Injectable microbeads with a thermo-responsive shell and a pH-responsive core as a dual-switch-controlled release system.

Treating inflammation with a dual-switch-controlled release system: The release of a drug from the developed microbead system occurs only in response to both an increase in local temperature and an acidic environmental pH. This dual-switch-controlled release system has the advantages of distinguishing between inflamed and healthy tissues to improve treatment efficacy.

Electrical coupling of isolated cardiomyocyte clusters grown on aligned conductive nanofibrous meshes for their synchronized beating.

Myocardial infarction is often associated with abnormalities in electrical function due to a massive loss of functioning cardiomyocytes. This work develops a mesh, consisting of aligned composite nanofibers of polyaniline (PANI) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), as an electrically active scaffold for coordinating the beatings of the cultured cardiomyocytes synchronously. Following doping by HCl, the electrospun fibers could be transformed into a conductive form carrying positive charges, which could then attract negatively charged adhesive proteins (i.

Recent advances in chitosan-based nanoparticles for oral delivery of macromolecules.

Chitosan (CS), a cationic polysaccharide, is widely regarded as a safe and efficient intestinal absorption enhancer of therapeutic macromolecules, owing to its inherent mucoadhesive feature and ability to modulate the integrity of epithelial tight junctions reversibly. By using CS-based nanoparticles, many studies have attempted to protect the loaded macromolecules against acidic denaturation and enzymatic degradation, prolong their intestinal residence time, and increase their absorption by the intestinal epithelium. Derivatives of CS such as quaternized CS, thiolated CS and carboxylated CS have also been examined to further enhance its effectiveness in oral absorption of macromolecular drugs.

Cardiac repair with injectable cell sheet fragments of human amniotic fluid stem cells in an immune-suppressed rat model.

Direct intramyocardial injection of the desired cell types in a dissociated form is a common route of cell transplantation for repair of damaged myocardium. However, following injection of dissociated cells, a massive loss of transplanted cells has been reported. In this study, human amniotic fluid stem cells (hAFSCs) were used as the cell source for the fabrication of cell sheet fragments, using a thermo-responsive methylcellulose hydrogel system.

Cellular cardiomyoplasty with human amniotic fluid stem cells: in vitro and in vivo studies.

Human amniotic fluid stem cells (hAFSCs) derived from second-trimester amniocentesis were evaluated for the therapeutic potential of cardiac repair. Whether hAFSCs can be differentiated into cardiomyogenic cells and toward the maturation of endothelial cell lineage was investigated in vitro using mimicking differentiation milieu. Employing an immune-suppressed rat model with experimental myocardial infarction, an intramyocardial injection was conducted with a needle directly into the peri-infarct areas.