Narrow Results

Objective: To investigate whether black phosphorus (BP) promotes bone regeneration via the piezoelectric effect. Methods: A BP hydrogel complex was prepared. Rat femur defect models were established and divided into three groups: the negative control group (CTR), the untreated control group (Sham), and the BP group. Femoral specimens were collected at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks post-operation. Bone morphology was observed using electron microscopy, and osteogenic protein content was detected by Western blotting. Results: Electron microscopy showed that the healing ability of bone defects in the Sham group was weaker than that in the CTR group. The BP group demonstrated better bone defect recovery than the Sham group, but it did not surpass that of the CTR group. The Western bolt result of bone regeneration protein showed that both the hydrogel and BP could stimulate the upregulation of bone regeneration proteins. Still, the hydrogel appears to be more effective overall. Conclusion: Without external forces, polarized BP nanoplates may enhance bone defect healing due to their uniquely oriented electron layer properties.

In recent years, significant progress has been made on the research of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-7, BMP-7 (OP-1). BMP-7 is a growth- and differentiating-factor and a member of the TGF-β or Transforming Growth Factor-beta Superfamily. Ever since recombinantly produced human BMP-7 (rhBMP-7) became available in the early 1990s research in this area intensified. Many publications and presentations were issued detailing the ability of rhBMP-7 to induce new bone formation and to investigate this as an option to solve a wide variety of orthopedic problems.

BMP-7's activity in bone regeneration has been established through numerous animal trials. Work has been presented on the potency of rhBMP-7 in joint revision arthroplasty, fracture healing and spinal fusion. rhBMP-7 has been investigated in a prospective controled human trial as an alternative for autograft in the treatment of tibial non-unions. In the not too distant future surgeons may have a new tool available in their daily practice for stimulating regeneration of bone and other skeletal tissue, though still many question on issues like dosing, predictability of outcomes, suitable indications and surgical techniques remain yet unanswered.

Sanford-Burnham and Daiichi Sankyo form alliance to study novel drug targets in cardiovascular metabolic diseases.

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ASLAN Pharmaceuticals signs agreement with CSL to develop novel therapy for asthma.

Self-assembling peptides for bone regeneration and drug delivery.

Verisante Technology, Inc. receives the 2014 North American Technology Innovation Leadership of the Year Award from Frost & Sullivan.

Agilent Technologies partners Women in Science, Engineering and Technology in Korea.

Mundipharma and Genewel sign agreement across key global markets for licensing and promotion of Medifoam®.

Janssen collaborates with ViiV Healthcare to develop two-drug single tablet regimen for the maintenance treatment of people living with HIV.

AbbVie opens expanded manufacturing facility in Sligo, Ireland.

AMRI to Acquire Oso Biopharmaceuticals Manufacturing.

Merck to collaborate with Sysmex Inostics on a blood-based RAS biomarker test.

Igenbio establishes direct presence in Japan.

Mesoblast accelerates plans for commercial manufacturing operations in Singapore.

Celerion and Korean Drug Development Fund form collaboration to strengthen early phase clinical research in South Korea.

Dr. Carolyn Mountford, University of Newcastle, Australia receives Agilent Technologies Thought Leader Award.

PHARM Connect – The business summit covering a full industry.

New topics for the Next Generation Sequencing & Single Cell Genomics Asia Congress confirmed.

Registration opened for Oxford Global's 6th Annual Next Generation Sequencing Congress.

Registration opened for Oxford Global's 4th Annual Next Generation Sequencing Asia Congress.

The regeneration and repair of bone tissue is a multiphase process that requires a lot of attention, especially if stimulated through scaffold implantation. This review analyzes the process from both a biological and mechanical point of view through the analysis of the porosity and characteristics of the biomaterials that can provide optimal regeneration of bone tissue and functional vascularization that prevents implant failure. Particular attention is paid to the porosity of the new biomaterials and the related physiological effects and the angiogenesis process that the biomaterials themselves can stimulate, analyzing some of the works present in the literature.

The exceptional chemical and physical properties of nanomaterials have attracted growing interest in the field of bone tissue engineering. Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and MXenes are two types of unique nanomaterials that have shown promising potential for tissue engineering applications. In this study, we aimed to compare the differentiation capacity of MG-63 cells in the presence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and MXene nanomaterials. Methods: The cytotoxic effect of MXene and SWCNTs based nanocomposites was evaluated using the MTS assay. Also, the differentiation potential was evaluated using two models of stimulation. The first model was a co-stimulation of MG-63’s with EB1089 and an analogue of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), (3S)-1-fluoro-3-hydroxy-4-(oleoyloxy)butyl-1-phosphonate (FHBP). The second model utilized $\beta$-glycerophosphate ($\beta$GP) and ascorbic acid (ASC). Results: MXene and SWCNTs showed no cytotoxic effect after 48h of culture. MXene could enhance the maturation of MG-63 in both models of differentiation compared to controls and SWCNTs. Conclusion: The incorporation of MXene into MG-63 cell culture suggests that it has a promising potential as a biomaterial for bone regeneration as it demonstrated improved osteoblast maturation compared to SWCNTs.

With the aging of the population and a correlated increase in the incidence of osteoarticular damage, great attention is focused on regenerative nanomedicine solutions to restore durable articular function and comfort. A durable cartilage repair is not effective without regeneration of an intact subchondral bed along with the surface chondral regeneration. Our expected outcomes are the development of clinical applications in the field of tissue engineering and nanomedicine, and more particularly in bone-cartilage unit regeneration. Here we report for the first time the nanomechanical analysis of the retrieved active implant after subchondral bone regeneration in vivo, which is much more efficient and long lasting solution to osteochondral defects than the existing ones. We believe that our results make a significant contribution to the area of regenerative nanomedicine. The concepts discovered here may serve to design sophisticated implants for placement into a broad variety of tissues.

The three-dimensional (3D) nano scaffold of the cellulose acetate (CA) containing graphene/cobalt nanocomposite (0.1wt.%) was fabricated via electrospinning technique, and its impact on bone regeneration was investigated. Through this aim, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells are cultured on the CA, and graphene/cobalt (rGO/Co)/CA nanocomposite scaffold surfaces and the samples are treated under low frequency alternative magnetic field (75Hz). The scaffolds are characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermal studies (TG/DSC). The proliferation behavior of stem cells on CA, and rGO/Co/CA nano scaffolds are studied by MTT assay, show their biocompability after 14 days of cell seeding. The 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining is used to confirm the morality of stem cell for duration of seven days. The nanocomposite scaffold is enhanced for extremely higher proliferation compared to the bare CA scaffold. The acceleration on osteogenic differentiation on the bone mesenchymal stem cell is enhanced within 48h when rGO/Co/CA scaffold is placed under alternative current magnetic field (ACMF). Furthermore, the acceleration of the stem cells differentiation for the rGO/Co/CA scaffold under ACMF corresponds to the induced scaffold surface roughness caused by graphene sheets, the metallic behavior of graphene and the responding of the nanocomposite magnetic parts (i.e., cobalt nanoparticles) while applying 75Hz frequency. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, the superior effect of ACMF on scaffold contain magnetic graphene nanocomposite is confirmed to produce bone related genes within 14 days.

Autogenous bone grafting is still the gold standard for use in bone defects in orthopedic, plastic, and craniofacial surgeries. However, some patients are unable to provide sufficient quantity of bone and the high postoperative morbidity limits its clinical use. Currently, various bone substitutes are available for clinical applications, including calcium phosphate and biodegradable polyester. But hydroxyapatite is considered nondegradable and the degradation rate of biodegradable polyester is too fast, therefore both these biomaterials are hardly used clinically. To resolve this problem, we fabricated a biodegradable porous bone substitute by merging poly(L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP), such that the new bone substitute could provide the advantages of both the materials. The New Zealand white rabbit femur defect model was used to assess the biocompatibility and degree of osteoconduction of this new bone substitute.

There was no inflammatory reaction at the PLGA/TCP grafting site based on our macroscopic observations. Three months after grafting, the cavity and central portion of the created defect within the rabbit femur was filled with newly formed bone. Furthermore, the new ingrown bone tissues readily matured to secondary bone with Haversian systems similar to the surrounding cancellous bone. We conclude that the newly fabricated PLGA/TCP shows both excellent biocompatibility and effective osteoconduction.

Synthetic bioactive and bioresorbable composite materials are becoming increasingly important as scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Next generation biomaterials should combine bioactive and bioresorbable properties to activate in vivo mechanisms of tissue regeneration, stimulating the body to heal itself and leading to replacement of the scaffold by the regenerating tissue. In the present chapter composite materials based on smart combinations of biodegradable polymers and bioactive ceramics, including hydroxyapatite and bioactive glasses, are discussed as suitable materials for scaffold fabrication. These composites exhibit tailored physical, biological and mechanical properties as well as predictable degradation behaviour. The appropriate selection of a particular composite for a given application requires a detailed understanding of relevant cells and/or tissue response. Knowledge concerning interactions between cells and their immediate local environment in composite scaffolds has deeply improved in the last years. An overview of these findings is presented highlighting the influence of material processing methods, scaffold microstructure as well as the importance of the nature and amount of the bioactive ceramic particulate included in specific polymer matrices. The chapter also emphasises the response diversity according to the cell type used in vitro or the chosen in vivo models (species and location), suggesting the utility of standardisation in this field of biomaterials science. Bioactive composites discussed in this chapter, enhanced by microstructural optimisation and surface engineering, are suggested as the materials of choice for development of optimal bone tissue engineering scaffolds.

Tissue engineering utilizes the expertise in the fields of materials science, biology, chemistry, transplantation medicine, and engineering to design materials that can temporarily serve in a structural and/or functional capacity during regeneration of a defect. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) scaffolds are among the most extensively studied materials for this application. However, HAps have been reported to be too weak to treat such defects and, therefore, have been limited to non-load-bearing applications. Recent advancements in nanoscience and nanotechnology have reignited investigation of HAp formation in the nanorange to clearly define small-scale properties of HAp. It has been suggested that nano- HAp may be an ideal biomaterial due to its good biocompatibility and bone integration ability. In this chapter, a new view on nano-HAp particles highlights the importance of size, crystal morphology controls, and composites with other inorganic particles in the application of biomedical material development. We have also reviewed nanosized HAp-based highly porous composite materials used for bone tissue engineering, introduced various fabrication methods used to prepare nHAp/polymer composite scaffolds, and characterized these scaffolds on the basis of their biodegradability and biocompatibility through in vitro or in vivo tests. Finally, we provide a summary and our own perspectives on this active area of research.