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Scientific Reports Apr 2022In osteoporosis and diabetes, it is essential to accelerate the bone repair and regeneration process. Trace rare earth elements such as lanthanum (La) ions (La) with...
In osteoporosis and diabetes, it is essential to accelerate the bone repair and regeneration process. Trace rare earth elements such as lanthanum (La) ions (La) with appropriate concentrations are bioactive and can effectively regulate bone tissue performances. However, few well-established bone tissue engineering scaffolds can precisely and stably release La to promote bone regeneration significantly. Based on the advantages of biodegradable microspheres and microsphere-based scaffolds for controlled drug release, we developed poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)-based microsphere-based scaffolds as both three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffolds and La storage and release systems for osteogenesis. So far, there is no study about microsphere-based scaffolds to release trace La to induce osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs). PLGA microspheres co-embedded with La-doped mesoporous silica (LMS) with different amounts of doped La were sintered to prepare the LMS/PLGA (LMSP) microsphere-based scaffold. The La release behavior of LMSP can be controlled by adjusting the doping amount of La in mesoporous silica (MS). All these scaffolds possessed a 3D network architecture. With the increase of La doping, LMSP can better compensate for the pH decrease caused by PLGA degradation. The combination of MS and PLGA can avoid the cytotoxicity of MS alone. All prepared LMSP scaffolds were non-cytotoxic. After BMSCs were implanted on scaffolds, LMSP could promote cells adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation. Among these microsphere-based scaffolds, LMSP-3 with stable and higher dose La release behavior showed the strongest ability to enhance the osteogenesis of BMSCs. The results showed that microsphere-based scaffolds with the ability to store and stably control the release of La could effectively improve osteogenic performance, which provides a new idea for the construction of bone tissue engineering scaffolds.
Topics: Bone Regeneration; Microspheres; Osteogenesis; Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; Silicon Dioxide; Tissue Engineering; Tissue Scaffolds
PubMed: 35430599
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10347-0 -
Experimental Biology and Medicine... Oct 2022Microsphere-based flow cytometry is a highly sensitive emerging technology for specific detection and clinical analysis of antigens, antibodies, and nucleic acids of... (Review)
Review
Microsphere-based flow cytometry is a highly sensitive emerging technology for specific detection and clinical analysis of antigens, antibodies, and nucleic acids of interest. In this review, studies that focused on the application of flow cytometry as a viable alternative for the investigation of infectious diseases were analyzed. Many of the studies involve research aimed at epidemiological surveillance, vaccine candidates and early diagnosis, non-infectious diseases, specifically cancer, and emphasize the simultaneous detection of biomarkers for early diagnosis, with accurate results in a non-invasive approach. The possibility of carrying out multiplexed assays affords this technique high versatility and performance, which is evidenced in a series of clinical studies that have verified the ability to detect several molecules in low concentrations and with minimal sample volume. As such, we demonstrate that microsphere-based flow cytometry presents itself as a promising technique that can be adopted as a fundamental element in the development of new diagnostic methods for a number of diseases.
Topics: Humans; Flow Cytometry; Microspheres; Antigens; Biomarkers; Communicable Diseases
PubMed: 35974694
DOI: 10.1177/15353702221113856 -
Biosensors Dec 2022Catalytic micromotors can be used to detect molecules of interest in several ways. The straightforward approach is to use such motors as sensors of their "fuel" (i.e.,... (Review)
Review
Catalytic micromotors can be used to detect molecules of interest in several ways. The straightforward approach is to use such motors as sensors of their "fuel" (i.e., of the species consumed for self-propulsion). Another way is in the detection of species which are not fuel but still modulate the catalytic processes facilitating self-propulsion. Both of these require analysis of the motion of the micromotors because the speed (or the diffusion coefficient) of the micromotors is the analytical signal. Alternatively, catalytic micromotors can be used as the means to enhance mass transport, and thus increase the probability of specific recognition events in the sample. This latter approach is based on "classic" (e.g., electrochemical) analytical signals and does not require an analysis of the motion of the micromotors. Together with a discussion of the current limitations faced by sensing concepts based on the speed (or diffusion coefficient) of catalytic micromotors, we review the findings of the studies devoted to the analytical performances of catalytic micromotor sensors. We conclude that the qualitative (rather than quantitative) analysis of small samples, in resource poor environments, is the most promising niche for the catalytic micromotors in analytical chemistry.
Topics: Microspheres; Catalysis
PubMed: 36671880
DOI: 10.3390/bios13010045 -
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach,... Sep 2017Three-dimensional porous scaffolds play a pivotal role in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine by functioning as biomimetic substrates to manipulate cellular... (Review)
Review
Three-dimensional porous scaffolds play a pivotal role in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine by functioning as biomimetic substrates to manipulate cellular behaviors. While many techniques have been developed to fabricate porous scaffolds, most of them rely on stochastic processes that typically result in scaffolds with pores uncontrolled in terms of size, structure, and interconnectivity, greatly limiting their use in tissue regeneration. Inverse opal scaffolds, in contrast, possess uniform pores inheriting from the template comprised of a closely packed lattice of monodispersed microspheres. The key parameters of such scaffolds, including architecture, pore structure, porosity, and interconnectivity, can all be made uniform across the same sample and among different samples. In conjunction with a tight control over pore sizes, inverse opal scaffolds have found widespread use in biomedical applications. In this review, we provide a detailed discussion on this new class of advanced materials. After a brief introduction to their history and fabrication, we highlight the unique advantages of inverse opal scaffolds over their non-uniform counterparts. We then showcase their broad applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, followed by a summary and perspective on future directions.
Topics: Microspheres; Porosity; Tissue Engineering; Tissue Scaffolds
PubMed: 28649794
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201701115 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2020Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are specific crosslinked polymers that exhibit binding sites for template molecules. MIPs have been developed in various... (Review)
Review
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are specific crosslinked polymers that exhibit binding sites for template molecules. MIPs have been developed in various application areas of biology and chemistry; however, MIPs have some problems, including an irregular material shape. In recent years, studies have been conducted to overcome this drawback, with the synthesis of uniform microsphere MIPs or molecularly imprinted microspheres (MIMs). The polymer microsphere is limited to a minimum size of 5 nm and a molecular weight of 10,000 Da. This review describes the methods used to produce MIMs, such as precipitation polymerisation, controlled/'Living' radical precipitation polymerisation (CRPP), Pickering emulsion polymerisation and suspension polymerisation. In addition, some green chemistry aspects and future perspectives will also be given.
Topics: Emulsions; Humans; Microspheres; Molecular Imprinting; Polymerization; Polymers
PubMed: 32708849
DOI: 10.3390/molecules25143256 -
Bio Systems Oct 2023Proteinoids, or thermal proteins, are produced by heating amino acids to their melting point and initiating polymerisation to produce polymeric chains. In aqueous...
Proteinoids, or thermal proteins, are produced by heating amino acids to their melting point and initiating polymerisation to produce polymeric chains. In aqueous solutions proteinoids swell into hollow microspheres. These microspheres produce endogenous burst of electrical potential spikes and change patterns of their electrical activity in response to illumination. We report results on a detailed investigation on the effects of white cold light on the spiking of proteinoids. We study how different types and intensities of light determine proteinoids' spiking amplitude, period, and pattern. The results of this study will be utilised to evaluate proteinoids for their potential as optical sensors and their application in unconventional computing.
Topics: Amino Acids; Light; Microspheres; Polymerization
PubMed: 37657746
DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.105015 -
Ultrasonics Sonochemistry Nov 2021Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius) is commonly used as a food ingredient in Southeast Asia due to its delicious flavor, appetizing aroma and bright green colour. Pandan... (Review)
Review
Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius) is commonly used as a food ingredient in Southeast Asia due to its delicious flavor, appetizing aroma and bright green colour. Pandan plant is uniquely found only in certain parts of the world. Despite its increasing popularity worldwide, its export market is limited by practical issues. One of the main problems for exporting Pandan to global market is its stability during transport. Due to the volatility of its active constituent, the functional properties of Pandan are lost during storage and shipment. In this study, we explored the ability of ultrasound processing technology to encapsulate the aromatic Pandan extract using lysozyme or chitosan as a shell material. 20 kHz ultrasonicator was used to encapsulate the pandan extract at 150 W of applied power. Two parameters, the ultrasonic probe tip and the core-to-shell ratio were varied to control the properties of the encapsulates. The diameters of the probe tip used were 0.3 and 1.0 cm. The core-to-shell volume ratios used were 1:160 and 1:40. The size distribution and the stability of the synthesized microspheres were characterized to understand and explore the possible parameters variation impact. Both size and size distribution of the microspheres were found to be influenced by the parameters varied to certain extent. The results showed that the mean size of the microspheres was generally smallest when using 1 cm probe tip with lower core-to-shell volume ratio but largest when using the 3 mm tip with higher core-to-shell volume ratio. This indicates that the sonication parameters could be fine-tuned to achieve the encapsulation of Pandan extract for storage and export. The pandan-encapsulated microspheres were also found to be stable during storage at least for one month.
Topics: Chitosan; Microspheres; Pandanaceae; Particle Size; Plant Extracts; Sonication; Ultrasonics
PubMed: 34673338
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2021.105793 -
International Journal of Molecular... Aug 2023Over the years, silk fibroin (SF) has gained significant attention in various fields, such as biomedicine, tissue engineering, food processing, photochemistry, and... (Review)
Review
Over the years, silk fibroin (SF) has gained significant attention in various fields, such as biomedicine, tissue engineering, food processing, photochemistry, and biosensing, owing to its remarkable biocompatibility, machinability, and chemical modifiability. The process of obtaining regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) involves degumming, dissolving, dialysis, and centrifugation. RSF can be further fabricated into films, sponges, microspheres, gels, nanofibers, and other forms. It is now understood that the dissolution method selected greatly impacts the molecular weight distribution and structure of RSF, consequently influencing its subsequent processing and application. This study comprehensively explores and summarizes different dissolution methods of SF while examining their effects on the structure and performance of RSF. The findings presented herein aim to provide valuable insights and references for researchers and practitioners interested in utilizing RSF in diverse fields.
Topics: Fibroins; Renal Dialysis; Centrifugation; Food Handling; Microspheres
PubMed: 37685960
DOI: 10.3390/ijms241713153 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Dec 2023In this study, a capillary microfluidic device was constructed, and sodium alginate solution and a pH-sensitive hydrophobic polymer ((BMA--DAMA--MMA)) solution were...
In this study, a capillary microfluidic device was constructed, and sodium alginate solution and a pH-sensitive hydrophobic polymer ((BMA--DAMA--MMA)) solution were introduced into the device for the preparation of hydrogel fibers loaded with polymer microspheres. The structure of the microsphere fiber, including the size and spacing of the microspheres, could be controlled by flow rate, and the microspheres were able to degrade and release cargo responding to acidic pH conditions. By modification with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), alginate hydrogel exhibited enhanced pH sensitivity (shrunk in acidic while swollen in basic condition). This led to an impact on the diffusion rate of the molecules released from the inner microspheres. The microsphere fiber showed dramatic and negligible degradation and drug release in tumor cell (i.e., A431 and A549 cells) and normal cell environments, respectively. These results indicated that the microsphere fiber prepared in this study showed selective drug release in acidic environments, such as tumor and inflammation sites, which could be applied as a smart surgical dressing with normal tissue protective properties.
Topics: Drug Liberation; Microfluidics; Microspheres; Alginates; Hydrogels; Polymers; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
PubMed: 38202775
DOI: 10.3390/molecules29010193 -
Journal of Nanobiotechnology Sep 2023Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) always suffer from severe abdominal pain and appear to be at high risk for colorectal cancer. Recently, the co-delivery of...
Designing a microbial fermentation-functionalized alginate microsphere for targeted release of 5-ASA using nano dietary fiber carrier for inflammatory bowel disease treatment.
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) always suffer from severe abdominal pain and appear to be at high risk for colorectal cancer. Recently, the co-delivery of targeted drugs and gut microbiota has developed into an attractive strategy. A new strategy using gut microbiota fermentation to overcome the interspace diffuse resistance from the mucus layer to control drug release in inflammatory bowel sites (IBS sites) has not yet been available. Here, we designed an alginate hydrogel microsphere encapsulating bifidobacterium (Bac) and drug-modified nanoscale dietary fibers (NDFs). The hydrogel microsphere is responsible for protecting drugs from acidic and multi-enzymatic environments and delivering drugs to the colorectum. Subsequently, the fermentation of Bac by digesting NDFs and proteins as carbon and nitrogen sources can promote drug release and play a probiotic role in the gut microbiota. In vitro evidence indicated that small-sized NDF (NDF-1) could significantly promote short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) expression. Notably, NDF-1 hydrogel microspheres showed a boost release of 5-ASA in the IBS sites, resulting in the amelioration of gut inflammation and remodeling of gut microbiota in chronic colitis mice. This study developed a controlled release system based on microbial fermentation for the treatment of IBD.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Mice; Microspheres; Fermentation; Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Mesalamine; Alginates; Dietary Fiber
PubMed: 37741962
DOI: 10.1186/s12951-023-02097-6