Preparation of celecoxib loaded bioactive glass chitosan composite hydrogels: a simple approach for therapeutic delivery of NSAIDs

Arthritis causes inflammatory damage to joints and connective tissues. In the treatment of arthritis, precise and controlled drug delivery to the target site is among the frontline research approaches. In the present research work, celecoxib drug and bioactive glass incorporated chitosan hydrogels were fabricated by the freeze gelation method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry techniques were used to characterize the hydrogels. Different kinetic models were applied to study the drug release kinetics. The celecoxib release was mainly controlled by a Fickian diffusion process followed by the Higuchi model. Maximum 86.2% drug entrapment was observed in 20 mg drug-loaded hydrogel and its swelling ratio was 115.5% in 28 d. Good hydrophilicity, good drug entrapment efficiency, and moderate drug release patterns of hydrogels can make them suitable for sustained drug release. The cytocompatibility of hydrogels was established by performing an MTT assay on the BHK-21 fibroblast cell line. The promising results have proved that hydrogels can be considered potential material for the slow release of anti-inflammatory drug at the target site in arthritis.

Polycaprolactone usage in additive manufacturing strategies for tissue engineering applications: A review

Polycaprolactone (PCL) has been extensively applied on tissue engineering because of its low-melting temperature, good processability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, mechanical resistance, and relatively low cost. The advance of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in the past decade have boosted the fabrication of customized PCL products, with shorter processing time and absence of material waste. In this context, this review focuses on the use of AM techniques to produce PCL scaffolds for various tissue engineering applications, including bone, muscle, cartilage, skin, and cardiovascular tissue regeneration. The search for optimized geometry, porosity, interconnectivity, controlled degradation rate, and tailored mechanical properties are explored as a tool for enhancing PCL biocompatibility and bioactivity. In addition, rheological and thermal behavior is discussed in terms of filament and scaffold production. Finally, a roadmap for future research is outlined, including the combination of PCL struts with cell-laden hydrogels and 4D printing.

Chitosan-based 3D-printed scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Despite the spontaneous regenerative properties of autologous bone grafts, this technique remains dilatory and restricted to fractures and injuries. Conventional grafting strategies used to treat bone tissue damage have several limitations. This highlights the need for novel approaches to overcome the persisting challenges. Tissue-like constructs that can mimic natural bone structurally and functionally represent a promising strategy. Bone tissue engineering (BTE) is an approach used to develop bioengineered bone with subtle architecture. BTE utilizes biomaterials to accommodate cells and deliver signaling molecules required for bone rejuvenation. Among the various techniques available for scaffold creation, 3D-printing technology is considered to be a superior technique as it enables the design of functional scaffolds with well-defined customizable properties. Among the biomaterials obtained from natural, synthetic, or ceramic origins, naturally derived chitosan (CS) polymers are promising candidates for fabricating reliable tissue constructs. In this review, the physicochemical-biological properties and applications of CS-based 3D-printed scaffolds and their future perspectives in BTE are summarized.

A Review of Bioactive Glass/Natural Polymer Composites: State of the Art

Collagen, gelatin, silk fibroin, hyaluronic acid, chitosan, alginate, and cellulose are biocompatible and non-cytotoxic, being attractive natural polymers for medical devices for both soft and hard tissues. However, such natural polymers have low bioactivity and poor mechanical properties, which limit their applications. To tackle these drawbacks, collagen, gelatin, silk fibroin, hyaluronic acid, chitosan, alginate, and cellulose can be combined with bioactive glass (BG) nanoparticles and microparticles to produce composites. The incorporation of BGs improves the mechanical properties of the final system as well as its bioactivity and regenerative potential. Indeed, several studies have demonstrated that polymer/BG composites may improve angiogenesis, neo-vascularization, cells adhesion, and proliferation. This review presents the state of the art and future perspectives of collagen, gelatin, silk fibroin, hyaluronic acid, chitosan, alginate, and cellulose matrices combined with BG particles to develop composites such as scaffolds, injectable fillers, membranes, hydrogels, and coatings. Emphasis is devoted to the biological potentialities of these hybrid systems, which look rather promising toward a wide spectrum of applications.

The Adoption of Three-Dimensional Additive Manufacturing from Biomedical Material Design to 3D Organ Printing

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting promises to change future lifestyle and the way we think about aging, the field of medicine, and the way clinicians treat ailing patients. In this brief review, we attempt to give a glimpse into how recent developments in 3D bioprinting are going to impact vast research ranging from complex and functional organ transplant to future toxicology studies and printed organ-like 3D spheroids. The techniques were successfully applied to reconstructed complex 3D functional tissue for implantation, application-based high-throughput (HTP) platforms for absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) profiling to understand the cellular basis of toxicity. We also provide an overview of merits/demerits of various bioprinting techniques and the physicochemical basis of bioink for tissue engineering. We briefly discuss the importance of universal bioink technology, and of time as the fourth dimension. Some examples of bioprinted tissue are shown, followed by a brief discussion on future biomedical applications.

Fabrication and characterization of the 3D-printed polycaprolactone/fish bone extract scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration

Fish bone extract (FBE) containing a trioligopeptide (FBP-KSA, Lys-Ser-Ala) isolated from Johnius belengerii could induce osteogenic activities on MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts in our previous study. Regarding the osteogenic effect of FBE, in the present study, we fabricated the three-dimensional (3D) interconnected polycaprolactone (PCL)/FBE scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration. After fabrication of PCL scaffolds using 3D printing, FBE was coated on the surface of PCL scaffolds by self-assembly process. In the physical characteristic and mechanical property tests, the results demonstrated that the fabricated scaffolds have the strut diameter (between 340 and 345 μm), pore size (between 470 and 480 μm), porosity (between 50% and 55%), and tensile properties (Young's modulus: 9.18-9.42 MPa; max tensile strengths 82.3-87.4 MPa) were similar to those of PCL scaffold. In the cell proliferation and osteogenic assay, the results showed that PCL/FBE scaffolds could significantly induce cell proliferation, calcium deposition, and the expression of osteogenic phenotype markers such as alkaline phosphatase, osteopontin, osteocalcin, and bone morphogenetic protein-2 in the osteoblasts. These results suggest that FBE-coated PCL scaffolds are promising materials for use in biomedical application to promote bone tissue regeneration. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 1937-1944, 2019.

In vitro study of novel microparticle based silk fibroin scaffold with osteoblast-like cells for load-bearing osteo-regenerative applications

Silk Fibroin microparticle scaffolds show promise in bone tissue engineering applications.

Biomimetic multi-layered hollow chitosan–tripolyphosphate rod with excellent mechanical performance

Design of hollow and multi-layered features in chitosan–tripolyphosphate rod and the resulting excellent mechanical performance.

Fabrication of a chitosan/bioglass three-dimensional porous scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications

A chitosan/bioglass three-dimensional porous scaffold with excellent biocompatibility and mechanical properties has been developed for the treatment of bone defects.