Evaluation of osseointegration of plasma treated polyaryletherketone maxillofacial implants.

Osseointegration is a crucial property of biomaterials used for bone defect repair. While titanium is the gold standard in craniofacial surgeries, various polymeric biomaterials are being explored as alternatives. However, polymeric materials can be bioinert, hindering integration with surrounding tissues.

AQuaRef: Machine learning accelerated quantum refinement of protein structures.

Cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography provide crucial experimental data for obtaining atomic-detail models of biomacromolecules. Refining these models relies on library-based stereochemical restraints, which, in addition to being limited to known chemical entities, do not include meaningful noncovalent interactions relying solely on nonbonded repulsions. Quantum mechanical (QM) calculations could alleviate these issues but are too expensive for large molecules.

Catalytic Activity of the Archetype from Group 4 of the FTR-like Ferredoxin:Thioredoxin Reductase Family Is Regulated by Unique = 7/2 and = 1/2 [4Fe-4S] Clusters.

Thioredoxin reductases (TrxR) activate thioredoxins (Trx) that regulate the activity of diverse target proteins essential to prokaryotic and eukaryotic life. However, very little is understood of TrxR/Trx systems and redox control in methanogenic microbes from the domain (methanogens), for which genomes are abundant with annotations for ferredoxin:thioredoxin reductases [Fdx/thioredoxin reductase (FTR)] from group 4 of the widespread FTR-like family. Only two from the FTR-like family are characterized: the plant-type FTR from group 1 and FDR from group 6.

A Preclinical Trial Protocol Using an Ovine Model to Assess Scaffold Implant Biomaterials for Repair of Critical-Sized Mandibular Defects.

The present work describes a preclinical trial (, and ) protocol to assess the biomechanical performance and osteogenic capability of 3D-printed polymeric scaffolds implants used to repair partial defects in a sheep mandible. The protocol spans multiple steps of the medical device development pipeline, including initial concept design of the scaffold implant, digital twin finite element modeling, manufacturing of the device prototype, device implantation, and laboratory mechanical testing. First, a patient-specific one-body scaffold implant used for reconstructing a critical-sized defect along the lower border of the sheep mandible ramus was designed using on computed-tomographic (CT) imagery and computer-aided design software.

Protecting Orthopaedic Implants from Infection: Antimicrobial Peptide Mel4 Is Non-Toxic to Bone Cells and Reduces Bacterial Colonisation When Bound to Plasma Ion-Implanted 3D-Printed PAEK Polymers.

Even with the best infection control protocols in place, the risk of a hospital-acquired infection of the surface of an implanted device remains significant. A bacterial biofilm can form and has the potential to escape the host immune system and develop resistance to conventional antibiotics, ultimately causing the implant to fail, seriously impacting patient well-being. Here, we demonstrate a 4 log reduction in the infection rate by the common pathogen of 3D-printed polyaryl ether ketone (PAEK) polymeric surfaces by covalently binding the antimicrobial peptide Mel4 to the surface using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) treatment.