scholarly journals Fabrication and Characterization of PCL/PLGA Coaxial and Bilayer Fibrous Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 6295
Author(s):  
Morteza Bazgir ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Ximu Zhang ◽  
Jacobo Elies ◽  
Morvarid Saeinasab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Porous Scaffold ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Fibre Diameter ◽  
Degradation Process ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Polymeric Membrane ◽  
Structural Morphology ◽  
Wide Range

Electrospinning is an innovative new fibre technology that aims to design and fabricate membranes suitable for a wide range of tissue engineering (TE) applications including vascular grafts, which is the main objective of this research work. This study dealt with fabricating and characterising bilayer structures comprised of an electrospun sheet made of polycaprolactone (PCL, inner layer) and an outer layer made of poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and a coaxial porous scaffold with a micrometre fibre structure was successfully produced. The membranes’ propriety for intended biomedical applications was assessed by evaluating their morphological structure/physical properties and structural integrity when they underwent the degradation process. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to assess changes in the electrospun scaffolds’ structural morphology such as in their fibre diameter, pore size (μm) and the porosity of the scaffold surface which was measured with Image J software. During the 12-week degradation process at room temperature, most of the scaffolds showed a similar trend in their degradation rate except the 60 min scaffolds. The coaxial scaffold had significantly less mass loss than the bilayer PCL/PLGA scaffold with 1.348% and 18.3%, respectively. The mechanical properties of the fibrous membranes were measured and the coaxial scaffolds showed greater tensile strength and elongation at break (%) compared to the bilayer scaffolds. According to the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that a scaffold made with a coaxial needle is more suitable for tissue engineering applications due to the improved quality and functionality of the resulting polymeric membrane compared to the basic electrospinning process. However, whilst fabricating a vascular graft is the main aim of this research work, the biological data will not present in this paper.

scholarly journals Two-Photon Polymerized Poly(2-Ethyl-2-Oxazoline) Hydrogel 3D Microstructures with Tunable Mechanical Properties for Tissue Engineering

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 5066
Author(s):  
Steffen Czich ◽  
Thomas Wloka ◽  
Holger Rothe ◽  
Jürgen Rost ◽  
Felix Penzold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Viscoelastic Behavior ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Two Photon ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Tunable Mechanical Properties

The main task of tissue engineering (TE) is to reproduce, replicate, and mimic all kinds of tissues in the human body. Nowadays, it has been proven useful in TE to mimic the natural extracellular matrix (ECM) by an artificial ECM (scaffold) based on synthetic or natural biomaterials to regenerate the physiological tissue/organ architecture and function. Hydrogels have gained interest in the TE community because of their ability to absorb water similar to physiological tissues, thus mechanically simulating the ECM. In this work, we present a novel hydrogel platform based on poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)s, which can be processed to 3D microstructures via two-photon polymerization (2PP) with tunable mechanical properties using monomers and crosslinker with different degrees of polymerization (DP) for future applications in TE. The ideal parameters (laser power and writing speed) for optimal polymerization via 2PP were obtained using a specially developed evaluation method in which the obtained structures were binarized and compared to the computer-aided design (CAD) model. This evaluation was performed for each composition. We found that it was possible to tune the mechanical properties not only by application of different laser parameters but also by mixing poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)s with different chain lengths and variation of the crosslink density. In addition, the swelling behavior of different fabricated hydrogels were investigated. To gain more insight into the viscoelastic behavior of different fabricated materials, stress relaxation tests via nanoindentation experiments were performed. These new hydrogels can be processed to 3D microstructures with high structural integrity using optimal laser parameter settings, opening a wide range of application properties in TE for this material platform.

scholarly journals NATURAL BIOMATERIALS FOR SKIN TISSUE ENGINEERING: REPAIR AND REGENERATION - A SHORT REVIEW

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Gowrisankar L ◽  
Ganesh Murali J ◽  
Usha P
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Tissue Repair ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Skin Tissue ◽  
Natural Polymers ◽  
Skin Tissue Engineering ◽  
Tissue Repair And Regeneration ◽  
Polymeric Biomaterials ◽  
Wide Range

The development of new materials and the enhancement of existing materials to develop skin regeneration are wide areas of research in polymeric biomaterials. The paper presents the analysis of a wide range of several natural polymers such as proteins and polysaccharides which can be utilized for skin tissue repair and regeneration. The reviews look at the few examples of commercially available natural - origin polymers with applications in tissue engineering. Natural polymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides, being components of, or structurally similar to, the glycosaminoglycans in the extracellular matrix (ECM) are valuable materials for tissue engineering applications. Natural polymers have great coincidence to natural ECM elements, particularly in biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this paper, the attention is focused on several natural polymers that found application in research work for drug or cell delivery within the skin tissue engineering field, namely collagen, chitin, chitosan, alginate, gellan, gelatin, and curcumin.

A Finite Element Prediction of Strain on Cells in a Highly Porous Collagen-Glycosaminoglycan Scaffold

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. F. Stops ◽  
L. A. McMahon ◽  
D. O’Mahoney ◽  
P. J. Prendergast ◽  
P. E. McHugh
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Load Transfer ◽  
Porous Scaffold ◽  
Computational Prediction ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Porous Scaffolds ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
A Cell

Tissue engineering often involves seeding cells into porous scaffolds and subjecting the scaffold to mechanical stimulation. Current experimental techniques have provided a plethora of data regarding cell responses within scaffolds, but the quantitative understanding of the load transfer process within a cell-seeded scaffold is still relatively unknown. The objective of this work was to develop a finite element representation of the transient and heterogeneous nature of a cell-seeded collagen-GAG-scaffold. By undertaking experimental investigation, characteristics such as scaffold architecture and shrinkage, cellular attachment patterns, and cellular dimensions were used to create a finite element model of a cell-seeded porous scaffold. The results demonstrate that a very wide range of microscopic strains act at the cellular level when a sample value of macroscopic (apparent) strain is applied to the collagen-GAG-scaffold. An external uniaxial strain of 10% generated a cellular strain as high as 49%, although the majority experienced less than ∼5% strain. The finding that the strain on some cells could be higher than the macroscopic strain was unexpected and proves contrary to previous in vitro investigations. These findings indicate a complex system of biophysical stimuli created within the scaffolds and the difficulty of inducing the desired cellular responses from artificial environments. Future in vitro studies could also corroborate the results from this computational prediction to further explore mechanoregulatory mechanisms in tissue engineering.

scholarly journals A Novel Biomanufacturing System to Produce Multi-Material Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering: Concept and Preliminary Results

2019 ◽  
Vol 890 ◽  
pp. 283-289
Author(s):  
Tânia Viana ◽  
Sara Biscaia ◽  
Emilia Dabrowska ◽  
Margarida C. Franco ◽  
Pedro Carreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Monitoring Tool ◽  
Clean Environment ◽  
Precise Shape ◽  
Computational Platform ◽  
Engineering Concept ◽  
Potential Use

To produce multi-material scaffolds for Tissue Engineering accurate techniques are needed in order to obtain three-dimensional constructs with clinically appropriate size and structural integrity. This paper presents a novel biomanufacturing system that can fabricate 3D scaffolds with precise shape and porosity which is achieved through the control of all fabrication modules by an integrated computational platform. The incorporation of a clean flow unit and a camera allows to obtain scaffolds in a clean environment and provides a monitoring tool to analyse constructs during the production, respectively. In this research work is demonstrated that the new system enables the fabrication of multi-material 3D structures using poly (e-caprolactone) and sodium alginate for potential use in Tissue Engineering applications.

Justification of the need to improve the legal, regulatory and methodological framework for the spread of parasitic infections in the provision of medical care

2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (5) ◽  
pp. 493-497
Author(s):  
M. M. Aslanova ◽  
T. V. Gololobova ◽  
K. Yu. Kuznetsova ◽  
Tamari R. Maniya ◽  
D. V. Rakitina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Hospital Environment ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Infusion Therapy ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Production Environment ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
Medical Network ◽  
Wide Range

Introduction. The purpose of our work was to justify the need to improve the legislative, regulatory and methodological framework and preventative measures in relation to the spread of parasitic infections in the provision of medical care. There is a wide range of pathogens of parasitic infestations that are transmitted to humans through various medical manipulations and interventions carried out in various medical institutions. Contaminated care items and furnishings, medical instruments and equipment, solutions for infusion therapy, medical personnel’s clothing and hands, reusable medical products, drinking water, bedding, suture and dressing materials can serve as a major factor in the spread of parasitic infections in the provision of medical care. Purpose of research is the study of the structure and SMP of parasitic origin, circulating on the objects of the production environment in multi-profile medical and preventive institutions of stationary type in order to prevent the occurrence of their spread within medical institutions. Material and methods. The material for the study was flushes taken from the production environment in 3 multi-profile treatment and prevention institutions of inpatient type: a multi-specialty hospital, a maternity hospital and a hospital specializing in the treatment of patients with intestinal diseases for the eggs of worms and cysts of pathogenic protozoa. Results. During the 2-year monitoring of medical preventive institutions, a landscape of parasitic contamination was found to be obtained from the flushes taken from the production environment objects in the premises surveyed as part of the research work. Discussions. In the course of research, the risk of developing ISMP of parasitic origin was found to be determined by the degree of epidemiological safety of the hospital environment, the number and invasiveness of treatment and diagnostic manipulations and various medical technologies. Conclusion. It is necessary to conduct an expert assessment of regulatory and methodological documents in the field of epidemiological surveillance and sanitary and hygienic measures for the prevention of medical aid related infections of parasitic origin, to optimize the regulatory and methodological base, to develop a number of preventive measures aimed at stopping the spread of parasitic infections in the medical network.

Fault Tolerant Reliable Protocol (FTRP) Performance Evaluation in Wireless Sensor Networks: An Extensitive Study

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-36
Keyword(s):  
Wireless Sensor Networks ◽  
Fault Tolerance ◽  
Sensor Networks ◽  
Fault Tolerant ◽  
Cluster Head ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Wireless Sensor ◽  
Delivery Ratio ◽  
Good Performer ◽  
Wide Range

Fault Tolerant Reliable Protocol (FTRP) is proposed as a novel routing protocol designed for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). FTRP offers fault tolerance reliability for packet exchange and support for dynamic network changes. The key concept used is the use of node logical clustering. The protocol delegates the routing ownership to the cluster heads where fault tolerance functionality is implemented. FTRP utilizes cluster head nodes along with cluster head groups to store packets in transient. In addition, FTRP utilizes broadcast, which reduces the message overhead as compared to classical flooding mechanisms. FTRP manipulates Time to Live values for the various routing messages to control message broadcast. FTRP utilizes jitter in messages transmission to reduce the effect of synchronized node states, which in turn reduces collisions. FTRP performance has been extensively through simulations against Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) and Optimized Link State (OLSR) routing protocols. Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), Aggregate Throughput and End-to-End delay (E-2-E) had been used as performance metrics. In terms of PDR and aggregate throughput, it is found that FTRP is an excellent performer in all mobility scenarios whether the network is sparse or dense. In stationary scenarios, FTRP performed well in sparse network; however, in dense network FTRP’s performance had degraded yet in an acceptable range. This degradation is attributed to synchronized nodes states. Reliably delivering a message comes to a cost, as in terms of E-2-E. results show that FTRP is considered a good performer in all mobility scenarios where the network is sparse. In sparse stationary scenario, FTRP is considered good performer, however in dense stationary scenarios FTRP’s E-2-E is not acceptable. There are times when receiving a network message is more important than other costs such as energy or delay. That makes FTRP suitable for wide range of WSNs applications, such as military applications by monitoring soldiers’ biological data and supplies while in battlefield and battle damage assessment. FTRP can also be used in health applications in addition to wide range of geo-fencing, environmental monitoring, resource monitoring, production lines monitoring, agriculture and animals tracking. FTRP should be avoided in dense stationary deployments such as, but not limited to, scenarios where high application response is critical and life endangering such as biohazards detection or within intensive care units.

Development and Evaluation of Sustained Release Lipid Nanocarriers for Curcumin

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-235
Author(s):  
Harshal A. Pawar ◽  
Bhagyashree D. Bhangale
Keyword(s):  
Drug Delivery ◽  
Sustained Release ◽  
Drug Delivery Systems ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Curcuma Longa ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Elimination Rate ◽  
Delivery Systems ◽  
Physicochemical Stability ◽  
Wide Range

Background: Lipid based excipients have increased acceptance nowadays in the development of novel drug delivery systems in order to improve their pharmacokinetic profiles. Drugs encapsulated in lipids have enhanced stability due to the protection they experience in the lipid core of these nano-formulations. Phytosomes are newly discovered drug delivery systems and novel botanical formulation to produce lipophilic molecular complex which imparts stability, increases absorption and bioavailability of phytoconstituent. Curcumin, obtained from turmeric (Curcuma longa), has a wide range of biological activities. The poor solubility and wettability of curcumin are responsible for poor dissolution and this, in turn, results in poor bioavailability. To overcome these limitations, the curcumin-loaded nano phytosomes were developed to improve its physicochemical stability and bioavailability. Objective: The objective of the present research work was to develop nano-phytosomes of curcumin to improve its physicochemical stability and bioavailability. Methods: Curcumin-loaded nano phytosomes were prepared by using phospholipid Phospholipon 90 H using a modified solvent evaporation method. The developed curcumin nano phytosomes were evaluated by particle size analyzer and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results: Results indicated that phytosomes prepared using curcumin and lipid in the ratio of 1:2 show good entrapment efficiency. The obtained curcumin phytosomes were spherical in shape with a size less than 100 nm. The prepared nano phytosomal formulation of curcumin showed promising potential as an antioxidant. Conclusion: The phytosomal complex showed sustained release of curcumin from vesicles. The sustained release of curcumin from phytosome may improve its absorption and lowers the elimination rate with an increase in bioavailability.

ESRC Review

2020 ◽  
pp. 657-698
Author(s):  
Simeon J. Yates ◽  
Jordana Blejmar
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Us ◽  
Levels Of Automation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Technological World ◽  
Ways Of Being

Two workshops were part of the final steps in the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) commissioned Ways of Being in a Digital Age project that is the basis for this Handbook. The ESRC project team coordinated one with the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (ESRC-DSTL) Workshop, “The automation of future roles”; and one with the US National Science Foundation (ESRC-NSF) Workshop, “Changing work, changing lives in the new technological world.” Both workshops sought to explore the key future social science research questions arising for ever greater levels of automation, use of artificial intelligence, and the augmentation of human activity. Participants represented a wide range of disciplinary, professional, government, and nonprofit expertise. This chapter summarizes the separate and then integrated results. First, it summarizes the central social and economic context, the method and project context, and some basic definitional issues. It then identifies 11 priority areas needing further research work that emerged from the intense interactions, discussions, debates, clustering analyses, and integration activities during and after the two workshops. Throughout, it summarizes how subcategories of issues within each cluster relate to central issues (e.g., from users to global to methods) and levels of impacts (from wider social to community and organizational to individual experiences and understandings). Subsections briefly describe each of these 11 areas and their cross-cutting issues and levels. Finally, it provides a detailed Appendix of all the areas, subareas, and their specific questions.

scholarly journals Advanced mycelium materials as potential self-growing biomedical scaffolds

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Antinori ◽  
Marco Contardi ◽  
Giulia Suarato ◽  
Andrea Armirotti ◽  
Rosalia Bertorelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Dermal Fibroblasts ◽  
Engineering Systems ◽  
Edible Fungi ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Fibrous Network ◽  
Body Tissues ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractMycelia, the vegetative part of fungi, are emerging as the avant-garde generation of natural, sustainable, and biodegradable materials for a wide range of applications. They are constituted of a self-growing and interconnected fibrous network of elongated cells, and their chemical and physical properties can be adjusted depending on the conditions of growth and the substrate they are fed upon. So far, only extracts and derivatives from mycelia have been evaluated and tested for biomedical applications. In this study, the entire fibrous structures of mycelia of the edible fungi Pleurotus ostreatus and Ganoderma lucidum are presented as self-growing bio-composites that mimic the extracellular matrix of human body tissues, ideal as tissue engineering bio-scaffolds. To this purpose, the two mycelial strains are inactivated by autoclaving after growth, and their morphology, cell wall chemical composition, and hydrodynamical and mechanical features are studied. Finally, their biocompatibility and direct interaction with primary human dermal fibroblasts are investigated. The findings demonstrate the potentiality of mycelia as all-natural and low-cost bio-scaffolds, alternative to the tissue engineering systems currently in place.

scholarly journals Advancements in Assessments of Bio-Tissue Engineering and Viable Cell Delivery Matrices Using Bile Acid-Based Pharmacological Biotechnologies

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1861
Author(s):  
Armin Mooranian ◽  
Melissa Jones ◽  
Corina Mihaela Ionescu ◽  
Daniel Walker ◽  
Susbin Raj Wagle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Viable Cell ◽  
Cell Delivery ◽  
Artificial Organ ◽  
Bioartificial Pancreas ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Bioartificial Organs ◽  
Significant Interest ◽  
Modern Technologies

The utilisation of bioartificial organs is of significant interest to many due to their versatility in treating a wide range of disorders. Microencapsulation has a potentially significant role in such organs. In order to utilise microcapsules, accurate characterisation and analysis is required to assess their properties and suitability. Bioartificial organs or transplantable microdevices must also account for immunogenic considerations, which will be discussed in detail. One of the most characterized cases is the investigation into a bioartificial pancreas, including using microencapsulation of islets or other cells, and will be the focus subject of this review. Overall, this review will discuss the traditional and modern technologies which are necessary for the characterisation of properties for transplantable microdevices or organs, summarizing analysis of the microcapsule itself, cells and finally a working organ. Furthermore, immunogenic considerations of such organs are another important aspect which is addressed within this review. The various techniques, methodologies, advantages, and disadvantages will all be discussed. Hence, the purpose of this review is providing an updated examination of all processes for the analysis of a working, biocompatible artificial organ.

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