8,187 research outputs found

    Natural stimulus responsive scaffolds/cells for bone tissue engineering : influence of lysozyme upon scaffold degradation and osteogenic differentiation of cultured marrow stromal cells induced by CaP coatings

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    This work proposes the use of nonporous, smart, and stimulus responsive chitosan-based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications. The overall vision is to use biodegradable scaffolds based on chitosan and starch that present properties that will be regulated by bone regeneration, with the capability of gradual in situ pore formation. Biomimetic calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings were used as a strategy to incorporate lysozyme at the surface of chitosan-based materials with the main objective of controlling and tailoring their degradation profile as a function of immersion time. To confirm the concept, degradation tests with a lysozyme concentration similar to that incorporated into CaP chitosan-based scaffolds were used to study the degradation of the scaffolds and the formation of pores as a function of immersion time. Degradation studies with lysozyme (1.5 g=L) showed the formation of pores, indicating an increase of porosity (*5–55% up to 21 days) resulting in porous threedimensional structures with interconnected pores. Additional studies investigated the influence of a CaP biomimetic coating on osteogenic differentiation of rat marrow stromal cells (MSCs) and showed enhanced differentiation of rat MSCs seeded on the CaP-coated chitosan-based scaffolds with lysozyme incorporated. At all culture times, CaP-coated chitosan-based scaffolds with incorporated lysozyme demonstrated greater osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, bone matrix production, and mineralization as demonstrated by calcium deposition measurements, compared with controls (uncoated scaffolds). The ability of these CaP-coated chitosan-based scaffolds with incorporated lysozyme to create an interconnected pore network in situ coupled with the demonstrated positive effect of these scaffolds upon osteogenic differentiation of MSCs and mineralized matrix production illustrates the strong potential of these scaffolds for application in bone tissue engineering strategies.The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Serena Danti. This work was supported by the European NoE EX-PERTISSUES (NMP3-CT-2004-500283), the European STREP HIPPOCRATES (NMP3-CT-2003-505758), and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through POCTI and/or FEDER programs. This work was also supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH; R01 DE15164) (A. G. M.) and a Bioengineering Research Partnership with the Baylor College of Medicine through the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIH Grant 5 R01 EB005173-02). F. K. K. is supported by a training fellowship from the Keck Center Nanobiology Training Program of the Gulf Coast Consortia (NIH Grant 5 T90 DK070121-03)

    Produção e caracterização de mamão desidratado.

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    O mamão é um fruto interessante para ser desidratado por ser rico em açúcares, minerais e compostos bioativos como os carotenoides e a vitamina C e por atender ao anseio do consumidor atual por alimentos convenientes e com poucas alterações nutricionais. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi produzir mamão desidratado e avaliar sua cor e atividade de água (Aw) por 28 dias

    Electric Field-Tuned Topological Phase Transition in Ultra-Thin Na3Bi - Towards a Topological Transistor

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    The electric field induced quantum phase transition from topological to conventional insulator has been proposed as the basis of a topological field effect transistor [1-4]. In this scheme an electric field can switch 'on' the ballistic flow of charge and spin along dissipationless edges of the two-dimensional (2D) quantum spin Hall insulator [5-9], and when 'off' is a conventional insulator with no conductive channels. Such as topological transistor is promising for low-energy logic circuits [4], which would necessitate electric field-switched materials with conventional and topological bandgaps much greater than room temperature, significantly greater than proposed to date [6-8]. Topological Dirac semimetals(TDS) are promising systems in which to look for topological field-effect switching, as they lie at the boundary between conventional and topological phases [3,10-16]. Here we use scanning probe microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) to show that mono- and bilayer films of TDS Na3Bi [3,17] are 2D topological insulators with bulk bandgaps >400 meV in the absence of electric field. Upon application of electric field by doping with potassium or by close approach of the STM tip, the bandgap can be completely closed then re-opened with conventional gap greater than 100 meV. The large bandgaps in both the conventional and quantum spin Hall phases, much greater than the thermal energy kT = 25 meV at room temperature, suggest that ultrathin Na3Bi is suitable for room temperature topological transistor operation
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