Salt-Compact Albumin as a New Pure Protein-based Biomaterials: From Design to In Vivo Studies.

Current biodegradable materials are facing many challenges when used for the design of implantable devices because of shortcomings such as toxicity of crosslinking agents and degradation derivatives, limited cell adhesion, and limited immunological compatibility. Here, a class of materials built entirely of stable protein is designed using a simple protocol based on salt-assisted compaction of albumin, breaking with current crosslinking strategies. Salt-assisted compaction is based on the assembly of albumin in the presence of high concentrations of specific salts such as sodium bromide.

First example of airway restoration using cryopreserved aortic allograft after total laryngectomy: CARE case report.

Case Description: A 70 year-old woman presenting T4aN2cM0 laryngeal carcinoma first underwent total laryngectomy with airway reconstruction by cryopreserved aortic allograft. Six months after chemoradiotherapy, she underwent endoscopic surgery to create a neo-laryngopharynx.

Results: At 13 months after primary surgery, day- and night-time breathing was effectively restored, with a little persistent salivary false passage, and a whispering but comprehensible voice after tracheostomy closure.

A 3D Bio-Printed-Based Model for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a disease with a very poor prognosis, characterized by incidence rates very close to death rates. Despite the efforts of the scientific community, preclinical models that faithfully recreate the PDAC tumor microenvironment remain limited. Currently, the use of 3D bio-printing is an emerging and promising method for the development of cancer tumor models with reproducible heterogeneity and a precisely controlled structure.

Cationic homopolypeptides: A versatile tool to design multifunctional antimicrobial nanocoatings.

Postoperative infections are the most common complications faced by surgeons after implant surgery. To address this issue, an emerging and promising approach is to develop antimicrobial coatings using antibiotic substitutes. We investigated the use of polycationic homopolypeptides in a layer-by-layer coating combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) to produce an effective antimicrobial shield.

The use of supramolecular systems in biomedical applications for antimicrobial properties, biocompatibility, and drug delivery.

Supramolecular chemistry is versatile for developing stimuli-responsive, dynamic and multifunctional structures. In the context of biomedical engineering applications, supramolecular assemblies are particularly useful as coatings for they can closely mimic the natural structure and organisation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), they can also fabricate other complex systems like drug delivery systems and bioinks. In the current context of growing medical device-associated complications and the developments in the controlled drug delivery and regenerative medicine fields, supramolecular assemblies are becoming an indispensable part of the biomedical engineering arsenal.