Mechanical Performance of 3D-Printed Biocompatible Polycarbonate for Biomechanical Applications

Additive manufacturing has experienced remarkable growth in recent years due to the customisation, precision, and cost savings compared to conventional manufacturing techniques. In parallel, materials with great potential have been developed, such as PC-ISO polycarbonate, which has biocompatibility certifications for use in the biomedical industry. However, many of these synthetic materials are not capable of meeting the mechanical stresses to which the biological structure of the human body is naturally subjected. In this study, an exhaustive characterisation of the PC-ISO was carried out, including an investigation on the influence of the printing parameters by fused filament fabrication on its mechanical behaviour. It was found that the effect of the combination of the printing parameters does not have a notable impact on the mass, cost, and manufacturing time of the specimens; however, it is relevant when determining the tensile, bending, shear, impact, and fatigue strengths. The best combinations for its application in biomechanics are proposed, and the need to combine PC-ISO with other materials to achieve the necessary strengths for functioning as a bone scaffold is demonstrated.

Optimization and Characterization of Biocellulose Production from Bacteria Isolated from Passion Fruits

Biocellulose is a strong polymer consisting of nanofibrillar structures that produce a large surface area and a microporous structure. This organic polymer is greatly in demand in various industries, such as the paper industry, biomedical industry and cosmetics industry. In this study, biocellulose production from two bacteria known as endophytic bacterium SV845 (M02) and Pantoea ananatis IADCAMBID (M03) isolated from passion fruit was selected. Three different media formulations (Media 1, Media 2, and Media 3) were used in order to optimize the biocellulose production where each media contained a different percentage of carbon sources (glucose and fructose). The highest biocellulose production (1.544 mg/mL) was demonstrated by M02 bacteria strain in Media 1 containing glucose alone which fermented at 30 ºC while at 37 ºC, the highest biocellulose (BC) production was demonstrated by M03 bacteria strain at 2.078 mg/mL in media containing glucose alone (Media 1). Data on pH changes during biocellulose fermentation in all the media were set at an initial pH of 6. The final pH values were observed in the range of 5.34 to 6.08 for M02 strain and 5.95 to 8.53 for M03 strain, respectively. Characterizations of biocellulose were compared to starch using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. FTIR analysis indicated that the absorption peaks at 3200 cm-1 and 1630 cm-1 were derived from the association of intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bonds and H–O–H bending vibration of the absorbed water molecules in cellulose.

Antimicrobial Effect of Electrospun Nanofibers Loaded with Silver Nanoparticles: Influence of Ag Incorporation Method

The antimicrobial bioactivity of silver nanoparticles is well known, and they can be used widely in many applications, becoming especially important in the biomedical industry. On the other hand, the electrospun nanofibers possess properties that can enhance silver nanoparticle applicability. However, silver nanoparticle bioactivity differs depending on the loading of silver ions into electrospun nanofibers. This review is aimed at comparing different silver incorporation methods into electrospun nanofibers and their antimicrobial activity, discussing each procedure’s limitations, and presenting the most promising one. This review showed that the preferred techniques for incorporating silver nanoparticles were direct blending and ultraviolet irradiation methods due to their simplicity and efficient results. Besides, polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (PAN) have been the most reported system loaded with silver nanoparticles. Finally, independently of the technique used, silver nanoparticle-loaded nanofibers show high antimicrobial activity in all cases.

Antimicrobial Activity of Chitosan Oligosaccharides with Special Attention to Antiparasitic Potential

The global rise of infectious disease outbreaks and the progression of microbial resistance reinforce the importance of researching new biomolecules. Obtained from the hydrolysis of chitosan, chitooligosaccharides (COSs) have demonstrated several biological properties, including antimicrobial, and greater advantage over chitosan due to their higher solubility and lower viscosity. Despite the evidence of the biotechnological potential of COSs, their effects on trypanosomatids are still scarce. The objectives of this study were the enzymatic production, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of the cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic effects of COSs. NMR and mass spectrometry analyses indicated the presence of a mixture with 81% deacetylated COS and acetylated hexamers. COSs demonstrated no evidence of cytotoxicity upon 2 mg/mL. In addition, COSs showed interesting activity against bacteria and yeasts and a time-dependent parasitic inhibition. Scanning electron microscopy images indicated a parasite aggregation ability of COSs. Thus, the broad biological effect of COSs makes them a promising molecule for the biomedical industry.

Applications of Advanced Nanotechnology in Stem Cell Research

Nanotechnology gives rise to new breakthroughs and developments in various fields. The applications of advanced nanotechnology may resolve the current technical problems encountered in stem cell research. Nanotechnology has gained significant attention in both academic research and the biomedical industry in recent years. In this mini-review article, the progress of nanotechnology-aided stem cell studies has been surveyed, and the in vitro and in vivo applications of nanotechnology have been introduced. The in vitro studies are divided into three categories: isolation, detection, and regulation. The progress of in vivo studies and trends in biomedical applications have also been addressed.

Impact of ICT to Improve of the Manufacturing in a SME Biomedical of Mexicali, Mexico

This work presents a way to optimize the manufacturing processes in a small biomedical industry considered in the micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (SME) group and located in the Mexicali city, using a specialized software that act as design and test of a new model, being the COSIMIR (Cell Oriented Simulation of Industrial Robots) software. With this software was designed a new industrial process in a workstation separated of the main step of a manufacturing line, where are fabricated biomechanical knees pads. The process was made as a manual activity in a work station and had to be separated from the conveyor belt of the main activities, because where previously made by an automatized device that was failing continually and was delaying the delivery to the next steps of the manufacturing processes and to the customers as a final product fabricated in this industry. In this place of the company, an operation was made to organize the biomechanical knee in a plastic container with divisions and to be transported safe and quickly to other area by a conveyor belt with linear process flow. The investigation was conducted from 2018 to 2019.