Synthesis, characterization and applications of amphiphilic elastomeric polyurethane networks in drug delivery

Polyurethanes have a key role in the development of many different biomedical devices because of their exceptional biocompatibility, mechanical properties and versatility. Although linear segmented polyurethanes have been extensively studied, the investigation of cross-linked polyurethanes remains limited. In this work, three series of polyurethane networks were synthesized by reacting poly(ethylene glycol) and hexamethylene diisocyanate with either tetrafunctional poloxamer Tetronic 701 or poly(e-caprolactone)s triol with molecular weights of 1060 and 3130 Da. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio was varied by selecting the appropriate amounts of monomers, and its effects on the swelling behavior and the thermal properties were analyzed. Studies concerning the release of a model drug were performed, the results of which indicate that these materials hold promise for use in controlled implantable drug-delivery devices and antimicrobial coatings.Fil: Caracciolo, Pablo Christian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (i); Argentina;Fil: Sanz Pita, Cristina. Universidad de Girona. Grupo Lepamap; España;Fil: Abraham, Gustavo Abel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (i); Argentina;Fil: Méndez, José Alberto. Universidad de Girona. Grupo Lepamap; España;Fil: Gironés Molera, Jordi. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnologıa de Polimeros; España

Promising biomolecules

The osteochondral defect (OD) comprises the articular cartilage and its subchondral bone. The treatment of these lesions remains as one of the most problematic clinical issues, since these defects include different tissues, requiring distinct healing approaches. Among the growing applications of regenerative medicine, clinical articular cartilage repair has been used for two decades, and it is an effective example of translational medicine; one of the most used cell-based repair strategies includes implantation of autologous cells in degradable scaffolds such as alginate, agarose, collagen, chitosan, chondroitin sulfate, cellulose, silk fibroin, hyaluronic acid, and gelatin, among others. Concerning the repair of osteochondral defects, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine started to design single- or bi-phased scaffold constructs, often containing hydroxyapatite-collagen composites, usually used as a bone substitute. Biomolecules such as natural and synthetic have been explored to recreate the cartilage-bone interface through multilayered biomimetic scaffolds. In this chapter, a succinct description about the most relevant natural and synthetic biomolecules used on cartilage and bone repair, describing the procedures to obtain these biomolecules, their chemical structure, common modifications to improve its characteristics, and also their application in the biomedical fields, is given.(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Complexity in biomaterials for tissue engineering

The molecular and physical information coded within the extracellular milieu is informing the development of a new generation of biomaterials for tissue engineering. Several powerful extracellular influences have already found their way into cell-instructive scaffolds, while others remain largely unexplored. Yet for commercial success tissue engineering products must be not only efficacious but also cost-effective, introducing a potential dichotomy between the need for sophistication and ease of production. This is spurring interest in recreating extracellular influences in simplified forms, from the reduction of biopolymers into short functional domains, to the use of basic chemistries to manipulate cell fate. In the future these exciting developments are likely to help reconcile the clinical and commercial pressures on tissue engineering