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

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

Artificial Biomimetic Electrochemical Assemblies

Rapid, selective, and cost-effective detection and determination of clinically relevant biomolecule analytes for a better understanding of biological and physiological functions are becoming increasingly prominent. In this regard, biosensors represent a powerful tool to meet these requirements. Recent decades have seen biosensors gaining popularity due to their ability to design sensor platforms that are selective to determine target analytes. Naturally generated receptor units have a high affinity for their targets, which provides the selectivity of a device. However, such receptors are subject to instability under harsh environmental conditions and have consequently low durability. By applying principles of supramolecular chemistry, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) can successfully replace natural receptors to circumvent these shortcomings. This review summarizes the recent achievements and analytical applications of electrosynthesized MIPs, in particular, for the detection of protein-based biomarkers. The scope of this review also includes the background behind electrochemical readouts and the origin of the gate effect in MIP-based biosensors

Uporaba AFM-spektroskopije sil za spremljanje odziva polimernih molekul na v rani podobna okolja med celjenjem

Force spectroscopy is a very promising technique for the evaluation of interactions within different environments. Knowledge about them is especially important during the design and preparation of those modern wound dressings in contact with a changing wound-environment over a prolonged time. Such exposure can cause a drastic decrease in the materialćs mechanical performance, and can lead to degradation, thus lowering the success of any healing process. Our study tries to establish a model system, which would enable us to assess the applicability of the mentioned technique for the evaluation of any interaction changes between polymer molecules and a chosen surface, after exposure to different environments. Our proposed experimental setup consists of two representative polymers, a model silicon surface, and two solutions of various pHs and ionic strengths, respectively. Within the chosen range of parameters, we are confident that we can prove the usefulness of force spectroscopy for further research into polymer suitability, for the development of novel wound dressings.Spektroskopija sil je zelo obetavna tehnika za uporabo pri določanju interakcij v številnih različnih okoljih. Poznanje le-teh je še posebej pomembno pri načrtovanju in pripravi novodobnih obližev, ki morajo biti v stiku z rano dalj časa in so tako izpostavljeni spreminjajočemu se okolju. To lahko na samem materialu povzroči drastične spremembe in vodi v otežen potek celjenja. V tem delu smo želeli pripraviti modelni sistem, s katerim bi preverjali možnost uporabe omenjene tehnike za ugotavljanje sprememb interakcij med polimernimi molekulami ter izbrano površino po izpostavitvi različnim okoljem. Eksperimentalni sistem je vseboval dva vzorčna polimera, modelno silicijevo površino ter po dve raztopini z različnimi pH in ionskimi močmi. S takim naborom parametrov smo zajeli dovolj možnosti za ugotovitev uporabnosti tehnike za nadaljnje raziskave primernosti polimernih materialov za nove obliže

Multilayer methacrylate-based wound dressing as a therapeutic tool for targeted pain relief

This study presents an innovative wound dressing system that offers a highly effective therapeutic solution for treating painful wounds. By incorporating the widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, we have created an active wound dressing that can provide targeted pain relief with ease. The drug was embedded within a biocompatible matrix composed of polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate and polyhydroxypropyl methacrylate. The multilayer structure of the dressing, which allows for sustained drug release and an exact application, was achieved through the layer-by-layer coating technique and the inclusion of superparamagnetic iron platinum nanoparticles. The multilayered dressings’ physicochemical, structural, and morphological properties were characterised using various methods. The synergistic effect of the incorporated drug molecules and superparamagnetic nanoparticles on the surface roughness and release kinetics resulted in controlled drug release. In addition, the proposed multilayer wound dressings were found to be biocompatible with human skin fibroblasts. Our findings suggest that the developed wound dressing system can contribute to tailored therapeutic strategies for local pain relief

Magnetic nanoparticles in 3D-printed scaffolds for biomedical applications

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have recently attracted considerable attention, mainly due to their unique magnetic properties and biocompatibility. Although MNPs have been extensively studied for biomedical applications, there are still very few studies on them as part of three-dimensional (3D)-printed scaffolds. Thus, this review aims to show the potential of MNPs to modulate various properties of 3D-printed scaffolds. 3D Printing is for itself a contemporary method in biomedicine, owing to its ability to produce versatile scaffolds with complex shapes enabling a homogeneous distribution of cells or other entrapped compounds, as well as possible precise control of pore size and shape, porosity, and interconnectivity of pores that contribute to structural stability. All mentioned properties can be upgraded or complemented with the specific properties of MNPs (e.g., biocompatibility and positive effect on cell proliferation). Considering the latest related literature and a steadily increasing number of related publications, the fabrication of magnetically responsive scaffolds is among the most interesting strategies in tissue engineering. According to the literature, incorporating MNPs into scaffolds can improve their mechanical properties and significantly affect biological properties, such as cellular responses. Moreover, under the influence of an external magnetic field, MNPs significantly promoted cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation

Reusability of SPE and Sb-modified SPE Sensors for Trace Pb(II) Determination

In this work, unmodified screen-printed electrode (bare SPE) and Sb-film modified SPE (SbFSPE) sensors were employed for the analysis of trace amounts of Pb(II) in non-deaerated water solutions. The modified electrode was performed in situ in 0.5 mg/L Sb(III) and 0.01 M HCl. The methodology was validated for an accumulation potential of ⁻1.1 V vs. Ag/AgCl and an accumulation time of 60 s. A comparative analysis of bare SPE and SbFSPE showed that the detection and quantification limits decrease for the bare SPE. The method with the bare SPE showed a linear response in the 69.8⁻368.4 µg/L concentration range, whereas linearity for the SbFSPE was in the 24.0⁻319.1 µg/L concentration range. This work also reports the reason why the multiple standard addition method instead of a linear calibration curve for Pb(II) analysis should be employed. Furthermore, the analytical method employing SbFSPE was found to be more accurate and precise compared to the use of bare SPE when sensors were employed for the first time, however this performance changed significantly when these sensors were reused in the same manner. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used for the first time to analyse the electrochemical response of sensors after being used for multiple successive analyses. Surface characterisation before and after multiple successive uses of bare SPE and SbFSPE sensors, with atomic force microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy, showed sensor degradation. The interference effect of Cd(II), Zn(II), As(III), Fe(II), Na(I), K(I), Ca(II), Mg(II), NO3⁻, Bi(III), Cu(II), Sn(II), and Hg(II) on the Pb(II) stripping signal was also studied. Finally, the application of SbFSPE was tested on a real water sample (from a local river), which showed high precision (RSD = 8.1%, n = 5) and accurate results

Funkcionalizacija AFM-konic za uporabo v spektroskopiji sil med polimeri in modelnimi površinami

The following work presents the use of two different methods for the attachment of different functional groups onto the AFM tip surface. Such functionalized tips then allow for further binding of molecules with different origins and natures, thus allowing for use when measuring forces, and the extent of interactions appearing between two model surfaces and in real systems. Force spectroscopy, in combination with chemical force microscopy (CFM), as used in this study, exhibits great potential for chemical sensing in the field of polymer sciences. In modern wound treatment, it is very important to know the type and ranges of interactions between different polymer materials, which are mostly crucial components of the dressings. Precise measurement of these interactions would help to choose those materials that fit together without the use of additional chemical modifications on their surfaces. Such modifications are often the cause of unpredictable complications during the course of wound healing. This same method could also be used for interaction evaluation between chosen polymer materials with biological macromolecules, which appear within the wound during the healing process. Such in vitro testing could be of great help when optimal wound dressing materials need to be chosen in order to alleviate a patient s suffering after application. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopies were used in order to prove the effectiveness and applicability of the used functionalization procedures.V prispevku predstavljamo uporabo dveh različnih metod za pripravo AFM-konic z različnimi funkcionalnimi skupinami. Takšna funkcionalizacija je primerna za nadaljnje pripenjanje različnih molekul, kar je osnova za uporabo pri določanju moči in obsega interakcij med modelnimi površinami in v realnih sistemih. Spektroskopija sil v kombinaciji z mikroskopijo na kemijsko silo, kije bila uporabljena v tem delu, ima velik potencial na področju kemijskega zaznavanja v polimerni znanosti. Pri pripravi večplastnih polimernih materialov, ki se uporabljajo pri moderni obravnavi kroničnih ran, nam natančno določanje interakcij lahko pomaga pri njihovi izbiri. Na podlagi takih meritev bi lahko izbrali materiale, ki med seboj najbolje interagirajo, in ne bi bilo treba vpeljati nobene kemijske modifikacije, ki bi lahko negativno vplivala na potek celjenja ran. Prav tako bi bilo mogoče metodo uporabiti za določanje interakcij izbranih polimernih materialov z biološkimi molekulami v rani, s čimer bi in vitro določili optimalen material za plast obliža, ki je v stiku z rano. V delu smo uspešnost in uporabnost funkcionalizacije preverjali z elektronsko mikroskopijo in mikroskopijo na atomsko silo

Novel chitosan/diclofenac coatings on medical grade stainless steel for hip replacement applications

Corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, improved osteointegration, as well the prevention of inflammation and pain are the most desired characteristics of hip replacement implants. In this study we introduce a novel multi-layered coating on AISI 316LVM stainless steel that shows promise with regard to all mentioned characteristics. The coating is prepared from alternating layers of the biocompatible polysaccharide chitosan and the non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), diclofenac. Electrochemical methods were employed to characterize the corrosion behavior of coated and uncoated samples in physiological solution. It is shown that these coatings improve corrosion resistance. It was also found that these coatings release the incorporated drug in controlled, multi-mechanism manner. Adding additional layers on top of the as-prepared samples, has potential for further tailoring of the release profile and increasing the drug dose. Biocompatibility was proven on human-derived osteoblasts in several experiments. Only viable cells were found on the sample surface after incubation of the samples with the same cell line. This novel coating could prove important for prolongation of the application potential of steel-based hip replacements, which are these days often replaced by more expensive ceramic or other metal alloys