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ABSTRACT: Background: The strength of the binding between brackets and tooth surfaces has a major impact on how well orthodontic therapy works. The shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets may be strengthened by the invention of bonding agents supplemented with nanoparticles, thanks to recent developments in nanoparticle technology. Materials and Methods: In order to perform a randomized controlled experiment, 90 human premolars were excised for orthodontic purposes. Three groups of 30 teeth were randomly assigned to each group: Group A used a bonding agent augmented with nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2), Group B used nanoparticles of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), and Group C used a standard bonding agent as a reference. The appropriate bonding chemicals were used to attach the brackets to the teeth, and a universal testing equipment was used to measure the shear bond strength. Stereomicroscopic analysis was used to evaluate the failure mechanisms. To do statistical analysis, Tukey's post hoc test and analysis of variance were used. Results: There were significant differences (P < 0.05) in the mean shear bond strength values across the groups. The average shear bond strength for Group A (TiO2) was 18.5 ± 2.3 MPa, that for Group B (ZrO2) was 17.2 ± 2.6 MPa, and that for Group C (control) was 14.8 ± 2.4 MPa. In comparison to Groups B and C, Group A exhibited a statistically greater bond strength, although Group B also showed an improvement over the control. According to the failure mode analysis, the control group had mostly adhesive failures, whereas the nanoparticle groups saw mixed failures. Conclusion: When TiO2 and ZrO2 nanoparticles are added to bonding agents, the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets is greatly increased in comparison to traditional bonding agents. TiO2-reinforced materials performed better, pointing to possible benefits for orthodontic applications. It is advised that further study be done to examine the long-term impacts and therapeutic implications of these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Background: Interproximal reduction (IPR) is a common orthodontic procedure aimed at creating space between teeth for proper alignment. Objective: The objective of this study is to comprehensively evaluate and compare the impact of three distinct IPR methods on the surface roughness of mandibular teeth using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Methods: A total of 128 extracted human mandibular teeth were allocated evenly into three groups: Group A (manual IPR), Group B (rotary-disc IPR), and Group C (laser-assisted IPR). Each group underwent specific IPR procedures, and the surface roughness was evaluated using AFM. The study employed rigorous randomization and precise calibration of instruments. Results: The findings indicate that Group A (manual IPR) exhibited the smoothest surfaces, while Group C (laser-assisted IPR) demonstrated the highest surface roughness. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences among the groups (P < 0.05). Location-specific analysis highlighted variations across different areas of the interproximal surfaces. Conclusion: The choice of IPR method significantly influences the surface roughness of mandibular teeth. Manual IPR appears to yield the smoothest surfaces, while laser-assisted IPR may result in increased roughness. These findings have implications for clinical decision-making in orthodontic practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Primary hepatocytes are the best resource for in vitro studies directed at understanding hepatic processes at the cellular and molecular levels, necessary for novel drug development to treat highly prevalent diseases such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. There is a need to identify simple methods to genetically manipulate primary hepatocytes and conduct functional studies with plasmids, small interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA (miRNA). New lipofection reagents are available that have the potential to yield higher levels of transfection with reduced toxicity. Findings We have tested several liposome-based transfection reagents used in molecular biology research. We show that transfection efficiency with one of the most recently developed formulations, Metafectene Pro, is high with plasmid DNA (>45% cells) as well as double stranded RNA (>90% with siRNA or microRNA). In addition, negligible cytotoxicity was present with all of these nucleic acids, even if cells were incubated with the DNA:lipid complex for 16 hours. To provide the proof of concept that these conditions can be used not only for overexpression of a gene of interest, but also in RNA interference applications, we targeted two liver expressed genes, Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein-1 and Fatty Acid Binding Protein 5 using plasmid-mediated short hairpin RNA expression. In addition, similar transfection conditions were used to optimally deliver siRNA and microRNA. Conclusions We have identified a lipid-based reagent for primary hepatocyte transfection of nucleic acids currently used in molecular biology laboratories. The conditions described here can be used to expedite a large variety of research applications, from gene function studies to microRNA target identification.

Background: Primary hepatocytes are the best resource for in vitro studies directed at understanding hepatic processes at the cellular and molecular levels, necessary for novel drug development to treat highly prevalent diseases such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. There is a need to identify simple methods to genetically manipulate primary hepatocytes and conduct functional studies with plasmids, small interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA (miRNA). New lipofection reagents are available that have the potential to yield higher levels of transfection with reduced toxicity. Findings: We have tested several liposome-based transfection reagents used in molecular biology research. We show that transfection efficiency with one of the most recently developed formulations, Metafectene Pro, is high with plasmid DNA (>45% cells) as well as double stranded RNA (>90% with siRNA or microRNA). In addition, negligible cytotoxicity was present with all of these nucleic acids, even if cells were incubated with the DNA:lipid complex for 16 hours. To provide the proof of concept that these conditions can be used not only for overexpression of a gene of interest, but also in RNA interference applications, we targeted two liver expressed genes, Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein-1 and Fatty Acid Binding Protein 5 using plasmid-mediated short hairpin RNA expression. In addition, similar transfection conditions were used to optimally deliver siRNA and microRNA. Conclusions: We have identified a lipid-based reagent for primary hepatocyte transfection of nucleic acids currently used in molecular biology laboratories. The conditions described here can be used to expedite a large variety of research applications, from gene function studies to microRNA target identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]