Soil salinity is one of the most critical environmental stresses that affects crop productivity. In a context in which world demand for food is growing continuously, this problem requires urgent attention. Actions that go beyond traditional agricultural practices are needed. The objective of the current study was to develop a bioactive, economic, and sustainable compound that can increase the tolerance of cultivated plants in saline-stress situations by combining the hosting capacity of natural bentonite nanoclay (Bent) with a phytoactive osmoprotective compound, L-Proline (Pro). The Bent-Pro nanocomposite synthesis method, its final chemical structure, and in vitro bioactivity were addressed here. The results indicated that Bent can retain a maximum of 14.4% (w/w) of Pro. The (001) X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak of Bent shifted to smaller angles in the pattern of Bent-Pro, indicating that Pro has a monolayer arrangement between the Bent layers. The results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) also supported this result. Pro was also retained on the edges or external surfaces of Bent, as indicated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, Pro functional groups identified by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy indicated that it was present in its zwitterionic form. The role of Bent-Pro as a protector against plant saline stress was assayed using Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) as a model, demonstrating that it mitigates the detrimental effects of NaCl-mediated salt stress on seed germination and the leaf chlorophyll level, thus highlighting the relevance of this contribution and the versatility and broad applicability of clays.

This article presents a review on recent advances in the fatigue behavior of Ti alloys, especially the main commercial compositions for orthopedic applications. In the case of well-known Ti–6Al–4V alloy, the major concern is related to the effect of the surface modification necessary to improve the osseointegration. The introduction of surface discontinuities due to the growth of a porous oxide layer, or the roughness development, may severely affect the fatigue performance depending on the level of alteration. In the case of additive manufactured Ti–6Al–4V, the fatigue response is also influenced by inherent defects of as-built parts. Regarding the recently developed metastable β alloys, information about the fatigue properties is still scarce and mainly related to the effect of second phase precipitates, which are introduced to optimize the mechanical properties. The fatigue behavior of the Ti alloys is complex, as is their microstructure, and should not be neglected when the alloys are being developed or improved to be applied in medical devices.

Tumors, trauma, and congenital defects require volume restoration of soft tissues. Tissue engineering provides an alternative source for substituting these defects. Cell encapsulation into hydrogels provides a three-dimensional microenvironment. Spheroids of cells provide close packing and increase cell-to-cell contacts resulting in differentiation. Gelatin is a natural polymer with low immunogenicity and preserved amino acid motifs for cell adhesion and proliferation. In the present study, a soft photo-crosslinked gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogel with long in vitro lifetime was synthesized. Stem cells (dental pulp derived, DPSC) and endothelial cells (umbilical cord derived, HUVEC) were formed into spheroids to induce prevascular network formation and encapsulated into GelMA (10% weight/volume). Results showed high cell viability, better gel mechanical properties, and longer HUVEC sprouting with spheroids compared to the same combination of cells. Altogether, the photo-crosslinked GelMA hydrogels with DPSC and HUVEC spheroids provided a promising tissue engineering and vascularization strategy in vitro.

Austenitic stainless steel is used in several industrial branches due to its mechanical and thermal properties, and to its good corrosion resistance. With low cost and biocompatibility, it is used to manufacture prostheses and devices for bone fixation. However, direct contact with body fluids may cause corrosion. Thin films of FeAlCr intermetallic alloy can be used to increase service life of prostheses and avoid replacement surgeries. The aim of this work was to cover the austenitic stainless steel to study the effect of target–substrate distance on the film characteristics. Coatings were performed using the magnetron sputtering technique with the substrate positioned at different distances from the target. The influence on film thickness, morphology, roughness, and adhesion to the substrate was investigated. The thin films of FeAlCr (160 nm thick deposited at 100 mm far from the substrate) were formed by smaller particles (11.2 nm long), densely packed (551,000 particles/mm2), with flat and regular appearance, and greater adherence to the substrate.

The negative regulation effect of tumor microenvironment (TME) greatly compromised the efficacy of various cancer treatments, especially cancer immunotherapy. As a result, it is generally recognized that remodeling of TME along with the treatment is a promising way to realize satisfactory cancer therapy. Here, in our study, a drug delivery system (DDS) composed cancer cell membrane (CCM) vehicle loaded mitoxantrone (Mit) and sorafenib (Sfn) was proposed with the aim to combine TME regulation and chemotherapy-induced immunotherapy in one platform. Our results confirmed that after treating with this DDS, the Mit induced immunogenic cell death (ICD) could be augmented by Sfn-based TME regulation to realize effective cancer immunotherapy. The Sfn was shown to downregulate of the regulatory T cells (Treg) level while activating the effector T cells of TME. The synergetic TME regulation along with cancer immunotherapy might be a promising way for advanced cancer treatment.

Interactions between smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and biomaterials must not result in phenotype changes as this may generate uncontrolled multiplication processes and occlusions in vascular grafts. The aim of this study was to relate the hydrolytic stability and biocompatibility of polyurethanes (PUs) on SMCs. A higher polycaprolactone (PCL) concentration was found to improve the hydrolytic stability of the material and the adhesion of SMCs. A material with 5% polyethylene glycol, 90% PCL, and 5% pentaerythritol presented high cell viability and adhesion, suggesting a contractile phenotype in SMCs depending on the morphology. Nevertheless, all PUs retained their elastic modulus over 120 days, similar to the collagen of native arteries (~10 MPa). Furthermore, aortic SMCs did not present toxicity (viability over 80%) and demonstrated adherence without any abnormal cell multiplication processes, which is ideal for the function to be fulfiled in situ in the vascular grafts.

Nowadays, theranostics drug delivery systems (DDSs) with imaging and therapy bi-functions have been regarded as a future orientation for imaging-guided cancer therapy. To achieve high imaging quality, a donor–acceptor (D–A)/Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) bi-adjustment strategy is carried out for designing dual-colored DDSs with amplified aggregation-induced emission (AIE) behavior for imaging-guided cocktail cancer therapy in this study. In detail, four AIE-active conjugated polymers P-1 to P-4 are synthesized via the Suzuki reaction. Noteworthily, the D–A-type structure is applied in tuning the fluorescence color from orange (P-1) to far-red/near-infrared (P-2), while the intramolecular FRET process further enhanced the fluorescence signal for six times (P-3). Afterwards, P-3-based amphipathic polymer P-4 further acts as a drug carrier in preparing doxorubicin (Dox)- and curcumin (Cur)-loaded polymer dots (Pdots) (Dox-loaded Pdots as PDox and Cur-loaded Pdots as PCur). PDox + PCur DDS is successfully applied in imaging-guided cocktail cancer therapy to give obviously higher in vivo anticancer efficacy compared with single PDox or PCur. In addition, the drug-loaded Pdots also exhibit higher biocompatibility compared with free drugs. This work provides a novel D–A/FRET bi-adjustment strategy for developing high efficiency imaging-guided cocktail DDSs in cancer therapy.

The cellular accumulation of drug delivery systems (DDSs) is a critical parameter to determine the final outcome of cancer chemotherapy. Herein, we designed a red blood cells membrane-based vehicle (RV) and employed it to load both doxorubicin (Dox) and IR 780 (RV/I-D). The photothermal-assisted chemotherapy efficacy of RV/I-D on the treatment of cancer was tested on a prostate cancer model. Excitingly, the results showed that RV/I-D was stable and safe nanoparticles with size at about 100 nm. Moreover, upon the increase of system temperature using photothermal effects of IR780, the drug release of the DDS was accelerated. Above all, the DDS also increased the accumulation of drugs into the Dox-resistant prostate cancer cells (PC-3/Dox) both in vitro and in vivo and showed enhanced anticancer performance.

In this study, a hybrid dual drug-loaded hydroxyapatite-oxidized dextran methacrylate core–shell nanocarrier was formulated and explored for combinatorial delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and methotrexate (MTX) to bone cancer. The synthesized nanocarrier was well characterized by different techniques. In vitro drug release studies in both acidic (pH 5) and alkaline (pH 7.4) conditions showed sequential release of MTX followed by DOX in a sustained manner for 10 days. Biocompatibility and cytotoxicity studies performed using drug-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) on fibroblast L929 cells and osteosarcoma MG63 cells (OMG63) showed that the NPs were highly biocompatible and showed concentration-dependent toxicity. Gene expression studies in OMG-63 cells exhibited the upregulation of caspase-3 and BAX which confirmed the apoptosis induced by dual drug-loaded NPs. The nanocarrier is expected to be a potential bone void filling material, as well as a platform for sequential delivery of DOX and MTX for the treatment of bone cancer.

Cellprene™ is a recently developed polymeric blend based on poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)/polyisoprene (PI) with good biological performance for biomedical applications. However, its potential as fiber scaffold in tissue engineering is still unknown, and the influence of processing parameters is yet to be understood. In this study, several compositions based on PLGA/PI blend mixed with hydroxyapatite (HAp) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) were prepared by solvent casting. Then, the membranes were used to produce micro/nanofibers by centrifugal spinning (CS) and electrospinning (ES). The viscosity's effect was studied to find an ideal viscosity value to produce homogeneous micro/nanofibers. The in vitro bioactivity test was also performed. Rheological results showed that the best viscosity range was (0.105 Pa s > η > 0.138 Pa s) for CS; larger fibers of ES were produced with lower viscosities. The sample with the lowest HAp concentration exhibited thinner and more homogeneous non-beaded fibers and proved its bioactivity response.

The synthesis of antibacterial biomaterial with specific functions responsive to specific bacterial growth environments is of significant importance to achieve effective sterilization and reduce the resistant bacteria. Herein, inspired by biomineralization, we develop a one-pot, threonine (Thr)-mediated biomineralization method using a CO2 bubbling procedure to green, simply and quickly prepare vaterite CaCO3 microspheres as a platform for antibacterial Sanguinarine (SAN) delivery. The loading capacity of vaterite CaCO3 microspheres for SAN drugs reached 159.8 mg/g, corresponding to the loading efficiency of 83.7%. And for the first time, a novel Sanguinarine@calcium carbonate (SAN@CaCO3) organic–inorganic hybrid antibacterial biofilm was constructed by using vaterite CaCO3 microspheres with pH-responsive and high SAN drug-loading. Importantly, the film showed bacteria-triggered, pH-responsive SAN release properties and strong bactericidal ability (96.19%) for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Meanwhile, it also had antibacterial capabilities in real environments. In 7 days, it can significantly inhibit the adhesion and growth of bacteria in the air. The biomineralized synthetic vaterite CaCO3 microspheres and the application in the construction of pH-responsive antibacterial biofilm have bright future in resisting bacterial infections and reducing the production of resistant bacteria.

Electrophoretic deposition consisting of bioglass (BG)–chitosan (CS)–iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) on the Ti–13Nb–13Zr substrate was described. The bioactive coating was embedded in a CS matrix. The Fe3O4 NPs collected using the co-precipitation method varied at three different levels (1, 3, and 5 wt%) in the BG coating. The formulated coatings exhibited a hydrophilic character due to higher surface roughness values. The pull-off tape test was performed to check the adhesion strength of coatings. The composite coatings displayed adhesion strength of 5B class. The corrosion behavior was evaluated in Ringer's solution by the electrochemical test. The corrosion results showed that the composite coatings were more impressive as compared to pure BG and Fe3O4 coatings. The hemocompatibility results showed a hemolytic ratio (<5%), which validates them as favorable blood compatible nature of the deposited coatings. The findings exhibited that the BG–Fe3O4–CS coating can be widely employed as a favorable material for orthopedic applications.

Surface modification of titanium and titanium alloys is a common method to improve anchoring of bone tissue and implants in hard tissue engineering applications. In the current work, a combination of chemical and physical methods (anodization and physical vapor deposition) was used to roughen the titanium surface and deposit iron (Fe) on the surface of titanium at different thicknesses. The optimized thickness of 100 Å was selected for mechanical and biological characterization. We found that anodization increases the surface roughness of Ti from 21 ± 0 to 229 ± 9 nm, whereas Fe deposition does not change it significantly. Our results also showed that surface modification of Ti by anodization increases the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells at both time points, whereas Fe-deposited samples showed the lowest cellular activity. These results suggest that Fe-deposited Ti implants may be suitable candidates for patients with osteosarcoma, as the proliferation of malignant cells decreases in the presence of Fe.

Bioactive dressings which can treat any kind of chronic or acute wounds and can fully replace the conventional gauzes and superabsorbent dressings have proven to be a future market of wound care products in recent times. These dressings are multifunctional, which can effectively combat the wound infection, remove the exudate, promote angiogenesis, and protect the wound from external trauma. Proper selection of bioactive and polymer defines its efficiency. Current research unveils the therapeutic efficacy of curcumin–honey-loaded multilayered polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose acetate electrospun nanofibrous mats as an interactive bioactive wound dressing material. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis infers uniform encapsulation and chemical compatibility of herbal actives and polymer, inside the nanofibrous layers. The as-spun mat shows potential resistance towards Escherichia coli and ∼90% antioxidant activity against diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)–free radical. Additionally, water absorbency, water vapor transmission rate, and wettability analysis show quick and excellent absorption with controlled transmission of wound exudate.

The present work is mainly accentuated to improve corrosion resistance performance, adhesion strength, biocompatibility, and cell proliferation of metallic implants. Novel nano triphasic bioceramic composite coating was achieved on 316L SS by the electrophoretic deposition process followed by vacuum sintering. The optimized potential for composite coating on 316L SS was found to be 30 V and 1 min. All the composite coated samples were sintered in a vacuum furnace at various sintering temperature starting from 700 °C to 1000 °C for 1 h. The coated samples were thoroughly characterized in terms of crystallinity, morphology, and surface roughness by XRD, FESEM with EDX, and profilometer studies, respectively. In addition, the coated samples were mechanically characterized using a tap adhesion and Vickers microhardness test. Corrosion performance of the coated sample was characterized by electrochemical studies in Hank's solution. The in vitro cytotoxicity studies for cell viability and cell proliferation was carried out using MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cells. These studies revealed an enhanced cell attachment and proliferation on the composite-coated sample than the uncoated sample, which controlled the discharge of metal ions from the metal surface into the biological system.

Effective cancer therapy is usually limited by the off target distribution of chemotherapeutic drugs and multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells. As a result, the development of a drug delivery system (DDS) capable of targeting cancer cells while at the same time delivering two or more chemotherapeutic drugs is believed to be a good solution to this dilemma. Herein, a hyaluronan-coated meta-organic framework nanoparticles (HM) were fabricated as a DDS in our study to deliver cisplatin (PDD) and oleanolic acid (Ola). Positive results were obtained in our study which reveal that the DDS (HM/PDD/Ola) is favorable in colorectal cancer (HCT116) therapy by enhancing targeted apoptosis and reversing MDR. Compared with applying free drugs or mono DDS, the dual loaded HM/PDD/Ola showed synergistic effects and better performance, which might be a future alternative for the chemotherapy of colorectal cancer.

C-reactive protein (CRP) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) biomolecules represent the earliest enzymes that appear in the blood when a cardiac injury occurs. Real-time and selective detection of these biomarkers is essential for the prediction and detection of cardiovascular diseases at an early stage. Here we report on the label-free specific detection of both proteins at picomolar concentrations using fabricated nanowire-based biosensors. We demonstrate a novel functionalization technique based on the attachment of dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO)-linked troponin-specific aptamers to azide-functionalized silicon (Si) nanowire (NW) surface. Due to the fast and reliable immobilization of cTnI-specific aptamers and CRP-specific antibodies on the Si NWs, the fabricated devices can rapidly detect target biomolecules demonstrating high sensitivity. We confirm the attachment of proteins to the surface of Si NWs by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Moreover, we demonstrate that nanowire structures of different sizes enable the detection of biomarkers in a wide concentration range (from 1 pg/ml to 1 µg/ml), corresponding to CRP and cTnI elevation levels during the early stage of disease formation.

The prepared silver/chitosan nanocomposite and chitosan nanoparticles in this study may demonstrate the potential in optimizing the minimum amount required to achieve complete inactivation of various Coliform bacteria in Nile water. Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared based on the ionic gelation of the prepared chitosan and silver nanoparticles were reduced by Solenostemma Argel extract. Finally, chitosan silver-loaded nanoparticles were prepared by dispersing silver nanoparticles onto the chitosan nanoparticles. The SEM images exhibited a diameter range of 10 nm–30 nm for both of the fabricated silver nanoparticles and chitosan nanoparticles. The UV-Vis analysis confirmed the formation of Ag nanoparticles by the appearance of the characteristic peak at 410 nm. The antibacterial activity of chitosan nanoparticles and silver-loaded nanoparticles was evaluated against the Coliform bacteria. Results show an improvement in the inhibition of the growth of various bacteria tested when silver nanoparticles were introduced which was (0.03g/100ml). Consequently, chitosan silver-loaded nanoparticles could be recommended as an efficient antibacterial material for water disinfection.

Diatoms are unicellular photosynthetic algae that autonomously fabricate a porous organized biosilica shell refined in billion years of evolution. They represent an inexhaustible source of low cost, biocompatible mesoporous silica. Despite the major advances in the genomic field, studies on diatom cell biology are still hampered by a lack of cellular tools. In particular, cell staining assays of diatoms viability are still limited or not well performant. Here we provide a phosphorescent organometallic iridium complex (Ir-Fcx) suitable to act as staining agent to detect diatoms viability.