Electronic Supplementary Information associated with the article: Degli Esposti Lorenzo, Marković Smilja, Ignjatović Nenad, Panseri Silvia, Montesi Monica, Adamiano Alessio, Fosca Marco, Rau Julietta V., Uskoković Vuk, Iafisco Michele, "Thermal crystallization of amorphous calcium phosphate combined with citrate and fluoride doping: a novel route to produce hydroxyapatite bioceramics." Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 9, no. 24 (2021):4832-4845, https://doi.org/10.1039/D1TB00601K

Figure S1. The shift in the crystallization peak for (A) Cit-ACP-1 and (B) Cit-FACP-1 to higher temperatures in direct proportion with the heating rate; Figure S2. TGA curves of calcined Cit-ACP-4, Cit-ACP-2, and Cit-ACP-1; Figure S3. Pictures of calcined (A) Cit-ACP-4 and (B) Cit-ACP-1Related to the peer-reviewed manuscript: [https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_11640]Related to the article: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D1TB00601K]Related to the article: [https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_11639

Bio-inspired polymeric iron-doped hydroxyapatite microspheres as a tunable carrier of rhBMP-2

Hybrid superparamagnetic microspheres with bone-like composition, previously developed by a bio-inspired assembling/mineralization process, are evaluated for their ability to uptake and deliver recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) in therapeutically-relevant doses along with prolonged release pro- files. The comparison with hybrid non-magnetic and with non-mineralized microspheres highlights the role of nanocrystalline, nanosize mineral phases when they exhibit surface charged groups enabling the chemical linking with the growth factor and thus moderating the release kinetics. All the microspheres show excellent osteogenic ability with human mesenchymal stem cells whereas the hybrid mineralized ones show a slow and sustained release of rhBMP-2 along 14 days of soaking into cell culture medium with substantially bioactive effect, as reported by assay with C2C12 BRE-Luc cell line. It is also shown that the release extent can be modulated by the application of pulsed electromagnetic field, thus showing the potential of remote controlling the bioactivity of the new micro-devices which is promising for future application of hybrid biomimetic mi- crospheres in precisely designed and personalized therapies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Calcium phosphate particles coated with humic substances: A potential plant biostimulant from circular economy

Nowadays, the use of biostimulants to reduce agrochemical input is a major trend in agriculture. In this work, we report on calcium phosphate particles (CaP) recovered from the circular economy, combined with natural humic substances (HSs), to produce a plant biostimulant. CaPs were obtained by the thermal treatment of Salmo salar bones and were subsequently functionalized with HSs by soaking in a HS water solution. The obtained materials were characterized, showing that the functionalization with HS did not sort any effect on the bulk physicochemical properties of CaP, with the exception of the surface charge that was found to get more negative. Finally, the effect of the materials on nutrient uptake and translocation in the early stages of development (up to 20 days) of two model species of interest for horticulture, Valerianella locusta and Diplotaxis tenuifolia, was assessed. Both species exhibited a similar tendency to accumulate Ca and P in hypogeal tissues, but showed different reactions to the treatments in terms of translocation to the leaves. CaP and CaP\u2013HS treatments lead to an increase of P accumulation in the leaves of D. tenuifolia, while the treatment with HS was found to increase only the concentration of Ca in V. locusta leaves. A low biostimulating effect on both plants\u2019 growth was observed, and was mainly scribed to the low concentration of HS in the tested materials. In the end, the obtained material showed promising results in virtue of its potential to elicit phosphorous uptake and foliar translocation by plants

Extraction and characterization of hydroxyapatite-based materials from grey triggerfish skin and black scabbardfish bones

The conversion of food industry by-products to compounds with high added value is nowadays a significant topic, for social, environmental, and economic reasons. In this paper, calcium phosphate-based materials were obtained from black scabbard fish (Aphanopus carbo) bones and grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) skin, which are two of the most abundant fish by-products of Madeira Island. Different calci nation temperatures between 400 and 1000°C were employed. Materials obtained from calcination of bones of black scabbard fish were composed by homogeneous mixtures of hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, HAp) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-Ca3(PO4)2, β-TCP). Because of the high biocompatibility of HAp and the good resorbability of β-TCP, these natural biphasic materials could be very relevant in the field of biomaterials, as bone grafts. The ratio between HAp and β-TCP in the biphasic compound was dependent on the calcination temperature. Differently, the material obtained from skin of grey triggerfish contained HAp as the main phase, together with small amounts of other mineral phases, such as halite and rhenanite, which are known to enhance osteogenesis when used as bone substitutes. In both cases, the increase of calcination temperature led to an increase in the particles size with a consequent decrease in their specific surface area. These results demonstrate that from the fish by-products of the most consumed fishes in Madeira Island it is possible to obtain bioceramic materials with tunable composition and particle mor phology, which could be promising materials for the biomedical fieldinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Germination and Early Development of Three Spontaneous Plant Species Exposed to Nanoceria (nCeO2) with Different Concentrations and Particle Sizes

6noThis study aimed to provide insight regarding the influence of Ce oxide nanoparticles (nCeO2) with different concentrations and two different particle sizes on the germination and root elongation in seedlings of spontaneous terrestrial species. In a bench-scale experiment, seeds of the monocot, Holcus lanatus and dicots Lychnis-flos-cuculi and Diplotaxis tenuifolia were treated with solutions containing nCeO2 25 nm and 50 nm in the range 0–2000 mg Ce L−1. The results show that nCeO2 enters within the plant tissues. Even at high concentration, nCeO2 have positive effects on seed germination and the development of the seedling roots. This study further demonstrated that the particle size had no influence on the germination of L. flos-cuculi, while in H. lanatus and D. tenuifolia, the germination percentage was slightly higher (+10%) for seeds treated with nCeO2 25 nm with respect to 50 nm. In summary, the results indicated that nCeO2 was taken up by germinating seeds, but even at the highest concentrations, they did not have negative effects on plant seedlings. The influence of the different sizes of nCeO2 on germination and root development was not very strong. It is likely that particle agglomeration and ion dissolution influenced the observed effects.openopenLizzi, Daniel; Mattiello, Alessandro; Piani, Barbara; Fellet, Guido; Adamiano, Alessio; Marchiol, LucaLizzi, Daniel; Mattiello, Alessandro; Piani, Barbara; Fellet, Guido; Adamiano, Alessio; Marchiol, Luc

Thermal characterization of new, artificially and naturally aged leather and parchment samples

Handwritten books, codices and letters stored or displayed in historic buildings are vulnerable to changes in the outdoor environment due to the limited climate control. Understanding the degradation mechanisms and changes in the structure of leather and parchment could help to find a proper way to protect these pieces from the aging and the environmental effects. In order to identify the aging mechanisms different analytical methods, among them thermoanalytical methods were used. In this work natural aging mechanisms were modeled by acid and alkaline pretreatments. Structural changes of the samples during the aging were explored using thermoanalytical methods, in order to understand the response of parchment and leather to the environmental effects

Influence of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles on Two Terrestrial Wild Plant Species

Most current studies on the relationships between plans and engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are focused on food crops, while the effects on spontaneous plants have been neglected so far. However, from an ecological perspective, the ENMs impacts on the wild plants could have dire consequences on food webs and ecosystem services. Therefore, they should not be considered less critical. A pot trial was carried out in greenhouse conditions to evaluate the growth of Holcus lanatus L. (monocot) and Diplotaxis tenuifolia L. DC. (dicot) exposed to cerium oxide nanoparticles (nCeO2). Plants were grown for their entire cycle in a substrate amended with 200 mg kg1 nCeO2 having the size of 25 nm and 50 nm, respectively. nCeO2 were taken up by plant roots and then translocated towards leaf tissues of both species. However, the mean size of nCeO2 found in the roots of the species was different. In D. tenuifolia, there was evidence of more significant particle aggregation compared to H. lanatus. Further, biomass variables (dry weight of plant fractions and leaf area) showed that plant species responded differently to the treatments. In the experimental conditions, there were recorded stimulating effects on plant growth. However, nutritional imbalances for macro and micronutrients were observed, as well