1,721,188 research outputs found
Boron nitride nanotubes as nanotransducers
No full textAs a recent product of nanotechnology, nanoscale transducers have been invoked as revolutionary tools of interaction between the macroscopic and the microscopic worlds, which can most probably offer their best intriguing opportunities in sensing and acting on the living matter at the level of its basilar subunits. This chapter briefly revises the main concepts related to the function and applications of transducers, going from macro-to-microscale, in order to promote the full comprehension of the spill over deriving from the future exploitation of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) as bionanotransducers. BNNTs are piezoelectric nanomaterials. As such, they are entitled to reversibly transform mechanical into electrical energy in the micro domain. This chapter is mainly focused on the application of these nanotubes as bionanoactuators; in particular, the findings of a novel method that exploits ultrasounds as a mechanical energy for BNNT triggering at intracellular level is reviewed and discussed. BNNT nanotransducers are capable of stimulating electrically sensitive cells, such as neural, muscular, and bony cells, thus paving the way to the development of novel therapies for functional impairments and degenerative diseases
3D models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma via tissue engineering
No full textCancer tissue engineering is an emerging multidisciplinary field aimed at growing cancerous cells onto porous biomaterial scaffolds and proper stimuli to ultimately reproduce 3D tumor tissue-like constructs in vitro. Unlike conventional 2D cell cultures and spheroids, these tissue models can reproduce cancer lesions very similar to those present in native tumor, and can be viable for some weeks, making it possible to study cancer biology phenomena and new therapies in a more reliable fashion than with conventional in vitro platforms. This chapter shows the preparation of a 3D model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), including fabrication of a suitable scaffold, culture of PDAC cells on the scaffold, viability test, and histologic assessment
Biomaterial-Based Implantable Devices for Cancer Therapy
Full text linkThis review article focuses on the current local therapies mediated by implanted macroscaled biomaterials available or proposed for fighting cancer and also highlights the upcoming research in this field. Several authoritative review articles have collected and discussed the state-of-the-art as well as the advancements in using biomaterial-based micro- and nano-particle systems for drug delivery in cancer therapy. On the other hand, implantable biomaterial devices are emerging as highly versatile therapeutic platforms, which deserve an increased attention by the healthcare scientific community, as they are able to offer innovative, more effective and creative strategies against tumors. This review summarizes the current approaches which exploit biomaterial-based devices as implantable tools for locally administrating drugs and describes their specific medical applications, which mainly target resected brain tumors or brain metastases for the inaccessibility of conventional chemotherapies. Moreover, a special focus in this review is given to innovative approaches, such as combined delivery therapies, as well as to alternative approaches, such as scaffolds for gene therapy, cancer immunotherapy and metastatic cell capture, the later as promising future trends in implantable biomaterials for cancer applications
Apparato per la valutazione acustica di protesi dell’orecchio medio
No full textApparato per la valutazione acustica di protesi dell’orecchio medi
Bone tissue engineering: Natural origination or synthetic polymeric scaffolds?
No full textBone tissue engineering: natural origination or synthetic polymeric scaffolds
Apparato e processo per la preparazione di una protesi tissutale biomimetica della membrana timpanica
No full textApparato e processo per la preparazione di una protesi tissutale biomimetica della membrana timpanic
Raman spectroscopy of osteosarcoma cells
Full text linkOsteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor. In the last years, several studies have demonstrated that the increase of Hydroxyapatite (HA) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) syntheses compared to those expressed by normal osteoblasts could be used to detect the degree of malignancy of osteosarcoma cells. Conventional biochemical methods widely employed to evaluate bone cell differentiation, including normal and cancerous phenotypes, are time consuming and may require a large amount of cells. HA is a mineral form of calcium phosphate whose presence increases with maturation of osteosarcoma cells. Analogously, IL-6 is a fundamental cytokine whose production is highly increased in osteosarcoma cells. In this study, we employ Raman spectroscopy to the identification and discrimination of osteosarcoma cells from osteo-differentiated mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) by detecting the presence of HA and IL-6. However, while the identification of HA is facilitated by the characteristic peak at 960 cm-1, corresponding to symmetric stretching (P-O) mode, the quantification of IL-6 it is much more elusive, being its Raman signal characterized by cysteine, but also by phenylalanine, amide I II and III whose signals are common to other proteins. Supported by an accurate multivariate analysis, the results show that Raman spectroscopy is a high sensitivity technique dealing out a direct and quantitative measurement of specific mineralization levels of osteosarcoma cells. In turn, by exploiting the Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering stimulated by internalized Gold Nanoshells (AuNSs) and combined with scanning probe microscopies, we were able to employ Raman spectroscopy to study subcellular components locally
Bone tissue engineering: natural origination or synthetic scaffolds?
No full textBone tissue engineering: natural origination or synthetic scaffolds
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