1,721,015 research outputs found
Achievements in Mesoporous Bioactive Glasses for Biomedical Applications
Nowadays, mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) are envisaged as promising candidates in the field of bioceramics for bone tissue regeneration. This is ascribed to their singular chemical composition, structural and textural properties and easy-to-functionalize surface, giving rise to accelerated bioactive responses and capacity for local drug delivery. Since their discovery at the beginning of the 21st century, pioneering research efforts focused on the design and fabrication of MBGs with optimal compositional, textural and structural properties to elicit superior bioactive behavior. The current trends conceive MBGs as multitherapy systems for the treatment of bone-related pathologies, emphasizing the need of fine-tuning surface functionalization. Herein, we focus on the recent developments in MBGs for biomedical applications. First, the role of MBGs in the design and fabrication of three-dimensional scaffolds that fulfil the highly demanding requirements for bone tissue engineering is outlined. The different approaches for developing multifunctional MBGs are overviewed, including the incorporation of therapeutic ions in the glass composition and the surface functionalization with zwitterionic moieties to prevent bacterial adhesion. The bourgeoning scientific literature on MBGs as local delivery systems of diverse therapeutic cargoes (osteogenic/antiosteoporotic, angiogenic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antitumor agents) is addressed. Finally, the current challenges and future directions for the clinical translation of MBGs are discussed
Studies on MCM-41 mesoporous silica for drug delivery: Effect of particle morphology and amine functionalization.
Cerium (III) and (IV) containing mesoporous glasses/alginate beads for bone regeneration: Bioactivity, biocompatibility and reactive oxygen species activity
A very small number of biomaterials investigated for bone regeneration were reported as able to prevent the oxidative stress. In this study beads based on alginate hydrogel and mesoporous glasses (MG) containing different amounts of cerium oxides (Ce3+/Ce4+) exhibiting antioxidant properties were investigated as a good approach to mimic the action of antioxidant enzymes in our organism. The effect of cerium contents on the bioactivity and biocompatibility of beads were investigated. Moreover, the potential capability of Ce-containing MG to prevent the oxidative stress caused by the activity of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was here investigated for the first time. The increment of cerium oxide from 1.2, to 3.6 and 5.3 mol% decreases the surface area and porosity of MG and increases the catalase mimetic activity after 168 h. Swelling tests in different cell culture media (D- and α-MEM) demonstrated the rehydration capability of beads. The presence of beads with the highest Ce-contents (3.6 and 5.3%) improved the proliferation of pre-osteoblastic cells MC3T3-C1 cells. However, the cell differentiation decreased when increased the cerium content. Lactate dehydrogenase assays showed beads are cytocompatible materials. Moreover, oxidative stress tests with H2O2 showed a better response related to cell viability and the elimination of oxidant species when increased cerium content. Beads of glasses with 1.2 and 3.6% of CeO2 are excellent candidates as bioactive scaffolds for bone regeneration capable of counteract the oxidative stress
Zinc oxide nanocrystals as a nanoantibiotic and osteoinductive agent
RESEARCHER ID N-4628-2014 (Montse Colilla Nieto)
ORCID 0000-0003-1961-4160 (Montse Colilla Nieto)
RESEARCHER ID M-9921-2014 (Isabel Izquierdo Barba)
ORCID 0000-0002-4139-4646 (Isabel Izquierdo Barba)
RESEARCHER ID M-3378-2014 (María Vallet Regí)
ORCID 0000-0002-6104-4889 (María Vallet Regí)The use of nanomaterials in the field of bone tissue engineering implants is continuously dealing with the development of innovative solutions to common problems, as infection by colonization with common microbial agents, antibiotic bacterial resistance, and the formation of new bone tissue. Among them, ZnO nanostructures are promising candidates thanks to their intrinsic antimicrobial activity and high biocompatibility.
In this paper we aim to analyse the behaviour of ZnO nanocrystals (ZnO NCs), prepared with a new synthetic approach and not embedded in any composite matrix, for bone implants applications in-vitro. In particular, we have developed a novel, fast and reproducible microwave-assisted synthesis, obtaining highly-crystalline, round-shaped ZnO NCs of 20 nm in diameter as an extremely-stable colloidal solution in ethanol. Part of them were also chemically functionalized by anchoring amino-propyl groups to the ZnO surface (ZnO-NH2 NCs). Thus, the role of both ZnO NCs concentration and surface chemistry are tested in terms of biocompatibility towards pre-osteoblasts cells, promotion of cell proliferation and differentiation, and also in terms of antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and negative bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The results propose the ZnO-NH2 NCs as the most promising candidate to solve infections disease in bone implants and promote bone tissue proliferation at the same time, even at high concentrations. Whereas further investigations are needed for example to clarify the mechanism inhibiting biofilm formation and to investigate their role in in-vivo assays, we demonstrated that a fine and reproducible control over the chemical and structural parameters in ZnO nanomaterials can open new horizons in the use of functionalized ZnO NCs as a highly biocompatible and osteoinductive nanoantibiotic agent for bone tissue engineering.Unión Europea. H2020Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)Depto. de Química en Ciencias FarmacéuticasFac. de FarmaciaTRUEpu
Incorporation of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles into Collagen Formulation for 3D Electrospun Scaffolds
Nowadays, there is an ever-increasing interest in the development of systems able to guide and influence cell activities for bone regeneration. In this context, we have explored for the first time the combination of type-I collagen and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) to design magnetic and biocompatible electrospun scaffolds. For this purpose, SPIONs with a size of 12 nm were obtained by thermal decomposition and transferred to an aqueous medium via ligand exchange with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). The SPIONs were subsequently incorporated into type-I collagen solutions to prove the processability of the resulting hybrid formulation by means of electrospinning. The optimized method led to the fabrication of nanostructured scaffolds composed of randomly oriented collagen fibers ranging between 100 and 200 nm, where SPIONs resulted distributed and embedded into the collagen fibers. The SPIONs-containing electrospun structures proved to preserve the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles alone, making these matrices excellent candidates to explore the magnetic stimuli for biomedical applications. Furthermore, the biological assessment of these collagen scaffolds confirmed high viability, adhesion, and proliferation of both pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs)
The in vivo behaviour of a sol-gel glass and a glass-ceramic during critical diaphyseal bone defects healing.
Highly-Bioreactive Silica-Based Mesoporous Bioactive Glasses Enriched with Gallium (III)
Beneficial effects in bone cell growth and antibacterial action are currently attributed to Ga3+ ions. Thus, they can be used to upgrade mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs), investigated for tissue engineering, whenever they released therapeutic amounts of gallium ions to the surrounding medium. Three gallium-enriched MBGs with composition (in mol %) xSiO2-yCaO-zP2O5-5Ga2O3, being x = 70, y = 15, z = 10 for Ga_1; x = 80, y = 12, z = 3 for Ga_2; and x = 80, y = 15, z = 0 for Ga_3, were investigated and compared with the gallium-free 80SiO2-15CaO-5P2O5 MBG (B). 29Si and 31P MAS NMR analyses indicated that Ga3+ acts as network modifier in the glass regions with higher polymerization degree and as network former in the zones with high concentration of classical modifiers (Ca2+ ions). Ga_1 and Ga_2 exhibited a quick in vitro bioactive response because they were coated by an apatite-like layer after 1 and 3 days in simulated body fluid. Although we have not conducted biological tests in this paper (cells or bacteria), Ga_1 released high but non-cytotoxic amounts of Ga3+ ions in Todd Hewitt Broth culture medium that were 140 times higher than the IC90 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, demonstrating its potential for tissue engineering applications
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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