Characterization and mitigation of aerosols and spatters from ultrasonic scalers.

Background: Dental procedures often produce aerosols and spatter, which have the potential to transmit pathogens such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The existing literature is limited.

Methods: Aerosols and spatter were generated from an ultrasonic scaling procedure on a dental manikin and characterized via 2 optical imaging methods: digital inline holography and laser sheet imaging.

Living in three dimensions: 3D nanostructured environments for cell culture and regenerative medicine.

Research focused on deciphering the biochemical mechanisms that regulate cell proliferation and function has largely depended on the use of tissue culture methods in which cells are grown on two-dimensional (2D) plastic or glass surfaces. However, the flat surface of the tissue culture plate represents a poor topological approximation of the more complex three-dimensional (3D) architecture of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the basement membrane (BM), a structurally compact form of the ECM. Recent work has provided strong evidence that the highly porous nanotopography that results from the 3D associations of ECM and BM nanofibrils is essential for the reproduction of physiological patterns of cell adherence, cytoskeletal organization, migration, signal transduction, morphogenesis, and differentiation in cell culture.

A synthetic nanofibrillar matrix promotes in vivo-like organization and morphogenesis for cells in culture.

The purpose of this study was to design a synthetic nanofibrillar matrix that more accurately models the porosity and fibrillar geometry of cell attachment surfaces in tissues. The synthetic nanofibrillar matrices are composed of nanofibers prepared by electrospinning a polymer solution of polyamide onto glass coverslips. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopy showed that the nanofibers were organized into fibrillar networks reminiscent of the architecture of basement membrane, a structurally compact form of the extracellular matrix (ECM).