Exploring the potential of laser-textured metal alloys: Fine-tuning vascular cells responses through and analysis.

Medical stents are vital for treating vascular complications and restoring blood flow in millions of patients. Despite its widespread effectiveness, restenosis, driven by the complex interplay of cellular responses, remains a concern. This study investigated the reactions of vascular cells to nano/microscale wrinkle (nano-W and micro-W) patterns created on laser-textured nitinol (NiTi) surfaces by adjusting laser processing parameters, such as spot overlap ratio and line overlap ratio.

Immune-modulative nano-gel-nano system for patient-favorable cancer therapy.

Current cancer immunotherapies exhibit low response rates attributed to suppressive tumor immune microenvironments (TIMEs). To address these unfavorable TIMEs, supplementation with tumor-associated antigens and stimulation of immune cells at target sites are indispensable for eliciting anti-tumoral immune responses. Previous research has explored the induction of immunotherapy through multiple injections and implants; however, these approaches lack consideration for patient convenience and the implementation of finely tunable immune response control systems to mitigate the side effects of over-inflammatory responses, such as cytokine storms.

Fostering tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to treat musculoskeletal disorders in bone and muscle.

The musculoskeletal system, which is vital for movement, support, and protection, can be impaired by disorders such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and muscular dystrophy. This review focuses on the advances in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, specifically aimed at alleviating these disorders. It explores the roles of cell therapy, particularly Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs), biomaterials, and biomolecules/external stimulations in fostering bone and muscle regeneration.

Biomedical Device Surface Treatment by Laser-Driven Hydroxyapatite Penetration-Synthesis Technique for Gapless PEEK-to-Bone Integration.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), a bioinert polymer known for its mechanical properties similar to bone, is capable of averting stress shielding. Due to these attributes, it finds applications in diverse fields like orthopedics, encompassing cervical disc replacement for the neck and spine, along with dentistry and plastic surgery. However, due to insufficient bonding with bone, various methods such as hydroxyapatite (HA) coating on the surface are attempted.

Simultaneous quantification of TB-500 and its metabolites in in-vitro experiments and rats by UHPLC-Q-Exactive orbitrap MS/MS and their screening by wound healing activities in-vitro.

Background: TB-500 (Ac-LKKTETQ), derived from the active site of thymosin β4 (Tβ4), has various biological functions in its unacetylated form, LKKTETQ. These functions include actin binding, dermal wound healing, angiogenesis, and skin repair. The biological effects of TB-500, however, have not been documented.

Selective Cell-Cell Adhesion Regulation via Cyclic Mechanical Deformation Induced by Ultrafast Nanovibrations.

The adoption of dynamic mechanomodulation to regulate cellular behavior is an alternative to the use of chemical drugs, allowing spatiotemporal control. However, cell-selective targeting of mechanical stimuli is challenging due to the lack of strategies with which to convert macroscopic mechanical movements to different cellular responses. Here, we designed a nanoscale vibrating surface that controls cell behavior via selective repetitive cell deformation based on a poroelastic cell model.

Improving hydroxyapatite coating ability on biodegradable metal through laser-induced hydrothermal coating in liquid precursor: Application in orthopedic implants.

During the past decade, there has been extensive research toward the possibility of exploring magnesium and its alloys as biocompatible and biodegradable materials for implantable applications. Its practical medical application, however, has been limited to specific areas owing to rapid corrosion in the initial stage and the consequent complications. Surface coatings can significantly reduce the initial corrosion of Mg alloys, and several studies have been carried out to improve the adhesion strength of the coating to the surfaces of the alloys.

Thyroid-Friendly Soft Materials as 3D Cell Culture Tool for Stimulating Thyroid Cell Function.

The disruption of thyroid hormones because of chemical exposure is a significant societal problem. Chemical evaluations of environmental and human health risks are conventionally based on animal experiments. However, owing to recent breakthroughs in biotechnology, the potential toxicity of chemicals can now be evaluated using 3D cell cultures.

Biomimetic hydrogel blanket for conserving and recovering intrinsic cell properties.

Background: Cells in the human body experience different growth environments and conditions, such as compressive pressure and oxygen concentrations, depending on the type and location of the tissue. Thus, a culture device that emulates the environment inside the body is required to study cells outside the body.

Methods: A blanket-type cell culture device (Direct Contact Pressing: DCP) was fabricated with an alginate-based hydrogel.

Optimization of the clinically approved mg-Zn alloy system through the addition of ca.

Background: Although several studies on the Mg-Zn-Ca system have focused on alloy compositions that are restricted to solid solutions, the influence of the solid solution component of Ca on Mg-Zn alloys is unknown. Therefore, to broaden its utility in orthopedic applications, studies on the influence of the addition of Ca on the microstructural, mechanical, and corrosion properties of Mg-Zn alloys should be conducted. In this study, an in-depth investigation of the effect of Ca on the mechanical and bio-corrosion characteristics of the Mg-Zn alloy was performed for the optimization of a clinically approved Mg alloy system comprising Ca and Zn.

Integration of Bioinspired Fibrous Strands with 3D Spheroids for Environmental Hazard Monitoring.

Numerous methods have been introduced to produce 3D cell cultures that can reduce the need for animal experimentation. This study presents a unique 3D culture platform that features bioinspired strands of electrospun nanofibers (BSeNs) and aquatic cell lines to compensate for shortcomings in the current cell spheroid generation techniques. The use of BSeNs in 3D zebrafish liver cell cultures is found to improve liver and reproductive functions through spheroid-based in vitro assays such as whole transcriptome sequencing and reproductive toxicity testing, with optimized properties exhibiting results similar to those obtained for fish embryo acute toxicity (FET, OECD TG 236) following exposure to environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (17β-Estradiol (E2), 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-HT), and bisphenol compounds (bisphenol A (BPA) and 9,9-Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)fluorene (BPFL)).

Synergistic stimulation of surface topography and biphasic electric current promotes muscle regeneration.

Developing a universal culture platform that manipulates cell fate is one of the most important tasks in the investigation of the role of the cellular microenvironment. This study focuses on the application of topographical and electrical field stimuli to human myogenic precursor cell (hMPC) cultures to assess the influences of the adherent direction, proliferation, and differentiation, and induce preconditioning-induced therapeutic benefits. First, a topographical surface of commercially available culture dishes was achieved by femtosecond laser texturing.

Conformable microneedle pH sensors via the integration of two different siloxane polymers for mapping peripheral artery disease.

Flexible microneedles are important tools that allow access to the inside of biological tissue from the outside without surgery. However, it had been hard to realize microneedle sensor arrays on flexible substrates because of the difficulty of attaining a needle with a high Young’s modulus for a selected area on a thin or soft substrate. In this work, we developed a microneedle sensor on a hybrid substrate based on high Young’s modulus epoxy siloxane for the microneedles and low Young’s modulus polydimethylsiloxane for the conformable substrate.

On/off switchable physical stimuli regulate the future direction of adherent cellular fate.

The utilization of cell-manipulating techniques reveals information about biological behaviors suited to address a wide range of questions in the field of life sciences. Here, we introduced an on/off switchable physical stimuli technique that offers precise stimuli for reversible cell patterning to allow regulation of the future direction of adherent cellular behavior by leveraging enzymatically degradable alginate hydrogels with defined chemistry and topography. As a proof of concept, targeted muscle cells adherent to TCP exhibited a reshaped structure when the hydrogel-based physical stimuli were applied.

Regulation of cell locomotion by nanosecond-laser-induced hydroxyapatite patterning.

Hydroxyapatite, an essential mineral in human bones composed mainly of calcium and phosphorus, is widely used to coat bone graft and implant surfaces for enhanced biocompatibility and bone formation. For a strong implant-bone bond, the bone-forming cells must not only adhere to the implant surface but also move to the surface requiring bone formation. However, strong adhesion tends to inhibit cell migration on the surface of hydroxyapatite.

Durable and Fatigue-Resistant Soft Peripheral Neuroprosthetics for In Vivo Bidirectional Signaling.

Soft neuroprosthetics that monitor signals from sensory neurons and deliver motor information can potentially replace damaged nerves. However, achieving long-term stability of devices interfacing peripheral nerves is challenging, since dynamic mechanical deformations in peripheral nerves cause material degradation in devices. Here, a durable and fatigue-resistant soft neuroprosthetic device is reported for bidirectional signaling on peripheral nerves.

Biodegradable Magnesium Alloys Promote Angio-Osteogenesis to Enhance Bone Repair.

Biodegradable metallic materials represent a potential step-change technology that may revolutionize the treatment of broken bones. Implants made with biodegradable metals are significantly stronger than their polymer counterparts and fully biodegradable in vivo, removing the need for secondary surgery or long-term complications. Here, it is shown how clinically approved Mg alloy promotes improved bone repair using an integrated state of the art fetal mouse metatarsal assay coupled with in vivo preclinical studies, second harmonic generation, secretome array analysis, perfusion bioreactor, and high-resolution 3D confocal imaging of vasculature within skeletal tissue, to reveal a vascular-mediated pro-osteogenic mechanism controlling enhanced tissue regeneration.

Tailoring HO generation kinetics with magnesium alloys for efficient disinfection on titanium surface.

A new antibacterial strategy for Ti has been developed without the use of any external antibacterial agents and surface treatments. By combining Mg alloys with Ti, HO, which is an oxidizing agent that kills bacteria, was spontaneously generated near the surface of Ti. Importantly, the HO formation kinetics can be precisely controlled by tailoring the degradation rates of Mg alloys connected to Ti.

Detection of Acidic Pharmaceutical Compounds Using Virus-Based Molecularly Imprinted Polymers.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have proven to be particularly effective chemical probes for the molecular recognition of proteins, DNA, and viruses. Here, we started from a filamentous bacteriophage to synthesize a multi-functionalized MIP for detecting the acidic pharmaceutic clofibric acid (CA) as a chemical pollutant. Adsorption and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring experiments showed that the phage-functionalized MIP had a good binding affinity for CA, compared with the non-imprinted polymer and MIP.

Interface Engineering of Fully Metallic Stents Enabling Controllable HO Generation for Antirestenosis.

Despite significant advances in the design of metallic materials for bare metal stents (BMSs), restenosis induced by the accumulation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) has been a major constraint on improving the clinical efficacy of stent implantation. Here, a new strategy for avoiding this issue by utilizing hydrogen peroxide (HO) generated by the galvanic coupling of nitinol (NiTi) stents and biodegradable magnesium-zinc (Mg-Zn) alloys is reported. The amount of HO released is carefully optimized via the biodegradability engineering of the alloys and by controlling the immersion time to selectively inhibit the proliferation and function of SMCs without harming vascular endothelial cells.

A new corrosion-inhibiting strategy for biodegradable magnesium: reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH).

Utilization of biodegradable metals in biomedical fields is emerging because it avoids high-risk and uneconomic secondary surgeries for removing implantable devices. Mg and its alloys are considered optimum materials for biodegradable implantable devices because of their high biocompatibility; however, their excessive and uncontrollable biodegradation is a difficult challenge to overcome. Here, we present a novel method of inhibiting Mg biodegradation by utilizing reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), an endogenous cofactor present in all living cells.