An In Vitro Macrophage Response Study of Silk Fibroin and Silk Fibroin/Nano-Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds for Tissue Regeneration Application.

In recent years, silk fibroin (SF) has been incorporated with low crystallinity nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) as a scaffold for various tissue regeneration applications due to the mechanical strength of SF and osteoconductive properties of nHA. However, currently, there is a lack of understanding of the immune response toward the degradation products of SF with nHA composite after implantation. It is known that particulate fragments from the degradation of a biomaterial can trigger an immune response.

SIRIUS, Ultra-Scintillating Upconversion Breast Implant for Remote Orthotopic Photodynamic Therapy.

Present day strategies for delivery of wireless photodynamic therapy (PDT) to deep-seated targets are limited by the inadequacy of irradiance and insufficient therapeutic depth. Here we report the design and preclinical validation of a flexible wireless upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) implant (SIRIUS) that is capable of large field, high intensity illumination for PDT of deep-seated tumors. The implant achieves this by incorporating submicrometer core-shell-shell NaYF UCNPs into its design, which significantly enhances upconversion efficiency and mitigates light loss from surface quenching.

The effect of chondroitin sulfate concentration and matrix stiffness on chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

Chondroitin sulfate (CS), a glycosaminoglycan of native cartilage, has shown its potential in promoting chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), whereas the effect of matrix stiffness in a CS-containing 3D environment on chondrogenesis is still poorly understood. Herein, this study aimed at assessing the effect of CS concentration and stiffness of CS-containing hydrogels on the chondrogenesis of MSCs. Hydrogels composed of 6% (w/v) gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and three concentrations, , 4%, 6%, or 10% (w/v), of methacrylated chondroitin sulfate (CSMA) were prepared.

Silk Fibroin as a Bioink - A Thematic Review of Functionalization Strategies for Bioprinting Applications.

Bioprinting is an emerging tissue engineering technique that has attracted the attention of researchers around the world, for its ability to create tissue constructs that recapitulate physiological function. While the technique has been receiving hype, there are still limitations to the use of bioprinting in practical applications, much of which is due to inappropriate bioink design that is unable to recapitulate complex tissue architecture. Silk fibroin (SF) is an exciting and promising bioink candidate that has been increasingly popular in bioprinting applications because of its processability, biodegradability, and biocompatibility properties.

Osteochondral tissue engineering: Perspectives for clinical application and preclinical development.

Unlabelled: The treatment of osteochondral defects (OCD) remains challenging. Among currently available surgical treatments for OCDs, scaffold-based treatments are promising to regenerate the osteochondral unit. However, there is still no consensus regarding the clinical effectiveness of these scaffold-based therapies for OCDs.

Fabrication of 3D-Printed Ceramic Structures for Portable Solar Desalination Devices.

This paper proposes the fabrication process of the first fully 3D-printed ceramic core structures for portable solar desalination devices optimized to tackle water scarcity from an energy and sustainability perspective. Robocasting, a 3D printing technique, is utilized to fabricate a fully ceramic structure of an integrated solar absorber/thermal insulator/water transporter based on the two-layered structure of modified graphene on silica (MG@Silica) and the porous silica structure. Robocasting has demonstrated its flexibility in tailoring structural designs, combining nanopores and microchannels that exhibit uniform water transport delivery and thermal insulation.