1,720,996 research outputs found
Editorial: Smart tools for caring: Nanotechnology meets medical challenges
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Titanium dioxide–based nanomaterials: application of their smart properties in biomedicine
No full textLargely utilized in photocatalysis and photovoltaics, titanium dioxide (also termed “titania”) nanostructures are increasingly finding applications in different fields of biomedical research. Their versatile physicochemical characteristics and their high compatibility with biological systems have indeed motivated their introduction—among the many areas of investigation—also in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and cancer therapy. Here, the most recent findings in these fields will be presented with a special focus on properties tunable by exposure to a contactless source of stimulation, which make titanium dioxide nanostructures actual “smart” materials. Current challenges and prospective opportunities will also be discussed by taking into consideration composite titanium dioxide-based nanostructures enriched in surface and bulk features
TiO2 Nanotube Arrays as Smart Platforms for Biomedical Applications
No full textTiO2 nanotube arrays (NTAs) have met increasing interest in the scientific community due to their extraordinary properties, including responsivity to UV light and biocompatibility. These properties have motivated their application in many fields, ranging from energy to environmental remediation and regenerative medicine. This chapter briefly reports on their most recent biomedical applications by citing significant examples of works that exploit TiO2 NTAs, alone or in association with other nanomaterials, for remote control through many physical sources. In particular, the focus is on TiO2 NTAs as active devices for interaction with biological environments in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biosensing
Transcriptional profile of genes involved in oxidative stress and antioxidant defense in PC12 cells following treatment with cerium oxide nanoparticles
No full textBackground Thanks to their impressive catalytic properties, cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) are able to mimic the activity of superoxide dismutase and of catalase, therefore acting as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers in many biological contexts, for instance offering neuroprotection and reduction of apoptosis rate in many types of cells exposed to oxidative stress (stem cells, endothelial cells, epithelial cells, osteoblasts, etc.). Methods We report on the investigation at gene level, through quantitative real time RT-PCR, of the effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles on ROS mechanisms in neuron-like PC12 cells. After three days of treatment, transcription of 84 genes involved in antioxidant defense, in ROS metabolism, and coding oxygen transporters is evaluated, and its relevance to central nervous system degenerative diseases is considered. Results Experimental evidences reveal intriguing differences in transcriptional profiles of cells treated with cerium oxide nanoparticles with respect to the controls: nanoceria acts as strong exogenous ROS scavenger, modulating transcription of genes involved in natural cell defenses, down-regulating genes involved in inflammatory processes, and up-regulating some genes involved in neuroprotection. Conclusions Our findings are extremely promising for future biomedical applications of cerium oxide nanoparticles, further supporting their possible exploitation in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. General significance This work represents the first documented step to the comprehension of mechanisms underlying the anti-oxidant action of cerium oxide nanoparticles. Our findings allow for a better comprehension of the phenomena of ROS scavenging and neuroprotection at a gene level, suggesting future therapeutic approaches even at a pre-clinical level. © 2013 Elsevier B.V
Piezoelectric Effects of Materials on Bio-Interfaces
Full text linkElectrical stimulation of cells and tissues is an important approach of interaction with living matter, which has been traditionally exploited in the clinical practice for a wide range of pathological conditions, in particular, related to excitable tissues. Standard methods of stimulation are, however, often invasive, being based on electrodes and wires used to carry current to the intended site. The possibility to achieve an indirect electrical stimulation, by means of piezoelectric materials, is therefore of outstanding interest for all the biomedical research, and it emerged in the latest decade as a most promising tool in many bioapplications. In this paper, we summarize the most recent achievements obtained by our group and by others in the exploitation of piezoelectric nanoparticles and nanocomposites for cell stimulation, describing the important implications that these studies present in nanomedicine and tissue engineering. A particular attention will be also dedicated to the physical modeling, which can be extremely useful in the description of the complex mechanisms involved in the mechanical/electrical transduction, yet also to gain new insights at the base of the observed phenomena
Smart materials meet multifunctional biomedical devices: Current and prospective implications for nanomedicine
Full text linkWith the increasing advances in the fabrication and in monitoring approaches of nanotechnology devices, novel materials are being synthesized and tested for the interaction with biological environments. Among them, smart materials in particular provide versatile and dynamically tunable platforms for the investigation and manipulation of several biological activities with very low invasiveness in hardly accessible anatomical districts. In the following, we will briefly recall recent examples of nanotechnology-based materials that can be remotely activated and controlled through different sources of energy, such as electromagnetic fields or ultrasounds, for their relevance to both basic science investigations and translational nanomedicine. Moreover, we will introduce some examples of hybrid materials showing mutually beneficial components for the development of multifunctional devices, able to simultaneously perform duties like imaging, tissue targeting, drug delivery, and redox state control. Finally, we will highlight challenging perspectives for the development of theranostic agents (merging diagnostic and therapeutic functionalities), underlining open questions for these smart nanotechnology-based devices to be made readily available to the patients in need
Piezoelectric nanotransducers: The future of neural stimulation
No full textPiezoelectric materials, i.e., those materials able to convert mechanical into electrical energy and vice versa, have found extremely wide applications in the fields of robotics, energy conversion, and medicine. Scaling down to the “nano” world, piezoelectric materials have attracted strong interest in nanomedicine as nanotransducers able to act at the tissue, cellular, and sub-cellular level. Applications of “smart” piezoelectric nanomaterials are particularly appealing for all electrically excitable structures of an organism, starting from the nervous tissue. Here, we summarize the most recent evidences and the most exciting perspectives that the piezoelectric transduction approach provides in the field of neuronal stimulation
Editorial: Interactions of nanoparticles with and within living organisms—What can we learn to improve efficacy of nanomedicine?
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Hypergravity As a Tool for Cell Stimulation: Implications in Biomedicine
Full text linkGravity deeply influences numerous biological events in living organisms. Variations in gravity values induce adaptive reactions that have been shown to play important roles, for instance in cell survival, growth, and spatial organization. In this paper, we summarize effects of gravity values higher than that one experienced by cells and tissues on Earth, i.e., hypergravity, with particular attention to the nervous and the musculoskeletal systems. Besides the biological consequences that hypergravity induces in the living matter, we will discuss the possibility of exploiting this augmented force in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, and thus hypergravity significance as a new therapeutic approach both in vitro and in vivo
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