Recycling Ophthalmic Lens Wastewater in a Circular Economy Context: A Case Study with Microalgae Integration.

Water pollution poses a global threat to ecosystems and human health and is driven by the presence of various contaminants in wastewater, including nano- and microplastics. Despite the magnitude of this problem, the majority of global wastewater is released untreated into water bodies. To combat this issue, a multi-strategy approach is needed.

Gamma Irradiation Processing on 3D PCL Devices-A Preliminary Biocompatibility Assessment.

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing applying polycaprolactone (PCL)-based medical devices represents an important branch of tissue engineering, where the sterilization method is a key process for further safe application in vitro and in vivo. In this study, the authors intend to access the most suitable gamma radiation conditions to sterilize PCL-based scaffolds in a preliminary biocompatibility assessment, envisioning future studies for airway obstruction conditions. Three radiation levels were considered, 25 kGy, 35 kGy and 45 kGy, and evaluated as regards their cyto- and biocompatibility.

Electrospun-Based Membranes as a Key Tool to Prevent Respiratory Infections.

The use of electrospun meshes has been proposed as highly efficient protective equipment to prevent respiratory infections. Those infections can result from the activity of micro-organisms and other small dust particles, such as those resulting from air pollution, that impair the respiratory tract, induce cellular damage and compromise breathing capacity. Therefore, electrospun meshes can contribute to promoting air-breathing quality and controlling the spread of such epidemic-disrupting agents due to their intrinsic characteristics, namely, low pore size, and high porosity and surface area.

Advanced Face Mask Filters Based on PCL Electrospun Meshes Dopped with Antimicrobial MgO and CuO Nanoparticles.

The pandemic situation caused by coronavirus clearly demonstrated the need for alternatives able to protect the respiratory tract and inactivate the infectious agents. Based on this, antibacterial face-mask filters of polycaprolactone (PCL) dopped with magnesium oxide (MgO) and copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) were produced using an electrospinning technique. A morphological analysis of electrospun meshes evaluated the success of nanoparticles' incorporation as well as the average fibers' diameters (481 ± 272 nm).

Antimicrobial peptide-based materials: opportunities and challenges.

The multifunctional properties of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) make them attractive candidates for the treatment of various diseases. AMPs are considered as alternatives to antibiotics due to the increasing number of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. However, bare AMPs have limited therapeutic potentials due to a low residence time in the blood circulatory system and susceptibility to proteases and an alkaline wound environment.

3D Printed Poly(𝜀-caprolactone)/Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering: A Comparative Study on a Composite Preparation by Melt Blending or Solvent Casting Techniques and the Influence of Bioceramic Content on Scaffold Properties.

Bone tissue engineering has been developed in the past decades, with the engineering of bone substitutes on the vanguard of this regenerative approach. Polycaprolactone-based scaffolds are fairly applied for bone regeneration, and several composites have been incorporated so as to improve the scaffolds' mechanical properties and tissue in-growth. In this study, hydroxyapatite is incorporated on polycaprolactone-based scaffolds at two different proportions, 80:20 and 60:40.

Soft Bioelectronic Stickers: Selection and Evaluation of Skin-Interfacing Electrodes.

Surface biopotentials collected from the human epidermis contain important information about human physiology, such as muscular, heart, and brain activities. However, commercially available wearable biomonitoring devices are generally composed of rigid hardware incompatible with the mechanical compliance of soft human tissues. Thin-film stretchable e-skin circuits that can interface the human skin represent an excellent alternative for long-term wearable biomonitoring.

Inhalation of peptide-loaded nanoparticles improves heart failure.

Peptides are highly selective and efficacious for the treatment of cardiovascular and other diseases. However, it is currently not possible to administer peptides for cardiac-targeting therapy via a noninvasive procedure, thus representing scientific and technological challenges. We demonstrate that inhalation of small (<50 nm in diameter) biocompatible and biodegradable calcium phosphate nanoparticles (CaPs) allows for rapid translocation of CaPs from the pulmonary tree to the bloodstream and to the myocardium, where their cargo is quickly released.

Bioinspired negatively charged calcium phosphate nanocarriers for cardiac delivery of MicroRNAs.

Aim: To develop biocompatible and bioresorbable negatively charged calcium phosphate nanoparticles (CaP-NPs) as an innovative therapeutic system for the delivery of bioactive molecules to the heart.

Materials & Methods: CaP-NPs were synthesized via a straightforward one-pot biomineralization-inspired protocol employing citrate as a stabilizing agent and regulator of crystal growth. CaP-NPs were administered to cardiac cells in vitro and effects of treatments were assessed.

Synthesis and preliminary in vivo evaluation of well-dispersed biomimetic nanocrystalline apatites labeled with positron emission tomographic imaging agents.

In recent years, biomimetic synthetic apatite nanoparticles (AP-NPs), having chemical similarity with the mineral phase of bone, have attracted a great interest in nanomedicine as potential drug carriers. To evaluate the therapeutic perspectives of AP-NPs through the mechanisms of action and organs they interact with, the noninvasive monitoring of their in vivo behavior is of paramount importance. To this aim, here the feasibility to radiolabel AP-NPs ("naked" and surface-modified with citrate to reduce their aggregation) with two positron emission tomographic (PET) imaging agents ([(18)F]NaF and (68)Ga-NO2AP(BP)) was investigated.