Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine最新文献

The aim of this study was to systematically compare standard detergents for the generation of Decellularization Vascular Grafts (DVG) in terms of their influence on vascular key characteristics. The most common enzymatic and chemical detergents for decellularization were identified from literature, standardized and included: i) Trypsin, ii) Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS)- and iii) Triton X-100. All protocols were applied to porcine vessels and the manufactured DVG were analyzed for histological, ultrastructural morphology and biomechanical characteristics. Further, DVG were seeded with Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) and cultured in a bioreactor to investigate biocompatibility after decellularization. Anti-Coagulation properties were assessed by the Chandler Loop model and a platelet-activation–assay. The Trypsin and SDS treatment were the most effective protocols in terms of tissue clearance but both impaired the ultrastructural integrity of the vessel wall in contrast to the Triton X-100 treatment. Moreover, biomechanical characteristics in the test stand did not differ significantly across the applied protocols but treatment of DVG with Trypsin was associated with a reduced Young’s modulus and injuries in the vessel wall in a pulsatil flow model after 30 d. Moreover, coagulation was decreased in the Trypsin-treated group and was slightly increased in the SDS group but no significant difference towards the control group was noted. DVG after Triton X-100 treatment were the only ones capable for successful cell seeding. The here presented experimental data emphasized the main advantages and disadvantages of the most common enzymatic and chemical detergents for the manufacturing of DVG.

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Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene), a natural polyphenol, has garnered significant attention in oncology for its multifaceted antitumor mechanisms, including apoptosis induction, angiogenesis suppression, and immunomodulation. Despite its therapeutic potential, clinical translation remains constrained by pharmacokinetic limitations such as rapid metabolism, poor aqueous solubility, and low bioavailability. Recent advancements in biomaterial-based co-delivery systems have emerged as a transformative strategy to circumvent these challenges while amplifying tumor-specific cytotoxicity. By integrating resveratrol with chemotherapeutics, photothermal agents, metal complexes, or covalent organic frameworks (COFs), these systems synergistically enhance therapeutic efficacy through improved drug stability, targeted delivery, and stimuli-responsive release. Furthermore, multifunctional platforms combining photothermal ablation, ROS modulation, and immunotherapy exhibit promise in overcoming multidrug resistance and reprogramming immunosuppressive microenvironments. However, critical gaps persist in understanding structure-activity relationships, long-term biosafety profiles, and clinical scalability. This review comprehensively summarizes the current progress in resveratrol co-delivery systems, emphasizing their mechanisms, preclinical outcomes, and technological innovations. Future directions should prioritize interdisciplinary approaches, including AI-driven nanomaterial design, pharmacogenomic stratification, and biomarker-driven clinical trials, to bridge the gap between preclinical promise and therapeutic reality. By harmonizing resveratrol’s phytochemical efficacy with advanced biomaterial engineering, these co-delivery systems hold transformative potential for precision oncology.

The development of durable and biocompatible implant materials remains a critical challenge in the field of biomedical engineering, particularly for dental and orthopedic applications. In this study, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coatings with varying molar percentages were deposited on Ti-6Al-4V alloy substrates using the plasma spraying technique. Structural analysis via X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the presence of both transformable and non-transformable phases, with the latter offering enhanced phase stability advantageous for biomedical use. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the cross-sectional morphology revealed that the 5 M% YSZ coating exhibited uniform thickness, low porosity, and absence of cracks, indicating good coating integrity. In vitro hemocompatibility tests with human blood demonstrated a hemolytic ratio below 5%, meeting the threshold for non-hemolytic biomaterials. Antibacterial assays showed notable inhibition against Escherichia coli, with moderate activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Cytocompatibility was evaluated using MG-63 osteoblast-like cells, where the 5 M% YSZ composite exhibited non-toxic behavior up to 250 µg/mL after 24 h of exposure. Mechanical testing further confirmed the coating’s properties under simulated physiological conditions. These findings suggest that 5 M% YSZ plasma-sprayed coatings present a promising candidate for long-term dental and orthopedic implant applications, owing to their favorable mechanical strength, biocompatibility, and antibacterial properties.

Osteoporosis, osteomyelitis disease, bone tumors, bacterial infections, and accidents are posing a great challenge in the orthopedic field. For decades, autograft and allograft transplant techniques have been considered gold-standard treatments for bone problems. Given these limitations and increased medical demand for bone substitute material, the orthopedic field has sparked rapid interest in building safe and biocompatible materials. In search of alternatives, biomaterials such as bioactive glasses, hydroxyapatite (HAp), calcium silicate, β-tricalcium phosphate, etc., offer new insights for bone regeneration. In particular, HAp [Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂] has drawn considerable attention because the bone has HAp as a major inorganic component. In addition, HAp has bioactivity, biocompatibility, and osteointegration properties. Further, to enhance the biological properties of the HAp, it has been modified to a nanoscale level and named nanohydroxyapatite (nHAp). The nHAp has a larger surface area, which helps to facilitate drug loading, gene delivery, and fast recovery of injured bone. Thus, the present review spotlights a brief introduction to HAp and nHAp, their history, basic properties, synthesis methods, and composites with metals, polymers, ceramics, growth factors, etc., for bone tissue engineering applications.

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Nanohydroxyapatite and its composites for bone tissue engineering application.

Biodegradable zinc-based alloys are promising candidates as a new generation implant materials due to their favorable degradation rates compared to magnesium and iron. However, their relatively low mechanical strength hinders their clinical usage. In this experimental study, Zn–3Mg/xSnS (x = 0.5–6 wt%) composites were manufactured via powder metallurgy. The performance of the obtained samples was systematically investigated via microstructural analysis (SEM), mechanical properties (compressive yield strength, elastic modulus, and hardness), in vitro degradation, and cytocompatibility with L929 fibroblast cells. According to the obtained results, SnS reinforcement significantly improved mechanical performance. Microstructural investigation revealed homogeneous SnS distribution and refinement of intermetallic phases. Among all the sample groups, Zn–3Mg–2SnS resulted in a compressive yield strength of 402 MPa, elastic modulus of 49 GPa, and hardness of 151 HV. Degradation tests were performed for 28 days, and the samples exhibited a moderate corrosion rate ( ~ 0.2 mm/year). Cytotoxicity assays confirmed >70% cell viability at 50% extract concentrations. These results show that Zn–3Mg alloys can be efficiently reinforced with bio-derived SnS particles, improving their strength and biocompatibility without decreasing their degradation performance.

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This study introduces a novel hybrid additive manufacturing (AM) approach that integrates a surface coating process directly into the AM workflow. By incorporating a vacuum arc plasma source into a Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) system, we combine the design freedom and scalability of 3D printing with the ability to biofunctionalize the printed polymer part in a single fabrication step. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is widely used in biomedical engineering due to its excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and radiolucency. However, its bioinert nature poses challenges for infection prevention and bone integration. This study aims to evaluate the coatings produced by this integrated process on a PEEK substrate specifically in a biomedical context, focusing on their antimicrobial performance and cytocompatibility. The results show that zinc (Zn) is the most effective antimicrobial agent among the tested coatings (Ag₂O, Cu, and Zn), achieving a reduction in bacterial adhesion of over 4 log. Moreover, TiO₂/Zn composite coatings exhibit strong antimicrobial activity while maintaining good cytocompatibility with fibroblastic cells in vitro. Qualitative imaging also indicates improved osteoblast attachment on surfaces coated with TiO₂ and TiO₂/Zn. This hybrid manufacturing platform enables the production of implants with tailored structural and biological properties in a single step, representing a significant advancement in the development of next-generation medical implants.

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Metal oxide nanomaterials play a central role in biomedical applications due to their unique physicochemical properties. In particular, various treatment methods such as drug delivery, hyperthermia therapy, radiation, and chemotherapy are used for the treatment of carcinoma. Current studies prefer to investigate the anticancer activity of nickel oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using a green synthesis approach. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to investigate the cubic crystalline structure and crystallite size varies from 11.08 nm to 12.88 nm due to increased calcination temperature. The crystallite size has a significant impact on the cytotoxicity and toxicity of nanoparticles; smaller crystal sizes frequently result in higher toxicity, because of their larger surface area to volume ratio. The MTT (Tetrazolium salts) assay was performed to test the cytotoxicity of NiO nanoparticles (NPs) against HepG2 cell line. After that, machine learning was applied to connect the biomedical field with artificial intelligence. It can be seen from the results that the NiO NPs that were calcinated at 600 °C gave the average cell viability <40%. At last, the machine learning approach was used to calculate the cytotoxicity of NiO NPs and decision tree was generated by using Google Colab. A correlation matrix was generated using a machine learning approach, providing insights into the interdependence among all parameters.

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Diabetic wound healing remains a significant clinical challenge, characterized by a protracted and uncertain prognosis. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), functioning as natural carriers released by living cells, play a pivotal role in intercellular communications by delivering diverse bioactive cargo. In recent years, plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) have garnered increasing attention due to their inherent biocompatibility, safety, low immunogenicity, and abundant source availability. PDEVs are regarded as a highly promising cell-free therapeutic strategy for diabetic wound healing. This review systematically summarizes the research progress on PDEVs biogenesis, physiological functions and their underlying mechanisms, and isolation/characterization methodologies. Specifically, we explore the potential of PDEVs as drug delivery vehicles and discuss engineering strategies for their modification. Finally, we provide a critical analysis of the potential challenges associated with translating PDEVs into cell-free therapeutics for diabetic wounds and offer perspectives on future research directions.

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Mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) have potential applications in bone tissue regeneration around tooth implant and local drug delivery. Small amounts of zinc added to their composition could additionally provide antibacterial and ossteoinductive and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, zinc-containing mesoporous bioactive glasses (5ZnO–25CaO–70SiO₂) were synthesised using three modified surfactant-assisted sol-gel methods: dilute water (MZ1), Stöber (MZ2), and microemulsion-assisted (MZ3). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that MZ1 and MZ3 were amorphous, while MZ2 exhibited a ZnO crystalline phase. The synthesised particles showed uniform morphology with sizes ranging from 10 to 500 nm. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis revealed that MZ1 had the highest specific surface area (726 m²/g), approximately 4.1 times higher than MZ3 (176 m²/g). Haemolysis testing showed that MZ1 and MZ2 were non-haemolytic, whereas MZ3 caused lysis of erythrocytes. All samples were biocompatible with periodontal ligament fibroblasts, maintaining cell viability above 80% after three days of incubation. Antibacterial assays indicated that MZ2 exhibited over 60% inhibition of P. intermedia in a dose-dependent manner, but only ~20% inhibition of P. gingivalis. MZ2 demonstrated a bacteriostatic effect and was most effective in reducing anaerobic bacterial populations among all tested groups. These results highlight the potential of Zn-containing mesoporous bioactive glasses as multifunctional biomaterials for periodontal tissue engineering, suitable for such applications as scaffolds, bone cements, bone-filling granules, and antibacterial implant coatings. Furthermore, MZ2 material due to its antimicrobial properties, can potentially be a material of choice in periodontitis/peri-implantitis therapy applications.

In this study, we report the biogenic synthesis of ZnO-CuO nanocomposites (NCPs) utilizing Mentha longifolia leaf extract as both a reducing and capping candidate. The synthesis process was optimized utilizing the Plackett-Burman statistical design, achieving a maximum yield of 22.18 mg/mL under controlled conditions. The resulting ZnO-CuO NCPs exhibited a crystalline structure with an average particle size of 26.61 nm, as analyzed by XRD, TEM, and SEM approaches. FTIR spectroscopy demonstrated the presence of bioactive phytoconstituents, such as phenolic derivatives and alkaloids, which stabilized the nanocomposites. The ZnO-CuO NCPs demonstrated potent antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 180.47 µg/mL. In anticancer evaluations, the ZnO-CuO NCPs exhibited selective cytotoxicity against A549 (lung), HepG2 (liver), and MDA (breast) cancer cell lines, with selectivity indices (SI) of 4.88, 25.19, and 46.32, respectively. Apoptosis induction was confirmed through nuclear staining and morphological analysis. Additionally, the ZnO-CuO NCPs showed promising antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) (IC₅₀ = 9.29 µg/mL, SI = 63.24) and Adenovirus-7 (IC₅₀ = 25.88 µg/mL, SI = 22.66), suggesting potential mechanisms involving viral replication inhibition. Molecular docking studies further supported the anticancer potential of the ZnO-CuO NCPs, revealing strong interactions with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Bcl-2-associated protein x (Bax), key regulators of angiogenesis and apoptosis. These findings highlight the multifunctional therapeutic potential of plant-mediated ZnO-CuO NCPs, offering a sustainable and effective strategy for addressing antimicrobial resistance, cancer, and viral infections, with promising implications for future biomedical applications.