A 3D Tissue Model of Traumatic Brain Injury with Excitotoxicity That Is Inhibited by Chronic Exposure to Gabapentinoids.

Injury progression associated with cerebral laceration is insidious. Following the initial trauma, brain tissues become hyperexcitable, begetting further damage that compounds the initial impact over time. Clinicians have adopted several strategies to mitigate the effects of secondary brain injury; however, higher throughput screening tools with modular flexibility are needed to expedite mechanistic studies and drug discovery that will contribute to the enhanced protection, repair, and even the regeneration of neural tissues.

Impact of Select Sophorolipid Derivatives on Macrophage Polarization and Viability.

A major limitation of many biomaterials is the induction of a host response that challenges the integrity and overall efficacy of the implanted material. Emerging literature suggests that the resolution of inflammation is essential for proper healing and restoration of homeostasis. Macrophages are highly plastic immune cells that play a variety of critical roles throughout the duration of the host response.

A Three-Dimensional Chondrocyte-Macrophage Coculture System to Probe Inflammation in Experimental Osteoarthritis.

The goal of the present study was to develop a fully three-dimensional (3D) coculture system that would allow for systematic evaluation of the interplay between activated macrophages (AMs) and chondrocytes in osteoarthritic disease progression and treatment. Toward this end, our coculture system was first validated against existing in vitro osteoarthritis models, which have generally cultured healthy normal chondrocytes (NCs)-in two-dimensional (2D) or 3D-with proinflammatory AMs in 2D. In this work, NCs and AMs were both encapsulated within poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate hydrogels to mimic the native 3D environments of both cell types within the osteoarthritic joint.

Evaluation of the Osteoinductive Capacity of Polydopamine-Coated Poly(-caprolactone) Diacrylate Shape Memory Foams.

Recently, a novel shape memory polymer foam based on the photopolymerization of poly(-caprolactone) diacrylate (PCLDA) has been developed. These PCLDA foams enter a temporary softened state when briefly treated with warm saline ( > of PCLDA), allowing them to conform to irregular bone defect "boundaries" prior to shape setting. When coated with a mechanically stable polydopamine (PD) layer, these PCLDA foams have previously been demonstrated to induce hydroxyapatite deposition.