Modern scaffolding strategies based on naturally pre-fabricated 3D biomaterials of poriferan origin

Modern scaffolding strategies include two key ways: to produce requested 3D constructs from corresponding precursors using technological tools, or simply use naturally already pre-fabricated scaffolds if they originate from renewable sources. Marine sponges inhabit oceans since the Precambrian. These ancient multicellular organisms possess a broad variety of evolutionary approved and ready to use skeletal structures, which seem to be well applicable as 3D scaffolds in diverse fields of modern bioinspired materials science, biomimetics and regenerative medicine. In this review, most attention is paid to biosilica-, chitin-, and spongin-based scaffolds of poriferan origin with respect to their potential use. © 2020, The Author(s).Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG: HE 394–3Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego, MNiSW: 0912/SBAD/2006PPN/BEK/2018/1/00071Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFGSächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst, SMWK: 02010311This work was financially supported by German Research Foundation (DFG) grant HE 394–3, SMWK Project 02010311 (Germany) and subsidy from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Poland to PUT (no. 0912/SBAD/2006). M.W. is thankful for financial support from Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (PPN/BEK/2018/1/00071)

1H NMR spectroscopy study of structural water in rehydrated biocomposite of Spongilla lacustris freshwater demosponge origin

Biocomposites of sponge origin attract scientific attention due to their renewability as well as special properties. Dried skeletons of fresh water demosponge Spongilla lacustris represent unique kind of naturally occurring silica-chitin-based biocomposites with long history of their applications in dermatocosmetics. However, there is still a lack of knowledge on their physico-chemical properties in model systems. The aim of this work was to model drug systems based on S. lacustris powdered biocomposite, water and a hydrophobic medium, which served as an analog of an oil base. Both thermogravimetric analysis and 1H NMR spectroscopy study of structural water in rehydrated biocomposite lead to obtaining of interesting experimental data useful for preparation of biocosmetic products. © 2020, The Author(s).Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG: HE 394-3PPN/BEK/2018/1/00071Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFGSächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst, SMWK: 02010311This work was financially supported by German Research Foundation (DFG) Grant HE 394-3, SMWK Project 02010311 (Germany). M.W. is thankful for financial support from Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (PPN/BEK/2018/1/00071) and support from Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Poland) as financial subsidy to PUT

Surface-dependent osteoblasts response to TiO2 nanotubes of different crystallinity

One of the major challenges of implantology is to design nanoscale modifications of titanium implant surfaces inducing osseointegration. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavior of rat osteoblasts cultured on anodized TiO2 nanotubes of different crystallinity (amorphous and anatase phase) up to 24 days. TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated on VT1–0 titanium foil via a two-step anodization at 20 V using NH4F as an electrolyte. Anatase-phase samples were prepared by heat treatment at 500 °C for 1 h. VT1–0 samples with flat surfaces were used as controls. Primary rat osteoblasts were seeded over experimental surfaces for several incubation times. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze tested surfaces and cell morphology. Cell adhesion and proliferation were investigated by cell counting. Osteogenic differentiation of cells was evaluated by qPCR of runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), osteopontin (OPN), integrin binding sialoprotein (IBSP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN). Cell adhesion and proliferation, cell morphology and the expression of osteogenic markers were affected by TiO2 nanotube layered substrates of amorphous and anatase crystallinity. In comparison with flat titanium, along with increased cell adhesion and cell growth a large portion of osteoblasts grown on the both nanostructured surfaces exhibited an osteocyte-like morphology as early as 48 h of culture. Moreover, the expression of all tested osteogenic markers in cells cultured on amorphous and anatase TiO2 nanotubes was upregulated at least at one of the analyzed time points. To summarize, we demonstrated that amorphous and anodized TiO2 layered substrates are highly biocompatible with rat osteoblasts and that the surface modification with about 1500 nm length nanotubes of 35 ± 4 (amorphous phase) and 41 ± 8 nm (anatase phase) in diameter is sufficient to induce their osteogenic differentiation. Such results are significant to the engineering of coating strategies for orthopedic implants aimed to establish a more efficient bone to implant contact and enhance bone repair. © 2020 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAADRussian Science Foundation, RSF: 18‐13‐00220Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Minobrnauka: 57447934PPN/BEK/2018/1/00071Funding: The experimental work was funded by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 18‐13‐00220). This research was partially supported by DAAD together with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation within Michael Lomonosov Program (project No. 57447934); M.W. was financially supported by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (PPN/BEK/2018/1/00071)

Electrochemical method for isolation of chitinous 3D scaffolds from cultivated Aplysina aerophoba marine demosponge and its biomimetic application

Three-dimensional (3D) biopolymer-based scaffolds including chitinous matrices have been widely used for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and other modern interdisciplinary fields including extreme biomimetics. In this study, we introduce a novel, electrochemically assisted method for 3D chitin scaffolds isolation from the cultivated marine demosponge Aplysina aerophoba which consists of three main steps: (1) decellularization, (2) decalcification and (3) main deproteinization along with desilicification and depigmentation. For the first time, the obtained electrochemically isolated 3D chitinous scaffolds have been further biomineralized ex vivo using hemolymph of Cornu aspersum edible snail aimed to generate calcium carbonates-based layered biomimetic scaffolds. The analysis of prior to, during and post-electrochemical isolation samples as well as samples treated with molluscan hemolymph was conducted employing analytical techniques such as SEM, XRD, ATR–FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Finally, the use of described method for chitin isolation combined with biomineralization ex vivo resulted in the formation of crystalline (calcite) calcium carbonate-based deposits on the surface of chitinous scaffolds, which could serve as promising biomaterials for the wide range of biomedical, environmental and biomimetic applications. © 2020, The Author(s).Politechnika PoznaÅ ska, PUT: 0911/SBAD/0380/2019Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG: HE 394/3Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAADRussian Science Foundation, RSF: 18-13-00220PPN/BEK/2018/1/0007103/32/SBAD/0906Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst, SMWK: 02010311This work was performed with the financial support of Poznan University of Technology, Poland (Grant No. 0911/SBAD/0380/2019), as well as by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Poland) as financial subsidy to PUT No. 03/32/SBAD/0906. Krzysztof Nowacki was supported by the Erasmus Plus program (2019). Also, this study was partially supported by the DFG Project HE 394/3 and SMWK Project No. 02010311 (Germany). Marcin Wysokowski is financially supported by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (PPN/BEK/2018/1/00071). Tomasz Machałowski is supported by DAAD (Personal Ref. No. 91734605). Yuliya Khrunyk is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 18-13-00220)

A bibliometric description of lignin applicability for the removal of chemical pollutants in effluents

Several industrial sectors produce tons of effluents daily containing a high amount of hazardous chemical pollutants that pose a major threat to the environment and human health. Current wastewater treatment methods, such as flocculation and activated carbon adsorption, have drawbacks linked to high material cost and too much energy consumption. Thus, the search for renewable, biodegradable, and efficient materials has been the object of research aimed at replacing the conventional materials used to cheapen processes and reduce environmental impacts. Lignin stands out in this context as it has low cost and high availability. Therefore, several scientific researches were developed to harness the potential of lignin, especially as adsorbent, for the removal of chemical agents from effluents. This paper presents a bibliometric review performed on the Scopus database, showing the evolution of studies related to the applicability of lignin in the removal of chemical pollutants in waters over the last five years. Data regarding annual publications, languages, journals, countries, institutions, keywords, and subjects were analyzed. The realized screening selected 130 articles that met the previously defined criteria. Results indicated a strong collaboration between countries and China's substantial contribution to the documents. The analysis also has shown that lignin is mainly used as adsorbent material, sorbent, flocculant agent, and hydrogel and presents important results and information for future researchers on this topic.The authors acknowledge financial assistance from the Brazilian research funding agencies such as CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) under Finance Code 001, a Brazilian foundation within the Ministry of Education (MEC), CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), a Brazilian foundation associated to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), and FAPITEC/SE (the Foundation of Support to Research and Technological Innovation of the State of Sergipe).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Foundation of flexible steel structures - developmental trends

The technical issues described in the paper concern aspects of foundations of buried flexible steel structures. The foundations of these structures are most frequently made as traditional “rigid” structures (which is related to their massiveness - most commonly reinforced concrete), or in the form of properly profiled soil foundations (depending on the shape of the coating). Comparison of the two issues of “vulnerability”, i.e. the bearing structure and the ’’rigidity” of foundations, is the main motivation to carry out testing and conduct an analysis in this area. The problems are discussed in the paper in the context of new developments in the field of “flexible” foundations of the structures in question. Further development analyses are currently in progress , which will be practically implemented in the form of appropriate guidelines. In the authors' opinion, this will help to optimize the design of the in which the foundation of these structures

Nieużytkowane kolejowe mosty sklepione i ich przyszłość

At the turn of the 19th and 20th century, on the areas of nowadays northern and western Poland, the railway infrastructure was developing rapidly. In the late 80’s of the previous century many of the railway lines, together with the whole infrastructure including bridges, were being closed down. The example of such practices can be the brick bridge located near Nojewo, Voivodeship wielkopolskie. This article presents the technical parameters of these bridges and their damages as well as ideas for the future development of the railway facilities.Na przełomie XIX i XX wieku na terenie dzisiejszej Polski zachodniej i północnej bardzo intensywnie rozwijana była infrastruktura kolejowa. W efekcie tych działań powstała sieć dróg żelaznych o dużym zagęszczeniu. Pod koniec lat 80-tych ubiegłego stulecia wiele z tych linii było stopniowo zamykanych. Na skutek tych przemian wiele linii oraz obiektów z nimi związanych, w tym obiekty mostowe, zostały pozostawione niekorzystnemu działaniu czasu. Przykładem takich wyłączonych z eksploatacji obiektów są mosty i wiadukty położone w okolicy miejscowości Nojewo. Wspomniane obiekty inżynierskie to ceglane konstrukcje sklepione znajdujące się w ciągu linii kolejowej nr 368 łączącej Szamotuły i Międzychód. W artykule zaprezentowano problem rewitalizacji nieużytkowanych mostów kolejowych na przykładzie obiektów w miejscowości Nojewo w województwie wielkopolskim. Opisano podstawowe parametry techniczne mostów oraz ich uszkodzenia. Przedstawiono propozycje zagospodarowania obiektów

Synthesis and characterization of MnWO 4 /TmVO 4 ternary nano-hybrids by an ultrasonic method for enhanced photocatalytic activity in the degradation of organic dyes

In this study, novel MnWO 4 /TmVO 4 ternary nano-hybrids were synthesized effectively via a simple sonochemical method. The products were characterized in detail with the use of modern analytical techniques including XRD, EDX, TEM, DRS, BET, PL, and VSM. To the authors� best knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis and photocatalytic performance of MnWO 4 /TmVO 4 ternary nano-hybrids in the degradation of rhodamine B (Rh B), 2-naphthol (Na), phenol red (Ph R), and eosin Y (EY) under visible light. Based on the degradation results, MnWO 4 /TmVO 4 is shown to have higher photodegradation ability than pure TmVO 4 or MnWO 4 nanoparticles. It was also found that maximum degradation (99.2) is achieved in the case of Rh B dye. © 2018 Elsevier B.V