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Biopolymer-based composite hydrogels have attracted tremendous attention for tissue regeneration and antitumor applications. Since sodium alginate is a biopolymer, they offer excellent therapeutic options with long-term drug release and low side effects. To prepare multifunctional composite hydrogels with anticancer and tissue regeneration capabilities, sodium alginate (SA) and graphene oxide (GO) were covalently linked and crosslinked with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) by the solvothermal method. The structural and morphological results show that the hydrogels exhibit the desired functionality and porosity. The swelling of hydrogels in an aqueous and PBS medium was investigated. SGT-4 had the highest swelling in both aqueous and PBS media. Swelling and biodegradation of the hydrogel were inversely related. The drug release of SGT-4 was determined in different pH media (pH 6.4, 7.4, and 8.4) and the kinetics of drug release was determined according to the Higuchi model (R2 = 0.93587). Antibacterial activities were evaluated against severe infectious agents. Uppsala (U87) and osteoblast (MC3T3-E1) cell lines were used to determine the anticancer and biocompatibility of the composite hydrogels, respectively. These results suggest that the composite hydrogels could be used as potential biomaterials for tissue regeneration and antitumor applications.

Carbohydrate polymers are biological macromolecules that have sparked a lot of interest in wound healing due to their outstanding antibacterial properties and sustained drug release. Arabinoxylan (ARX), Chitosan (CS), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets were combined and crosslinked using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as a crosslinker to fabricate composite hydrogels and assess their potential in wound dressing for skin wound healing. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and biological assays were used to evaluate the composite hydrogels. FTIR validated the effective fabrication of the composite hydrogels. The rough morphologies of the composite hydrogels were revealed by SEM and AFM (as evident from the Ra values). ATC-4 was discovered to have the roughest surface. TEM revealed strong homogeneous anchoring of the rGO to the polymer matrix. However, with higher amount of rGO agglomeration was detected. The % swelling at various pHs (1−13) revealed that the hydrogels were pH-sensitive. The controlled release profile for the antibacterial drug (Silver sulfadiazine) evaluated at various pH values (4.5, 6.8, and 7.4) in PBS solution and 37 °C using the Franz diffusion method revealed maximal drug release at pH 7.4 and 37 °C. The antibacterial efficacy of the composite hydrogels against pathogens that cause serious skin diseases varied. The MC3T3-E1 cell adhered, proliferated, and differentiated well on the composite hydrogels. MC3T3-E1 cell also illustrated excellent viability (91%) and proper cylindrical morphologies on the composite hydrogels. Hence, the composite hydrogels based on ARX, CS, and rGO are promising biomaterials for treating and caring for skin wounds.

Vitamin D deficiency is now a global health problem; despite several drug delivery systems for carrying vitamin D due to low bioavailability and loss bioactivity. Developing a new drug delivery system to deliver vitamin D3 is a strong incentive in the current study. Hence, an implantable drug delivery system (IDDS) was developed from the electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) and e-polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous membrane, in which the core of implants consists of vitamin D3-loaded CA nanofiber (CAVD) and enclosed in a thin layer of the PCL membrane (CAVD/PCL). CA nanofibrous mat loaded with vitamin D3 at the concentrations of 6, 12, and 20% (w/w) of vitamin D3 were produced using electrospinning. The smooth and bead-free fibers with diameters ranged from 324 to 428 nm were obtained. The fiber diameters increased with an increase in vitamin D3 content. The controlled drug release profile was observed over 30-days, which fit with the zero-order model (R2 > 0.96) in the first stage. The mechanical properties of IDDS were improved. Young's modulus and tensile strength of CAVD/PCL (dry) were161 ± 14 and 13.07 ± 2.5 MPa, respectively. CA and PCL nanofibers are non-cytotoxic based on the results of the in-vitro cytotoxicity studies. This study can further broaden in-vivo study and provide a reference for developing a new IDDS to carry vitamin D3 in the future.

A new potential biomimetic polymeric 3D scaffold is fabricated using collagen entrapment and 3D printed polylactic acid scaffold. The modified scaffold was characterized by compressive modulus, degree of swelling, water contact angle (WCA), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The findings show that sample PLA/col40 with 40 s entrapment duration is the optimum composition that meets the requirement for artificial bone tissue replacement. In vitro biomineralization using simulated body fluid (SBF) demonstrates that the PLA/collagen 3D scaffold is able to promote the growth of hydroxyapatite (HA) after 7 days which will subsequently improve the osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties of the 3D scaffold. The overall results suggest the potential of the 3D PLA/collagen scaffold as a prospective material for bone tissue engineering applications.

Arabinoxylan (AX) is a natural biological macromolecule with several potential biomedical applications. In this research, AX, nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HAp) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) based polymeric nanocomposite scaffolds were fabricated by the freeze-drying method. The physicochemical characterizations of these polymeric nanocomposite scaffolds were performed for surface morphology, porosity, swelling, biodegradability, mechanical, and biological properties. The scaffolds exhibited good porosity and rough surface morphology, which were efficiently controlled by TiO2 concentrations. MC3T3-E1 cells were employed to conduct the biocompatibility of these scaffolds. Scaffolds showed unique biocompatibility in vitro and was favorable for cell attachment and growth. PNS3 proved more biocompatible, showed interconnected porosity and substantial mechanical strength compared to PNS1, PNS2 and PNS4. Furthermore, it has also showed more affinity to cells and cell growth. The results illustrated that the bioactive nanocomposite scaffold has the potential to find applications in the tissue engineering field.

Immobilized polyaniline on glass plates (PANI/glass) and its powder form were compared for the adsorption of methyl orange (MO) dye from aqueous solutions. The effects of operational parameters such as pH, sorbent dosage, initial concentration, contact time, aeration rate and the thermodynamics of the uptake of MO had been exhaustively evaluated. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) for PANI/glass and PANI powder was 93 and 147 mg g−1, respectively. In addition, pseudo-second order model was the best fitted kinetic model for both systems, suggesting that the rate-limiting step may be chemisorptions. The obtained negative values of free energy and enthalpy indicated the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic. In contrast to PANI powder, PANI/glass yielded negative entropy. Photocatalytic regeneration of used PANI/glass was found to be highly effective where the desorbed MO was completely mineralized. This study showed that immobilized PANI offered the unique advantage of convenient use and reuse over an extended period of applications. Keywords: Immobilized polyaniline, Methyl orange, Reusable, Photocatalytic regeneration, Wastewater treatment

The transdermal patch is polymeric-based patches containing a dispersed bioactive ingredient that deliver therapeutic agents at a constant rate through the human skin surface. In this study, the dual layer PVA patch was prepared using a combination of freezing-thawing (F-T) and electrospinning techniques to study the effect of F-T cycles on morphology structure and swelling ratio of the fabricated patch. The effect of F-T cycles on swelling ability as well as the morphological study of the patch was employed and characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and immersion of dual layer PVA patch for 24 hours in distilled water was calculated. Morphological structure of dual layer PVA patch has proved the correlation between the PVA cryogel and PVA electrospun nanofiber membrane. The results revealed that the dual layer PVA patch was successfully fabricated as the under layer PVA electrospun nanofiber membrane does not fully dissolve throughout the F-T process. Furthermore, in this study, it is shown that increasing of F-T cycles has decreased the swelling ability of the dual layer PVA patch. It also found that the presence of PVA electrospun nanofiber has also affected the swelling ability of the dual layer PVA patch due to the high surface ratio of the electrospun nanofiber membrane. The highest percentage of swelling ratio was found approaching 66% for dual layer PVA with 3 cycles (2L-3C), as for dual layer PVA with 5 cycles (2L-5C) the percentage found significantly lower (33%). The improvement of dual layer PVA patch can be utilized for drug release assessment and also could be good potential for transdermal drug delivery.

Immobilization of chlorhexidine (CHX) coating on medical devices by utilizing a polydopamine (PDA) film as an intermediate crosslinker, demonstrates a promising value in retarding bacterial growth. However, its long-term antibacterial effect and coating stability are unknown where those features are crucial to sustain long-term application of medical devices. In this study, both properties were evaluated on the CHX-PDA coated SS316L. Greater surface roughness and coating thickness were observed on the SS-PDA-CHX20 compared to the SS-PDA. The CHX adsorption on the PDA film was increased as the CHX concentration increased. The 28 days of ageing process presented gradual coating degradation on the SS-PDA-CHX20 and SS-PDACHX30, releasing the CHX compound. The higher CHX concentration also displayed larger CHX aggregates and higher inhibition zones against E. coli and S. aureus, up to 72 h, indicating the substantivity of antibacterial effect. These properties hold a great potential in preventing bacterial growth on medical devices.

The application of biomaterials in biomedicine currently suffers some drawbacks, such as inflammation and immunological responses due to mismatching and/or limited compatibility. Biomaterials that are cross-linked with citric acid (CA), also called citrate-based biomaterials (CBBs), have exhibited advanced in-vitro and in-vivo material properties that make them suitable for various biomedical applications. Tunable mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and biofunctionality are among other factors that make CBBs interesting in this field. To emphasize the safety and greenness nature of CA, in this review, we have highlighted the history, potential considerations of exploration, and a summarized stage-wise criterion for developing CBBs. We also discuss several points of view about the application of CA and CBBs in many different aspects of biomedicine, such as in tissue engineering, cancer therapy, and wound dressings.

The bioactive composite of hydroxyapatite and zeolite-ZSM5 was successfully synthesized via the cost effective microwave wet precipitation method. The structural and morphological features were studied by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy and TEM/EDX analysis. These tests revealed the presence of zeolite and hydroxyapatite in the zeolite–HA composites. Spherical particles, 76–88±20 nm in size, were visible on the TEM. The simulated body fluid SBF results in vitro verified the ability of the composites to support and accelerate the growth of the HA. Furthermore, the MTT assay showed the viability of normal human osteoblasts (NHOst) on the composite, up to seven days of culture. The cell adhesion and proliferation of the normal human osteoblast (NHOst) cells onto the disc surface was much higher than the control. Overall, the ZSM–HA samples composite nanostructure can be a considered potential candidate for biomedical application.

Cellulose acetate (CA) is a remarkable biomaterial most extensively used in biomedical applications due to their properties. This review highlighted the synthesis and chemical structure of CA polymer as well as focused on the mechanical, chemical, thermal, biocompatible, and biodegradable properties of electrospun CA nanofibers. These properties are essential in the evaluation of the CA nanofibers and provide information as a reference for the further utilization and improvement of CA nanofibers. Moreover, we have summarized the use of electrospun CA nanofibers in the drug delivery system as a carrier for drugs and classify them according to the drug class, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial agents, vitamins and amino acids. Our review has been concluded that CA nanofibers cannot wholly be biodegraded within the human body due to the absence of cellulase enzyme but degraded by microorganisms. Hence, the biodegradation of CA nanofibers in vivo has addressed as a critical challenge.

This paper reports the synthesis and characterization of new ternary nanocomposites combining polyaniline (PANI), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and manganese dioxide (MnO2). MnO2 was successfully incorporated within the MWCNTs. In situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of MWCNTs–MnO2 was carried out to form PANI/MWCNT–MnO2 nanocomposites, which were characterized by UV–visible and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and transmission electron microscopy, as well as electrical conductivity measurements. The PANI/MWCNT-MnO2 nanocomposites showed enhanced electrical conductivity compared to neat PANI and PANI/MWCNTs without MnO2 addition.