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Polyurea-crosslinked calcium alginate (X-Ca-Alg) aerogels were investigated under physiological relevant conditions and showed signs of degradation. Geometric and spectral measurements were made to quantify this degradation in vitro and ex vivo. The time dependence in vitro degradation of these aerogels was accelerated in the presence of shear force. Diagnostic ultrasound techniques have been shown to reliably identify X-Ca-Alg aerogels both in vitro and ex vivo as well as detect degradation of these aerogels in these different environments. Geometric measurements of aerogel implants taken from the US images closely match the measurements taken from optical imaging showing the reliability of US imaging and degradation tracking of implants in clinical settings. Acoustic attenuation was also calculated and was shown to indicate and identify aerogel degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AUTH The authors have shown recently that the neurite extension by neuronal PC12 cells is greatly impacted by aerogel topography. Indeed, the average neurite length of PC-12 cells grown on aerogels is greater than that in cells cultured on control substrates. Here, the authors report on the first experimental study focused on the design and development of a plasmonic photo-patterning technique for collagen-coated mesoporous aerogel biomaterials. Herein, the authors have produced specific patterns on silica aerogels by performing precise plasmonic photo-patterning on liquid crystal-coated aerogels. The authors report the methodology employed to create a collagen–liquid crystal gel mixture imprinted with precise plasmonic photo-patterns. PC12 cells plated on these patterns did attach and survive and followed the spatial cues of the pattern to align themselves in a similar pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]