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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.

The growing demand for nanocellulose materials synthesized from renewable sources has increased over the years (Kargarzadeh et al. 2012). Nanocelluloses are abundant, economical, biodegradable, and...

This work reports the fabrication and characterizations of porous scaffold made up of polylactic acid (PLA) with the inclusion of pectin (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 wt%) for potential tissue engineering material. The composite scaffold was prepared using a facile method of freeze extraction. Based on the physical evaluations, the scaffold was suggested to be optimum at 5 wt% of pectin loading. Water contact angle of the scaffold was significantly reduced to 46.5o with the inclusion of 5 wt% of pectin. Morphological and topographic of the PLA scaffold revealed that the pectin induced more porous structure and its surface became rougher which was suitable for cell attachment and proliferation. In vitro studies of the PLA/pectin composite scaffold using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromidelt (MTT) assay revealed good biocompatibility whereas Live-Dead kit assay resulted in 91% cell viability after 7 days of incubation.

The excellent biocompatible and osteogenesis characteristics of porous scaffolds play a vital role in bone regeneration.

Purpose Over the years, electrical stimulation in drug delivery system holds particular interest in producing spatially and temporally controlled release mechanism. These systems helped in localized doses drugs to be administrated and response efficiently at target site to achieve excellent healing effect in control microenvironment. Extensive research is needed in order to develop versatile electroactive biomaterials in the field of therapeutics applications. This paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This work reports the development of polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun coated with pectin/polyaniline (PANi) composite, which has been characterized and whose drug delivery application is ascertained. The composite has been characterized on its mechanical conductivity and wettability properties to evaluate best formulation. The analysis on morphological properties using scanning electron microscope (SEM) confirmed the formation of the dual-layer electro-responsive composite. Findings Among different formulations studied, the pectin/PANi composition (12 percent/3 percent) was found to be an optimized composition with ultimate tensile strength of 55.48±0.65 MPa and modulus strength of 63.30±0.43 MPa with 2.41×10–3 Scm−1 electrical percolation. The hydrophobic PCL electrospun reduced as coating material was introduced on top with optimum of 85.3 percent degree of swelling and water contact angle at 39.17±0.67°. SEM micrograph revealed strong interaction between dual-layer structures with interconnected porous of uniform fibers. Originality/value Overall, these data present a multiangle initial characterization of this novel dual-layer electro-responsive composite for applications in drug delivery. However, additional analysis should be performed in order to provide a clear verification as drug delivery scaffold.

This work reports the inclusion of crocin (an active agent of saffron) into bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) membrane for transdermal drug delivery. The BNC showed good uptake of the crocin based on the swelling studies and vibrational peaks of the FTIR spectra. Surface morphology of the crocin loaded BNC showed that the fibrous nano feature was still intact with no fiber damages. The crocin release via direct dissolution showed typical burst release. Franz diffusion test revealed stable and prolong drug permeation. Partition coefficient of the BNC-crocin via mice epidermal skin diffusion was found to be 2.44×10−4 cm−2 min−1 with the average mass flux of 0.53 cm−2 min−1. This facile method of utilizing BNC for the carrier of crocin can be useful for administrating other water soluble active compound. Thus BNC opens up choices for the delivery of crocin for medicinal purposes.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an innovative polymeric nanofibre, which meets the demands of rapidly advancing industries, such as biomedical engineering, food packaging, pulp and paper and electrical appliance engineering. The versatility of bacterial cellulose is largely due to its unique properties, such as high crystallinity, high thermal stability, high water absorption capacity, hydrophilicity, good mechanical strength, biodegradability, high biocompatibility and high porosity, making it well-suited for applications in various fields. In recent years, advances for enhancing the applicability of BC through modification and its inclusion into composites have been in focus. Unfortunately, despite the multiple advantages it offers, the production cost of BC is too high, thus reducing/limiting its commercial attractiveness and industrial scale production. This paper is an overview of the current research trends for developing cheaper BC production pathways and of recent advances performed so far with the prospect of enhancing its potential application in biomedical engineering.

Malignant melanoma is a lethal human skin cancer that is not easily treatable through traditional medicines, surgeries, and therapies. Millions of cases are recorded annually to cure physiological skin defects by chemotherapy that causes several adverse effects and challenges. Moreover, pathogenic infections might aggravate infection with subsequent ulceration or cutaneous melanoma. Accordingly, we synthesized nanodrug by loading chemotherapeutic agent, Fluorouracil (5FU), onto the reduced graphene oxide (rGO). We then extracted arabinoxylan (ARX) from the husk of Plantago Ovata and functionalized it into carboxymethylarabinoxylan (CMARX) and loaded synthesized nanodrug. We have crosslinked CMARX/nanodrug with different amount of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) to prepare nanocomposite hydrogel rGO-5FU-CMARX system for melanoma skin cancer care and treatment. These nanocomposite hydrogel systems rGO-5FU-CMARX have exhibited different physicochemical properties. These properties were analyzed through FTIR, SEM, water contact angle, swelling in different media (aqueous and PBS) and biodegradation in PBS media. The in-vitro activities, i.e., drug delivery via Franz diffusion, antibacterial against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa and the anticancer activities was performed against Uppsala 87 Malignant Glioma (U-87) cell lines. Moreover, rGO-5FU-CMARX nanocomposite hydrogels displayed different antimicrobial and anticancer activities based on different crosslinking. Hence, an inventive rGO-5FU-CMARX based nanocomposite hydrogel drug-delivery system was developed to treat malignant melanoma skin cancer after bacterial infections.

Due to their potential renewable materials-based tissue engineering scaffolds has gained more attention. Therefore, researchers are looking for new materials to be used as a scaffold. In this study, we have focused on the development of a nanocomposite scaffold for bone tissue engineering (using bacterial cellulose (BC) and β-glucan (β-G)) via free radical polymerization and freeze-drying technique. Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (n-HAp) and graphene oxide (GO) were added as reinforcement materials. The structural changes, surface morphology, porosity, and mechanical properties were investigated through spectroscopic and analytical techniques like Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett-Teller (BET), and universal testing machine Instron. The scaffolds showed remarkable stability, aqueous degradation, spongy morphology, porosity, and mechanical properties. Antibacterial activities were performed against gram -ive and gram + ive bacterial strains. The BgC-1.4 scaffold was found more antibacterial compared to BgC-1.3, BgC-1.2, and BgC-1.1. The cell culture and cytotoxicity were evaluated using the MC3T3-E1 cell line. More cell growth was observed onto BgC-1.4 due to its uniform interrelated pores distribution, surface roughness, better mechanical properties, considerable biochemical affinity towards cell adhesion, proliferation, and biocompatibility. These nanocomposite scaffolds can be potential biomaterials for fractured bones in orthopedic tissue engineering.

Advancement and development in bone tissue engineering, particularly that of composite scaffolds, are of great importance for bone tissue engineering. We have synthesized polymeric matrix using biopolymer (&beta, glucan), acrylic acid, and nano-hydroxyapatite through free radical polymerization method. Bioactive nanocomposite scaffolds (BNSs) were fabricated using the freeze-drying method and Ag was coated by the dip-coating method. The scaffolds have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) to investigate their functional groups, surface morphology, and phase analysis, respectively. The pore size and porosity of all BNS samples were found to be dependent on silver concentration. Mechanical testing of all BNS samples have substantial compressive strength in dry form that is closer to cancellous bone. The samples of BNS showed substantial antibacterial effect against DH5 alpha E. coli. The biological studies conducted using the MC3T3-E1 cell line via neutral red dye assay on the scaffolds have found to be biocompatible and non-cytotoxic. These bioactive scaffolds can bring numerous applications for bone tissue repairs and regenerations.

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.

This work reports the surface modification of 3D printed PLA scaffold with chitosan and its hydroxyapatite (HA) forming capability. PLA scaffold was fabricated using a desktop 3D printer followed by the inclusion of chitosan on the surface via surface entrapment. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) images showed existence of chitosan entrapment with depth of 24 μm. Immersion of the modified PLA scaffold in simulated body fluid resulted in formation of apatite layers on the surface. Plus the entrapment method does not induce any cytotoxic response towards human fibroblast cell. This method provides a facile approach of obtaining 3D printed scaffold with good bioactivity thus has potential in biomimetic and tissue engineering.

Dry bacterial cellulose nanofiber (BC) sheet coated with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was developed and characterized towards acute wound healing applications. This new approach of PLA coating on BC revealed enhanced physical and antibacterial properties. Commercial BC sheets originated from the manufacturing of nata de coco jelly were dried and coated with the PLA at various concentrations of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 % w/v for the purpose of improving the mechanical properties and followed by loading of antiseptic such as benzalkonium chloride (BAC). PLA has been proposed for the use of coating materials at a concentration of 8 %, the biocomposite sheet started exhibiting a low moisture uptake, prolonged swelling in simulated wound fluid solution and high tear (9.17 Nm2/kg) and burst indices (32.5 kPa·m2/g). The 8 % PLA coating revealed porous fiber-like morphology as observed under scanning electron microscope. Therapeutic loading capacity of the BC/8 PLA was substantially higher than the pristine BC. Furthermore strong antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureaus and Escherichia coli were observed for the BC/8PLA biocomposite film. These reports were clearly suggestive of the fact that synthetic biodegradable polymers, such as PLA, may be exploited for the synergistic combination with BC for antimicrobial and acute wound management. This new and modified fiber source material could reduce the dependency on plant based cellulose for more demanding biomedical applications such as wound healing materials, vascular graft, cartilage replacement, drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Correction for ‘Development and in vitro evaluation of κ-carrageenan based polymeric hybrid nanocomposite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering’ by Muhammad Umar Aslam Khan et al., RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 40529–40542. DOI: 10.1039/D0RA07446B.

The aim of this study is to prepare a dual layer polyvinyl (PVA) patch using a combination of electrospinning techniques and cryogelation (freeze-thaw process) then subsequently to investigate the effect of freeze-thaw cycles, nanofiber thickness, and diclofenac sodium (DS) loading on the physicochemical and mechanical properties and formulation of dual layer PVA patches composed of electrospun PVA nanofibers and PVA cryogel. After the successful preparation of the dual layer PVA patch, the prepared patch was subjected to investigation to assess the effect of freeze-thaw cycles, nanofiber thickness and percentages of DS loading on the morphology, physiochemical and mechanical properties. Various spectroscopic techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), water contact angle, and tensile tests were used to evaluate the physicochemical and mechanical properties of prepared dual layer PVA patches. The morphological structures of the dual layer PVA patch demonstrated the effectiveness of both techniques. The effect of freeze-thaw cycles, nanofiber thickness, and DS percentage loading on the crystallinity of a dual layer PVA patch was investigated using XRD analysis. The presence of a distinct DS peak in the FTIR spectrum indicates the compatibility of DS in a dual layer PVA patch through in-situ loading. All prepared patches were considered highly hydrophilic because the data obtained was less than 90°. The increasing saturation of DS within the PVA matrix increases the tensile strength of prepared patches, however decreased its elasticity. Evidently, the increasing of electrospun PVA nanofibers thickness, freeze-thaw cycles, and the DS saturation has improved the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the DS medicated dual layer PVA patches, making them a promising biomaterial for transdermal drug delivery applications.

In this study, the electrical conductivity of polylactic acid (PLA)-based composites has been improved using polyaniline (PANI) with two different solvents: dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid and citric acid. The effects of various factors including PLA quantity, solvent concentration, type of solvent and thickness on the resistivity were investigated using the design of experiments. The experimental plan was based on irregular fraction design to develop the regression models. The results revealed that the proposed mathematical models were sufficient and could describe the performance of resistivity of PLA within the limits of a factor. The findings also indicated that thickness had the most significant effect on the resistivity of PLA, while the effect of the type of solvent was of least significance. Moreover, it was illustrated that, by incorporating two different solvents into PANI, the resistivity could be changed for further applications.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is the cellulose which is produced by specific bacteria such as Acetobacter xylinum, Agrobacterium, Gluconacetobacter, Rhizobium, Achromobacter, Alcaligenes, Aerobacter, Azotobacter, Salmonella, Esherichia, and Sarcina. Surface modification of bacterial cellulose (BC) by coating with synthetic biodegradable polyester on it was reported. BC films were coated with the polymer at different concentrations in order to improve the surface structure of BC. Tear and burst indices of the BC film were increased with such modification.

Halloysite nanotubes (HNT) are good reinforcing fillers because of many traits that allow high processability and versatile active agents loading. Incorporation of HNT into polymer matrices, especially in natural polymers, is still yet to be explored. This paper reports on the effect of inclusion of nanotube clay towards the mechanical properties of polysaccharide films.

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.

This work reports the reinforcement of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel with halloysite nanotubes (HNT) as potential biomedical materials. The nanocomposite hydrogel was prepared using the facile and harmless process of freeze–thawing. Mechanical properties of the hydrogels were optimum at 2 wt% of HNT loading. Morphological and topographic analysis of the PVA/HNT hydrogel revealed excellent filler dispersion and smoothing of surface due to good compatibility between the components. Immersion of the PVA/HNT hydrogel in simulated body fluid for 7 days resulted in the formation of fully covered apatite layers on the surface. This is a good indication of bioactivity for artificial cartilage material.

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.

This paper reports for the first time a simple yet effective method for fabricating a conductive and highly porous scaffold material made up of polylactic acid (PLA) and conducting polyaniline (PANI). The electrical percolation state was successfully obtained at 3 wt% of PANI inclusions and reached a conductivity level of useable tissue engineering applications at 4 wt%. In addition, preliminary bioactivity test results indicated that the protonating agent could form a chelate at the scaffold surface leading to good in-vitro apatite forming ability during biomimetic immersion. This new conductive scaffold has potential as a suitable biomedical material that requires electrical conductivity.

Fabrication of reinforced scaffolds to repair and regenerate defected bone is still a major challenge. Bone tissue engineering is an advanced medical strategy to restore or regenerate damaged bone. The excellent biocompatibility and osteogenesis behavior of porous scaffolds play a critical role in bone regeneration. In current studies, we synthesized polymeric nanocomposite material through free-radical polymerization to fabricate porous nanocomposite scaffolds by freeze drying. Functional group, surface morphology, porosity, pore size, and mechanical strength were examined through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Single-Electron Microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET), and Universal Testing Machine (UTM), respectively. These nanocomposites exhibit enhanced compressive strength (from 4.1 to 16.90 MPa), Young&rsquo, s modulus (from 13.27 to 29.65 MPa) with well appropriate porosity and pore size (from 63.72 &plusmn, 1.9 to 45.75 &plusmn, 6.7 &micro, m), and a foam-like morphology. The increasing amount of graphene oxide (GO) regulates the porosity and mechanical behavior of the nanocomposite scaffolds. The loading and sustained release of silver-sulfadiazine was observed to be 90.6% after 260 min. The in-vitro analysis was performed using mouse pre-osteoblast (MC3T3-E1) cell lines. The developed nanocomposite scaffolds exhibited excellent biocompatibility. Based on the results, we propose these novel nanocomposites can serve as potential future biomaterials to repair defected bone with the load-bearing application, and in bone tissue engineering.

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 work reports the modification of freeze/thaw poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel using citric acid as the bioactive molecule for hydroxyapatite formation in simulated body fluid. Inclusion of 1.3 mM citric acid into the poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel showed that the mechanical strength, crystalline phase, functional groups and swelling ability were still intact. Adding citric acid at higher concentrations (1.8 and 2.3 mM), however, resulted in physically poor hydrogels. Presence of 1.3 mM of citric acid showed the growth of porous hydroxyapatite crystals on the poly(vinyl alcohol) surface just after one day of immersion in simulated body fluid. Meanwhile, a fully covered apatite layer on the poly(vinyl alcohol) surface plus the evidence of apatite forming within the hydrogel were observed after soaking for seven days. Gel strength of the soaked poly(vinyl alcohol)/citric acid-1.3 mM hydrogel revealed that the load resistance was enhanced compared to that of the neat poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel. This facile method of inducing rapid growth of hydroxyapatite on the hydrogel surface as well as within the hydrogel network can be useful for guided bone regenerative materials.