On the way back from 3D to 2D: Chitosan promotes adhesion and development of neuronal networks onto culture supports.

Most in vitro functional and morphological studies for developing nervous system have been performed using traditional monolayer cultures onto supports modified by extracellular matrix components or synthetic biopolymers. These biomolecules act as adhesion factors essential for neuronal growth and differentiation. In this study, the use of chitosan as adhesion factor was investigated.

Lipoperoxide Nanoemulsion as Adjuvant in Cisplatin Cancer Therapy: In Vitro Study on Human Colon Adenocarcinoma DLD-1 Cells.

Cisplatin is a first-choice chemotherapeutic agent used to treat solid tumors even though the onset of multi-drug resistance and the time-dose side-effects impair its mono-therapeutic application. Therefore, new drug-delivery approaches, based on nanomedicine strategies, are needed to enhance its therapeutic potential in favor of a dose-reduction of cisplatin. Polyunsaturated fatty acids and their metabolism-derived intermediates, as well as lipid peroxidation end-products, are used as adjuvants to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Alginate microbeads with internal microvoids for the sustained release of drugs.

The process of Ca mediated gelation of alginate and the fabrication of nanoengineered polyelectrolyte capsules were combined for the preparation of alginate microbeads characterized by the presence of well-defined drug loaded microvoids in their volume. The obtained engineered alginate microbeads are described in terms of their morphology, loading efficiency and release characteristics. It was found that the generation of microvoids in the volume of alginate microbeads could be a promising approach for the creation of microstructured and biocompatible hydrogels, prospectively having highly tunable properties in terms of loading and releasing characteristics.

Multicompartment Hydrogels for the Local Delivery of Chemotherapic Drugs.

Over 85% of human cancers are solid tumors. The effectiveness of anticancer therapy in solid tumors depends on adequate delivery of the therapeutic agent to tumor cells. Inadequate delivery would result in residual tumor cells, which in turn would lead to regrowth of tumors and possibly development of resistant cells.

3D Porous Gelatin/PVA Hydrogel as Meniscus Substitute Using Alginate Micro-Particles as Porogens.

One of the current major challenges in orthopedic surgery is the treatment of meniscal lesions. Some of the main issues include mechanical consistency of meniscal implants, besides their fixation methods and integration with the host tissues. To tackle these aspects we realized a micro-porous, gelatin/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based hydrogel to approach the high percentage of water present in the native meniscal tissue, recapitulating its biomechanical features, and, at the same time, realizing a porous implant, permissive to cell infiltration and tissue integration.

Encapsulated functionalized stereocomplex PLA particles: An effective system to support mucolytic enzymes.

In this work, the preparation of a novel enzyme carrier based on a polymer multicomponent system was assessed. Indeed, the design of the above system considered several issues that are the need of applying a biodegradable polymer carrier, characterized by a nanometric dimension, thus suitable to diffuse into the dense mucus structure, with functionalities capable of interacting/reacting with enzymes but resistant to enzymatic degradation. The particles were prepared from solutions containing equimolar amount of high-molecular-weight poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and poly(D-lactide) (PDLA) and by applying the nanoprecipitation method.

Soft chitosan microbeads scaffold for 3D functional neuronal networks.

The availability of 3D biomimetic in vitro neuronal networks of mammalian neurons represents a pivotal step for the development of brain-on-a-chip experimental models to study neuronal (dys)functions and particularly neuronal connectivity. The use of hydrogel-based scaffolds for 3D cell cultures has been extensively studied in the last years. However, limited work on biomimetic 3D neuronal cultures has been carried out to date.

Stereocomplex poly(lactic acid) nanocoated chitosan microparticles for the sustained release of hydrophilic drugs.

In this work, novel chitosan based microparticles were developed by the layer-by-layer deposition of poly(lactic acid) stereocomplex films on their surface in the view of controlling the release of encapsulated hydrophilic drugs. As first step, the quartz crystal microbalance technique was used to monitor the step-by-step deposition of the stereocomplex layers onto chitosan by evaluating the deposited mass for each layer. Chitosan microparticles, with a size ranging between 40 and 90μm, were then produced by an aerodynamically-assisted jetting technique and covered by a poly(lactic acid) stereocomplex shell.

Fabrication and characterization of novel multilayered structures by stereocomplexion of poly(D-lactic acid)/poly(L-lactic acid) and self-assembly of polyelectrolytes.

The enantiomers poly(D-lactic acid) (PDLA) and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) were alternately adsorbed directly on calcium carbonate (CaCO3) templates and on poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) multilayer precursors in order to fabricate a novel layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly. A single layer of poly(L-lysine) (PLL) was used as a linker between the (PDLA/PLLA) n stereocomplex and the cores with and without the polymeric (PSS/PAH) n /PLL multilayer precursor (PEM). Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were used to characterize the chemical composition and molecular weight of poly(lactic acid) polymers.

Peroxidated olive oil nanoemulsion for cancer targeted therapy.

A reactive oxygen species-mediated targeting system has been used to selectively kill cancer cells. Two different cell lines, normal and cancer cells, have been cultured and treated with a peroxide olive oil (K600) in simple solution and in form of nanoemulsion (N-K600). Preliminary results of both treatments have been compared.

Multilayered polyelectrolyte microcapsules: interaction with the enzyme cytochrome C oxidase.

Cell-sized polyelectrolyte capsules functionalized with a redox-driven proton pump protein were assembled for the first time. The interaction of polyelectrolyte microcapsules, fabricated by electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly, with cytochrome c oxidase molecules was investigated. We found that the cytochrome c oxidase retained its functionality, that the functionalized microcapsules interacting with cytochrome c oxidase were permeable and that the permeability characteristics of the microcapsule shell depend on the shell components.

Oriented collagen nanocoatings for tissue engineering.

Collagens are among the most widely present and important proteins composing the human total body, providing strength and structural stability to various tissues, from skin to bone. In this paper, we report an innovative approach to bioactivate planar surfaces with oriented collagen molecules to promote cells proliferation and alignment. The Langmuir-Blodgett technique was used to form a stable collagen film at the air-water interface and the Langmuir-Schaefer deposition was adopted to transfer it to the support surface.