Additive manufacturing of bioactive glass biomaterials

Tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine have held great promises for the repair and regeneration of damaged tissues and organs. Additive manufacturing has recently appeared as a versatile technology in TE strategies that enables the production of objects through layered printing. By applying 3D printing and bioprinting, it is now possible to make tissue-engineered constructs according to desired thickness, shape, and size that resemble the native structure of lost tissues. Up to now, several organic and inorganic materials were used as raw materials for 3D printing; bioactive glasses (BGs) are among the most hopeful substances regarding their excellent properties (e.g., bioactivity and biocompatibility). In addition, the reported studies have confirmed that BG-reinforced constructs can improve osteogenic, angiogenic, and antibacterial activities. This review aims to provide an up-to-date report on the development of BG-containing raw biomaterials that are currently being employed for the fabrication of 3D printed scaffolds used in tissue regeneration applications with a focus on their advantages and remaining challenges

Nanostructured carriers as innovative tools for cancer diagnosis and therapy

Cancer accounts for millions of deaths every year and, due to the increase and aging of the world population, the number of new diagnosed cases is continuously rising. Although many progresses in early diagnosis and innovative therapeutic protocols have been already set in clinical practice, still a lot of critical aspects need to be addressed in order to efficiently treat cancer and to reduce several drawbacks caused by conventional therapies. Nanomedicine has emerged as a very promising approach to support both early diagnosis and effective therapy of tumors, and a plethora of different inorganic and organic multifunctional nanomaterials have been ad hoc designed to meet the constant demand for new solutions in cancer treatment. Given their unique features and extreme versatility, nanocarriers represent an innovative and easily adaptable tool both for imaging and targeted therapy purposes, in order to improve the specific delivery of drugs administered to cancer patients. The current review reports an in-depth analysis of the most recent research studies aiming at developing both inorganic and organic materials for nanomedical applications in cancer diagnosis and therapy. A detailed overview of different approaches currently undergoing clinical trials or already approved in clinical practice is provided

Tissue-engineered small-diameter vascular grafts containing novel copper-doped bioactive glass biomaterials to promote angiogenic activity and endothelial regeneration

Abstract Small-diameter vascular grafts frequently fail because of obstruction and infection. Despite the wide range of commercially available vascular grafts, the anatomical uniqueness of defect sites demands patient-specific designs. This study aims to increase the success rate of implantation by fabricating bilayer vascular grafts containing bioactive glasses (BGs) and modifying their composition by removing hemostatic ions to make them blood-compatible and to enhance their antibacterial and angiogenesis properties. The porous vascular graft tubes were 3D printed using polycaprolactone, polyglycerol sebacate, and the modified BGs. The polycaprolactone sheath was then wrapped around the 3D-printed layer using the electrospinning technique to prevent blood leakage. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of modified BGs into the polymeric matrix not only improved the mechanical properties of the vascular graft but also significantly enhanced its antibacterial activity against both gram-negative and gram-positive strains. In addition, no hemolysis or platelet activity was detected after incorporating modified BGs into the vascular grafts. Copper-releasing vascular grafts significantly enhanced endothelial cell proliferation, motility, and VEGF secretion. Additionally, In vivo angiogenesis (CD31 immunofluorescent staining) and gene expression experiments showed that copper-releasing vascular grafts considerably promoted the formation of new blood vessels, low-grade inflammation (decreased expression of IL-1β and TNF-α), and high-level angiogenesis (increased expression of angiogenic growth factors including VEGF, PDGF-BB, and HEBGF). These observations indicate that the use of BGs with suitable compositional modifications in vascular grafts may promote the clinical success of patient-specific vascular prostheses by accelerating tissue regeneration without any coagulation problems

Additive manufacturing of bioactive glass biomaterials

Abstract Tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine have held great promises for the repair and regeneration of damaged tissues and organs. Additive manufacturing has recently appeared as a versatile technology in TE strategies that enables the production of objects through layered printing. By applying 3D printing and bioprinting, it is now possible to make tissue-engineered constructs according to desired thickness, shape, and size that resemble the native structure of lost tissues. Up to now, several organic and inorganic materials were used as raw materials for 3D printing; bioactive glasses (BGs) are among the most hopeful substances regarding their excellent properties (e.g., bioactivity and biocompatibility). In addition, the reported studies have confirmed that BG-reinforced constructs can improve osteogenic, angiogenic, and antibacterial activities. This review aims to provide an up-to-date report on the development of BG-containing raw biomaterials that are currently being employed for the fabrication of 3D printed scaffolds used in tissue regeneration applications with a focus on their advantages and remaining challenges

Evaluation of Effects of Two Spring Applications of Micronutrients on the Population Density of Common Pistachio Psylla (Agonoscena Pistaciae) in Pistachio Orchards

The common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt and Lauterer (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae) is one of the most detrimental pests to pistachio trees. This pest is distributed throughout all the pistachio producing regions of Iran. Nowadays various pesticides are used to control the common pistachio psylla, but extensive pesticide spraying against this pest over a period of several years has overpowered its natural enemies. Moreover, the overlapping of generations has resulted in an abundant presence of the pest. Many herbivorous insects can make qualitative distinctions between host plants, they can feed and oviposit preferentially on higher quality plants. Cultural methods such as crop fertilization can affect the susceptibility of plants to insect pests by altering a plant tissue's nutrient level. This study tested nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca) and zinc (Zn) fertilizers on A. pistaciae in pistachio orchards. The experiment was based on complete randomized blocks with three replications and nine treatments including once-applied Zn, Ca, N, NCa, ZnCa, ZnN, ZnCaN, pesticide (amitraz) and a control (distilled water), on common pistachio psylla fed on 20-year-old pistachio trees of Ahmadaghaei rootstock. The results demonstrated that the effect of nutritional solutions on nymph and egg populations showed a significant difference at a 5% level. The highest measure of control on eggs was related to amitraz, ZnCa and Zn while the least was related to NZn. The results also showed that the highest measure of pest control was related to Ca while the least was related to N and Zn. The results indicated that combinations of the elements mentioned had a stronger reducing effect on the concentration of pistachio psylla nymphs than the effect pesticide had