Active microbiota persist in dry permafrost and active layer from Elephant Head, Antarctica.

Dry permafrost is a challenging environment for microbial life due to cold, dry, and often oligotrophic conditions. In 2016, Elephant Head, Antarctica, was confirmed as the second site on Earth to contain dry permafrost. It is geographically distinct from the McMurdo Dry Valleys where dry permafrost has been studied previously.

Controlled formation of chitosan particles by a clock reaction.

Clock reactions allow precise control of chemical composition in the time domain. Such nonlinear chemical systems have recently been introduced to mimic the self-assembly pathways common in living organisms. Here, we demonstrate the use of a clock reaction to trigger the formation of polymeric nanoparticles.

Harvesting pre-polarized macrophages using thermo-responsive substrates.

In the cell culture environment macrophages are highly adherent cells. Currently used methods to harvest macrophages have the disadvantage of reducing cell viability and their ability to re-attach after seeding. Although thermo-responsive surfaces have been employed to harvest cell sheets no reports are available to use these to harvest (pre-polarized) macrophages.

The agar diffusion scratch assay--A novel method to assess the bioactive and cytotoxic potential of new materials and compounds.

A profound in vitro evaluation not only of the cytotoxic but also of bioactive potential of a given compound or material is crucial for predicting potential effects in the in vivo situation. However, most of the current methods have weaknesses in either the quantitative or qualitative assessment of cytotoxicity and/or bioactivity of the test compound. Here we describe a novel assay combining the ISO 10993-5 agar diffusion test and the scratch also termed wound healing assay.

Pyrene-end-functionalized poly(L-lactide) as an efficient carbon nanotube dispersing agent in poly(L-lactide): mechanical performance and biocompatibility study.

In order to improve the mechanical properties of poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) based implants, a study was made of how far well dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) within a PLLA matrix were able to positively affect these properties. To this end, pyrene-end-functionalized poly(L-lactide) (py-end-PLLA) was evaluated as a dispersing agent. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses and mechanical tests of MWCNTs-based materials demonstrated an enhancement of MWCNT dispersion in the PLLA matrix and improved Young's modulus (E) when 4 wt% of py-end-PLLA was used as the dispersing agent.