Latest Improvements of Acrylic-Based Polymer Properties for Biomedical Applications

Acrylic-based polymers have many currently important biomedical applications such as contact lenses, corneal prosthesis, bone cements, tissue engineering, etc. due to their excellent biocompatibility and suitable performance in mechanical properties, among many other applications. Many of these biomaterials have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various applications. However, the potential uses of these polymeric materials in the biomedical industry could be increased exponentially if some of their acrylic properties (mechanical strength, electrical and/or thermal properties, water sorption and diffusion, biological interactions, antibacterial activity, porosity, etc.) are enhanced. Thus, acrylics have been fabricated as multicomponent polymeric systems in the form of interpenetrated polymer networks or combined with other advanced materials such as fibers, nanofibers, graphene and its derivatives and/or many other kinds of nanoparticles to form composite or nanocomposite materials, which are expected to exhibit superior properties. Besides, in regenerative medicine, acrylic scaffolds need to be designed with the required extent and morphology of pores by sophisticated techniques. Even though the great advances have been achieved so far, much research has to be carried out still in order to find new strategies to improve the above-mentioned properties

Synthesis and characterisation of macroporous poly(methyl methacrylate) with plasma-polymerised hydrophilic coating

En estas últimas décadas, la ingeniería tisular ha llegado a ser uno de los campos de aplicación más prometedores de los polímeros macroporosos para soportes o matrices porosas tridimensionales donde las células se pueden cultivar. Una de las formas de obtener un polímero poroso es mediante la polimerización en disolución. De esta forma, los poros se forman debido a la segregación de disolvente de la red polimérica durante el proceso de polimerización. En esta tesis, se han sintetizado redes poliméricas de polimetacrilato de metilo (PMMA) por polimerización en presencia de etanol con diferentes porosidades y contenidos de entrecruzador. También se ha sintetizado PMMA polimerizado en masa (no poroso) como material de referencia. El PMMA macroporoso se coloca en una atmósfera saturada de vapor de monómero de acrilato de hidroxietilo. La ausencia de iniciador térmico o fotosensible hace difícil el inicio del proceso de polimerización del monómero adsorbido. Sin embargo, este problema se puede resolver mediante la polimerización por plasma. Se estudia las propiedades mecánicas de estos nuevos materiales mediante espectroscopía dinámico-mecánica (DMS). El espectro dinámico-mecánico muestra que los materiales sintetizados en esta tesis son un nuevo tipo de hidrogel macroporoso con un alto módulo mecánico a temperatura ambiente y capaz de adsorber agua manteniendo sus propiedades mecánicas. Mediante medidas de porosidad se determina la fracción en volumen de poros en las muestras antes y después del tratamiento de plasma. La estructura y morfología de estos sistemas macroporosos se ha observado mediante microscopía electrónica de barrido (SEM). La estabilidad de este recubrimiento hidrófilo se ha analizado mediante calorimetría diferencial de barrido (DSC), ATR FTIR, TGA e inmersión en agua. Estos resultados demuestran que el plPHEA es muy estable y solo en condiciones muy drásticas como en agua hirviendo puede sufrir degradación hidrolítica.Serrano Aroca, Á. (2005). Synthesis and characterisation of macroporous poly(methyl methacrylate) with plasma-polymerised hydrophilic coating [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/1857Palanci

Enhancement of Hydrogels’ Properties for Biomedical Applications: Latest Achievements

Currently, there are many hydrogels used in many important biomedical fields such as therapeutic delivery, contact lenses, corneal prosthesis, bone cements, wound dressing, 3D tissue scaffolds for tissue engineering, etc., due to their excellent biocompatibility and water sorption properties. Many of these hydrophilic polymers have been already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various applications. However, many of their potential uses required for many biomedical applications often are hindered by their low mechanical strength, antimicrobial and/or antifouling activity, biological interactions, water sorption and diffusion, porosity, electrical and/or thermal properties, among others. Thus, new advanced hydrogels have been developed as multicomponent systems in the form of composite or nanocomposite materials, which are expected to exhibit superior properties to increase the potential uses of these materials in the biomedical industry. Even though the great advances achieved so far, much research has to be conducted still in order to find new strategies to fabricate novel hydrogels able to overcome many of these problems

Acrylic-Based Materials for Biomedical and Bioengineering Applications

Acrylic-based polymers have been used for many years in biomedical applications because of their versatile properties. Many different polymers belong to this class of polymers, of which a significant number have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are frequently used in ophthalmologic devices, orthopaedics, tissue engineering applications and dental applications. The applications of this class of polymers have the potential to be expanded exponentially in the biomedical industry if their properties such as mechanical performance, electrical and/or thermal properties, fluid diffusion, biological behaviour, antimicrobial capacity and porosity can be tailored to specific requirements. Thus, acrylic-based materials have been produced as multicomponent polymeric platforms as interpenetrating polymer networks or in combination with other sophisticated materials such as fibres, nanofibres, carbon nanomaterials such as graphene and its derivatives and/or many other types of nanoparticles in the form of composite or nanocomposite biomaterials. Moreover, in regenerative medicine, acrylic porous supports (scaffolds) need to be structured with the necessary degree, type and morphology of pores by advanced technological fabrication techniques

Acrylic-Based Hydrogels as Advanced Biomaterials

Acrylate based hydrogels are one of the most promising soft biocompatible material platforms that significantly contribute to the delivery of therapeutics, contact lenses, corneal prosthesis, bone cements and wound dressing, and are being explored widely for potential applications in the field of regenerative medicine. A significant number of these materials, which possess excellent water sorption properties, have been supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States for different applications. Nonetheless, many of their physical and biological properties required for certain biomedical and bioengineering applications are often poor when they are in the hydrated state at the body temperature: tensile/compression performance, water diffusion, antimicrobial activity, antifouling capacity, biological response, porosity for the fabrication of supports or scaffolds for tissue engineering, electrical and/or thermal properties, among other properties. Consequently, new acrylic-based hydrogels have been designed as multicomponent systems such as interpenetrated polymer networks, composites and nanocomposite materials, which have exhibited superior properties able to substantially enhance potential uses of these materials in the biomedical and bioengineering industry

Intelligent fabric masks

Se han desarrollado mascarillas con tejido inteligente capaz de inactivar virus con envoltura de forma instantánea y bacterias resistentes a los antibióticos mediante una tecnología antimicrobiana de bajo coste. Este tejido inteligente es capaz de inactivar el síndrome respiratorio agudo severo de tipo 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causante de la enfermedad Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) y a bacterias resistentes a antibióticos como la Staphylococcus aureus y la Staphylococcus epidermidis, resistentes a la meticilina. Esta nueva tecnología ha sido transferida del laboratorio (www.serranobblab.com) a la industria (www.visormed.com/es) en tiempo récord para la fabricación en masa de mascarillas de nueva generación FFP2 y mascarillas quirúrgicas tanto en tamaño adulto como infantil que les confiere capacidad antimicrobiana y que por tanto proporcionan una gran protección a su usuario frente a infecciones microbianas. Estas nuevas mascarillas serán útiles para reducir las infecciones por COVID-19 en la presente pandemia, y otras infecciones provocadas por virus respiratorios con envoltura como la gripe. Además, permitirá dotar de gran protección a la población en futuras pandemias y frente a la gran amenaza creciente de las bacterias resistentes a los antibióticos.Face masks made of a smart fabric capable of instantly inactivating enveloped viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been developed using a low-cost antimicrobial technology. thus, this smart fabric is capable of inactivating the severe acute respiratory syndrome type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. This new technology has been transferred from the laboratory (www.serranobblab.com) to the industry (www.visormed.com/es) in record time for the mass production of new generation FFP2 masks and surgical masks in both adult and child sizes. These face masks possess antimicrobial activity and thus provide great protection to their users against microbial infections. These new face masks will be very useful to reduce COVID-19 infections in the current pandemic and other infections caused by enveloped respiratory viruses such as influenza. They will also provide great protection to the general population in future pandemics and in the menace of the exponentially growing threat of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.Biotecnologí

Los Polímeros en la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato en España: Análisis de Libros de Texto y Opinión del Profesorado

Even though the study of polymers is included in the school secondary curriculum in Spain, all the signs are that this topic is not being adequately addressed in the classroom. For this reason, this paper focuses on two key factors for polymers teaching and learning at secondary level: teachers and textbooks. A qualitative methodology, based on semi-structured interviews and a content analysis of textbooks, has been used. Six High School teachers have participated in this research. Attempts have been made to find out teachers' opinion about introducing contents of polymers in the classroom by means of semi-structured interviews. The content analysis of textbooks used in many schools of Spain has been carried out through the application of a assessment questionnaire. The results obtained as regards the polymers suggest that: a) Teachers provide only a limited amount of time for this topic in the curriculum; b) Textbooks do not include a large part of basic contents; and c) The low level of knowledge of students is justified by a) and b)

Estudio Cualitativo de los Conocimientos de los Estudiantes españoles de Educación Secundaria sobre Polímeros

Dada la importancia de los materiales poliméricos en la actualidad y los escasos estudios de las ideas de los estudiantes de secundaria sobre ellos, se lleva a cabo un estudio que pretende aproximarse al conocimiento de los estudiantes españoles de educación secundaria sobre estos materiales. Se ha empleado una metodología cualitativa, basada en entrevistas semi-estructuradas. Han participado 8 estudiantes de educación secundaria obligatoria (10º grado, 16 años) y 4 estudiantes de bachillerato (12º grado, 18 años). Los resultados revelan que: a) el nivel de conocimientos sobre polímeros de los estudiantes de educación secundaria obligatoria es bajo, esto es, no es el que corresponde a un ciudadano alfabetizado científicamente; y b) estos conocimientos no mejoran significativamente tras la formación del bachillerato científico

Modelling of Biomass Concentration, Multi-Wavelength Absorption and Discrimination Method for Seven Important Marine Microalgae Species

Due to the possible depletion of fossil fuels in the near future and the necessity of finding new food sources for a growing world population, marine microalgae constitutes a very promising alternative resource, which can also contribute to carbon dioxide fixation. Thus, seven species (Chaetoceros calcitrans, Chaetoceros gracilis, Isochrysis galbana, Nannochloropsis gaditana, Dunaliella salina, Tetraselmis suecica, and Tetraselmis chuii) were grown in five serial batch cultures at a bench scale under continuous illumination. The batch cultures were inoculated with an aliquot that was extracted from a larger-scale culture in order to obtain growth data valid for the entire growth cycle with guaranteed reproducibility. Thus, measurements of optical density at several wavelengths and cell counting with a haemocytometer (Neubauer chamber) were performed every one or two days for 22 days in the five batch cultures of each specie. Modeling of cell growth, the relationship between optical density (OD) and cell concentration and the effect of wavelength on OD was performed. The results of this study showed the highest and lowest growth rate for N. gaditana and T. suecica, respectively. Furthermore, a simple and accurate discrimination method by performing direct single OD measurements of microalgae culture aliquots was developed and is already available for free on internet.PRUCV2017-162-001 grant from the Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente MártirPRUCV2018-231-001 grant from the Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente MártirPRUCV2017-231-001 grant from the Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente MártirPRUCV2018-162-001 grant from the Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente MártirCiencias del Ma

Zinc Chloride: Time-Dependent Cytotoxicity, Proliferation and Promotion of Glycoprotein Synthesis and Antioxidant Gene Expression in Human Keratinocytes

[EN] Zinc ions are involved in the biology of cell growth, proliferation, differentiation or apoptosis by regulating many biological molecules, such as transcription factors, enzymes and growth factors. In this study, the time-dependent cytotoxicity, cell proliferation and gene expression in human keratinocytes HaCaT cells were evaluated when exposed to ZnCl2. The results of this study showed non-cytotoxic effects up to 10 mu g/mL after 24 h, no significant effect on cell proliferation when exposed to 5 or 1 mu g/mL ZnCl2 at 72 h and upregulation of eight genes, with great potential in the biomedical field, particularly for regenerative-medicine applications and wound healing. The use of ionic metals such as zinc (Zn2+) is providing promising results in regenerative medicine. In this study, human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) were treated with different concentrations of zinc chloride (ZnCl2), ranging from 1 to 800 mu g/mL, for 3, 12 and 24 h. The results showed a time-concentration dependence with three non-cytotoxic concentrations (10, 5 and 1 mu g/mL) and a median effective concentration value of 13.5 mu g/mL at a cell exposure to ZnCl2 of 24 h. However, the zinc treatment with 5 or 1 mu g/mL had no effect on cell proliferation in HaCaT cells in relation to the control sample at 72 h. The effects of the Zn2+ treatment on the expression of several genes related to glycoprotein synthesis, oxidative stress, proliferation and differentiation were assessed at the two lowest non-cytotoxic concentrations after 24 h of treatment. Out of 13 analyzed genes (superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), catalase (CAT), matrix metallopeptidase 1 (MMP1), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1), glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1), fibronectin 1 (FN1), hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2), laminin subunit beta 1 (LAMB1), lumican (LUM), cadherin 1 (CDH1), collagen type IV alpha (COL4A1), fibrillin (FBN) and versican (VCAN)), Zn2+ was able to upregulate SOD1, CAT, TGFB1, GPX1, LUM, CDH1, FBN and VCAN, with relative expression levels of at least 1.9-fold with respect to controls. We found that ZnCl2 promoted glycoprotein synthesis and antioxidant gene expression, thus confirming its great potential in biomedicine.This study was founded by the Fundacion Universidad Catolica de Valencia San Vicente Martir, Grant 2020-231-006UCV, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-119333RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) (awarded to A.S.-A.) and the FEDER/Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation-Agencia Estatal de Investigacion) through the Project RTI2018-097862-B-C21 (awarded to R.S.i.S). CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&I Plan 2008-2011, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program. CIBER Actions are financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund.Salesa, B.; Sabater I Serra, R.; Serrano-Aroca, Á. (2021). Zinc Chloride: Time-Dependent Cytotoxicity, Proliferation and Promotion of Glycoprotein Synthesis and Antioxidant Gene Expression in Human Keratinocytes. Biology. 10(11):1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10111072S113101