scholarly journals Current Research on Polyelectrolyte Nanostructures: From Molecular Interactions to Biomedical Applications

Macromol ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-172
Author(s):  
Aristeidis Papagiannopoulos

Polyelectrolytes have been at the center of interdisciplinary research for many decades. In the field of polymer science and soft matter, they have provided the dimensions of electrostatic interactions, which opens a vast variety of opportunities for new physical properties and applications. In biological matter, polyelectrolytes are present in many forms, from extracellular polysaccharides to complex DNA molecules and proteins. This review discusses the recent research on polyelectrolytes covering the fundamental level of their conformations and nanostructures, their molecular interactions with materials that have close relevance to bioapplications and their applications in the biomedical field. This approach is motivated by the fact that the polyelectrolyte research is constantly active in all the aforementioned levels and continually affects many critical scientific areas.

DYNA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (207) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Claudia Milena Bedoya-Hincapié ◽  
Elisabeth Restrepo-Parra ◽  
Luis Demetrio López-Carreño

The potential of nanotechnology in the biomedical field has been crucial for contributing to the possibility of efficiently meeting present necessities with novel materials. Over the last few decades, nanostructures with a core/shell structure have attracted significant attention because of the possibility of changing their physical properties by varying their chemistry and geometry. These structures have become relevant in targeted therapy (drug delivery and treatments to complement chemotherapy and radiotherapy), imaging and in the stimulation of cellular functions. Thus in this paper the current development of core/shell nanostructures is reviewed, emphasizing the physical properties of those that have been proposed as potentially having biomedical applications, which are based in a magnetic behavior or in a mixture of magnetic and electric (multiferroic) phenomena.


Author(s):  
A. Kiani ◽  
N. J. Lakhkar ◽  
V. Salih ◽  
M. E. Smith ◽  
J. V. Hanna ◽  
...  

The use of biomaterials has revolutionized the biomedical field and has received substantial attention in the last two decades. Among the various types of biomaterials, phosphate glasses have generated great interest on account of their remarkable bioactivity and favourable physical properties for various biomedical applications relating to both hard and soft tissue regeneration. This review paper focuses mainly on the development of titanium-containing phosphate-based glasses and presents an overview of the structural and physical properties. The effect of titanium incorporation on the glassy network is to introduce favourable properties. The biocompatibility of these glasses is described along with recent developments in processing methodologies, and the potential of Ti-containing phosphate-based glasses as a bone substitute material is explored.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1631
Author(s):  
Mariangela Guastaferro ◽  
Ernesto Reverchon ◽  
Lucia Baldino

A comparative analysis concerning bio-based gels production, to be used for tissue regeneration, has been performed in this review. These gels are generally applied as scaffolds in the biomedical field, thanks to their morphology, low cytotoxicity, and high biocompatibility. Focusing on the time interval 2015–2020, the production of 3D scaffolds of alginate, chitosan and agarose, for skin and bone regeneration, has mainly been investigated. Traditional techniques are critically reviewed to understand their limitations and how supercritical CO2-assisted processes could overcome these drawbacks. In particular, even if freeze-drying represents the most widespread drying technique used to produce polysaccharide-based cryogels, supercritical CO2-assisted drying effectively allows preservation of the nanoporous aerogel structure and removes the organic solvent used for gel preparation. These characteristics are essential for cell adhesion and proliferation.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 906
Author(s):  
Le Minh Tu Phan ◽  
Thuy Anh Thu Vo ◽  
Thi Xoan Hoang ◽  
Sungbo Cho

Recently, photothermal therapy (PTT) has emerged as one of the most promising biomedical strategies for different areas in the biomedical field owing to its superior advantages, such as being noninvasive, target-specific and having fewer side effects. Graphene-based hydrogels (GGels), which have excellent mechanical and optical properties, high light-to-heat conversion efficiency and good biocompatibility, have been intensively exploited as potential photothermal conversion materials. This comprehensive review summarizes the current development of graphene-integrated hydrogel composites and their application in photothermal biomedicine. The latest advances in the synthesis strategies, unique properties and potential applications of photothermal-responsive GGel nanocomposites in biomedical fields are introduced in detail. This review aims to provide a better understanding of the current progress in GGel material fabrication, photothermal properties and potential PTT-based biomedical applications, thereby aiding in more research efforts to facilitate the further advancement of photothermal biomedicine.


Nanoscale ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (18) ◽  
pp. 8209-8232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donglu Shi ◽  
M. E. Sadat ◽  
Andrew W. Dunn ◽  
David B. Mast

Iron oxide exhibits fascinating physical properties especially in the nanometer range, not only from the standpoint of basic science, but also for a variety of engineering, particularly biomedical applications.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey V Dorozhkin

Amorphous calcium phosphates (ACPs) represent a metastable amorphous state of other calcium orthophosphates (abbreviated as CaPO4) possessing variable compositional but rather identical glass-like physical properties, in which there are neither...


Gels ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquale Sacco ◽  
Franco Furlani ◽  
Gaia de Marzo ◽  
Eleonora Marsich ◽  
Sergio Paoletti ◽  
...  

Chitosan macro- and micro/nano-gels have gained increasing attention in recent years, especially in the biomedical field, given the well-documented low toxicity, degradability, and non-immunogenicity of this unique biopolymer. In this review we aim at recapitulating the recent gelling concepts for developing chitosan-based physical gels. Specifically, we describe how nowadays it is relatively simple to prepare networks endowed with different sizes and shapes simply by exploiting physical interactions, namely (i) hydrophobic effects and hydrogen bonds—mostly governed by chitosan chemical composition—and (ii) electrostatic interactions, mainly ensured by physical/chemical chitosan features, such as the degree of acetylation and molecular weight, and external parameters, such as pH and ionic strength. Particular emphasis is dedicated to potential applications of this set of materials, especially in tissue engineering and drug delivery sectors. Lastly, we report on chitosan derivatives and their ability to form gels. Additionally, we discuss the recent findings on a lactose-modified chitosan named Chitlac, which has proved to form attractive gels both at the macro- and at the nano-scale.


Author(s):  
M. Sankaranarayanan ◽  
Ryan J. Emenecker ◽  
Marcus Jahnel ◽  
Irmela R. E. A. Trussina ◽  
Matt Wayland ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBiomolecular condensates that form via liquid-liquid phase separation can exhibit diverse physical states. Despite considerable progress, the relevance of condensate physical states forin vivobiological function remains limited. Here, we investigated the physical properties ofin vivoprocessing bodies (P bodies) and their impact on mRNA storage in matureDrosophilaoocytes. We show that the conserved DEAD-box RNA helicase Me31B forms P body condensates which adopt a less dynamic, arrested physical state. We demonstrate that structurally distinct proteins and hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, together with RNA and intrinsically disordered regions, regulate the physical properties of P bodies. Finally, using live imaging, we show that the arrested state of P bodies is required to prevent the premature release ofbicoid(bcd) mRNA, a body axis determinant, and that P body dissolution leads tobcdrelease. Together, this work establishes a role for arrested states of biomolecular condensates in regulating cellular function in a developing organism.


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