An Overview on the Big Players in Bone Tissue Engineering: Biomaterials, Scaffolds and Cells.

Presently, millions worldwide suffer from degenerative and inflammatory bone and joint issues, comprising roughly half of chronic ailments in those over 50, leading to prolonged discomfort and physical limitations. These conditions become more prevalent with age and lifestyle factors, escalating due to the growing elderly populace. Addressing these challenges often entails surgical interventions utilizing implants or bone grafts, though these treatments may entail complications such as pain and tissue death at donor sites for grafts, along with immune rejection.

A Cyclam Salt as an Antifungal Agent: Interference with spp. and Mechanisms of Virulence.

The importance of fungal infections, particularly those caused by yeasts, is increasing among the medical community. and are amongst the high-priority fungal species identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and are considered in the critical group, while is included in the medium-priority group. The cyclam salt H[H(PhCH)Cyclam]Cl proved to be active against the growth of these three yeasts, and the aim of this work was to verify its interference with their virulence mechanisms, whether shared or unique.

Bone Grafts in Dental Medicine: An Overview of Autografts, Allografts and Synthetic Materials.

This review provides an overview of various materials used in dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgeries to replace or repair bone defects. The choice of material depends on factors such as tissue viability, size, shape, and defect volume. While small bone defects can regenerate naturally, extensive defects or loss or pathological fractures require surgical intervention and the use of substitute bones.

Bioengineering Approaches to Fight against Orthopedic Biomaterials Related-Infections.

One of the most serious complications following the implantation of orthopedic biomaterials is the development of infection. Orthopedic implant-related infections do not only entail clinical problems and patient suffering, but also cause a burden on healthcare care systems. Additionally, the ageing of the world population, in particular in developed countries, has led to an increase in the population above 60 years.

Detection of (MRSA/MSSA) in surfaces of dental medicine equipment.

Methicillin-Resistant (MRSA) represents one of the major causes of nosocomial infections, leading to high mortality. Surfaces in clinics, as well as the attending uniform and the hands of the dental doctor can be MRSA reservoirs. Having this in mind, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of Methicillin-Sensitive (MSSA) and MRSA on dental medicine equipment surfaces.

Encapsulated bacteriophages in alginate-nanohydroxyapatite hydrogel as a novel delivery system to prevent orthopedic implant-associated infections.

An innovative delivery system based on bacteriophages-loaded alginate-nanohydroxyapatite hydrogel was developed as a multifunctional approach for local tissue regeneration and infection prevention and control. Bacteriophages were efficiently encapsulated, without jeopardizing phage viability and functionality, nor affecting hydrogel morphology and chemical composition. Bacteriophage delivery occurred by swelling-disintegration-degradation process of the alginate structure and was influenced by environmental pH.

Measuring Health Vulnerability: An Interdisciplinary Indicator Applied to Mainland Portugal.

Health promotion and inequality reduction are specific goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, which are interconnected with several dimensions of life. This work proposes a composite index -socioeconomic health vulnerability index-to address Portuguese population socioeconomic determinants that affect health outcomes. Variables composing are aligned with the sustainable development goals considering data and times series availability to enable progress monitoring, and variables adequacy to translate populations' life conditions affecting health outcomes.

Samarium doped glass-reinforced hydroxyapatite with enhanced osteoblastic performance and antibacterial properties for bone tissue regeneration.

A novel bioactive bone substitute with improved osteoblastic performance and effective antibacterial activity was developed, using a completely new approach based on samarium (Sm) doped PO glass-reinforced hydroxyapatite composites (GR-HA). The composites were prepared by adding 2.5% (w/w) of the PO glass to 97.

Modulation of human dermal microvascular endothelial cell and human gingival fibroblast behavior by micropatterned silica coating surfaces for zirconia dental implant applications.

Dental ceramic implants have shown superior esthetic behavior and the absence of induced allergic disorders when compared to titanium implants. Zirconia may become a potential candidate to be used as an alternative to titanium dental implants if surface modifications are introduced. In this work, bioactive micropatterned silica coatings were produced on zirconia substrates, using a combined methodology of sol-gel processing and soft lithography.

In vitro analysis of the antibacterial effect of nanohydroxyapatite-ZnO composites.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a biocompatible and bioactive synthetic material for biomedical applications as it binds to bone and enhances bone tissue formation. Particularly, nanophased HA can mimic the dimensions of constituent components of natural tissues; can modulate enhanced osteoblast adhesion and resorption with long-term functionality of tissue engineered implants. However, HA does not inhibit bacteria from adhering onto its surface, and this has implications in the bone healing process required for patient recovery, since infection can lead to the implant failure.

Degradation studies and biological behavior on an artificial cornea material.

Purpose: Patients with dry eye syndrome, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, or recurrent transplant rejections are unsuitable to receive a keratoprosthesis. The present work aims at developing a highly biocompatible keratoprosthesis that could be successfully implanted in such patients.

Methods: Glass-reinforced hydroxyapatite (GRHA) was used to construct this new artificial cornea.

Biocompatibility of highly macroporous ceramic scaffolds: cell adhesion and morphology studies.

Hydroxyapatite porous scaffolds can be used for tissue engineering applications since they can serve as templates for cell adhesion, proliferation and ultimately for tissue repair. One way to address this issue is to evaluate the cell adhesion using several characterization techniques namely, cytotoxicity assays and cell visualization. On the other hand, when using highly macroporous scaffolds some techniques may not be adequate for evaluation, such as MTT.