Polycaprolactone nanowire surfaces as interfaces for cardiovascular applications

2014 Summer.Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of people worldwide. Current treatments include organ transplants, surgery, metabolic products and mechanical/synthetic implants. Of these, mechanical and synthetic implants are the most promising. However, rejection of cardiovascular implants continues to be a problem, eliciting a need for understanding the mechanisms behind tissue-material interaction. Recently, bioartificial implants, consisting of synthetic tissue engineering scaffolds and cells, have shown great promise for cardiovascular repair. An ideal cardiovascular implant surface must be capable of adhering cells and providing appropriate physiological responses while the native tissue integrates with the scaffold. However, the success of these implants is not only dependent on tissue integration but also hemocompatibility (interaction of material with blood components), a property that depends on the surface of the material. A thorough understanding of the interaction of cardiovascular cells and whole blood and its components with the material surface is essential in order to have a successful application which promotes healing as well as native tissue integration and regeneration. The purpose of this research is to study polymeric nanowire surfaces as potential interfaces for cardiovascular applications by investigating cellular response as well as hemocompatibility

Smooth Muscle Cell Functionality on Collagen Immobilized Polycaprolactone Nanowire Surfaces

Inhibition of smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and preservation of a differentiated state are important aspects in the management, avoidance and progression of vascular diseases. An understanding of the interaction between SMCs and the biomaterial involved is essential for a successful implant. In this study, we have developed collagen immobilized nanostructured surfaces with controlled arrays of high aspect ratio nanowires for the growth and maintenance of human aortic SMCs. The nanowire surfaces were fabricated from polycaprolactone and were immobilized with collagen. The objective of this study is to reveal how SMCs interact with collagen immobilized nanostructures. The results indicate significantly higher cellular adhesion on nanostructured and collagen immobilized surfaces; however, SMCs on nanostructured surfaces exhibit a more elongated phenotype. The reduction of MTT was significantly lower on nanowire (NW) and collagen immobilized NW (colNW) surfaces, suggesting that SMCs on nanostructured surfaces may be differentiated and slowly dividing. Scanning electron microscopy results reveal that SMCs on nanostructured surfaces are more elongated and that cells are interacting with the nano-features on the surface. After providing differentiation cues, heavy chain myosin and calponin, specific to a contractile SMC phenotype, are upregulated on collagen immobilized surfaces. These results suggest that nanotopography affects cell adhesion, proliferation, as well as cell elongation, while collagen immobilized surfaces greatly affect cell differentiation

Smooth Muscle Cell Functionality on Collagen Immobilized Polycaprolactone Nanowire Surfaces

Inhibition of smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and preservation of a differentiated state are important aspects in the management, avoidance and progression of vascular diseases. An understanding of the interaction between SMCs and the biomaterial involved is essential for a successful implant. In this study, we have developed collagen immobilized nanostructured surfaces with controlled arrays of high aspect ratio nanowires for the growth and maintenance of human aortic SMCs. The nanowire surfaces were fabricated from polycaprolactone and were immobilized with collagen. The objective of this study is to reveal how SMCs interact with collagen immobilized nanostructures. The results indicate significantly higher cellular adhesion on nanostructured and collagen immobilized surfaces; however, SMCs on nanostructured surfaces exhibit a more elongated phenotype. The reduction of MTT was significantly lower on nanowire (NW) and collagen immobilized NW (colNW) surfaces, suggesting that SMCs on nanostructured surfaces may be differentiated and slowly dividing. Scanning electron microscopy results reveal that SMCs on nanostructured surfaces are more elongated and that cells are interacting with the nano-features on the surface. After providing differentiation cues, heavy chain myosin and calponin, specific to a contractile SMC phenotype, are upregulated on collagen immobilized surfaces. These results suggest that nanotopography affects cell adhesion, proliferation, as well as cell elongation, while collagen immobilized surfaces greatly affect cell differentiation

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified