Search results for "biomimetic"
showing 10 items of 117 documents
In vitro evaluation of biomimetic chitosan-calcium phosphate scaffolds with potential application in bone tissue engineering.
2013
This work reports on the physicochemical properties and in vitro cytotoxicity assessment of chitosan–calcium phosphate (Cs–CP) scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, which were synthesized by a novel biomimetic co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis confirmed the porous morphology of the scaffolds and the amorphous nature of the inorganic phase with different crystallite sizes and the formation of various forms of calcium phosphate. Compressive mechanical testing revealed that the Young’s modulus of the biomaterials is in the range of human trabecular bone. In vitro tests were performed on the biomaterials for up to 14 days to…
Modulating carbohydrate-based hydrogels as viscoelastic lubricant substitute for articular cartilages
2017
Viscosupplementation is a therapeutic approach for osteoarthritis treatment, where the synovial fluid, the natural lubricant of the joints, is replaced by viscoelastic solutions with rheological properties comparable or better than the starting material. This study presents the development of an innovative platform for viscosupplementation, based on the optimization of polysaccharide-based colloidal hydrogel, aiming to reduce on-site enzyme degradation and enhance the possibility of hyaluronic acid substitution with alternative biomaterials. Catanionic vesicles are proposed as physical crosslinker that can guarantee the formation of a 'soft', tunable network, offering a dual-therapeutic app…
Multipotential Role of Growth Factor Mimetic Peptides for Osteochondral Tissue Engineering
2022
Articular cartilage is characterized by a poor self-healing capacity due to its aneural and avascular nature. Once injured, it undergoes a series of catabolic processes which lead to its progressive degeneration and the onset of a severe chronic disease called osteoarthritis (OA). In OA, important alterations of the morpho-functional organization occur in the cartilage extracellular matrix, involving all the nearby tissues, including the subchondral bone. Osteochondral engineering, based on a perfect combination of cells, biomaterials and biomolecules, is becoming increasingly successful for the regeneration of injured cartilage and underlying subchondral bone tissue. To this end, recently,…
Growth of human cells on a non-woven silk fibroin net: a potential for use in tissue engineering.
2003
We have examined a novel biomaterial consisting of a non-woven fibroin net produced from silk (Bombyx mori) cocoons for its ability to support the growth of human cells. Various human cells of different tissue and cell types (endothelial, epithelial, fibroblast, glial, keratinocyte, osteoblast) were examined for adherence and growth on the nets by confocal laser microscopy after staining of the cells with calcein-AM and by electron microscopy. All the cells readily adhered and spread over the individual fibers of the nets. Most of the cells were able to grow and survive on the nets for at least 7 weeks and growth not only covered the individual fibers of the net but generally bridged the ga…
Bioinspired self-assembly of tyrosinase-modified silicatein and fluorescent core-shell silica spheres.
2014
Inspired by the intermolecular cross-linking of mussel foot proteins and their adhesive properties, tyrosinase has been used to modify recombinant silicatein. DOPA/DOPAquinone-mediated cross-linking and interfacial interactions enhanced both self-assembly of silicatein building blocks and templating of core–shell silica spheres, resulting in fluorescent biomimetic silicatein–silica hybrid mesofibers.
A pH-tunable nanofluidic diode: electrochemical rectification in a reconstituted single ion channel.
2006
We report pH-dependent electrochemical rectification in a protein ion channel (the bacterial porin OmpF) reconstituted on a planar phospholipid membrane. The measurements performed at single-channel level show that the electric current is controlled by the protein fixed charge and it can be tuned by adjusting the local pH. Under highly asymmetric pH conditions, the channel behaves like a liquid diode. Unlike other nanofluidic devices that display also asymmetric conductance, here the microscopic charge distribution of the system can be explored by using the available high-resolution (2.4 A) channel crystallographic structure. Continuum electrostatics calculations confirm the hypothesized bi…
Novel atrazine-binding biomimetics inspired to the D1 protein from the photosystem II of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
2020
Biomimetic design represents an emerging field for improving knowledge of natural molecules, as well as to project novel artificial tools with specific functions for biosensing. Effective strategies have been exploited to design artificial bioreceptors, taking inspiration from complex supramolecular assemblies. Among them, size-minimization strategy sounds promising to provide bioreceptors with tuned sensitivity, stability, and selectivity, through the ad hoc manipulation of chemical species at the molecular scale. Herein, a novel biomimetic peptide enabling herbicide binding was designed bioinspired to the D1 protein of the Photosystem II of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The D1…
Size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography in the study of the autoassociating antibiotic gramicidin A in micellar milieu.
2003
Gramicidin A (gA) is a polypeptide antibiotic which forms dimeric channels specific for monovalent cations in biological membranes. It is a polymorphic molecule that adopts several different conformations, double-stranded (ds) helical dimers (pore conformation) and single-stranded beta-helical dimers (channel conformation). This study investigated the conformational adaptability of gramicidin A when incorporated into micelles as membrane-mimetic model system. Taking advantage of our reported, versatile, size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) strategy that allows the separation of double-stranded dimers and monomers, we have quantitatively characterized the conformat…
Cognitive Mimetics for Designing Intelligent Technologies
2018
Design mimetics is an important method of creation in technology design. Here, we review design mimetics as a plausible approach to address the problem of how to design generally intelligent technology. We argue that design mimetics can be conceptually divided into three levels based on the source of imitation. Biomimetics focuses on the structural similarities between systems in nature and technical solutions for solving design problems. In robotics, the sensory-motor systems of humans and animals are a source of design solutions. At the highest level, we introduce the concept of cognitive mimetics, in which the source for imitation is human information processing. We review and discuss so…
Biomimetic Mn-catalases based on dimeric manganese complexes in mesoporous silica for potential antioxidant agent
2015
Two new structural and functional models of the Mn-catalase with formula [{Mn(III)(bpy)(H2O)}(μ-2-MeOC6H4CO2)2(μ-O){Mn(III)(bpy)(X)}]X, where X = NO3 (1) and ClO4 (2) and bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction. In both cases, a water molecule and an X ion occupy the monodentate positions. The magnetic properties of these compounds reveal a weak antiferromagnetic behavior (2J = -2.2 cm(-1) for 1 and -0.7 cm(-1) for 2, using the spin Hamiltonian H = -2J S1·S2) and negative zero-field splitting parameter DMn (-4.6 cm(-1) and -3.0 cm(-1) for 1 and 2, respectively). This fact, together with the nearly orthogonal orientation of the Jahn-Teller axes of the M…