Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering II

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2023) | Viewed by 9508

Special Issue Editor

Biomaterials and Bioengineering Lab, Centro de Investigación Traslacional San Alberto Magno, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, c/Guillem de Castro 94, 46001 Valencia, Spain
Interests: polymers; nanomaterials; nanocomposites; biomaterials; antimicrobial materials; regenerative medicine; tissue engineering; biomedical engineering
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymeric biomaterials play a pivotal role in tissue engineering and have attracted significant attention in recent years. They are designed to provide an architectural framework reminiscent of native extracellular matrixes in order to encourage cell growth and eventual tissue regeneration. Continued progress in tissue engineering hinges in part on the development of advanced polymeric biomaterials. They should be designed to promote regenerative processes by effectively transporting cell populations and therapeutic agents, as well as providing structural biomimetic scaffolding that confers sufficient mechanical properties to tissues.

In this Special Issue entitled Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering, the focus will be on the development of state-of-the-art polymeric biomaterials and exciting recent advancements with great potential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Recent advances in polymeric biomaterials with desired physical, architectural, dimensional, chemical, biological, biomechanical, and degradation properties to match specific requirements for tissue engineering applications are highly sought after for this issue. Experimental papers, up-to-date review articles, and commentaries are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Ángel Serrano-Aroca
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biomaterials
  • hydrogels
  • scaffolds
  • injectable
  • nanotechnology
  • 3D printing
  • tissue engineering
  • tissue regeneration
  • antimicrobial materials for tissue engineering applications

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 5496 KiB  
Article
Promotion of In Vitro Osteogenic Activity by Melt Extrusion-Based PLLA/PCL/PHBV Scaffolds Enriched with Nano-Hydroxyapatite and Strontium Substituted Nano-Hydroxyapatite
by Georgia-Ioanna Kontogianni, Amedeo Franco Bonatti, Carmelo De Maria, Raasti Naseem, Priscila Melo, Catarina Coelho, Giovanni Vozzi, Kenneth Dalgarno, Paulo Quadros, Chiara Vitale-Brovarone and Maria Chatzinikolaidou
Polymers 2023, 15(4), 1052; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15041052 - 20 Feb 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2477
Abstract
Bone tissue engineering has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome the limitations of current treatments for bone-related disorders, but the trade-off between mechanical properties and bioactivity remains a concern for many polymeric materials. To address this need, novel polymeric blends of poly-L-lactic [...] Read more.
Bone tissue engineering has emerged as a promising strategy to overcome the limitations of current treatments for bone-related disorders, but the trade-off between mechanical properties and bioactivity remains a concern for many polymeric materials. To address this need, novel polymeric blends of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) have been explored. Blend filaments comprising PLLA/PCL/PHBV at a ratio of 90/5/5 wt% have been prepared using twin-screw extrusion. The PLLA/PCL/PHBV blends were enriched with nano-hydroxyapatite (nano-HA) and strontium-substituted nano-HA (Sr-nano-HA) to produce composite filaments. Three-dimensional scaffolds were printed by fused deposition modelling from PLLA/PCL/PHBV blend and composite filaments and evaluated mechanically and biologically for their capacity to support bone formation in vitro. The composite scaffolds had a mean porosity of 40%, mean pores of 800 µm, and an average compressive modulus of 32 MPa. Polymer blend and enriched scaffolds supported cell attachment and proliferation. The alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium production were significantly higher in composite scaffolds compared to the blends. These findings demonstrate that thermoplastic polyesters (PLLA and PCL) can be combined with polymers produced via a bacterial route (PHBV) to produce polymer blends with excellent biocompatibility, providing additional options for polymer blend optimization. The enrichment of the blend with nano-HA and Sr-nano-HA powders enhanced the osteogenic potential in vitro. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering II)
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17 pages, 6910 KiB  
Article
Preparation and In Vitro Evaluation of Chitosan-g-Oligolactide Based Films and Macroporous Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering
by Tatiana Tolstova, Maria Drozdova, Tatiana Popyrina, Diana Matveeva, Tatiana Demina, Tatiana Akopova, Elena Andreeva and Elena Markvicheva
Polymers 2023, 15(4), 907; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15040907 - 11 Feb 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1587
Abstract
In the current study, novel matrices based on chitosan-g-oligo (L,L-/L,D-lactide) copolymers were fabricated. In particular, 2D films were prepared by solvent casting, while 3D macroporous hydrogels were obtained by lyophilization of copolymer solutions. Copolymers of chitosan (Chit) with semi-crystalline oligo (L,L-lactide) (Chit-LL) or [...] Read more.
In the current study, novel matrices based on chitosan-g-oligo (L,L-/L,D-lactide) copolymers were fabricated. In particular, 2D films were prepared by solvent casting, while 3D macroporous hydrogels were obtained by lyophilization of copolymer solutions. Copolymers of chitosan (Chit) with semi-crystalline oligo (L,L-lactide) (Chit-LL) or amorphous oligo (L,D-lactide) (Chit-LD) were obtained by solid-state mechanochemical synthesis. The structure of the hydrogels was found to be a system of interconnected macropores with an average size of 150 μm. In vitro degradation of these copolymer-based matrices was shown to increase in the case of the Chit-LL-based hydrogel by 34% and decrease for the Chit-LD-based hydrogel by 23% compared to the parameter of the Chit sample. Localization and distribution of mouse fibroblast L929 cells and adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) within the hydrogels was studied by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Moreover, cellular response, namely cell adhesion, spreading, growth, proliferation, as well as cell differentiation in vitro were also evaluated in the hydrogels for 10–14 days. Both the Chit-LL and Chit-LD matrices were shown to support cell growth and proliferation, while they had improved swelling compared to the Chit matrix. Osteogenic MSCs differentiation on the copolymer-based films was studied by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Maximal expression levels of osteogenesis markers (alkaline phosphatase (ALPL), bone transcription factor (Runx2), and osteopontin (SPP1) were revealed for the Chit-LD films. Thus, osteodifferentiation was demonstrated to depend on the film composition. Both Chit-LL and Chit-LD copolymer-based matrices are promising for tissue engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering II)
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32 pages, 5372 KiB  
Article
Controlled and Synchronised Vascular Regeneration upon the Implantation of Iloprost- and Cationic Amphiphilic Drugs-Conjugated Tissue-Engineered Vascular Grafts into the Ovine Carotid Artery: A Proteomics-Empowered Study
by Larisa Antonova, Anton Kutikhin, Viktoriia Sevostianova, Arseniy Lobov, Egor Repkin, Evgenia Krivkina, Elena Velikanova, Andrey Mironov, Rinat Mukhamadiyarov, Evgenia Senokosova, Mariam Khanova, Daria Shishkova, Victoria Markova and Leonid Barbarash
Polymers 2022, 14(23), 5149; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14235149 - 26 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1611
Abstract
Implementation of small-diameter tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) into clinical practice is still delayed due to the frequent complications, including thrombosis, aneurysms, neointimal hyperplasia, calcification, atherosclerosis, and infection. Here, we conjugated a vasodilator/platelet inhibitor, iloprost, and an antimicrobial cationic amphiphilic drug, 1,5-bis-(4-tetradecyl-1,4-diazoniabicyclo [2.2.2]octan-1-yl) pentane [...] Read more.
Implementation of small-diameter tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) into clinical practice is still delayed due to the frequent complications, including thrombosis, aneurysms, neointimal hyperplasia, calcification, atherosclerosis, and infection. Here, we conjugated a vasodilator/platelet inhibitor, iloprost, and an antimicrobial cationic amphiphilic drug, 1,5-bis-(4-tetradecyl-1,4-diazoniabicyclo [2.2.2]octan-1-yl) pentane tetrabromide, to the luminal surface of electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) TEVGs for preventing thrombosis and infection, additionally enveloped such TEVGs into the PCL sheath to preclude aneurysms, and implanted PCLIlo/CAD TEVGs into the ovine carotid artery (n = 12) for 6 months. The primary patency was 50% (6/12 animals). TEVGs were completely replaced with the vascular tissue, free from aneurysms, calcification, atherosclerosis and infection, completely endothelialised, and had clearly distinguishable medial and adventitial layers. Comparative proteomic profiling of TEVGs and contralateral carotid arteries found that TEVGs lacked contractile vascular smooth muscle cell markers, basement membrane components, and proteins mediating antioxidant defense, concurrently showing the protein signatures of upregulated protein synthesis, folding and assembly, enhanced energy metabolism, and macrophage-driven inflammation. Collectively, these results suggested a synchronised replacement of PCL with a newly formed vascular tissue but insufficient compliance of PCLIlo/CAD TEVGs, demanding their testing in the muscular artery position or stimulation of vascular smooth muscle cell specification after the implantation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering II)
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21 pages, 5383 KiB  
Article
Immobilization of Gelatin on Fibers for Tissue Engineering Applications: A Comparative Study of Three Aliphatic Polyesters
by Oliwia Jeznach, Dorota Kołbuk, Tobias Reich and Paweł Sajkiewicz
Polymers 2022, 14(19), 4154; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14194154 - 04 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1550
Abstract
Immobilization of cell adhesive proteins on the scaffold surface has become a widely reported method that can improve the interaction between scaffold and cells. In this study, three nanofibrous scaffolds obtained by electrospinning of poly(caprolactone) (PCL), poly(L-lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL) 70:30, or poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) were [...] Read more.
Immobilization of cell adhesive proteins on the scaffold surface has become a widely reported method that can improve the interaction between scaffold and cells. In this study, three nanofibrous scaffolds obtained by electrospinning of poly(caprolactone) (PCL), poly(L-lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL) 70:30, or poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) were subjected to chemical immobilization of gelatin based on aminolysis and glutaraldehyde cross-linking, as well as physisorption of gelatin. Two sets of aminolysis conditions were applied to evaluate the impact of amine group content. Based on the results of the colorimetric bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay, it was shown that the concentration of gelatin on the surface is higher for the chemical modification and increases with the concentration of free NH2 groups. XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) analysis confirmed this outcome. On the basis of XPS results, the thickness of the gelatin layer was estimated to be less than 10 nm. Initially, hydrophobic scaffolds are completely wettable after coating with gelatin, and the time of waterdrop absorption was correlated with the surface concentration of gelatin. In the case of all physically and mildly chemically modified samples, the decrease in stress and strain at break was relatively low, contrary to strongly aminolyzed PLCL and PLLA samples. Incubation testing performed on the PCL samples showed that a chemically immobilized gelatin layer is more stable than a physisorbed one; however, even after 90 days, more than 60% of the initial gelatin concentration was still present on the surface of physically modified samples. Mouse fibroblast L929 cell culture on modified samples indicates a positive effect of both physical and chemical modification on cell morphology. In the case of PCL and PLCL, the best morphology, characterized by stretched filopodia, was observed after stronger chemical modification, while for PLLA, there was no significant difference between modified samples. Results of metabolic activity indicate the better effect of chemical immobilization than of physisorption of gelatin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering II)
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11 pages, 2911 KiB  
Communication
Graphene Oxide versus Carbon Nanofibers in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) Films: Degradation in Simulated Intestinal Environments
by Ariagna L. Rivera-Briso, José Luis Aparicio-Collado, Roser Sabater i Serra and Ángel Serrano-Aroca
Polymers 2022, 14(2), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14020348 - 17 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1782
Abstract
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is a microbial biodegradable polymer with a broad range of promising industrial applications. The effect of incorporation of low amounts (1% w/w) of carbon nanomaterials (CBNs) such as 1D carbon nanofibers (CNFs) or 2D graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets into the [...] Read more.
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is a microbial biodegradable polymer with a broad range of promising industrial applications. The effect of incorporation of low amounts (1% w/w) of carbon nanomaterials (CBNs) such as 1D carbon nanofibers (CNFs) or 2D graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets into the PHBV polymer matrix affects its degradation properties, as it is reported here for the first time. The study was performed in simulated gut conditions using two different media: an acidic aqueous medium (pH 6) and Gifu anaerobic medium. The results of this study showed that the incorporation of low amounts of filamentous 1D hydrophobic CNFs significantly increased the degradability of the hydrophobic PHBV after 3 months in simulated intestinal conditions as confirmed by weight loss (~20.5% w/w in acidic medium) and electron microscopy. We can attribute these results to the fact that the long hydrophobic carbon nanochannels created in the PHBV matrix with the incorporation of the CNFs allowed the degradation medium to penetrate at ultrafast diffusion speed increasing the area exposed to degradation. However, the hydrogen bonds formed between the 2D hydrophilic GO nanosheets and the hydrophobic PHBV polymer chains produced a homogeneous composite structure that exhibits lower degradation (weight loss of ~4.5% w/w after three months in acidic aqueous medium). Moreover, the water molecules present in both degradation media can be linked to the hydroxyl (-OH) and carboxyl (-COOH) groups present on the basal planes and at the edges of the GO nanosheets, reducing their degradation potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering II)
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