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Dear Colleagues,

Biopolymers are a leading class of functional material suitable for high-value applications and are of great interest to researchers and professionals across various disciplines. Interdisciplinary research is important to understand the basic and applied aspects of biopolymers to address several complex problems associated with good health and well-being. The expanding research interest in the field of biopolymers has been at odds with the growing awareness of employing ecofriendly materials as an environmentally acceptable substitute for polymers derived from fossil fuels. By lowering waste and hazardous emissions, the use of bio-based products will increase sustainability and create a cleaner, greener world. In this regard, many types of natural or biopolymers have been developed to meet the needs of ever-expanding applications. Especially in biomedical applications, cutting-edge bio-based materials and their composites are utilized.

This SI focuses on the various uses of advanced biopolymers in the biomedical industry and provides a future outlook for the biopolymer biomedical industry.

Dr. Payam Zarrintaj
Guest Editor

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Keywords

biopolymers
tissue engineering
stimuli-responsive polymers
drug delivery
biomedical

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4884 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cell Instructive Behavior of Composite Scaffolds in a Co-Culture of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

by Georgia-Ioanna Kontogianni, Amedeo Franco Bonatti, Carmelo De Maria, Raasti Naseem, Catarina Coelho, Kalliopi Alpantaki, Aristea Batsali, Charalampos Pontikoglou, Paulo Quadros, Kenneth Dalgarno, Giovanni Vozzi, Chiara Vitale-Brovarone and Maria Chatzinikolaidou

J. Funct. Biomater. 2024, 15(5), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfb15050116 (registering DOI) - 27 Apr 2024

Viewed by 86

Abstract

The in vitro evaluation of 3D scaffolds for bone tissue engineering in mono-cultures is a common practice; however, it does not represent the native complex nature of bone tissue. Co-cultures of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, without the addition of stimulating agents for monitoring cellular cross-talk, remains a challenge. In this study, a growth factor-free co-culture of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) has been established and used for the evaluation of 3D-printed scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. The scaffolds were produced from PLLA/PCL/PHBV polymeric blends, with two composite materials produced through the addition of 2.5% w/v nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) or strontium-substituted nanohydroxyapatite (Sr-nHA). Cell morphology data showed that hPBMCs remained undifferentiated in co-culture, while no obvious differences were observed in the mono- and co-cultures of hBM-MSCs. A significantly increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and osteogenic gene expression was observed in co-culture on Sr-nHA-containing scaffolds. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity and osteoclastogenic gene expression displayed significantly suppressed levels in co-culture on Sr-nHA-containing scaffolds. Interestingly, mono-cultures of hPBMCs on Sr-nHA-containing scaffolds indicated a delay in osteoclasts formation, as evidenced from TRAP activity and gene expression, demonstrating that strontium acts as an osteoclastogenesis inhibitor. This co-culture study presents an effective 3D model to evaluate the regenerative capacity of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, thus minimizing time-consuming and costly in vivo experiments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biopolymers in Biomedical Application)

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17 pages, 3829 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Type I Collagen from the Skin of Barracuda (Sphyraena sp.) Prepared with Different Organic Acids: Biochemical, Microstructural and Functional Properties

by Nur Nadiah Matarsim, Abdul Aziz Jaziri, Rossita Shapawi, Ruzaidi Azli Mohd Mokhtar, Wan Norhana Md. Noordin and Nurul Huda

J. Funct. Biomater. 2023, 14(2), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfb14020087 - 03 Feb 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1887

Abstract

This study was carried out to compare the extractability and characteristics of barracuda (Sphyraena sp.) skin collagen using various organic acids. Acetic-solubilized collagen (ASBS), lactic-solubilized collagen (LSBS) and citric-solubilized collagen (CSBS) yielded 6.77 g/100 g, 10.06 g/100 g and 8.35 g/100 g, respectively, and those yields were significantly different (p < 0.05). All acid-solubilized collagens were considered as type I because of their two alpha chains (α1 and α2) detected in acrylamide gel after electrophoresis. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) analysis confirmed that ASBS, LSBS and CSBS had similar absorption peaks (230.5 nm) and the results were in accordance with other fish collagens. Under infrared (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, the triple helical structure of type I collagens extracted from barracuda skin was maintained. From a thermostability study, all type I collagens showed a higher maximum transition temperature (T_max = 40.16 to 41.29 °C) compared to other fish skin collagens. In addition, the functional properties of the extracted collagens revealed the ASBS had higher water and oil absorption capacities than the CSBS and LSBS samples. The highest level of the emulsion ability index (EAI) (>200 m²/g) was detected under acidic conditions (pH 4), while lower EAIs were recorded under the alkaline (pH 10) and neutral treatments (pH 7). All type I collagens had a higher relative solubility (>60%) at a low pH test but the solubility level sharply decreased at a neutral pH. In addition to this, a lower concentration of NaCl (0–20 g/L) showed the higher percentage of solubility (>60%) while adding over 30 g/L of NaCl decreased solubility (>40%). From a microstructural test, all type I samples had an irregular and dense flake structure with random coiled filaments. Overall, collagen extracted from the barracuda skin may be applied as an alternative collagen from an industry perspective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Biopolymers in Biomedical Application)

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