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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomaterials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2016) | Viewed by 84514

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Special Issue Editors

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jie Zheng

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
Interests: soft materials; biomaterials; biointerfaces

Dr. Yuping Bao

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Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
Interests: magnetic nanoparticles; imaging-guided drug delivery; MRI
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Zhanhu Guo

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Integrated Composites Laboratory, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Interests: polymer nanocomposites; conducting polymers; sustainability; environmental engineering; electronics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Smart biomaterials and biointerfaces have diverse structures, properties, functionalities, and applications. In recent years, the interest in smart biomaterials and biointerfaces has increased dramatically, both from the points of view of experiment and of computation. This themed Special Issue aims to cover the most recent progress in the synthesis, coating, processing and fabrication of smart biomaterials and biointerfaces, the interactions of these materials/interfaces with biomolecules, as well as the new applications of these materials.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jie Zheng
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yuping Bao
Assoc. Prof. Dr. John Zhanhu Guo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

biomaterials
biointerface
smart materials
biodegradable nanocomposites
nanoparticles

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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12754 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Drug Delivery Application of Thermo- and pH-Sensitive Hydrogels: Poly(β-CD-co-N-Isopropylacrylamide-co-IAM)

by Syang-Peng Rwei, Tuan Huynh Nguyen Anh, Whe-Yi Chiang, Tun-Fun Way and Yung-Jia Hsu

Materials 2016, 9(12), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9121003 - 11 Dec 2016

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5193

Abstract

Copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), itaconamic acid (IAM; 4-amino-2-methylene-4-oxobutanoic acid) and β-cyclodextrin was investigated in this study. β-cyclodextrin was at first modified by reacting with allyl glycidyl ether to substitute its OH end groups with moieties containing double bonds to facilitate the subsequent radical copolymerization with NIPAM and IAM. It was reported that poly(NIPAM-IAM) can respond to the change of temperature as well as pH value. In this study, the structure of β-cyclodextrin was introduced to poly(NIPAM-IAM) copolymers because of its cavity structure capable of encapsulating a variety of drug molecules. The tri-component copolymers, poly(CD-NIPAM-IAM), were synthesized with different monomeric ratios of NIPAM/IAM/β-CD and the hydrogels of the tri-component copolymers were also synthesized by additionally adding N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide as a cross-linking agent. The results show that the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the copolymer (or hydrogel) increases as the molar fraction of IAM increases. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images of linear copolymers (no cross-linking) show that molecules undergo self-assembly to have a distinct core–shell structure, compared to poly(CD-NIPAM) which contains no IAM. On the other hand, the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images of hydrogels show that the pores gradually become sheet-like structures as the molar fraction of IAM increases to enhance the water absorption capacity. In order to exhibit the thermal and pH sensitivities of poly(CD-NIPAM-IAM) as the drug carrier, the drug release of the newly synthesized hydrogels at 37 °C and different pH values, pH = 2 and pH = 7.4, was investigated using atorvastatin which was used primarily as a lipid-lowering drug. The drug release experimental result shows that poly(CD-NIPAM-IAM) as a drug carrier was pH-sensitive and has the largest release rate at pH = 7.4 at 37 °C, indicating it is useful to release drugs in a neutral or alkaline (intestinal) environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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1652 KiB

Open AccessArticle

End-Functionalized Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) with d-Glucosamine through Different Initiator from C-1 and C-2 Positions via Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

by Guihua Cui, Zhengguo Gao, Nannan Qiu, Toshifumi Satoh, Toyoji Kakuchi and Qian Duan

Materials 2016, 9(11), 913; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9110913 - 10 Nov 2016

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4624

Abstract

Regioselective modification of d-glucosamine (2-amino-2-deoxy-d-glucopyranose, GA) through C-1 and C-2 positions to synthesized thermo-responsive D-Glucosamine-poly(N-iso-propylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was investigated for the first time. Two different schemes of the synthesis for GA derivatives (GA-PNIPAM (i) and (ii)) with well-defined structures using 3,4,6-tri-o-acetyl-2-deoxy-2-phthalimido-β-d-glucopyranose and 1,3,4,6-tetra-o-acetyl-2-amino-2-deoxy-β-d-glucopyranose intermediates were examined. The GA-PNIPAM (ii) had an amino at C-2 position, while there was a hydroxyl in GA-PNIPAM (i) at this position. Both the resulting oligomers (i) and (ii) had a narrow dispersity, and no significant cytotoxic response of copolymers (i) and (ii) was observed in the cell line over the concentration range from 0.1 μg/mL to 1000 μg/mL at any of the exposure times. In addition, it was discovered that GA-PNIPAM (i) and (ii) inhibited the proliferation of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells HepG2 as the concentration and the time changed, and the inhibitory activity of polymer (ii) was higher than that of he (i). The results suggest that the GA-PNIPAM polymers show excellent biocompatibility in vitro. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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2683 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Microwave-Assisted Green Synthesis of TiC Powders

by Hui Wang, Wencheng Zhu, Yanchun Liu, Lingke Zeng and Luyi Sun

Materials 2016, 9(11), 904; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9110904 - 8 Nov 2016

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4659

Abstract

Titanium carbide (TiC) is an important engineering material and has found widespread applications. Currently, TiC is typically synthesized through carbothermal reduction, requiring a high temperature (ca. 1700–2300 °C) and long reaction time (ca. 10–20 h), which is not eco-friendly. During a conventional reaction path, anatase TiO₂ (A-TiO₂) was first converted to rutile TiO₂ (R-TiO₂), which was subsequently reduced to TiC. Herein, we explored the synthesis of TiC powders with the assistance of microwave heating. In particular, we achieved the conversion of A-TiO₂, which was more reactive than R-TiO₂ for the carbothermal reduction, to TiC, which was directly due to quick microwave heating. As such, the carbothermal reduction started at a much lower temperature of ca. 1200 °C and finished within 30 min when reacting at 1400 °C, leading to significant energy saving. This study shows that microwave-assisted synthesis can be an effective and green process for preparing TiC powders, which is promising for future large-scale production. The influence of the reaction temperature, the reaction duration, and the carbon content on the synthesis of TiC powders was investigated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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4480 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Raman and Conductivity Analysis of Graphene for Biomedical Applications

by Chao Qiu, Kevin E. Bennet, Tamanna Khan, John D. Ciubuc and Felicia S. Manciu

Materials 2016, 9(11), 897; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9110897 - 4 Nov 2016

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5514

Abstract

In this study, we present a comprehensive investigation of graphene’s optical and conductive properties using confocal Raman and a Drude model. A comparative analysis between experimental findings and theoretical predictions of the material’s changes and improvements as it transitioned from three-dimensional graphite is also presented and discussed. Besides spectral recording by Raman, which reveals whether there is a single, a few, or multi-layers of graphene, the confocal Raman mapping allows for distinction of such domains and a direct visualization of material inhomogeneity. Drude model employment in the analysis of the far-infrared transmittance measurements demonstrates a distinct increase of the material’s conductivity with dimensionality reduction. Other particularly important material characteristics, including carrier concentration and time constant, were also determined using this model and presented here. Furthermore, the detection of micromolar concentration of dopamine on graphene surfaces not only proves that the Raman technique facilitates ultrasensitive chemical detection of analytes, besides offering high information content about the biomaterial under study, but also that carbon-based materials are biocompatible and favorable micro-environments for such detection. Such information is valuable for the development of bio-medical sensors, which is the main application envisioned for this analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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4493 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Characterization of Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Based Thermo-Responsive Hydrogels for Cell Sheet Engineering

by Kuk Hui Son and Jin Woo Lee

Materials 2016, 9(10), 854; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9100854 - 20 Oct 2016

Cited by 75 | Viewed by 11331

Abstract

The swelling properties and thermal transition of hydrogels can be tailored by changing the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance of polymer networks. Especially, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) has received attention as thermo-responsive hydrogels for tissue engineering because its hydrophobicity and swelling property are transited around body temperature (32 °C). In this study, we investigated the potential of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) as a hydrophilic co-monomer and crosslinker of PNIPAm to enhance biological properties of PNIPAm hydrogels. The swelling ratios, lower critical solution temperature (LCST), and internal pore structure of the synthesized p(NIPAm-co-PEGDA) hydrogels could be varied with changes in the molecular weight of PEGDA and the co-monomer ratios (NIPAm to PEGDA). We found that increasing the molecular weight of PEGDA showed an increase of pore sizes and swelling ratios of the hydrogels. In contrast, increasing the weight ratio of PEGDA under the same molecular weight condition increased the crosslinking density and decreased the swelling ratios of the hydrogels. Further, to evaluate the potential of these hydrogels as cell sheets, we seeded bovine chondrocytes on the p(NIPAm-co-PEGDA) hydrogels and observed the proliferation of the seed cells and their detachment as a cell sheet upon a decrease in temperature. Based on our results, we confirmed that p(NIPAm-co-PEGDA) hydrogels could be utilized as cell sheets with enhanced cell proliferation performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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11470 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel Resorbable and Osteoconductive Calcium Silicophosphate Scaffold Induced Bone Formation

by Patricia Ros-Tárraga, Patricia Mazón, Miguel A. Rodríguez, Luis Meseguer-Olmo and Piedad N. De Aza

Materials 2016, 9(9), 785; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9090785 - 20 Sep 2016

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5572

Abstract

This aim of this research was to develop a novel ceramic scaffold to evaluate the response of bone after ceramic implantation in New Zealand (NZ) rabbits. Ceramics were prepared by the polymer replication method and inserted into NZ rabbits. Macroporous scaffolds with interconnected round-shaped pores (0.5–1.5 mm = were prepared). The scaffold acted as a physical support where cells with osteoblastic capability were found to migrate, develop processes, and newly immature and mature bone tissue colonized on the surface (initially) and in the material’s interior. The new ceramic induced about 62.18% ± 2.28% of new bone and almost complete degradation after six healing months. An elemental analysis showed that the gradual diffusion of Ca and Si ions from scaffolds into newly formed bone formed part of the biomaterial’s resorption process. Histological and radiological studies demonstrated that this porous ceramic scaffold showed biocompatibility and excellent osteointegration and osteoinductive capacity, with no interposition of fibrous tissue between the implanted material and the hematopoietic bone marrow interphase, nor any immune response after six months of implantation. No histological changes were observed in the various organs studied (para-aortic lymph nodes, liver, kidney and lung) as a result of degradation products being released. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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5943 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Repetitive Detection of Toluene with Bioluminescence Bioreporter Pseudomonas putida TVA8 Encapsulated in Silica Hydrogel on an Optical Fiber

by Gabriela Kuncová, Takayuki Ishizaki, Andrey Solovyev, Josef Trögl and Steven Ripp

Materials 2016, 9(6), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9060467 - 15 Jun 2016

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6391

Abstract

Living cells of the lux-based bioluminescent bioreporter Pseudomonas putida TVA8 were encapsulated in a silica hydrogel attached to the distal wider end of a tapered quartz fiber. Bioluminescence of immobilized cells was induced with toluene at high (26.5 mg/L) and low (5.3 mg/L) concentrations. Initial bioluminescence maxima were achieved after >12 h. One week after immobilization, a biofilm-like layer of cells had formed on the surface of the silica gel. This resulted in shorter response times and more intensive bioluminescence maxima that appeared as rapidly as 2 h after toluene induction. Considerable second bioluminescence maxima were observed after inductions with 26.5 mg toluene/L. The second and third week after immobilization the biosensor repetitively and semiquantitatively detected toluene in buffered medium. Due to silica gel dissolution and biofilm detachment, the bioluminescent signal was decreasing 20–32 days after immobilization and completely extinguished after 32 days. The reproducible formation of a surface cell layer on the wider end of the tapered optical fiber can be translated to various whole cell bioluminescent biosensor devices and may serve as a platform for in-situ sensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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Review

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8165 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advances in the Fabrication of Antimicrobial Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

by Carmen M. González-Henríquez, Mauricio A. Sarabia-Vallejos and Juan Rodriguez-Hernandez

Materials 2017, 10(3), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10030232 - 26 Feb 2017

Cited by 62 | Viewed by 8472

Abstract

This review describes, in an organized manner, the recent developments in the elaboration of hydrogels that possess antimicrobial activity. The fabrication of antibacterial hydrogels for biomedical applications that permits cell adhesion and proliferation still remains as an interesting challenge, in particular for tissue engineering applications. In this context, a large number of studies has been carried out in the design of hydrogels that serve as support for antimicrobial agents (nanoparticles, antibiotics, etc.). Another interesting approach is to use polymers with inherent antimicrobial activity provided by functional groups contained in their structures, such as quaternary ammonium salt or hydrogels fabricated from antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) or natural polymers, such as chitosan. A summary of the different alternatives employed for this purpose is described in this review, considering their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, more recent methodologies that lead to more sophisticated hydrogels that are able to react to external stimuli are equally depicted in this review. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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3578 KiB

Open AccessReview

Boronic Acid as Glucose-Sensitive Agent Regulates Drug Delivery for Diabetes Treatment

by Li Zhao, Qiongwei Huang, Yangyang Liu, Qing Wang, Liyan Wang, Shanshan Xiao, Fei Bi and Jianxun Ding

Materials 2017, 10(2), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10020170 - 13 Feb 2017

Cited by 63 | Viewed by 7525

Abstract

In recent years, glucose-sensitive drug delivery systems have attracted considerable attention in the treatment of diabetes. These systems can regulate payload release by the changes of blood glucose levels continuously and automatically with potential application in self-regulated drug delivery. Boronic acid (BA), especially phenylboronic acid (PBA), as glucose-sensitive agent has been the focus of research in the design of glucose-sensitive platforms. This article reviews the previous attempts at the developments of PBA-based glucose-sensitive drug delivery systems regarding the PBA-functionalized materials and glucose-triggered drug delivery. The obstacles and potential developments of glucose-sensitive drug delivery systems based on PBA for diabetes treatment in the future are also described. The PBA-functionalized platforms that regulate drug delivery induced by glucose are expected to contribute significantly to the design and development of advanced intelligent self-regulated drug delivery systems for treatment of diabetes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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5035 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fc-Binding Ligands of Immunoglobulin G: An Overview of High Affinity Proteins and Peptides

by Weonu Choe, Trishaladevi A. Durgannavar and Sang J. Chung

Materials 2016, 9(12), 994; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9120994 - 8 Dec 2016

Cited by 155 | Viewed by 23788

Abstract

The rapidly increasing application of antibodies has inspired the development of several novel methods to isolate and target antibodies using smart biomaterials that mimic the binding of Fc-receptors to antibodies. The Fc-binding domain of antibodies is the primary binding site for e.g., effector proteins and secondary antibodies, whereas antigens bind to the Fab region. Protein A, G, and L, surface proteins expressed by pathogenic bacteria, are well known to bind immunoglobulin and have been widely exploited in antibody purification strategies. Several difficulties are encountered when bacterial proteins are used in antibody research and application. One of the major obstacles hampering the use of bacterial proteins is sample contamination with trace amounts of these proteins, which can invoke an immune response in the host. Many research groups actively develop synthetic ligands that are able to selectively and strongly bind to antibodies. Among the reported ligands, peptides that bind to the Fc-domain of antibodies are attractive tools in antibody research. Besides their use as high affinity ligands in antibody purification chromatography, Fc-binding peptides are applied e.g., to localize antibodies on nanomaterials and to increase the half-life of proteins in serum. In this review, recent developments of Fc-binding peptides are presented and their binding characteristics and diverse applications are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Biomaterials and Biointerfaces)

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