Inherently conducting polymers (ICPs) are a specific category of synthetic polymers with distinctive electro-optic properties, which involve conjugated chains with alternating single and double ...bonds. Polyaniline (PANI), as one of the most well-known ICPs, has outstanding potential applications in biomedicine because of its high electrical conductivity and biocompatibility caused by its hydrophilic nature, low-toxicity, good environmental stability, and nanostructured morphology. Some of the limitations in the use of PANI, such as its low processability and degradability, can be overcome by the preparation of its blends and nanocomposites with various (bio)polymers and nanomaterials, respectively. This review describes the state-of-the-art of biological activities and applications of conductive PANI-based nanocomposites in the biomedical fields, such as antimicrobial therapy, drug delivery, biosensors, nerve regeneration, and tissue engineering. The latest progresses in the biomedical applications of PANI-based nanocomposites are reviewed to provide a background for future research.
Failure of dental treatments is mainly due to the biofilm accumulated on the dental materials. Many investigations have been conducted on the advancements of antimicrobial dental materials. Polymeric ...and inorganic nanoscopical agents are capable of inhibiting microorganism proliferation. Applying them as fillers in dental materials can achieve enhanced microbicidal ability. The present review provides a broad overview on the state-of-the-art research in the field of antimicrobial fillers which have been adopted for incorporation into dental materials over the last 5 years. The antibacterial agents and applications are described, with the aim of providing information for future investigations.
Microbial infection is the primary cause of dental treatment failure. The present review provides an overview on the state-of-art in the field of antimicrobial nanoscopical or polymeric fillers that have been applied in dental materials. Trends in the biotechnological development of these antimicrobial fillers over the last 5 years are reviewed to provide a backdrop for further advancement in this field of research.
Display omitted
Logistic complexities of heart transplantation embossed the necessity of utilizing novel methods, which enable heart regeneration. Human cardiosphere-derived cells (hCDCs) are taken into ...consideration as a promising cell resource in cell therapy in recent years. In this study, we designed an electrochemical stimulation system, which sends square pulses to the hCDCs and records their electrical response. Morphology, viability and differentiation of hCDCs are monitored at certain time courses of the treatment. Differentiating hCDCs aligned perpendicularly with respect to the direction of applied electric current, and obtained a spindle-like morphology, while they remained viable. At the same time, specific cardiac marker genes including
GATA4
,
cTnT
and
α-MHC
showed a considerable up-regulation. Our findings confirm that hCDCs differentiate to committed cardiomyocytes when hCDCs receive an electrical energy of 0.06 – 0.12 Wh. This amount of electrical energy could be applied to the stem cells using versatile electrical stimulation patterns via commercially available devices.
Today, SF is a natural polymer with unique features, such as excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low toxicity, which characterize this material with diverse forms ...for different purposes. Silk nanoparticles, scaffolds, films, and mats are used in various therapeutic and diagnostic strategies including drug/gene delivery, tissue engineering, biomolecule detection, and wound healing. Therefore, a study that examines all SF applications and evaluates its toxicity helps researchers in future projects. In this study, we comprehensively searched all sources of databases in different years about the medical application of various types of SF. Also, we reviewed the toxicity of SF. Several newer papers were selected for reporting and conclusions. In conclusion, the evaluation of the literature revealed that SF is a promising candidate for a wide range of biomedical applications.
Graphical abstract
•This device uses a dynamic cell culture condition in a microfluidic concentration gradient.•This system can assess breast anticancer activities of probiotic strains against MCF-7 cells.•Using this ...device shows that MCF-7 cells could grow and proliferate for at least 24 h.•The evaluated optimum dose (7.8 mg/L) was less than the conventional static culture dose.•The apoptotic and necrotic cell death signaling are concentration and time dependent.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women; it has been affecting the lives of millions each year globally and microfluidic devices seem to be a promising method for the future advancements in this field. This research uses a dynamic cell culture condition in a microfluidic concentration gradient device, helping us to assess breast anticancer activities of probiotic strains against MCF-7 cells. It has been shown that MCF-7 cells could grow and proliferate for at least 24 h; however, a specific concentration of probiotic supernatant could induce more cell death signaling population after 48 h. One of our key findings was that our evaluated optimum dose (7.8 mg/L) was less than the conventional static cell culture treatment dose (12 mg/L). To determine the most effective dose over time and the percentage of apoptosis versus necrosis, flowcytometric assessment was performed. Exposing the MCF-7 cells to probiotic supernatant after 6, 24 and 48 h, confirmed that the apoptotic and necrotic cell death signaling were concentration and time dependent. We have shown a case that these types of microfluidics platforms performing dynamic cell culture could be beneficial in personalized medicine and cancer therapy.
Display omitted
Systemically administered chemotherapy reduces the efficiency of the anticancer agent at the target tumor tissue and results in distributed drug to non-target organs, inducing negative side effects ...commonly associated with chemotherapy and necessitating repeated administration. Injectable hydrogels present themselves as a potential platform for non-invasive local delivery vehicles that can serve as a slow-releasing drug depot that fills tumor vasculature, tissue, or resection cavities. Herein, we have systematically formulated and tested an injectable shear-thinning hydrogel (STH) with a highly manipulable release profile for delivering doxorubicin, a common chemotherapeutic. By detailed characterization of the STH physical properties and degradation and release dynamics, we selected top candidates for testing in cancer models of increasing biomimicry. Two-dimensional cell culture, tumor-on-a-chip, and small animal models were used to demonstrate the high anticancer potential and reduced systemic toxicity of the STH that exhibits long-term (up to 80 days) doxorubicin release profiles for treatment of breast cancer and glioblastoma. The drug-loaded STH injected into tumor tissue was shown to increase overall survival in breast tumor- and glioblastoma-bearing animal models by 50% for 22 days and 25% for 52 days, respectively, showing high potential for localized, less frequent treatment of oncologic disease with reduced dosage requirements.
Male survivors of childhood cancer have been known to be afflicted with azoospermia. To combat this, the isolation and purification of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are crucial. Implementing ...scaffolds that emulate the extracellular matrix environment is vital for promoting the regeneration and proliferation of SSCs. This research aimed to evaluate the efficiency of nanocomposite scaffolds based on alginate, chitosan, and graphene oxide (GO) in facilitating SSCs proliferation. To analyze the cytotoxicity of the scaffolds, an MTT assay was conducted at 1, 3, and 7 days, and the sample containing 30 µg/mL of GO (ALGCS/GO30) exhibited the most favorable results, indicating its optimal performance. The identity of the cells was confirmed using flow cytometry with
and
markers. The scaffolds were subjected to various analyses to characterize their properties. FTIR was employed to assess the chemical structure, XRD to examine crystallinity, and SEM to visualize the morphology of the scaffolds. To evaluate the proliferation of SSCs, qRT-PCR was used. The study's results demonstrated that the ALGCS/GO30 nanocomposite scaffold exhibited biocompatibility and facilitated the attachment and proliferation of SSCs. Notably, the scaffold displayed a significant increase in proliferation markers compared to the control group, indicating its ability to support SSC growth. The expression level of the
protein was assessed using the Immunocytochemistry method. The observations confirmed the qRT-PCR results, which indicated that the nanocomposite scaffolds had higher levels of
protein expression than scaffolds without GO. The biocompatible ALGCS/GO30 is a promising alternative for promoting SSC proliferation in in vitro applications.
Some children who have survived cancer will be azoospermic in the future. Performing isolation and purification procedures for spermatogonial stem cells (SSC) is very critical. In this regard, ...performing the process of decontamination of cancerous cells is the initial step. The major objective of the present study is to separate the malignant EL4 cell line in mice and spermatogonial stem cells in vitro.
The spermatogonial stem cells of sixty neonatal mice were isolated, and the procedure of co-culturing was carried out by EL4 which were classified into 2 major groups: (1) the control group (co-culture in a growth medium) and (2) the group of co-cultured cells which were separated using the microfluidic device. The percentage of cells was assessed using flow cytometry technique and common laboratory technique of immunocytochemistry and finally was confirmed through the laboratory technique of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
The actual percentage of EL4 and SSC after isolation was collected at two outlets: the outputs for the smaller outlet were 0.12% for SSC and 42.14% for EL4, while in the larger outlet, the outputs were 80.38% for SSC and 0.32% for EL4; in the control group, the percentages of cells were 21.44% for SSC and 23.28% for EL4 (based on t test (p ≤ 0.05)).
The present study demonstrates that the use of the microfluidic device is effective in separating cancer cells from spermatogonial stem cells.
Synthetic and natural polymers have recently received considerable attention due to the exclusive potential for supporting the regenerative cellular processes in peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs). ...Gold nanorods (GNRs) decorated polycaprolactone (PCL)/cellulose acetate (CA) nanocomposite (PCL/CA/GNR) were fabricated via electrospinning to improve PC12 cells attachment and growth or scaffold cues. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) corroborated the GNR distribution (23 ± 2 nm length and 3/1 Aspect ratio) and suitable average dimension of 800 nm for the fibers; also, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) represented block-free and smooth fibers without perturbation. Because of gold nanorods incorporation, electrical conductivity of PCL/CA/GNR increased ~21%. Water contact angle data emphasized PCL/CA/GNR surface is more wettable that PCL/CA (<90° at 62 s). Real-time PCR technique (RT-PCR) demonstrated overexpression of β-tubulin and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) on PCL/CA/GNR compared to PCL/CA composite. Additionally, evaluated of the maturation and neurogenic differentiation of PC12 cells emphasized overexpression of nestin and β-tubulin by Immunocytochemistry staining onto PCL/CA/GNR in comparison to PCL/CA composite. Notably, these recently developed hybrid scaffolds could be considered for peripheral nerve injury (PNI) regeneration.
The Current study process that represented via a graphical scheme, PCL/CA/GNRs hybrid scaffold production route, scaffold effects on growth, reproduction and maturation of PC12 cells. Display omitted
PDF
