Recent advances in bioprinting technologies for engineering cardiac tissue.

Annually increasing incidence of cardiac-related disorders and cardiac tissue's minimal regenerative capacity have motivated the researchers to explore effective therapeutic strategies. In the recent years, bioprinting technologies have witnessed a great wave of enthusiasm and have undergone steady advancements over a short period, opening the possibilities for recreating engineered functional cardiac tissue models for regenerative and diagnostic applications. With this perspective, the current review delineates recent developments in the sphere of engineered cardiac tissue fabrication, using traditional and advanced bioprinting strategies.

Recent advances in bioprinting technologies for engineering different cartilage-based tissues.

Inadequate self-repair and regenerative efficiency of the cartilage tissues has motivated the researchers to devise advanced and effective strategies to resolve this issue. Introduction of bioprinting to tissue engineering has paved the way for fabricating complex biomimetic engineered constructs. In this context, the current review gears off with the discussion of standard and advanced 3D/4D printing technologies and their implications for the repair of different cartilage tissues, namely, articular, meniscal, nasoseptal, auricular, costal, and tracheal cartilage.

Mannose receptor targeted bioadhesive chitosan nanoparticles of clofazimine for effective therapy of tuberculosis.

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most lethal diseases, and it is imperative to exploit an advanced drug formulation for its effective treatment. This work aims to develop a mannose receptor-targeted bioadhesive chitosan nanoparticles for effective drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment. The clofazimine loaded chitosan nanoparticles were formulated; their size, charge, polydispersity (PDI), surface morphology, entrapment efficiency (EE) and release pattern were established.

Printability assessment of psyllium husk (isabgol)/gelatin blends using rheological and mechanical properties.

The primary goal of this study is to highlight the rheological and mechanical properties of a new blend composed of naturally-derived hydrogel materials- psyllium husk (PH) and gelatin (G) for its potential use in three-dimensional (3D) printing technology. The mixtures were prepared at various weight ratios of 100PH, 75PH + 25G and 50PH + 50G. A suitable selection of the printable ink was made based on the preliminary screening steps of manual filament drop test and layer stacking by 3D printing.

Low density culture of mammalian primary neurons in compartmentalized microfluidic devices.

This paper demonstrates the fabrication of a compartmentalized microfluidic device with docking sites to position a single neuron or a cluster of 5-6 neurons along with varying length of microgrooves and the optimization process for culturing primary mammalian neurons at low densities. The principle of centrifugation was employed to situate cells in desired locations followed by the application of a fluid flow to remove the extra or unwanted cells lying in the vicinity of the located neurons. The neuronal cell density was optimized by seeding 10 cells and 10 cells/microfluidic device.

Fabrication and Cytocompatibility Evaluation of Psyllium Husk (Isabgol)/Gelatin Composite Scaffolds.

Psyllium husk or isabgol contains xylan backbone linked with arabinose, rhamnose, and galacturonic acid units (arabinoxylans). In this study, we demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of a macroporous three-dimensional (3D) composite scaffold by mixing psyllium husk powder (PH) and gelatin (G) in different ratios, viz.100 PH, 75/25 PH/G, and 50/50 PH/G (w/w), using an EDC-NHS coupling reaction followed by freeze-drying method.

Culturing melanocytes and fibroblasts within three-dimensional macroporous PDMS scaffolds: towards skin dressing material.

In the present study, we propose a platform for topical wound dressing material using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) scaffold in order to enhance the skin healing process. In vitro co-culture assessment of epidermal-origin mouse B16-F10 melanocyte cells and mouse L929 fibroblast cells in three-dimensional polymeric scaffolds has been carried out towards developing bio-stable, interconnected, highly macroporous, PDMS based tissue-engineered scaffolds, using the salt leaching method. To determine a suitable ratio of salt to PDMS pre-polymer in the scaffold, two different samples with ratios 2:1 and 3:1 [w/w], were fabricated.

Development of optically sensitive liver cells.

Optogenetics is a new and emerging field that involves techniques of optics and genetic engineering to influence cellular functionality. In this work, we have successfully incorporated a non-selective cationic channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) into human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. A plasmid construct AAV-CAG-ChR2-GFP was used for liposomal transfection into the cells.

Pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, in vitro cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of Vitamin E TPGS coated trans resveratrol liposomes.

The clinical application of trans resveratrol (RSV) in glioma treatment is largely limited because of its rapid metabolism, fast elimination from systemic circulation and low biological half life. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to enhance the circulation time, biological half life and passive brain targeting of RSV using d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) coated liposomes (RSV-TPGS-Lipo). In addition to basic liposomal characterizations, in vitro anticancer potential against C6 glioma cell lines and cellular internalization of liposomes were carried out by MTT assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), respectively.