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Topic Review
Thermoresponsive Hydrogel Molecule
Temperature-induced, rapid changes in the viscosity and reproducible 3-D structure formation makes thermos-sensitive hydrogels an ideal delivery system to act as a cell scaffold or a drug reservoir. Moreover, the hydrogels’ minimum invasiveness, high biocompatibility, and facile elimination from the body have gathered a lot of attention from researchers.
  • 2.8K
  • 08 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Electrospinning Process of Electrospun Fibers
Electrospinning is a simple and versatile method to generate nanofibers. Remarkable progress has been made in the development of the electrospinning process. The production of nanofibers is affected by many parameters, which influence the final material properties. Electrospun fibers have a wide range of applications, such as energy storage devices and biomedical scaffolds.
  • 2.7K
  • 24 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Honey for Antimicrobial and Wound Healing Applications
Honey was used in traditional medicine to treat wounds until the advent of modern medicine. The rising global antibiotic resistance has forced the development of novel therapies as alternatives to combat infections. Consequently, honey is experiencing a resurgence in evaluation for antimicrobial and wound healing applications. A range of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains and biofilms, are inhibited by honey. Furthermore, susceptibility to antibiotics can be restored when used synergistically with honey. Honey’s antimicrobial activity also includes antifungal and antiviral properties, and in most varieties of honey, its activity is attributed to the enzymatic generation of hydrogen peroxide, a reactive oxygen species. Non-peroxide factors include low water activity, acidity, phenolic content, defensin-1, and methylglyoxal (Leptospermum honeys). Honey has also been widely explored as a tissue-regenerative agent. It can contribute to all stages of wound healing, and thus has been used in direct application and in dressings. The difficulty of the sustained delivery of honey’s active ingredients to the wound site has driven the development of tissue engineering approaches (e.g., electrospinning and hydrogels). 
  • 2.7K
  • 29 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Agarose Hydrogels
Numerous compounds present in the ocean are contributing to the development of the biomedical field. Agarose, a polysaccharide derived from marine red algae, plays a vital role in biomedical applications because of its reversible temperature-sensitive gelling behavior, excellent mechanical properties, and high biological activity. Natural agarose hydrogel has a single structural composition that prevents it from adapting to complex biological environments.
  • 2.7K
  • 26 May 2023
Topic Review
Nanoceria
Several biocompatible materials have been applied for managing soft tissue lesions; cerium oxide nanoparticles (CNPs, or nanoceria) are among the most promising candidates due to their outstanding properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and angiogenic activities. Much attention should be paid to the physical properties of nanoceria, since most of its biological characteristics are directly determined by some of these relevant parameters, including the particle size and shape. Nanoceria, either in bare or functionalized forms, showed the excellent capability of accelerating the healing process of both acute and chronic wounds. The skin, heart, nervous system, and ophthalmic tissues are the main targets of nanoceria-based therapies, and the other soft tissues may also be evaluated in upcoming experimental studies. For the repair and regeneration of soft tissue damage and defects, nanoceria-incorporated film, hydrogel, and nanofibrous sca olds have been proven to be highly suitable replacements with satisfactory outcomes. Still, some concerns have remained regarding the long-term e ects of nanoceria administration for human tissues and organs, such as its clearance from the vital organs. Moreover, looking at the future, it seems necessary to design and develop three-dimensional (3D) printed sca olds containing nanoceria for possible use in the concepts of personalized medicine.
  • 2.6K
  • 10 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Calcium Phosphate Nanocluster Complexes
Calcium phosphate nanocluster complexes comprise a core of amorphous calcium phosphate and a sequestering shell of intrinsically disordered phosphopeptides or phosphoproteins. Solutions containing the nanocluster complexes can be thermodynamically stable or metastable due to a tendency to form a precipitate enriched in calcium phosphate. Theoretical and biophysical studies with native and recombinant phosphopeptides have shown how the radius of the core and the stability of the solution depend on the concentration of the sequestering peptide, its affinity for the calcium phosphate and its concentration in relation to the concentration of the calcium phosphate. The thickness of the sequestering shell depends on the conformation of the peptide on the core surface. A sequestering peptide is a flexible sequence including one or more short linear motifs, each of which usually contains several phosphorylated and other acidic residues.  These are the main binding sites to the core so that a peptide with several binding motifs can forms loops and trains on the core surface. Calcium phosphate nanocluster complexes were first identified as substructures of casein micelles in milk and have been prepared as individual particles from peptides derived from caseins and osteopontin. Stable biofluids containing nanocluster complexes cannot cause soft tissues to become mineralized whereas stable or metastable biofluids containing nanocluster complexes can help to mineralize hard tissues.
  • 2.6K
  • 09 Nov 2020
Topic Review
3D Printing
Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology holds great potential to fabricate complex constructs in the field of regenerative medicine. Researchers in the surgical fields have used 3D printing techniques and their associated biomaterials for education, training, consultation, organ transplantation, plastic surgery, surgical planning, dentures, and more. In addition, the universal utilization of 3D printing techniques enables researchers to exploit different types of hardware and software in, for example, the surgical fields. To realize the 3D-printed structures to implant them in the body and tissue regeneration, it is important to understand 3D printing technology and its enabling technologies.
  • 2.6K
  • 20 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Rheology of Gels and Yielding Liquids
Gels are understood as soft viscoelastic multicomponent solids that are in the incomplete phase separation state, which, under the action of external mechanical forces, do not transit into a fluid state but rupture like any solid material. Gels can “melt” (again, like any solids) due to a change in temperature or variation in the environment. In contrast to this type of rheology, yielding liquids (sometimes not rigorously referred to as “gels”, especially in relation to colloids) can exist in a solid-like (gel-like) state and become fluid above some defined stress and time conditions (yield stress). At low stresses, their behavior is quite similar to that of permanent solid gels, including the frequency-independent storage modulus. The gel-to-sol transition considered in colloid chemistry is treated as a case of yielding. However, in many cases, the yield stress cannot be assumed to be a physical parameter since the solid-to-liquid transition happens in time and is associated with thixotropic effects. 
  • 2.6K
  • 28 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Interleukin-4 and Interleukin-13 Induced Atopic Dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with widespread barrier dysfunction and T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines. AD is an imbalance in the Th2 immune response where there is an increase in the gene expression levels of major Th2 cytokines during the acute phase.
  • 2.6K
  • 07 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Cellulose Derivatives-Based Dressings for Wound-Healing Management
Notwithstanding the progress regarding wound-healing management, the treatment of the majority of skin lesions still represents a serious challenge for biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Thus, the attention of the researchers has turned to the development of novel materials based on cellulose derivatives. Cellulose derivatives are semi-synthetic biopolymers, which exhibit high solubility in water and represent an advantageous alternative to water-insoluble cellulose. These biopolymers possess excellent properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, sustainability, non-toxicity, non-immunogenicity, thermo-gelling behavior, mechanical strength, abundance, low costs, antibacterial effect, and high hydrophilicity. They have an efficient ability to absorb and retain a large quantity of wound exudates in the interstitial sites of their networks and can maintain optimal local moisture. Cellulose derivatives also represent a proper scaffold to incorporate various bioactive agents with beneficial therapeutic effects on skin tissue restoration. Due to these suitable and versatile characteristics, cellulose derivatives are attractive and captivating materials for the development of multiple biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, such as wound dressings, drug delivery devices, and tissue engineering.
  • 2.6K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Novel Excipients Used in Modified Release Vaginal Formulations
The formulation of an ideal vaginal drug delivery system (DDS), with the requisite properties, with respect to safety, efficacy, patient compliance, aesthetics, harmonization with the regulatory requirements, and cost, requires a meticulous selection of the active ingredients and the excipients used. Novel excipients defined by diversity and multifunctionality are used in order to ameliorate drug delivery attributes. Synthetic and natural polymers are broadly used in pharmaceutical vaginal formulations (solid, semi-solid dosage forms, implantable devices, and nanomedicines) with a promising perspective in improving stability and compatibility issues when administered topically or systemically. Moreover, the use of biopolymers is aiming towards formulating novel bioactive, biocompatible, and biodegradable DDSs with a controllable drug release rate. 
  • 2.5K
  • 14 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Agro-Food Waste Valorization for Sustainable Bio-Based Packaging
The increase in the generation of agro-food processing waste, coupled with uncontrolled disposal and inefficient recovery methods, has raised concerns among society, industries, and the research community. This issue is compounded by the accumulation of conventional synthetic packaging. Owing to their significant environmental and economic impacts, the development of sustainable, biocompatible, and biodegradable materials has become an urgent target. In this context, research efforts have been directed toward developing new packaging materials based on renewable sources, such as agro-food waste, contributing to the circular economy concept.
  • 2.5K
  • 17 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Rice Husk Reinforced Polymer Composites
Rice (Oryza sativa L. genus) is the primary source of daily food intake and has become the world’s second most important cereal crop sector due to the demand of billions of human beings. Rice husk (RH) should never be burned, due to various reasons, such as the ashes, harmful gases, and fumes that contribute to air pollution. Typically, the RH can be used as biochar, extracted silica, or husk itself. In general, RH is a hull to protect seeds or grains. It is formed from rigid materials, is water-insoluble, and is abrasive, with a high level of cellulose–silica structures. The exterior of the hulls consists of silica covered with a cuticle, with a small amount of silica content at the innermost epidermis. The exploitation of RH residues in biocomposites offers multiple advantages, for example, reducing the relative amount of constituents derived from synthetic polymers, such as resin polymers and some additives. The tensile strength is mainly used to evaluate the strength behavior of a composite material. 
  • 2.5K
  • 04 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Spicules-Based Topical Delivery Systems
Sponge spicules have recently been utilized as scattered microneedles to disrupt the skin barrier and enhance the skin penetration of a series of therapeutics and even nanoparticles. Spicules can physically disrupt skin in a dose-dependent manner and be retained within the skin over a long time, which provides a convenient, safe, and effective skin delivery strategy.
  • 2.5K
  • 16 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Cavity Disinfectants
Cavity disinfection becomes an important step before a dental restorative procedure. The disinfection can be obtained cleaning the dental cavity with antimicrobial agents before the use of adhesive systems. 
  • 2.4K
  • 27 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Cryotropic Gelation and Macroporous Scaffolds
Cryogels obtained by the cryotropic gelation process are macroporous hydrogels with a well-developed system of interconnected pores and shape memory. Biodegradable cryogels have been prepared from natural polymers (biopolymers) and synthetic polymers with biodegradable/bioresponsive bonds containing bio-resembling or artificial units. The cryogels could be composed of one type of polymer or a combination of different materials. Polymers from natural origins (plants or animals) attract considerable attention for their intrinsic biocompatibility and potential ability to mimic ECM, favoring cell-matrix interactions for tissue-engineering and regeneration.
  • 2.4K
  • 12 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Application of Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS)
As a laser technology, the femtosecond laser is used in biomedical fields due to its excellent performance—its ultrashort pulses, high instantaneous power, and high precision. As a surface treatment process, the femtosecond laser can prepare different shapes on metal surfaces to enhance the material’s properties, such as its wear resistance, wetting, biocompatibility, etc. Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) are a common phenomenon that can be observed on almost any material after irradiation by a linearly polarized laser. Surface texturing by laser irradiation can change various materials’ properties and create multifunctional surfaces. Materials can be better applied by customizing functional surfaces.
  • 2.4K
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Types of Microneedle Arrays
Microneedle (MN) arrays are minimally-invasive devices that can penetrate the stratum corneum, one of the most important barriers for topically-applied drugs, thus creating a pathway for drug permeation to the dermal tissue below. MN arrays can be characterized as: (1) solid, (2) coated, (3) hollow and (4) dissolvable. They can be further categorized based on their mode of drug delivery, and the materials used for their manufacture. 
  • 2.4K
  • 05 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Modification of Hyaluronic Acid to Improve Functionality
Native hyaluronic acid (HA) has found a broad range of applications in areas such as ophthalmology and cosmetics due to its unique physicochemical characteristics. However, this endogenous polymer is readily degraded in the body by the enzyme, hyaluronidase. The rate of degradation of native HA stifles its applicability to bioengineering applications or those which require a longer residence time in the body. To enable expansion of the applications of this polysaccharide, it can be modified to allow for cross-linking and engineering, to tailor the degradation profile in vivo, improve cell attachment, and enable conjugation. The relatively simple structure of HA allows for ease of modification of its two main functional groups- the hydroxyl and the carboxyl groups. Additionally, further synthetic modifications may be performed following the deacetylation of the acetamide group, which can allow for the recovery of amino functionalities. Regardless of the functional group to be modified, there are two options for modification; crosslinking or conjugation.
  • 2.4K
  • 13 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Lanthanide-Doped Nanoparticles
Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles exhibit unique luminescent properties, including tunable luminescence emission, narrow emission width, excellent optical stability, and long lifetimes from microseconds to milliseconds. Lanthanide-doped nanomaterials with long lifetimes are independent with background fluorescence interference and biological tissue depth.
  • 2.4K
  • 22 Feb 2022
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