Emerging zero-dimensional to four-dimensional biomaterials for bone regeneration

Bone is one of the most sophisticated and dynamic tissues in the human body, and is characterized by its remarkable potential for regeneration. In most cases, bone has the capacity to be restored to its original form with homeostatic functionality after injury without any remaining scarring. Throughout the fascinating processes of bone regeneration, a plethora of cell lineages and signaling molecules, together with the extracellular matrix, are precisely regulated at multiple length and time scales. However, conditions, such as delayed unions (or nonunion) and critical-sized bone defects, represent thorny challenges for orthopedic surgeons. During recent decades, a variety of novel biomaterials have been designed to mimic the organic and inorganic structure of the bone microenvironment, which have tremendously promoted and accelerated bone healing throughout different stages of bone regeneration. Advances in tissue engineering endowed bone scaffolds with phenomenal osteoconductivity, osteoinductivity, vascularization and neurotization effects as well as alluring properties, such as antibacterial effects. According to the dimensional structure and functional mechanism, these biomaterials are categorized as zero-dimensional, one-dimensional, two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and four-dimensional biomaterials. In this review, we comprehensively summarized the astounding advances in emerging biomaterials for bone regeneration by categorizing them as zero-dimensional to four-dimensional biomaterials, which were further elucidated by typical examples. Hopefully, this review will provide some inspiration for the future design of biomaterials for bone tissue engineering. Graphical abstract

Research On the Craniofacial Measurement Characteristics and Pollution Identification of Unearthed Human Bones at Shenna Ruins, China

The unearthed human bones are important materials for revealing ancient human food, ancient environment and ancient climate, and the origin of ancient humans, which the chemical composition and biological characteristics of bones have changed to varying degrees in the process of diagenesis, means that they were contaminated. Therefore, judging whether the unearthed ancient human bones are contaminated is a prerequisite for scientific analysis, environmental archaeology, and research on ancient human recipes. This paper is mainly using traditional morphological methods to analyze and study the craniofacial measurement characteristics of the unearthed human bones at the Shenna ruins, and the contamination of the unearthed human bones by burial environment and diagenesis was judged by using pH measurement, Scanning Electrion Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (SEM-EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform red external light spectrum (FTIR). The results show that the organic composition of the remains at Shenna ruins is decomposed in a large amount, the inorganic structure is destroyed, which will eventually cause looseness and porosity. However, the composition of inorganic minerals of the human bones has not been changed or contaminated, they could be avoided unnecessary waste of energy and work and research bias in further study of paleoenvironment and paleoclimate in Shenna ruins.

Structural and Functional Properties of Fluorinated Silica Hybrid Barrier Layers on Flexible Polymeric Foil

The reported work was focused on sol–gel-derived organically modified and fluorinated silica coatings deposited on elastic polymeric foil. The structure and topography of the coatings were tested by infrared spectroscopy and microscopic studies. The functional properties were determined using thermal analysis, surface analysis, and oxygen permeability tests. The barrier feature of the investigated materials against oxygen was correlated with the properties of the coatings. The hybrid (organic–inorganic) structure of the coatings was proven, demonstrating the presence of a silica network modified with alkyl and fluoroalkyl groups since precursors with the isooctyl group or different lengths of the fluoroalkyl chains were used for the syntheses. The coatings were free of defects and had a smooth surface except for the sample containing the longest fluoroalkyl chain (perfluorododecyl group), which showed a wrinkle-like surface. The hydrophobic character of the coatings increased, whereas the oxygen permeation coefficient values decreased (reaching a fourfold lower coefficient in comparison to the bare substrate) with a higher content of the fluorinated carbon atoms in the structure. The results were enriched by the information from the thermomechanical analysis as well as nanoindentation and scratch tests giving values of the glass transition temperature, thermal expansion coefficient, coatings adhesion, and hardness of the investigated systems.

Observation of ordered organic capping ligands on semiconducting quantum dots via powder X-ray diffraction

Powder X-ray diffraction is one of the key techniques used to characterize the inorganic structure of colloidal nanocrystals. The comparatively low scattering factor of nuclei of the organic capping ligands and their propensity to be disordered has led investigators to typically consider them effectively invisible to this technique. In this report, we demonstrate that a commonly observed powder X-ray diffraction peak around $$q=1.4{\AA}^{-1}$$ q = 1.4 Å − 1 observed in many small, colloidal quantum dots can be assigned to well-ordered aliphatic ligands bound to and capping the nanocrystals. This conclusion differs from a variety of explanations ascribed by previous sources, the majority of which propose an excess of organic material. Additionally, we demonstrate that the observed ligand peak is a sensitive probe of ligand shell ordering. Changes as a function of ligand length, geometry, and temperature can all be readily observed by X-ray diffraction and manipulated to achieve desired outcomes for the final colloidal system.

Review: Synthesis, Characterization and Studies on Controlled Release Properties of Layered Compound

Layered inorganic structure such as Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH), zinc layered hydroxide (ZLH) and graphene, in nano-size, have been used widely in the nanotechnology areas as a new and promising problem solving materials. The ability of these inorganic layered compounds that able to encapsulate the organic anions were known to provide greatest benefits; were explained more details in this paper. Intercalations of anion into the interlayer spaces of layered inorganic structure such as anion-exchange, co-precipitation, hydrothermal method and reconstruction with ‘memory effect’ were also explained. The characterization of intercalated layered nanocomposites such as Fourier Transforms Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, PowderX-ray Diffraction (PXRD) analysis, Thermogravimetric analysis, surface analysis was used to explain the successful of anion intercalated in between the interlayer spaces of layered inorganic structures. The application of these hybrids that have been widely used such as controlled release properties in pharmaceutical area, antimicrobial studies, dyeing agent, enhancing UV Sunscreen protection, herbicides and water treatment process were also described in details.

Super-ions of sodium cations with hydrated hydroxide anions: inorganic structure-directing agents in zeolite synthesis

In inorganic zeolite formation, a direct correspondence between liquid state species in the synthesis and the supramolecular decoration of the pores in the as-made final zeolite has never been reported....

Spectroscopic evidence of successful in situ insertion of sol–gel silica in a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) matrix

Silica-based (SiO2) poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) nanocomposites were obtained via an in situ sol–gel route in three distinct particle concentrations (1, 5, and 7.5% by weight of PHB). The polymer hybrids formed were analyzed via wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry (TD-NMR). The SiO2 inorganic structure displayed surface fractal features at low concentration (1 wt%) and denser agglomerates at higher concentrations (5 and 7.5 wt%). FTIR and SAXS results confirmed the formation of the inorganic matrix amid the polymer chains with different levels of distribution and organization. WAXD and TD-NMR results suggested the SiO2 influence on the PHB crystallinity degree, which was reflected on the polymer’s molecular dynamics with a nonlinear dependence of particles concentration in the PHB matrix.