Antioxidant mesoporous Ce-doped bioactive glass nanoparticles with anti-inflammatory and pro-osteogenic activities

Mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGNs) are emerging biomaterials for bone repair/regeneration, considering their favorable pro-osteogenic and proangiogenic activities. To further improve their therapeutic effects, the endowment of MBGNs with additional antioxidant properties is of particular interest to target oxidative stress related to bone remodeling and diseases. To this end, we developed antioxidant cerium-containing MBGNs (Ce-MBGNs) (particle size of 100–300 ​nm) by using a postimpregnation strategy to incorporate Ce, through which the shape, pore structure, and dispersity of the nanoparticles were preserved. The incorporated amount of Ce could be tailored by adjusting the concentration of the Ce precursor solution. When impregnated at a relatively low temperature (20 ​°C), Ce-MBGNs containing either 1.8 or 2.8 ​mol% of Ce were produced, while the formation of by-product cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) could be avoided. In both developed Ce-MBGNs, the concentration of Ce4+ was higher than that of Ce3+, while the relative molar percentage of Ce4+ was similar (∼74%) in both Ce-MBGNs. The obtained Ce-MBGNs were evidenced to be non-cytotoxic against fibroblasts at the concentration of 1 ​mg/mL. Moreover, the incorporation of Ce into MBGNs significantly reduced the expression of oxidative stress–related genes in macrophages (J774a.1). Particularly in the presence of pro-oxidation agents, Ce-MBGNs could downregulate the expression of oxidative stress–related genes in comparsion with the polystyrene plates (control). When cultured with Ce-MBGNs, the expression of proinflammatory-related genes in macrophages could also be downregulated in comparsion with MBGNs and the control. Ce-MBGNs also exhibited pro-osteogenic activities through suppressing pro-osteoclastogenic responses. The obtained results highlight the great potential of the developed Ce-MBGNs in a variety of biomedical applications, particularly in treating bone defects under inflammatory conditions, considering their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and pro-osteogenesis activities

A shelf-life study of silica- and carbon-based mesoporous materials

Mesoporous silica- and carbon-based materials, including bioactive glasses, have proven potential as components of medical devices and as drug carriers. From an application perspective, knowledge about the shelf-life stability of these materials under various conditions is vital. Here, mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) synthesized by aerosol-assisted spray-drying and by a batch sol–gel method, mesoporous silicas of SBA-15 type, and mesoporous carbons CMK-1 and CMK-3 have been stored under varying conditions, e.g. at different temperature and relative humidity (RH), and in different storage vessels. The results show that the silica-based materials stored in Eppendorfs are sensitive to humidity. Spray dried MBGs decompose within 1 month at a RH >5%, whilst sol–gel MBGs are more stable up to a RH >60%. Changing the storage vessel to sealed glass flasks increases the MBGs lifetime significantly, with no degradation during 2 months of storage at a RH = 75%. SBA-15 stored in Eppendorfs are more stable compared to MBGs, and addition of F- ions added during the synthesis affects the material degradation rate. Mesoporous carbons are stable under all conditions for all time points. This systematic study clearly demonstrates the importance of storage conditions for mesoporous materials which is crucial knowledge for commercialization of these materials

Silver decorated mesoporous carbons for the treatment of acute and chronic wounds, in a tissue regeneration context

Introduction: Silver decorated mesoporous carbons are interesting systems that may offer effective solutions for advanced wound care products by combining the well-known antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles with the versatile properties of ordered mesoporous carbons. Silver is being used as a topical antimicrobial agent, especially in wound repair. However, while silver shows bactericidal properties, it is also cytotoxic at high concentrations. Therefore, the incorporation of silver into ordered mesoporous carbons allows to exploit both silver’s biological effects and mesoporous carbons’ biocompatibility and versatility with the purpose of conceiving silver-doped materials in light of the growing health concern in wound care. Methods: The wound healing potential of an ordered mesoporous carbon also doped with two different loadings of silver nanoparticles (2 wt% and 10 wt%), was investigated through a biological assessment study based on different assays (cell viability, inflammation, antibacterial tests, macrophage-conditioned fibroblast and human keratinocyte cell cultures). Results: The results show silver-doped ordered mesoporous carbons to positively condition cell viability, with a cell viability percentage >70% even for 10 wt% Ag, to modulate the expression of inflammatory cytokines and of genes involved in tissue repair (KRT6a, VEGFA, IVN) and remodeling (MMP9, TIMP3) in different cell systems. Furthermore, along with the biocompatibility and the bioactivity, the silver-doped ordered mesoporous carbons still retain an antibacterial effect, as shown by a maximum of 13.1% of inhibited area in the Halo test. The obtained results clearly showed that the silver-doped ordered mesoporous carbons exhibit both good biocompatibility and antibacterial effect with enhanced re-epithelialization, angiogenesis promotion and tissue regeneration. Discussion: These findings suggest that the exceptional properties of silver-doped ordered mesoporous carbons could be exploited in the treatment of acute and chronic wounds and that such carbon materials could be potential candidates for use in medical devices for wound healing purposes, in particular, the 10 wt% loading, as the results showed to be the most effective