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Polymers
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Polymers for Diagnostics and Therapy
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Polymers for Diagnostics and Therapy

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 14148

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Domenico Larobina

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Guest Editor
Institute for Polymers, Composites, and Biomaterials, National Research Council of Italy, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: biomaterials; fluid dynamics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Francesco Nappi

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Guest Editor
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Centre Cardiologique du Nord, 93200 Saint-Denis, France
Interests: valve surgery; coronary surgery; aortic surgery; cardiac biomechanics; tissue biomodelling; tissue engineering; regenerative medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of bioresorbable vascular stents (BVSs) in clinical practice has been proposed as a solution to drug-eluting stents (DESs) to avoid the complication of intra-stent restenosis, which represents the failure of the PCI procedure. A bioresorbable vascular stent can consist of the combination of PLGA or poly (lactic-co-glycolic) or poly-D, L-lactide (PDLLA) with everolimus. Another BVS is comprised of a magnesium-based scaffold which resorbs within one year of implantation and has been approved for use in several countries around the world. The main point in favor of the BVS was the fact that once the material was reabsorbed the coronary artery would be completely free of a footprint, which has proved to be a problem when a possible second surgical time would be useful. Although data from several ABSORB trials statistically showed good performance compared to the market-leading Xience everolimus-eluting metallic stent, there was signal in the data for slightly poorer outcomes, negating any long-term benefits the stent might offer. Experts involved in the trials said ABSORB saw a very low usage rate, with estimates in the U.S. showing usage of less than 5%.

It is evident that given the rapid development and use of BVSs, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the relationship among the structure of vascular atheromatous plaque, processing, and properties of biomedical polymers so as to widen their medical applications and improve the characteristics of the materials already used.

This Special Issue “Polymers for Diagnostics and Therapy” highlights the importance of polymers used in the biomedical field. The topics of interest concern the polymers (biodegradable or not) used for this purpose and related aspects, such as replacement materials for heart valves and arteries, ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) in joint replacement, tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery systems, sutures, etc.

Dr. Domenico Larobina
Dr. Francesco Nappi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2241 KiB  
Article
Development, Characterization and Valuable Use of Novel Dosimeter Film Based on PVA Polymer Doped Nitro Blue Tetrazolium Dye and AgNO3 for the Accurate Detection of Low X-ray Doses
by Saleh Alashrah, Yassine El-Ghoul, Faisal Muteb Almutairi and Mohammed Ahmed Ali Omer
Polymers 2021, 13(18), 3140; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183140 - 17 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2429
Abstract
Currently, the uncontrolled exposure of individuals to X-rays during medical examinations represents a substantial danger that threatens both medical professionals and patients. Therefore, radiation dosimetry for low X-ray doses is a very important control of radiation practice in medical diagnostic radiology. In line [...] Read more.
Currently, the uncontrolled exposure of individuals to X-rays during medical examinations represents a substantial danger that threatens both medical professionals and patients. Therefore, radiation dosimetry for low X-ray doses is a very important control of radiation practice in medical diagnostic radiology. In line with this, the current study proposes a valuable dosimeter-based PVA thin film doubly doped with silver nitrate salt and nitro blue tetrazolium dye. The nanocomposite film was prepared via a simple casting method and the different processing parameters were optimized. The performance of radiation detection was evaluated according to optical, chromic, chemical and structural changes after exposure to variable low X-ray doses (0, 2, 4, 10 and 20 mGy). The different film labels exhibited an excellent stability behavior in dark and light upon 30 days of storage. The UV-Vis spectrophotometric study showed a gradual increase in the maximum absorbance as a function of the dose and the corresponding response curve confirmed this linear variation (R = 0.998). A clear structural modification was recorded via X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealing the increase in crystallinity with the level of the dose received by the nanocomposite films. Microscopic surface analysis via SEM assessments revealed a significant morphological change in PVA/Ag+/NBT films exposed to increased radiation doses and typical dendrites growing in needle- or tree-like microstructures appeared with a high X-ray dose. Finally, the nanocomposite films before and after irradiation were evaluated via a spectrocolorimetric study and the different CIELab coordinates, the color difference, as well as the color strength, showed a linear correlation with the intensity of the applied dose. This new dosimeter design could, therefore, provide a promising and efficient alternative for prompt and accurate detection of low X-rays doses in diagnostic radiology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Diagnostics and Therapy)
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10 pages, 798 KiB  
Article
Hyperbranched Polyglycerols as Robust Up-Conversion Nanoparticle Coating Layer for Feasible Cell Imaging
by Mingcong Hao, Tongtong Wu, Qunzhi Chen, Xueyan Lian, Haigang Wu and Bingyang Shi
Polymers 2020, 12(11), 2592; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12112592 - 04 Nov 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1627
Abstract
Owing to the wide spectrum of excitation wavelengths of up-conversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) by precisely regulating the percentage of doping elements, UCNPs have been emerging as bioimaging agents. The key drawback of UCNPs is their poor dispersibility in aqueous solution and it is hard [...] Read more.
Owing to the wide spectrum of excitation wavelengths of up-conversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) by precisely regulating the percentage of doping elements, UCNPs have been emerging as bioimaging agents. The key drawback of UCNPs is their poor dispersibility in aqueous solution and it is hard to introduce the chemical versatility of function groups. In our study, we present a robust and feasible UCNP modification approach by introducing hyperbranched polyglycerols (hbPGs) as a coating layer. When grafted by hbPGs, the solubility and biocompatibility of UCNPs are significantly improved. Moreover, we also systematically investigated and optimized the chemical modification approach of amino acids or green fluorescence protein (GFP), respectively, grafting onto hbPGs and hbPGs-g-UCNP by oxidizing the vicinal diol to be an aldehyde group, which reacts more feasibly with amino-containing functional molecules. Then, we investigated the drug-encapsulating properties of hbPGs-Arg with DOX and cell imaging of GFP-grafted hbPGs-g-UCNP, respectively. The excellent cell imaging in tumor cells indicated that hbPG-modification of UCNPs displayed potential for applications in drug delivery and disease diagnosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Diagnostics and Therapy)
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Review

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28 pages, 2100 KiB  
Review
Trends in Managing Cardiac and Orthopaedic Device-Associated Infections by Using Therapeutic Biomaterials
by Stefania Scialla, Giorgia Martuscelli, Francesco Nappi, Sanjeet Singh Avtaar Singh, Adelaide Iervolino, Domenico Larobina, Luigi Ambrosio and Maria Grazia Raucci
Polymers 2021, 13(10), 1556; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13101556 - 12 May 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2660
Abstract
Over the years, there has been an increasing number of cardiac and orthopaedic implanted medical devices, which has caused an increased incidence of device-associated infections. The surfaces of these indwelling devices are preferred sites for the development of biofilms that are potentially lethal [...] Read more.
Over the years, there has been an increasing number of cardiac and orthopaedic implanted medical devices, which has caused an increased incidence of device-associated infections. The surfaces of these indwelling devices are preferred sites for the development of biofilms that are potentially lethal for patients. Device-related infections form a large proportion of hospital-acquired infections and have a bearing on both morbidity and mortality. Treatment of these infections is limited to the use of systemic antibiotics with invasive revision surgeries, which had implications on healthcare burdens. The purpose of this review is to describe the main causes that lead to the onset of infection, highlighting both the biological and clinical pathophysiology. Both passive and active surface treatments have been used in the field of biomaterials to reduce the impact of these infections. This includes the use of antimicrobial peptides and ionic liquids in the preventive treatment of antibiotic-resistant biofilms. Thus far, multiple in vivo studies have shown efficacious effects against the antibiotic-resistant biofilm. However, this has yet to materialize in clinical medicine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Diagnostics and Therapy)
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14 pages, 16474 KiB  
Review
Polymers and Nanoparticles for Statin Delivery: Current Use and Future Perspectives in Cardiovascular Disease
by Antonio Nenna, Francesco Nappi, Domenico Larobina, Emanuele Verghi, Massimo Chello and Luigi Ambrosio
Polymers 2021, 13(5), 711; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13050711 - 26 Feb 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3654
Abstract
Atherosclerosis-related coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading sources of mortality and morbidity in the world. Primary and secondary prevention appear crucial to reduce CAD-related complications. In this scenario, statin treatment was shown to be clinically effective in the reduction of [...] Read more.
Atherosclerosis-related coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading sources of mortality and morbidity in the world. Primary and secondary prevention appear crucial to reduce CAD-related complications. In this scenario, statin treatment was shown to be clinically effective in the reduction of adverse events, but systemic administration provides suboptimal results. As an attempt to improve bioavailability and effectiveness, polymers and nanoparticles for statin delivery were recently investigated. Polymers and nanoparticles can help statin delivery and their effects by increasing oral bioavailability or enhancing target-specific interaction, leading to reduced vascular endothelial dysfunction, reduced intimal hyperplasia, reduced ischemia-reperfusion injury, increased cardiac regeneration, positive remodeling in the extracellular matrix, reduced neointimal growth and increased re-endothelization. Moreover, some innovative aspects described in other cardiovascular fields could be translated into the CAD scenario. Recent preclinical studies are underlining the effect of statins in the stimulation and differentiation of endogenous cardiac stem cells, as well as in targeting of local adverse conditions implicated in atherosclerosis, and statin delivery through poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) appears the most promising aspect of current research to enhance drug activity. The present review intends to summarize the current evidence about polymers and nanoparticles for statin delivery in the field of cardiovascular disease, trying to shed light on this topic and identify new avenues for future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Diagnostics and Therapy)
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20 pages, 1694 KiB  
Review
The Use of Bioactive Polymers for Intervention and Tissue Engineering: The New Frontier for Cardiovascular Therapy
by Francesco Nappi, Antonio Nenna, Domenico Larobina, Giorgia Martuscelli, Sanjeet Singh Avtaar Singh, Massimo Chello and Luigi Ambrosio
Polymers 2021, 13(3), 446; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13030446 - 30 Jan 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2745
Abstract
Coronary heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death in most countries. Healthcare improvements have seen a shift in the presentation of disease with a reducing number of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs), largely due to earlier reperfusion strategies such as [...] Read more.
Coronary heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death in most countries. Healthcare improvements have seen a shift in the presentation of disease with a reducing number of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs), largely due to earlier reperfusion strategies such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Stents have revolutionized the care of these patients, but the long-term effects of these devices have been brought to the fore. The conceptual and technologic evolution of these devices from bare-metal stents led to the creation and wide application of drug-eluting stents; further research introduced the idea of polymer-based resorbable stents. We look at the evolution of stents and the multiple advantages and disadvantages offered by each of the different polymers used to make stents in order to identify what the stent of the future may consist of whilst highlighting properties that are beneficial to the patient alongside the role of the surgeon, the cardiologist, engineers, chemists, and biophysicists in creating the ideal stent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Diagnostics and Therapy)
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