Corneoscleral laceration and ocular burns caused by electronic cigarette explosions

PURPOSE: To report cases of acute globe rupture and bilateral corneal burns from electronic cigarette (EC) explosions. METHODS: Case series. RESULTS: We describe a series of patients with corneal injury caused by EC explosions. Both patients suffered bilateral corneal burns and decreased visual acuity, and one patient sustained a unilateral corneoscleral laceration with prolapsed iris tissue and hyphema. A review of the scientific literature revealed no prior reported cases of ocular injury secondary to EC explosions; however, multiple media and government agency articles describe fires and explosions involving ECs, including at least 4 with ocular injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Given these cases and the number of recent media reports, ECs pose a significant public health risk. Users should be warned regarding the possibility of severe injury, including sight-threatening ocular injuries ranging from corneal burns to full-thickness corneoscleral laceration

Inorganic polymerization: an attractive route to biocompatible hybrid hydrogels

International audienceAs an intermediate state between liquid and solid materials, hydrogels display unique properties, opening a wide scope of applications, especially in the biomedical field. Organic hydrogels are composed of an organic network cross-linked via chemical or physical reticulation nodes. In contrast, hybrid hydrogels are defined by the coexistence of organic and inorganic moieties in water. Inorganic polymerization, i.e. sol-gel process, is one of the main techniques leading to hybrid hydrogels. The chemoselectivity of this method proceeds through hydrolysis and condensation reactions of metal oxide moieties. In addition, the mild reaction conditions make this process very promising for the preparation of water-containing materials and their bio-applications

Chemical cross-linking methods for cell encapsulation in hydrogels

International audienceCell-encapsulating hydrogels are of tremendous interest in regenerative medicine. Tissue engineering relies on biomaterials able to act as artificial extracellular matrices to guide cells towards the development of new tissues. Therefore, considerable efforts have been made to design biomaterials which mimic cells’ native environment, thus encouraging natural behavior. The choice of biomaterial in which cells are embedded is crucial for their survival, proliferation and differentiation. Being more stable, chemical hydrogels are preferred over physical hydrogels as cell-laden substrates. When designing chemical hydrogels, scientists must choose not only the nature of the network (synthetic and/or bio-polymers) but also the type of cross-link bridging hydrogel constituents. For that purpose, numerous chemistries have been used (i) to introduce reactive functions on the hydrogel precursors and (ii) to form covalent bonds in the presence of living cells. The review will discuss the advantages and limitations of each strategy

Design and clinical application of injectable hydrogels for musculoskeletal therapy

Musculoskeletal defects are an enormous healthcare burden and source of pain and disability for individuals. With an ageing population, the proportion living with these medical indications will increase. Simultaneously, there is pressure on healthcare providers to source efficient solutions, which are cheaper and less invasive than conventional technology. This has led to an increased research focus on hydrogels as highly biocompatible biomaterials that can be delivered through minimally invasive procedures. This review will discuss how hydrogels can be designed for clinical translation, particularly in the context of the new European Medical Device Regulation (MDR). We will then do a deep dive into the clinically used hydrogel solutions that have been commercially approved or have undergone clinical trials in Europe or the US. We will discuss the therapeutic mechanism and limitations of these products. Due to the vast application areas of hydrogels, this work focuses only on treatments of cartilage, bone, and the nucleus pulposus. Lastly, the main steps towards clinical translation of hydrogels as medical devices are outlined. We suggest a framework for how academics can assist small and medium MedTech enterprises conducting the initial clinical investigation and Post-Market Clinical Follow-up (PMCF) required in the MDR. It is evident that the successful translation of hydrogels is governed by acquiring high-quality pre-clinical and clinical data confirming the device mechanism of action and safety

Bacterial toxin-triggered release of antibiotics from capsosomes protects a fly model from lethal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection

Antibiotic resistance is a severe global health threat and hence demands rapid action to develop novel therapies, including microscale drug delivery systems. Herein, a hierarchical microparticle system is developed to achieve bacteria-activated single- and dual-antibiotic drug delivery for preventing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterial infections. The designed system is based on a capsosome structure, which consists of a mesoporous silica microparticle coated in alternating layers of oppositely charged polymers and antibiotic-loaded liposomes. The capsosomes are engineered and shown to release their drug payloads in the presence of MRSA toxins controlled by the Agr quorum sensing system. MRSA-activated single drug delivery of vancomycin and synergistic dual delivery of vancomycin together with an antibacterial peptide successfully kills MRSA in vitro. The capability of capsosomes to selectively deliver their cargo in the presence of bacteria, producing a bactericidal effect to protect the host organism, is confirmed in vivo using a Drosophila melanogaster MRSA infection model. Thus, the capsosomes serve as a versatile multidrug, subcompartmentalized microparticle system for preventing antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, with potential applications to protect wounds or medical device implants from infections

Nerve Transfers to Recover External Rotation of the Shoulder after Brachial Plexus Injuries in Adults

Restoration of external rotation of the shoulder in adults with partial brachial plexus palsies is challenging. While nerve grafts are possible, nerve transfers are currently the most use method for satisfactory restoration of function. Numerous nerve transfers have been described, although the transfer of the spinal accessory nerve to the suprascapular nerve remains the gold standard. The suprascapular nerve and the nerve to the teres minor muscle are the two preferred targets to restore external rotation of the shoulder. There are numerous nerve donors, but their use obviously depends on the initial injury. The most common donors are the spinal accessory nerve, the rhomboid nerve, branches of the radial nerve, the C7 root fascicle or the ulnar nerve. The choice for the transfer depends on the available nerves and first of all on chosen approach, whether it be cervical or scapular. It also depends on the other associated reconstruction procedures, grafts, or nerve transfers for the recovery of other functions, specifically, elevation of the shoulder and flexion of the elbow. The objective of this chapter is to present the main nerve transfers and to propose a therapeutic strategy

Self-mineralization and assembly of a bis-silylated Phe–Phe pseudodipeptide to a structured bioorganic–inorganic material

International audienceSelf-mineralization of trialkoxysilyl hybrid peptide yield in a single step a nanostructured hybrid material. A bis-silylated pseudodipeptide inspired from the Phe-Phe dipeptide was used to program the assembly by sol-gel polymerization in heterogeneous conditions, in water at pH 1.5 without any structure-directing agent. A mechanism deciphering the hybrid material assembly was proposed thanks to 1H NMR spectroscopy. First, water-insoluble hybrid building blocks were hydrolysed into their soluble silanol counterparts. Then, these transitional species, thanks to hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking, self-assembled in solution. Last, the proximity of silanol moieties favoured their polycondensation into growing siloxane oligomers, which spontaneously precipitated to produce an ordered hybrid material

Microfluidics on the fly: Inexpensive rapid fabrication of thermally laminated microfluidic devices for live imaging and multimodal perturbations of multicellular systems

Microfluidic devices provide a platform for analyzing both natural and synthetic multicellular systems. Currently, substantial capital investment and expertise are required for creating microfluidic devices using standard soft-lithography. These requirements present barriers to entry for many nontraditional users of microfluidics, including developmental biology laboratories. Therefore, fabrication methodologies that enable rapid device iteration and work “out-of-the-box” can accelerate the integration of microfluidics with developmental biology. Here, we have created and characterized low-cost hybrid polyethylene terephthalate laminate (PETL) microfluidic devices that are suitable for cell and micro-organ culture assays. These devices were validated with mammalian cell lines and the Drosophila wing imaginal disc as a model micro-organ. First, we developed and tested PETLs that are compatible with both long-term cultures and high-resolution imaging of cells and organs. Further, we achieved spatiotemporal control of chemical gradients across the wing discs with a multilayered microfluidic device. Finally, we created a multilayered device that enables controllable mechanical loading of micro-organs. This mechanical actuation assay was used to characterize the response of larval wing discs at different developmental stages. Interestingly, increased deformation of the older wing discs for the same mechanical loading suggests that the compliance of the organ is increased in preparation for subsequent morphogenesis. Together, these results demonstrate the applicability of hybrid PETL devices for biochemical and mechanobiology studies on micro-organs and provide new insights into the mechanics of organ development

Evaluating the efficacy of tryptophan fluorescence and absorbance as a selection tool for identifying protein crystals

The effectiveness of using ultraviolet microscopes to illuminate protein crystals in high throughput screens is evaluated