Search results for "Bioengineering"
showing 10 items of 1963 documents
Cooperative Catechol-Functionalized Polypept(o)ide Brushes and Ag Nanoparticles for Combination of Protein Resistance and Antimicrobial Activity on M…
2018
Prevention of biofouling and microbial contamination of implanted biomedical devices is essential to maintain their functionality and biocompatibility. For this purpose, polypept(o)ide block copolymers have been developed, in which a protein-resistant polysarcosine (pSar) block is combined with a dopamine-modified poly(glutamic acid) block for surface coating and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) formation. In the development of a novel, versatile, and biocompatible antibacterial surface coating, block lengths pSar were varied to derive structure-property relationships. Notably, the catechol moiety performs two important tasks in parallel; primarily it acts as an efficient anchoring group to me…
Isolated self-assembled InAs/InP(001) quantum wires obtained by controlling the growth front evolution
2007
6 páginas, 5 figuras. In this work we explore the first stages of quantum wire (QWR) formation studying the evolution of the growth front for InAs coverages below the critical thickness, θc, determined by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). Our results obtained by in situ measurement of the accumulated stress evolution during InAs growth on InP(001) show that the relaxation process starts at a certain InAs coverage θRθR this ensemble of isolated nanostructures progressively evolves towards QWRs that cover the whole surface for θ = θc. These results allow for a better understanding of the self-assembling process of QWRs and enable the study of the individual properties of In…
Biological tolerance of different materials in bulk and nanoparticulate form in a rat model: sarcoma development by nanoparticles
2006
In order to study the pathobiological impact of the nanometre-scale of materials, we evaluated the effects of five different materials as nanoparticulate biomaterials in comparison with bulk samples in contact with living tissues. Five groups out of 10 rats were implanted bilaterally for up to 12 months with materials of the same type, namely TiO 2 , SiO 2 , Ni, Co and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), subcutaneously with bulk material on one side of the vertebral column and intramuscularly with nanoparticulate material on the contralateral side. At the end of each implantation time, the site was macroscopically examined, followed by histological processing according to standard techniques. Malign…
Multifunctional Cationic PeptoStars as siRNA Carrier: Influence of Architecture and Histidine Modification on Knockdown Potential.
2019
RNA interference provides enormous potential for the treatment of several diseases, including cancer. Nevertheless, successful therapies based on siRNA require overcoming various challenges, such as poor pharmacokinetic characteristics of the small RNA molecule and inefficient cytosolic accumulation. In this respect, the development of functional siRNA carrier systems is a major task in biomedical research. To provide such a desired system, the synthesis of 3-arm and 6-arm PeptoStars is aimed for. The different branched polypept(o)idic architectures share a stealth-like polysarcosine corona for efficient shielding and a multifunctional polylysine core, which can be independently varied in s…
Tackling the Limitations of Copolymeric Small Interfering RNA Delivery Agents by a Combined Experimental–Computational Approach
2019
Despite the first successful applications of nonviral delivery vectors for small interfering RNA in the treatment of illnesses, such as the respiratory syncytial virus infection, the preparation of a clinically suitable, safe, and efficient delivery system still remains a challenge. In this study, we tackle the drawbacks of the existing systems by a combined experimental-computational in-depth investigation of the influence of the polymer architecture over the binding and transfection efficiency. For that purpose, a library of diblock copolymers with a molar mass of 30 kDa and a narrow dispersity (Đ1.12) was synthesized. We studied in detail the impact of an altered block size and/or compos…
Bonding efficacy of an acetone/based etch-and-rinse adhesive after dentin deproteinization
2012
Objectives: to evaluate the effect of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) treatment on dentin bonding by means of shear bond strength (SBS) measurements when using Prime&Bond NT (PB NT) adhesive. Ultrastructure of the interfaces was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Study design: Extracted human third molars were sectioned and ground to expose flat surfaces of superficial or deep dentin. Specimens were randomly assigned to two equal groups, and bonded as follows: (1) according to the manufacturers’ directions, after 35% H3PO4 etching, (2) 5% NaOCl treated for 2 minutes, after 35% H3PO4 etching. Each sample was embedded in a Watanabe shear test assembly for a single plane lap shear. Af…
Soil Bioengineering in peri-urban Mediterranean areas, an international educational project developed by AIPIN Sicily, APENA, University of Palermo a…
2014
Soil Bioengineering applied to landscape architecture in urban and periurban areas characterized by mediterranean climate is a project funded by Italian MIUR within the program Messaggeri della Conoscenza. It aims to promote experimental initiatives in teaching and research in academic centers of excellence. The project is divided into 3 phases: didactic activity at the University of Palermo, internship at the Institute Superior de Agronomia of the University of Lisbon; dissemination activities of take home messages learned during the exchange period. During the first phase, more than 20 participants made three project proposals to achieve a practice construction exercises. The best five pa…
Establishing soil loss tolerance: an overview
2016
Soil loss tolerance is a criterion for establishing if a soil is potentially subjected to erosion risk, productivity loss and if a river presents downstream over-sedimentation or other off-site effects are present at basin scale. At first this paper reviews the concept of tolerable soil loss and summarises the available definitions and the knowledge on the recommended values and evaluating criteria. Then a threshold soil loss value, at the annual temporal scale, established for limiting riling was used for defining the classical soil loss tolerance. Finally, some research needs on tolerable soil loss are listed.
Porous titania surfaces on titanium with hierarchical macro- and mesoporosities for enhancing cell adhesion, proliferation and mineralization
2014
Titanium received a macroporous titania surface layer by anodization, which contains open pores with average pore diameter around 5 μm. An additional mesoporous titania top layer following the contour of the macropores, of 100-200 nm thickness and with a pore diameter of 10nm, was formed by using the evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method with titanium (IV) tetraethoxide as the precursor. A coherent laminar titania surface layer was thus obtained, creating a hierarchical macro- and mesoporous surface that was characterized by high-resolution electron microscopy. The interfacial bonding between the surface layers and the titanium matrix was characterized by the scratch test that con…
Evaluation of carbamazepine uptake and metabolization by Typha spp., a plant with potential use in phytotreatment
2011
Abstract Phytoremediation technologies such as constructed wetlands have shown higher efficiencies in removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewaters than conventional wastewater treatment processes, and plants seem to have an important role in the removal of some of those compounds. In this context, a study was conducted to assess tolerance, uptake, and metabolism of the epilepsy drug, carbamazepine, by the macrophyte Typha spp. This evaluation was conducted in hydroponic solutions with 0.5–2.0 mg/L of this pharmaceutical for a maximum period of 21 days. The removal of carbamazepine from nutrient solutions by the plants reached values of 82% of the initial contents. Furthermore, a metabolite (…