tunable modulus, high compliance, varying stimuli-responsiveness, good biocompatibility, and high transparency. In this review article, we summarize the recent progress on plant-inspired soft robotics assembled by stimuli-responsive hydrogels with a particular focus on their actuation mechanisms, fabrication, and application. Meanwhile, some critical challenges and problems associated with current hydrogel-based soft robotics are briefly introduced, and possible solutions are proposed. We expect that this review would provide elementary tutorial guidelines to audiences who are interested in the study on nature-inspired soft robotics, especially hydrogel-based intelligent soft robotic systems. 
  • 1.3K
  • 03 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Gelatin and Bioactive Glass Composites
Nano-/micron-sized bioactive glass (BG) particles are attractive candidates for both soft and hard tissue engineering. They can chemically bond to the host tissues, enhance new tissue formation, activate cell proliferation, stimulate the genetic expression of proteins, and trigger unique anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer functionalities. Composites based on biopolymers and BG particles have been developed with various state-of-the-art techniques for tissue engineering. Gelatin, a semi-synthetic biopolymer, has attracted the attention of researchers because it is derived from the most abundant protein in the body, viz., collagen. It is a polymer that can be dissolved in water and processed to acquire different configurations, such as hydrogels, fibers, films, and scaffolds.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Jan 2023
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