Search results for "note"
showing 10 items of 10709 documents
Basement Membrane Mimics of Biofunctionalized Nanofibers for a Bipolar-Cultured Human Primary Alveolar-Capillary Barrier Model
2017
In vitro reconstruction of an alveolar barrier for modeling normal lung functions and pathological events serve as reproducible, high-throughput pharmaceutical platforms for drug discovery, diagnosis, and regenerative medicine. Despite much effort, the reconstruction of organ-level alveolar barrier functions has failed due to the lack of structural similarity to the natural basement membrane, functionalization with specific ligands for alveolar cell function, the use of primary cells and biodegradability. Here we report a bipolar cultured alveolar-capillary barrier model of human primary cells supported by a basement membrane mimics of fully synthetic bifunctional nanofibers. One-step elect…
Entropic Interactions between Two Knots on a Semiflexible Polymer.
2017
Two knots on a string can either be separated or intertwined, and may even pass through each other. At the microscopic scale, such transitions may occur spontaneously, driven by thermal fluctuations, and can be associated with a topological free energy barrier. In this manuscript, we study the respective location of a trefoil ( 3 1 ) and a figure-eight ( 4 1 ) knot on a semiflexible polymer, which is parameterized to model dsDNA in physiological conditions. Two cases are considered: first, end monomers are grafted to two confining walls of varying distance. Free energy profiles and transition barriers are then compared to a subset of free chains, which contain exactly one 3 1 and one 4 1 kn…
Amorphous polyphosphate–hydroxyapatite: A morphogenetically active substrate for bone-related SaOS-2 cells in vitro
2015
There is increasing evidence that inorganic calcium-polyphosphates (polyP) are involved in human bone hydroxyapatite (HA) formation. Here we investigated the morphology of the particles, containing calcium phosphate (CaP) with different concentrations of various Na-polyP concentrations, as well as their effects in cell culture. We used both SaOS-2 cells and human mesenchymal stem cells. The polymeric phosphate readily binds calcium ions under formation of insoluble precipitates. We found that addition of low concentrations of polyP (10wt.%, referred to the CaP deposits) results in an increased size of the HA crystals. Surprisingly, at higher polyP concentrations (10wt.%) the formation of cr…
The morphogenetically active polymer, inorganic polyphosphate complexed with GdCl 3 , as an inducer of hydroxyapatite formation in vitro
2015
Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is a physiological polymer composed of tens to hundreds of phosphate units linked together via phosphoanhydride bonds. Here we compared the biological activity of polyP (chain length of 40 phosphate units), complexed with Gd(3+) (polyP·Gd), with the one caused by polyP (as calcium salt) and by GdCl3 alone, regarding their potencies to induce hydroxyapatite (HA) formation in SaOS-2 cells in vitro. The three compounds, GdCl3, polyP and polyP·Gd were found to be non-toxic at concentrations up to at least 30μM. Selecting a low, 5μM, concentration it was found that polyP·Gd significantly induced HA formation, as determined by Alizarin Red S staining and by quantit…
How to deal with context? A context-mapping tool for quality and safety in nursing homes and homecare (SAFE-LEAD Context)
2019
Abstract Objective The objective of this paper is to develop a context-mapping tool (SAFE-LEAD Context) adapted to the nursing home and homecare setting. These two contexts represent a substantial variability, but studies focusing on the types and roles of contextual factors in quality and safety in these care settings are lacking. Results We conducted a step-wise collaborative design process consisting of mapping of key contextual factors as perceived by managers in Norwegian nursing homes and homecare, then created a draft tool discussed in a consortium workshop with co-researchers, and ran an international cross-country comparison. The SAFE-LEAD Context tool is inspired by the Consolidat…
Data concerning the proteolytic resistance and oxidative stress in LAN5 cells after treatment with BSA hydrogels
2016
AbstractProteolytic resistance is a relevant aspect to be tested in the formulation of new nanoscale biomaterials. The action of proteolytic enzymes is a very fast process occurring in the range of few minutes. Here, we report data concerning the proteolytic resistance of a heat-set BSA hydrogel obtained after 20-hour incubation at 60°C prepared at the pH value of 3.9, pH at which the hydrogel presents the highest elastic character with respect to gel formed at pH 5.9 and 7.4 “Heat-and pH-induced BSA conformational changes, hydrogel formation and application as 3D cell scaffold” (G. Navarra, C. Peres, M. Contardi, P. Picone, P.L. San Biagio, M. Di Carlo, D. Giacomazza, V. Militello, 2016) […
Protein denaturation caused by heat inactivation detrimentally affects biomolecular corona formation and cellular uptake
2018
Adsorption of blood proteins to the surface of nanocarriers is known to be the critical factor influencing cellular interactions and eventually determining the successful application of nanocarriers as drug carriers in vivo. There is an increasing number of reports summarizing large data sets of all identified corona proteins. However, to date our knowledge about the multiple mechanisms mediating interactions between proteins and nanocarriers is still limited. In this study, we investigate the influence of protein structure on the adsorption process and focus on the effect of heat inactivation of serum and plasma, which is a common cell culture procedure used to inactivate the complement sy…
Silica-gelatin hybrid sol-gel coatings: A proteomic study with biocompatibility implications.
2018
Osseointegration, including the foreign body reaction to biomaterials, is an immune‐modulated, multifactorial, and complex healing process in which various cells and mediators are involved. The buildup of the osseointegration process is immunological and inflammation‐driven, often triggered by the adsorption of proteins on the surfaces of the biomaterials and complement activation. New strategies for improving osseointegration use coatings as vehicles for osteogenic biomolecules delivery from implants. Natural polymers, such as gelatin, can mimic Collagen I and enhance the biocompatibility of a material. In this experimental study, two different base sol–gel formulations and their combinati…
Zero-field nuclear magnetic resonance of chemically exchanging systems.
2019
Zero- to ultralow-field (ZULF) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an emerging tool for precision chemical analysis. In this work, we study dynamic processes and investigate the influence of chemical exchange on ZULF NMR J-spectra. We develop a computational approach that allows quantitative calculation of J-spectra in the presence of chemical exchange and apply it to study aqueous solutions of [15N]ammonium (15N\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\mathrm{H}}_4^ +$$\end{document}H4+) as a model syst…
Biological performance of cell-encapsulated methacrylated gellan gum-based hydrogels for nucleus pulposus regeneration
2014
Limitations of current treatments for intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration have promoted interest in the development of tissue-engineering approaches. Injectable hydrogels loaded with cells can be used as a substitute material for the inner IVD part, the nucleus pulposus (NP), and provide an opportunity for minimally invasive treatment of IVD degeneration. The NP is populated by chondrocyte-like cells; therefore, chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), stimulated to differentiate along the chondrogenic lineage, could be used to promote NP regeneration. In this study, the in vitro and in vivo response of human bone marrow-derived MSCs and nasal chondrocytes (NCs) to modified gellan…