Nanocellulosic Materials in Tissue Engineering Applications

This chapter deals with an overview of design and fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds for tissue engineering (TE) applications using the electrospinning technique. A general introduction to cellulose, a short overview of sources and methodology for the production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), and principles of tissue engineering and the electrospinning technique will be given. Applications for CNCs are manifold and range from super water absorbent, drug delivery, packaging, personal care to pharmaceuticals. However, in this chapter the application in tissue engineering will be discussed in detail

Polysaccharide Thin Solid Films for Analgesic Drug Delivery and Growth of Human Skin Cells

Chronic wounds not only lower the quality of patient's life significantly, but also present a huge financial burden for the healthcare systems around the world. Treatment of larger wounds often requires the use of more complex materials, which can ensure a successful renewal or replacement of damaged or destroyed tissues. Despite a range of advanced wound dressings that can facilitate wound healing, there are still no clinically used dressings for effective local pain management. Herein, alginate (ALG) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), two of the most commonly used materials in the field of chronic wound care, and combination of ALG-CMC were used to create a model wound dressing system in the form of multi-layered thin solid films using the spin-assisted layer-by-layer (LBL) coating technique. The latter multi-layer system was used to incorporate and study the release kinetics of analgesic drugs such as diclofenac and lidocaine at physiological conditions. The wettability, morphology, physicochemical and surface properties of the coated films were evaluated using different surface sensitive analytical tools. The influence of in situ incorporated drug molecules on the surface properties (e.g., roughness) and on the proliferation of human skin cells (keratinocytes and skin fibroblasts) was further evaluated. The results obtained from this preliminary study should be considered as the basis for the development “real” wound dressing materials and for 3D bio-printing applications

Plant-Derived Medicines with Potential Use in Wound Treatment

The skin is among the largest and one of the most important organs in the human body. It represents the first line of defence of the body; provides protection from mechanical impacts of the environment, limits the influence of variations in the temperature, prevents entrance of chemicals and microorganisms and restricts radiation effect. Skin damage affects all skin functions; therefore, wounds can compromise patient’s well-being, self-image, working capacity and independence. Due to all mentioned, a good wound management is necessary not only for the individual but also for the community. Herbal medicines have been used to accelerate wound healing since ancient times. Recently, scientists have been able to employ scientific methods to prove efficacy of many of these herbs and to get a better understanding of mechanisms of their actions. The popularity of herbal medicines may be explained by the perception that herbs cause minimal adverse effects. Preparations from traditional medicinal plants in wound management involve disinfection, debridement and the provision of suitable environment for natural healing process. In this chapter, the field of wound healing is briefly introduced. Further, the crucial information regarding plants, which are effectively used as wound healing agents in traditional medicine are gathered

Challenges and opportunities in polysaccharides research and technology: The EPNOE views for the next decade in the areas of materials, food and health care

International audienceThe European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE) is a research and education network connecting 16 academic and research institutions and a large number of companies with its focus on polysaccharide expertise development and polysaccharide-related research for innovation in business and industry. EPNOE has two main missions in the field of polysaccharide applications in materials, food, and pharmacy/medicine, which are to organise education in polysaccharide science and to perform basic and applied research for the development of new products derived from polysaccharides. In 2009, the EPNOE network prepared a research road map vision to 2020 focussed on polysaccharide use in material structuring, food and health, taking both research and education into consideration. The research road map was prepared from various social, political, industrial and scientific inputs coming from within and outside EPNOE: (1) results of four brain-storming sessions by EPNOE scientists and students, (2) individual contributions of EPNOE scientists and (3) individual contributions of scientists outside EPNOE through an internet review. The result is described in this article

Morphology and swelling of thin films of dialcohol xylan

Polysaccharides are excellent network formers and are often processed into films from water solutions. Despite being hydrophilic polysaccharides, the typical xylans liberated from wood are sparsely soluble in water. We have previously suggested that an additional piece to the solubilization puzzle is modification of the xylan backbone via oxidative cleavage of the saccharide ring. Here, we demonstrate the influence of the degree of modification, i.e., degree of oxidation (DO) on xylan solubilization and consequent film formation and stability. Oxidized and reduced wood xylans (i.e., dialcohol xylans) with the highest DO (77 %) within the series exhibited the smallest hydrodynamic diameter (dh) of 60 nm in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). We transferred the modified xylans into films credit to their established solubility and then quantified the film water interactions. Dialcohol xylans with intermediate DOs (42 and 63 %) did not form continuous films. The films swelled slightly when subjected to humidity. However, the film with the highest DO demonstrated a significant moisture uptake that depended on the film mass and was not observed with the other modified grades or with unmodified xylan

Polysaccharide based nanofibers with pH-sensitive function

Svrha istraživanja je bila izraditi nanovlaknasti senzor na bazi polisaharida za otkrivanje promjene pH-vrijednosti u području rane. Za izradu nanovlakana od celuloznog acetata (CA) kao otapalo je korištena octena kiselina, a vlakna su izrađena u uređaju za beziglično elektroispredanje. Duga CA vlakna jednolikih svojstava, promjera od 250 do 300 nm dobivena su elektroispredanjem smjese 15 mas. % CA i 85 mas. % octene kiseline uz dodatak halokromnog bojila (Bromocrezol Green). Dodatak Bromocrezol Green bojila u masu za ispredanje nije utjecao na oblikovanje vlakana. Analizom boje CIE sustavom karakterizirani su izrađeni nanovlaknasti senzori kako bi se ocijenila promjena boje uslijed promjene pH-vrijednosti. Pri pH 4 i manje od 4 imaju žutu boju i tako simuliraju okolinu rane koja je povoljna za zacjeljivanje rane, a plavu boju kada se izlože pH 9 i većoj od 9 i tako simuliraju okolinu koja ometa zacjeljivanje rane (kronične, inficirane rane).The aim of the present study was to prepare a polysaccharide based nanofibrous sensor for detection of pH change in the wound environment. In order to prepare cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers, acetic acid was used as a solvent, and fabrication of fibers was performed on the needle-less electrospinning apparatus. Long uniform CA nanofibers, with diameters ranging from 250 to 300 nm, were electrospun from 15 wt% CA and 85% acetic acid, with addition of halochromic dye (Bromocrezol Green). The addition of Bromocrezol Green in the spinning formulation did not affect the fiber formation. Prepared nanofibrous sensors were characterized using CIE color space analysis in order to evaluate the color due to pH change. Nanofibrous sensors exhibit yellow color when exposed to pH4 and lower, simulating the wound environment beneficial to the wound healing, and blue color when exposed to pH 9 and higher, simulating the environment that hampers wound healing (chronic, infected wounds)

Application of Spectrophotometric Methods in Assessing the Influence of Alkaline Treatment on the Degree of Crosslinking of Cotton Cellulose with BTCA

Polycarboxylic acids appear to be the most promising nonformaldehyde crosslinking agents to replace the traditional, mostly formaldehyde-based, compounds. The most effective among these acids is 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA). In this study, a comparison was made of the crosslinking effect on mercerized and on unmercerized as well as with different BTCA mass fractions crosslinked cotton fibres using FT-IR spectroscopy, the methylene blue method and water retention determination. The main purpose of the research was to evaluate how the structural changes of mercerized cotton (transformation of cellulose I into cellulose II) influence the crosslinking of cellulose fibres

Protein adsorption on various plasma-treated polyethylene terephthalate substrates

Protein adhesion and cell response to plasma-treated polymer surfaces were studied. The polymer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was treated in either an oxygen plasma to make the surface hydrophilic, or a tetrafluoromethane CF4 plasma to make the surface hydrophobic. The plasma source was radiofrequency (RF) discharge. The adsorption of albumin and other proteins from a cell-culture medium onto these surfaces was studied using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The cellular response to plasma-treated surfaces was studied as well using an MTT assay and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fastest adsorption rate was found on the hydrophilic oxygen plasma-treated sample, and the lowest was found on the pristine untreated sample. Additionally, the amount of adsorbed proteins was higher for the oxygen-plasma-treated surface, and the adsorbed layer was more viscoelastic. In addition, cell adhesion studies support this finding because the best cell adhesion was observed on oxygen-plasma-treated substrates