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Smart and Functionalized Development of Nucleic Acid-Based Hydrogels: Assembly Strategies, Recent Advances, and Challenges.
Zhang, Y, Zhu, L, Tian, J, Zhu, L, Ma, X, He, X, Huang, K, Ren, F, Xu, W
Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany). 2021;(14):2100216
Abstract
Nucleic acid-based hydrogels that integrate intrinsic biological properties of nucleic acids and mechanical behavior of their advanced assemblies are appealing bioanalysis and biomedical studies for the development of new-generation smart biomaterials. It is inseparable from development and incorporation of novel structural and functional units. This review highlights different functional units of nucleic acids, polymers, and novel nanomaterials in the order of structures, properties, and functions, and their assembly strategies for the fabrication of nucleic acid-based hydrogels. Also, recent advances in the design of multifunctional and stimuli-responsive nucleic acid-based hydrogels in bioanalysis and biomedical science are discussed, focusing on the applications of customized hydrogels for emerging directions, including 3D cell cultivation and 3D bioprinting. Finally, the key challenge and future perspectives are outlined.
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Biological Factors, Metals, and Biomaterials Regulating Osteogenesis through Autophagy.
di Giacomo, V, Cataldi, A, Sancilio, S
International journal of molecular sciences. 2020;(8)
Abstract
Bone loss raises great concern in numerous situations, such as ageing and many diseases and in both orthopedic and dentistry fields of application, with an extensive impact on health care. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms and the determinants that can regulate osteogenesis and ensure bone balance. Autophagy is a well conserved lysosomal degradation pathway, which is known to be highly active during differentiation and development. This review provides a revision of the literature on all the exogen factors that can modulate osteogenesis through autophagy regulation. Metal ion exposition, mechanical stimuli, and biological factors, including hormones, nutrients, and metabolic conditions, were taken into consideration for their ability to tune osteogenic differentiation through autophagy. In addition, an exhaustive overview of biomaterials, both for orthopedic and dentistry applications, enhancing osteogenesis by modulation of the autophagic process is provided as well. Already investigated conditions regulating bone regeneration via autophagy need to be better understood for finely tailoring innovative therapeutic treatments and designing novel biomaterials.
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Bacillus subtilis: a universal cell factory for industry, agriculture, biomaterials and medicine.
Su, Y, Liu, C, Fang, H, Zhang, D
Microbial cell factories. 2020;(1):173
Abstract
Due to its clear inherited backgrounds as well as simple and diverse genetic manipulation systems, Bacillus subtilis is the key Gram-positive model bacterium for studies on physiology and metabolism. Furthermore, due to its highly efficient protein secretion system and adaptable metabolism, it has been widely used as a cell factory for microbial production of chemicals, enzymes, and antimicrobial materials for industry, agriculture, and medicine. In this mini-review, we first summarize the basic genetic manipulation tools and expression systems for this bacterium, including traditional methods and novel engineering systems. Secondly, we briefly introduce its applications in the production of chemicals and enzymes, and summarize its advantages, mainly focusing on some noteworthy products and recent progress in the engineering of B. subtilis. Finally, this review also covers applications such as microbial additives and antimicrobials, as well as biofilm systems and spore formation. We hope to provide an overview for novice researchers in this area, offering them a better understanding of B. subtilis and its applications.
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Biodegradable Polymers for Gene-Delivery Applications.
Chen, CK, Huang, PK, Law, WC, Chu, CH, Chen, NT, Lo, LW
International journal of nanomedicine. 2020;:2131-2150
Abstract
Gene-based therapies have emerged as a new modality for combating a myriad of currently incurable diseases. However, the fragile nature of gene therapeutics has significantly hampered their biomedical applications. Correspondingly, the development of gene-delivery vectors is of critical importance for gene-based therapies. To date, a variety of gene-delivery vectors have been created and utilized for gene delivery. In general, they can be categorized into viral- and non-viral vectors. Due to safety issues associated with viral vectors, non-viral vectors have recently attracted much more research focus. Of these non-viral vectors, polymeric vectors, which have been preferred due to their low immunogenicity, ease of production, controlled chemical composition and high chemical versatility, have constituted an ideal alternative to viral vectors. In particular, biodegradable polymers, which possess advantageous biocompatibility and biosafety, have been considered to have great potential in clinical applications. In this context, the aim of this review is to introduce the recent development and progress of biodegradable polymers for gene delivery applications, especially for their chemical structure design, gene delivery capacity and additional biological functions. Accordingly, we first define and categorize biodegradable polymers, followed by describing their corresponding degradation mechanisms. Various types of biodegradable polymers resulting from natural and synthetic polymers will be introduced and their applications in gene delivery will be examined. Finally, a future perspective regarding the development of biodegradable polymer vectors will be given.
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Electrospinning Piezoelectric Fibers for Biocompatible Devices.
Azimi, B, Milazzo, M, Lazzeri, A, Berrettini, S, Uddin, MJ, Qin, Z, Buehler, MJ, Danti, S
Advanced healthcare materials. 2020;(1):e1901287
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Abstract
The field of nanotechnology has been gaining great success due to its potential in developing new generations of nanoscale materials with unprecedented properties and enhanced biological responses. This is particularly exciting using nanofibers, as their mechanical and topographic characteristics can approach those found in naturally occurring biological materials. Electrospinning is a key technique to manufacture ultrafine fibers and fiber meshes with multifunctional features, such as piezoelectricity, to be available on a smaller length scale, thus comparable to subcellular scale, which makes their use increasingly appealing for biomedical applications. These include biocompatible fiber-based devices as smart scaffolds, biosensors, energy harvesters, and nanogenerators for the human body. This paper provides a comprehensive review of current studies focused on the fabrication of ultrafine polymeric and ceramic piezoelectric fibers specifically designed for, or with the potential to be translated toward, biomedical applications. It provides an applicative and technical overview of the biocompatible piezoelectric fibers, with actual and potential applications, an understanding of the electrospinning process, and the properties of nanostructured fibrous materials, including the available modeling approaches. Ultimately, this review aims at enabling a future vision on the impact of these nanomaterials as stimuli-responsive devices in the human body.
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6.
Protein-Engineered Functional Materials.
Wang, Y, Katyal, P, Montclare, JK
Advanced healthcare materials. 2019;(11):e1801374
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Abstract
Proteins are versatile macromolecules that can perform a variety of functions. In the past three decades, they have been commonly used as building blocks to generate a range of biomaterials. Owing to their flexibility, proteins can either be used alone or in combination with other functional molecules. Advances in synthetic and chemical biology have enabled new protein fusions as well as the integration of new functional groups leading to biomaterials with emergent properties. This review discusses protein-engineered materials from the perspectives of domain-based designs as well as physical and chemical approaches for crosslinked materials, with special emphasis on the creation of hydrogels. Engineered proteins that organize or template metal ions, bear noncanonical amino acids (NCAAs), and their potential applications, are also reviewed.
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Demineralized Bone Matrix Carriers and their Clinical Applications: An Overview.
Zhang, H, Yang, L, Yang, XG, Wang, F, Feng, JT, Hua, KC, Li, Q, Hu, YC
Orthopaedic surgery. 2019;(5):725-737
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Abstract
Reconstruction of massive bone defects is challenging for orthopaedic clinicians, especially in cases of severe trauma and resection of tumors in various locales. Autologous iliac crest bone graft (ICBG) is the "gold standard" for bone grafting. However, the limited availability and complications at donor sites resulted in seeking other options like allografts and bone graft substitutes. Demineralized bone matrix (DBM) is a form of allograft using acidic solution to remove mineral components, while leaving much of the proteinaceous components native to bone, with small amounts of calcium-based solids, inorganic phosphates, and some trace cell debris. It is an osteoconductive and osteoinductive biomaterial and is approved as a medical device for use in bone defects and spinal fusion. To pack consistently into the defect sites and stay firmly in the filling parts, DBM products have various forms combined with biocompatible viscous carriers, including sponges, strips, injectable putty, paste, and paste infused with chips. The present review aims to summarize the properties of various kind of viscous carriers and their clinical use combined with DBM in commercially available products. Given DBM'mercially available products. Given DBM;s long clinical track record and commercial accessibility in standard forms, opportunities to further develop and validate DBM as a versatile bone biomaterial in orthopaedic repair and regenerative medicine contexts are attractive.
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Mg-Zn alloys, most suitable for biomedical applications.
Bîrcă, AC, Neacşu, IA, Vasile, OR, Ciucă, I, Vasile, IM, Fayeq, MA, Vasile, BŞ
Romanian journal of morphology and embryology = Revue roumaine de morphologie et embryologie. 2018;(1):49-54
Abstract
In this review are highlighted the corrosion and biocompatibility of biodegradable Mg alloys for their use in orthopedic applications. It was revealed that mixing with alloying elements, such as Mn and Zn, provides improved corrosion resistance to Mg alloys; this pursuit is built on the fact that Mg and its alloys are degradable through their time in the human body. Furthermore, Mg alloys afford a characteristic profile that is very close or even almost identical to that of human bone. Minimizing the rate of corrosion of Mg is the most adequate method, because a low corrosion rate of an Mg implant involves a decrease in the extent of hydrogen evolution and alkalization, which allow the human body to gradually absorb or consume the corrosion products.
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Mesoporous silica-based bioactive glasses for antibiotic-free antibacterial applications.
Kaya, S, Cresswell, M, Boccaccini, AR
Materials science & engineering. C, Materials for biological applications. 2018;:99-107
Abstract
Bioactive glasses (BGs) are being used in several biomedical applications, one of them being as antibacterial materials. BGs can be produced via melt-quenching technique or sol-gel method. Bactericidal silver-doped sol-gel derived mesoporous silica-based bioactive glasses were reported for the first time in 2000, having the composition 76SiO2-19CaO-2P2O5-3Ag2O (wt%) and a mean pore diameter of 28nm. This review paper discusses studies carried out exploring the potential antibacterial applications of drug-free mesoporous silica-based BGs. Bioactive glasses doped with metallic elements such as silver, copper, zinc, cerium and gallium are the point of interest of this review, in which SiO2, SiO2-CaO and SiO2-CaO-P2O5 systems are included as the parent glass compositions. Key findings are that silica-based mesoporous BGs offer a potential alternative to the systemic delivery of antibiotics for prevention against infections. The composition dependent dissolution rate and the concentration of the doped elements affect the antibacterial efficacy of BGs. A balance between antibacterial activity and biocompatibility is required, since a high dose of metallic ion addition can cause cytotoxicity. Typical applications of mesoporous BGs doped with antibacterial ions include bone tissue regeneration, multifunctional ceramic coatings for orthopedic devices and orbital implants, scaffolds with enhanced angiogenesis potential, osteostimulation and antibacterial properties for the treatment of large bone defects as well as in wound healing.
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10.
Biomaterials for Craniofacial Bone Regeneration.
Thrivikraman, G, Athirasala, A, Twohig, C, Boda, SK, Bertassoni, LE
Dental clinics of North America. 2017;(4):835-856
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Abstract
Functional reconstruction of craniofacial defects is a major clinical challenge in craniofacial sciences. The advent of biomaterials is a potential alternative to standard autologous/allogenic grafting procedures to achieve clinically successful bone regeneration. This article discusses various classes of biomaterials currently used in craniofacial reconstruction. Also reviewed are clinical applications of biomaterials as delivery agents for sustained release of stem cells, genes, and growth factors. Recent promising advancements in 3D printing and bioprinting techniques that seem to be promising for future clinical treatments for craniofacial reconstruction are covered. Relevant topics in the bone regeneration literature exemplifying the potential of biomaterials to repair bone defects are highlighted.