A ceramic microbridge microfluidic chip to study osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in bioactive ceramic immune microenvironment.

Bioactive ceramics have been used in bone tissue repair and regeneration. However, because of the complex in vivo osteogenesis process, long cycle, and difficulty of accurately tracking, the mechanism of interaction between materials and cells has yet to be fully understood, hindering its development. The ceramic microbridge microfluidic chip system may solve the problem and provide an in vitro method to simulate the microenvironment in vivo.

Research on triamcinolone-loaded thermosensitive chitosan hydrogels for preventing esophageal stricture induced by endoscopic submucosal dissection.

Early-stage esophageal cancer is primarily treated by endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). However, extensive mucosal dissection creates a significant risk of postoperative esophageal stricture. Clinically, postoperative stricture can be prevented by glucocorticoids; however, there are drawbacks to both systemic and local administration of glucocorticoids, and improving drug administration methods is crucial.

Polyvinyl-alcohol, chitosan and graphene-oxide composed conductive hydrogel for electrically controlled fluorescein sodium transdermal release.

Accurate and controlled release of drug molecules is crucial for transdermal drug delivery. Electricity, as an adjustable parameter, offers the potential for precise and controllable drug delivery. However, challenges exist in selecting the appropriate drug carrier, electrical parameters, and release model to achieve controlled electronic drug release.

Nanocomposite hydrogel based on chitosan/laponite for sealing and repairing tracheoesophageal fistula.

Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) is an abnormal connection between the trachea and esophagus that severely impairs quality of life. Current treatment options have limitations, including conservative treatment, surgical repair, and esophageal stent implantation. Here, we introduced laponite (LP) nano-clay to improve chitosan-based hydrogels' rheological properties and mechanical properties and developed an endoscopically injectable nanocomposite shear-thinning hydrogel to seal and repair fistulas as an innovative material for the treatment of TEF.

Construction of Microfluidic Chip Structure for Cell Migration Studies in Bioactive Ceramics.

Cell migration is an essential bioactive ceramics property and critical for bone induction, clinical application, and mechanism research. Standardized cell migration detection methods have many limitations, including a lack of dynamic fluid circulation and the inability to simulate cell behavior in vivo. Microfluidic chip technology, which mimics the human microenvironment and provides controlled dynamic fluid cycling, has the potential to solve these questions and generate reliable models of cell migration in vitro.

A chitosan-optimized polyethyleneimine/polyacrylic acid multifunctional hydrogel for reducing the risk of ulcerative arterial bleeding.

Ulcerative arterial bleeding is characterized by sudden onset, rapid disease development, and high mortality, which is a great challenge for clinicians to treat, specially bleeding in areas where endoscopic operation is difficult, or in the case of diffuse bleeding, tumor bleeding, and recurrent bleeding. Herein, we proposed a novel treatment strategy using biomaterials to protect the wound and isolate the erosion of digestive tract contents to prevent arterial bleeding in advance. By introducing chitosan to construct multihydrogen-bonding and an electrostatic interaction system, we developed polyethyleneimine/polyacrylic acid/chitosan (PEI/PAA/CS) multifunctional hydrogel.

Design and validation of performance-oriented injectable chitosan thermosensitive hydrogels for endoscopic submucosal dissection.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a challenging procedure. The use of biomaterials to improve the operator's convenience (operating affinity) has received little attention. We prepared two thermosensitive hydrogels, lactobionic acid-modified chitosan/chitosan/β-glycerophosphate thermosensitive hydrogel (hydrogel 1) and its lyophilized powders (hydrogel 2), characterized their physicochemical properties and evaluated their performance in ESD experiments on large animals, by comparing with the commonly used normal saline (NS) and glycerin fructose (GF).

Vanillin enhances the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of polyvinyl alcohol-chitosan hydrogel dressings.

Wound management requires the preparation of controllable, safe and effective dressings to isolate the wound from the external environment. Currently, widely used commercial dressings focus on the isolation effect rather than an environment conducive to wound healing. To provide the dressing with beneficial properties such as wetting and antioxidant and antibacterial activity, this study used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel as the base material and introduced chitosan (CS) and vanillin (V) to design a PVA/CS/V three-phase hydrogel dressing.

A simple, safe and easily accessible polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel for wound cleaning.

Acute wounds are often contaminated by some kind of filth, and fluids are usually used to wash away the dirt, but the force of the fluid may cause secondary injury at the wound site or even increase the risk of infection. Hydrogels have several advantages over liquid scouring since they are less intense, more portable, and easier to control. In this study, poly(vinyl alcohol) was used to prepared a series of hydrogels, which were tested in terms of their properties and abilities to clean simulated dirty wounds.

Chitosan thermosensitive hydrogels based on lyophilizate powders demonstrate significant potential for clinical use in endoscopic submucosal dissection procedures.

The goal of this study was to develop intraoperative biomaterials for use in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) procedures that are stable during storage, easy to use, and effective in clinical practice. Therefore, injectable thermosensitive hydrogels were developed based on lactobionic acid-modified chitosan/chitosan/β-glycerophosphate (CSLA/CS/GP) hydrogel lyophilizate powders, and their properties were compared with original hydrogels that had not been freeze-dried. The results indicated that the lyophilizate powders retained their thermosensitive properties, and gels could be formed within 5 min at 37 °C.

Lactobionic acid-modified chitosan thermosensitive hydrogels that lift lesions and promote repair in endoscopic submucosal dissection.

To develop a biomaterial to lift the lesion and promote wound healing in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), we used lactobionic acid (LA) to improve the water solubility of chitosan (CS) and prepared a new three-phase hydrogel system with lactobionic acid-modified chitosan/chitosan/β-glycerophosphate (CSLA/CS/GP). The results indicated that the hydrogel retains temperature-sensitive properties, and CSLA obviously improved the low-temperature fluidity of the hydrogel precursor solution, enabling injection of the hydrogel by endoscopic needle. The mechanical strength and bio-adhesion of the hydrogels were also improved by the addition of CSLA and the hydrogels could be maintained in acidic environment for a few days and exhibit greater protection of cells.

Evaluating platelet activation related to the degradation products of biomaterials using molecular markers.

Increasing numbers of biodegradable medical devices may be used in the circulatory system. The effects of the released degradation products from these medical devices on the blood may be gradual and cumulative. When they reach critical levels, they may cause thrombosis and other complications.

Feasibility study of use of rabbit blood to evaluate platelet activation by medical devices.

It is important to ascertain platelet responses to blood-contacting medical devices as part of a complete hemocompatibility evaluation. Nevertheless, researchers often face the problem of insufficient quantities of human blood for evaluation of platelet activation by actual medical devices. If animal blood can replace human blood to evaluate platelet activation by medical devices, testing will be smoother and will aid for quality control of related products.