Nanofiber Polymers for Coating Titanium-Based Biomedical Implants

Light-Driven Energy and Charge Transfer Processes between Additives within Electrospun Nanofibres

Electrospinning is a cost-effective and efficient method of producing polymeric nanofibre films. The resulting nanofibres can be produced in a variety of structures, including monoaxial, coaxial (core@shell), and Janus (side-by-side). The resulting fibres can also act as a matrix for various light-harvesting components such as dye molecules, nanoparticles, and quantum dots. The addition of these light-harvesting materials allows for various photo-driven processes to occur within the films. This review discusses the process of electrospinning as well as the effect of spinning parameters on resulting fibres. Building on this, we discuss energy transfer processes that have been explored in nanofibre films, such as Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF), and upconversion. A charge transfer process, photoinduced electron transfer (PET), is also discussed. This review highlights various candidate molecules that have been used for photo-responsive processes in electrospun films.

Magnetic Bone Tissue Engineering: Reviewing the Effects of Magnetic Stimulation on Bone Regeneration and Angiogenesis

Bone tissue engineering emerged as a solution to treat critical bone defects, aiding in tissue regeneration and implant integration. Mainly, this field is based on the development of scaffolds and coatings that stimulate cells to proliferate and differentiate in order to create a biologically active bone substitute. In terms of materials, several polymeric and ceramic scaffolds have been developed and their properties tailored with the objective to promote bone regeneration. These scaffolds usually provide physical support for cells to adhere, while giving chemical and physical stimuli for cell proliferation and differentiation. Among the different cells that compose the bone tissue, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, stem cells, and endothelial cells are the most relevant in bone remodeling and regeneration, being the most studied in terms of scaffold-cell interactions. Besides the intrinsic properties of bone substitutes, magnetic stimulation has been recently described as an aid in bone regeneration. External magnetic stimulation induced additional physical stimulation in cells, which in combination with different scaffolds, can lead to a faster regeneration. This can be achieved by external magnetic fields alone, or by their combination with magnetic materials such as nanoparticles, biocomposites, and coatings. Thus, this review is designed to summarize the studies on magnetic stimulation for bone regeneration. While providing information regarding the effects of magnetic fields on cells involved in bone tissue, this review discusses the advances made regarding the combination of magnetic fields with magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic scaffolds, and coatings and their subsequent influence on cells to reach optimal bone regeneration. In conclusion, several research works suggest that magnetic fields may play a role in regulating the growth of blood vessels, which are critical for tissue healing and regeneration. While more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between magnetism, bone cells, and angiogenesis, these findings promise to develop new therapies and treatments for various conditions, from bone fractures to osteoporosis.

Polymeric Nanofibers for Drug Delivery Applications: A Recent Review

With the rapid development of biomaterials and biotechnologies, various functional materials-based drug delivery systems (DDS) are developed to overcome the limitations of traditional drug release formulations, such as uncontrollable drug concentration in target organs/tissues and unavoidable adverse reactions. Polymer nanofibers exhibit promising characteristics including easy preparation, adjustable features of wettability and elasticity, tailored surface and interface properties, and surface-to-volume ratio, and are used to develop new DDS. Different kinds of drugs can be incorporated into the polymer nanofibers. Additionally, their release kinetics can be modulated via the preparation components, component proportions, and preparation processes, enabling their applications in several fields. A timely and comprehensive summary of polymeric nanofibers for DDS is thus highly needed. This review first describes the common methods for polymer nanofiber fabrication, followed by introducing controlled techniques for drug loading into and release from polymer nanofibers. Thus, the applications of polymer nanofibers in drug delivery were summarized, particularly focusing on the relation between the physiochemical properties of polymeric nanofibers and their DDS performance. It is ended by listing future perspectives. Graphical abstract.

Development of SiC-TiO2-Graphene neem extracted antimicrobial nano membrane for enhancement of multiphysical properties and future prospect in dental implant applications

This paper presents the coating technology on Nano membrane using SiC-TiO2-Graphene with varying percentages of Azadirachta indica (Neem) extract with an objective to develop new coating materials. The nanomembranes have been synthesized by electrospinning machine over aluminum foil paper using the raw materials PVA grain, SiC, TiO2, Graphene, and neem. The nanomembranes have been characterized by SEM, XRD, FTIR, Surface Roughness, antibacterial, and Cytotoxicity test. FTIR analysis established the presence of PVA and neem indicating the formation of different organic compounds. It also confirmed that no chemical reaction occurred during the synthesis process. The membrane's roughness analysis obtained average roughness values from 1.15 to 3.84. The formation of homogeneous and smooth membranes with the formation of micropores was confirmed by SEM analysis. Miller Indices identified different types of crystal structures in XRD analysis. Antibacterial activity increased with the increase of the percentage of neem confirmed by the antibacterial test. No toxic effects were observed from the membrane during the cytotoxicity test. The obtained data confirmed that the synthesized nanomembrane could be used in different biomedical applications.