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3D Cellular and Biomedical Applications by Polymer-Based Materials

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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2022) | Viewed by 11081

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Chia-Ching Wu

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Guest Editor

Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Interests: stem cell; tissue engineering; cellular biomechanics; cardiovascular and nervous system regeneration

Dr. Chun-Yen Liu

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Guest Editor

Department of Materials Science & Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Interests: tissue engineering; biomaterials; liquid crystal material; soft material; functional polymers
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Prof. Masaya Yamamoto

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Department of Materials Processing, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Interests: tissue engineering; drug delivery systems; biomaterials; regenerative medicine

Prof. Dr. Michiya Matsusaki

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Guest Editor

Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
Interests: tissue engineering; regenerative medicine; biomaterials; functional polymers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For the past few decades, functional polymeric materials have attracted a lot of attention due to their unique and remarkable properties based on their predesigned monomer structures. Polymers are macromolecules, composed of millions of repeated linked units, which can be divided into natural and synthetic polymers. By combining different kinds of polymeric materials, a variety of products possessing their own mechanical and physical properties can be achieved. If we merge the fields of biomaterials with polymers, new biocompatible, biodegradable materials can be expected to be applied in medical applications, for example, cell scaffold for tissue engineering, dressing for wound healing, patch for easing pain, drug delivery systems, cancer therapy, etc.

With the rapid development of technology, we have more tools to explore a new area we have not discovered before. Accordingly, it is becoming important to apply these new techniques to synthesize new polymeric compounds and fabricate into functionalized materials for 3D cellular and biomedical applications.

In this Special Issue, we focus on polymeric materials used in the field of cellular and/or material–cellular interactions for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. All related original articles, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Chia-Ching Wu
Prof. Masaya Yamamoto
Prof. Michiya Matsusaki
Prof. Chun-Yen Liu

Guest Editors

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. Polymers 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 2700 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
Biopolymer
Regenerative material
Biomedical material
Medical material
Polymeric material
Synthetic material
Natural derivative material
Soft material

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1223 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization and Toxicity Evaluation of Broiler Skin Elastin for Potential Functional Biomaterial in Tissue Engineering

by Nurkhuzaiah Kamaruzaman, Mh Busra Fauzi and Salma Mohamad Yusop

Polymers 2022, 14(5), 963; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14050963 - 28 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2126

Abstract

Broiler skin, a by-product of poultry processing, has been proven to contain essential elastin, a high-value protein with many applications. The present study reported the extraction of water-soluble elastin from broiler skin by using sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and oxalic acid treatment before freeze-drying. Chemical characterization such as protein and fat content, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, amino acid composition and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were performed and compared with commercial elastin from bovine neck ligament. The resultant elastin’s toxicity was analyzed using an MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) tetrazolium assay and primary skin irritation test. Results showed a high quality of the extracted-elastin with the presence of a high amount of proline (6.55 ± 0.40%) and glycine (9.65 ± 0.44%), low amount of hydroxyproline (0.80 ± 0.32%), methionine (2.04 ± 0.05%), and histidine (1.81 ± 0.05%) together with calculated 0.56 isoleucine/leucine ratio. FTIR analysis showed the presence of typical peaks of amide A, B, I, and II for protein with high denaturation temperature around 322.9 °C. The non-toxic effect of the extracted elastin was observed at a concentration lower than 0.5 mg/mL. Therefore, water-soluble elastin powder extracted from broiler skin can be an alternative source of elastin as a biomaterial for tissue engineering applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Cellular and Biomedical Applications by Polymer-Based Materials)

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16 pages, 17489 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Extraction of the Bacterial Extracellular Polysaccharide FucoPol by Membrane-Based Methods: Efficiency and Impact on Biopolymer Properties

by Sílvia Baptista, Cristiana A. V. Torres, Chantal Sevrin, Christian Grandfils, Maria A. M. Reis and Filomena Freitas

Polymers 2022, 14(3), 390; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14030390 - 19 Jan 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2525

Abstract

In this study, membrane-based methods were evaluated for the recovery of FucoPol, the fucose-rich exopolysaccharide (EPS) secreted by the bacterium Enterobacter A47, aiming at reducing the total water consumption and extraction time, while keeping a high product recovery, thus making the downstream procedure more sustainable and cost-effective. The optimized method involved ultrafiltration of the cell-free supernatant using a 30 kDa molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) membrane that allowed for a 37% reduction of the total water consumption and a 55% reduction of the extraction time, compared to the previously used method (diafiltration-ultrafiltration with a 100 kDa MWCO membrane). This change in the downstream procedure improved the product’s recovery (around 10% increase) and its purity, evidenced by the lower protein (8.2 wt%) and inorganic salts (4.0 wt%) contents of the samples (compared to 9.3 and 8.6 wt%, respectively, for the previously used method), without impacting FucoPol’s sugar and acyl groups composition, molecular mass distribution or thermal degradation profile. The biopolymer’s emulsion-forming and stabilizing capacity was also not affected (emulsification activity (EA) with olive oil, at a 2:3 ratio, of 98 ± 0% for all samples), while the rheological properties were improved (the zero-shear viscosity increased from 8.89 ± 0.62 Pa·s to 17.40 ± 0.04 Pa·s), which can be assigned to the higher purity degree of the extracted samples. These findings demonstrate a significant improvement in the downstream procedure raising FucoPol’s recovery, while reducing water consumption and operation time, key criteria in terms of process economic and environmental sustainability. Moreover, those changes improved the biopolymer’s rheological properties, known to significantly impact FucoPol’s utilization in cosmetic, pharmaceutical or food products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Cellular and Biomedical Applications by Polymer-Based Materials)

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Review

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26 pages, 1653 KiB

Open AccessReview

Applications of Electrospun Drug-Eluting Nanofibers in Wound Healing: Current and Future Perspectives

by Nakamwi Akombaetwa, Alick Bwanga, Pedzisai Anotida Makoni and Bwalya A. Witika

Polymers 2022, 14(14), 2931; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14142931 - 20 Jul 2022

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3057

Abstract

Wounds are a consequence of disruption in the structure, integrity, or function of the skin or tissue. Once a wound is formed following mechanical or chemical damage, the process of wound healing is initiated, which involves a series of chemical signaling and cellular mechanisms that lead to regeneration and/or repair. Disruption in the healing process may result in complications; therefore, interventions to accelerate wound healing are essential. In addition to mechanical support provided by sutures and traditional wound dressings, therapeutic agents play a major role in accelerating wound healing. The medicines known to improve the rate and extent of wound healing include antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and proliferation enhancing agents. Nonetheless, the development of these agents into eluting nanofibers presents the possibility of fabricating wound dressings and sutures that provide mechanical support with the added advantage of local delivery of therapeutic agents to the site of injury. Herein, the process of wound healing, complications of wound healing, and current practices in wound healing acceleration are highlighted. Furthermore, the potential role of drug-eluting nanofibers in wound management is discussed, and lastly, the economic implications of wounds as well as future perspectives in applying fiber electrospinning in the design of wound dressings and sutures are considered and reported. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Cellular and Biomedical Applications by Polymer-Based Materials)

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16 pages, 2276 KiB

Open AccessReview

Epigallocatechin Gallate: The Emerging Wound Healing Potential of Multifunctional Biomaterials for Future Precision Medicine Treatment Strategies

by Mazlan Zawani and Mh Busra Fauzi

Polymers 2021, 13(21), 3656; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13213656 - 23 Oct 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2859

Abstract

Immediate treatment for cutaneous injuries is a realistic approach to improve the healing rate and minimise the risk of complications. Multifunctional biomaterials have been proven to be a potential strategy for chronic skin wound management, especially for future advancements in precision medicine. Hence, antioxidant incorporated biomaterials play a vital role in the new era of tissue engineering. A bibliographic investigation was conducted on articles focusing on in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies that evaluate the effect and the antioxidants mechanism exerted by epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in wound healing and its ability to act as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers. Over the years, EGCG has been proven to be a potent antioxidant efficient for wound healing purposes. Therefore, several novel studies were included in this article to shed light on EGCG incorporated biomaterials over five years of research. However, the related papers under this review’s scope are limited in number. All the studies showed that biomaterials with scavenging ability have a great potential to combat chronic wounds and assist the wound healing process against oxidative damage. However, the promising concept has faced challenges extending beyond the trial phase, whereby the implementation of these biomaterials, when exposed to an oxidative stress environment, may disrupt cell proliferation and tissue regeneration after transplantation. Therefore, thorough research should be executed to ensure a successful therapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Cellular and Biomedical Applications by Polymer-Based Materials)

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