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Biomedical Engineering Advances for Medical and Pharmaceutical Applications

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2023) | Viewed by 8289

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Morgan Hamon

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Guest Editor

School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, LA 90007, USA
Interests: biomedical engineering; tissue engineering; regenerative medicine; biomaterials; developmental engineering; microfluidics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Section “Biomedical Engineering Advances for Medical and Pharmaceutical Applications” of Applied Sciences covers an important domain of research and development. In the field of biomedical engineering advances, new technologies and disciplines have emerged. In recent years, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, developmental engineering, and microfluidics (lab-, organ, and organoids-on-a-chip), to name a few, have demonstrated potential for medical and pharmaceutical fields with noteworthy applications in various domains, including drug discovery and development, tissue repair, and personalized medicine.

This Special Issue aims to gather original peer-reviewed research and review articles featuring important and recent developments or achievements in biomedical engineering research, with an emphasis on medical and pharmaceutical applications. Authors who are well-known experts in their domain are invited to submit their contribution at any time until the end of April 2023. Papers can cover either the experimental or theoretical aspect, or both aspects, of biomedical engineering, especially tissue engineering, cell engineering, developmental engineering, organoids, and lab-, organ-, and organoid-on-a-chip.

Dr. Morgan Hamon
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

tissue engineering
cell engineering
regenerative medicine
developmental engineering
microfluidics
lab-on-a-chip
organ-on-a-chip
organoid-on-a-chip
biomedical engineering
biomaterials

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 6124 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Matrix Stiffness Influences Tubular Formation in Renal Tissue Engineering

by Morgan Hamon, Yuzhen Chen, Pratyush Srivastava, Hsiao-Min Chang, Vijay Gupta, Lihua Jin, Norimoto Yanagawa and Peter V. Hauser

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(7), 4510; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13074510 - 2 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1161

Abstract

Tubular structures contribute to essential organ functions. Therefore, controlling tubulogenesis is essential for bottom-up tissue engineering approaches. Tissue engineering strategies to form tubular structures utilize extracellular matrix (ECM) components and micropatterned molds. To improve the tubular formation rate, we studied the substrate stiffness’s influence on the tubulogenesis of murine inner medullary collecting duct (mIMCD) cells. mIMCD cells were seeded in micropatterned molds with different compositions of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (1:5, 1:10, 1:15, 1:20, 1:30) and agarose (1%, 2%, 3% 5%). We established the Young’s modulus of the PDMS and agarose substrates and determined the ideal substrate stiffness for tube formation to be between 277 kPa and 2610 kPa. Within our parameters, optimal tube formation was observed at 439.9 kPa, a value similar to the Young’s Modulus found in the basement membrane of the murine renal tubular compartment. We also found that different substrate concentrations of agarose or PDMS are associated with different expression levels of the apical polarization marker Zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1) in the generated tubular structures. In addition to the substrate stiffness, we observed that the tube formation differed based on the substrate material, with agarose showing a generally greater tube formation rate. While previous research demonstrated that ECM stiffness influences cellular behavior towards tube formation, our results suggest that the stiffness of the substrate influences tubular formation independently of the ECM. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Engineering Advances for Medical and Pharmaceutical Applications)

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13 pages, 10185 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bacterial Cellulose–Polyvinyl Alcohol Based Complex Composites for Controlled Drug Release

by Cristina Busuioc, Gabriela Olimpia Isopencu and Iuliana-Mihaela Deleanu

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(2), 1015; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13021015 - 11 Jan 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1617

Abstract

Drug-loaded mono- and multilayer composite membranes were prepared. The composites, based on nano-fibrillated bacterial cellulose, nano-powdered bacterial cellulose, and polyvinyl alcohol, all biocompatible and biodegradable, were characterized in terms of basic factors related to drug diffusivity and mass transfer: swelling ability, water solubility, and water vapor permeability. Tetracycline hydrochloride was used in this case as drug model. Drug release was evaluated in an aqueous environment for two concentration levels of the antibiotic, and mathematical modeling was applied to fit experimental data. Tetracycline release was influenced by a membranes’ structure, layers’ composition, and by a membranes’ thickness. Bacterial cellulose nanofibrils proved to be the key factor in achieving suitable drug release profiles. Thus, sustained antibiotic delivery was obtained for several days in the case of multilayer composites. The composites proved drug stability and antibacterial efficiency before and after TC-HCl continuous release for several days. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Engineering Advances for Medical and Pharmaceutical Applications)

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Review

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28 pages, 4579 KiB

Open AccessReview

Combination of Biomaterials and Extracellular Vesicles from Mesenchymal Stem-Cells: New Therapeutic Strategies for Skin-Wound Healing

by Victoria Pulido-Escribano, Bárbara Torrecillas-Baena, Gabriel Dorado, María Ángeles Gálvez-Moreno, Marta Camacho-Cardenosa and Antonio Casado-Díaz

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(4), 2702; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13042702 - 20 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2547

Abstract

Hard-to-heal chronic wounds associated with aging and high-prevalence pathologies, such as diabetes, are a global health problem. Therefore, it is necessary to advance effective treatments to accelerate wound healing. Among these potential treatments are new therapies based on mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and their secretomes, including extracellular vesicles (EV). They have an important therapeutic potential for the treatment of chronic ulcers, due to their immunomodulatory activity, as well as their ability to induce angiogenesis, cell proliferation and cell migration. The use of MSC-derived EV in regenerative medicine involves cell-free therapies that decrease risks associated with cell therapies, such as the potential development of tumors. However, the short half-life of MSC-EV is a limitation for their clinical use. A therapeutic strategy to increase the regenerative efficiency of EV in wounds is to encapsulate them in biomaterials. The latter must protect and progressively release EV in damaged tissues, optimizing healing. Biomaterials that can be used include hydrogels. These, in addition to acting as a vehicle for sustained application of EV, can create favorable environments for wound healing. Thus, the aim of this review is to critically describe the latest advances in the development of such therapeutic strategies. It highlights the significance and clinical potential of these new therapies, as well as the need to develop clinical trials, to ascertain their performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Engineering Advances for Medical and Pharmaceutical Applications)

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14 pages, 19559 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Evaluation of the Efficacy of Probiotics Domiciliary Protocols for the Management of Periodontal Disease, in Adjunction of Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy (NSPT): A Systematic Literature Review

by Andrea Butera, Elisa Folini, Saverio Cosola, Gianluca Russo, Andrea Scribante, Simone Gallo, Giulia Stablum, Giovanni Battista Menchini Fabris, Ugo Covani and Annamaria Genovesi

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(1), 663; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13010663 - 3 Jan 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2206

Abstract

Introduction: Periodontitis is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease induced by a dysbiosis between the host and oral microbiota, which can compromise the host’s immune defenses and lead to the destruction of periodontal tissues. Despite the efficacy of non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) as the gold standard of periodontal treatment, its application can produce lower results due to anatomical and microbiological limitations. This systematic literature review was performed to assess the long-term efficacy of the effects of probiotics as an adjunct to NSPT compared to the control groups with follow-up of clinical, microbiological and immunological outcomes. Materials and methods: A literature review was conducted, considering manuscripts published from November 2016 to February 2022. The research question was formulated following the population, intervention, comparison and outcome strategies. Randomized controlled trials (RCT), systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the periodontal efficacy of domiciliary probiotic therapy in an adjunct to the mechanical therapy were included. Results: Regarding clinical outcomes, there is a reduction in periodontal probing depth (PPD), clinical attachments level (CAL), bleeding on probing (BoP) and plaque index (PI) for the test groups compared to the control groups in a short-term period. No differences were generally observed in the following indices over a period of more than 3 months for most studies considered. Conclusions: Weak evidence suggests that the use of probiotics as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal therapy treatment may be able to show improvements in periodontal clinical parameters for up to 3 months. However, a significant and large heterogeneity of studies, along with the absence of long-term microbiological and immunological data, preclude any definitive conclusions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Engineering Advances for Medical and Pharmaceutical Applications)

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