Bioactive chitosan biguanidine-based injectable hydrogels as a novel BMP-2 and VEGF carrier for osteogenesis of dental pulp stem cells.

Nowadays, vascularization and mineralization of bone defects is the main bottleneck in the bone regeneration field that is needed to be overcome and developed. Here, we prepared novel in-situ formed injectable hydrogels based on chitosan biguanidine and carboxymethylcellulose loaded with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and recombinant Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) and studied its influence on osteoblastic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). The sequential release behavior of the VEGF and BMP-2 from hydrogels adjusted with the pattern of normal human bone growth. MTT assay exhibited that these hydrogels were non-toxic and significantly increased DPSCs proliferation. The Real-time PCR and Western blot analysis on CG11/BMP2-VEGF showed significantly higher gene and protein expression of ALP, COL1α1, and OCN. These results were confirmed by mineralization assay by Alizarin Red staining and Alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity. Based on these evaluations, these hydrogel holds potential as an injectable bone tissue engineering platform.

Purification for Carbon Nanotubes Synthesized by Flame Fragments Deposition via Hydrogen Peroxide and Acetone.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are synthesized by the flame fragment deposition (FFD) technique using Iraqi liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a source of carbon in a hand-made reactor at a low temperature (160 °C) without using a catalyst. Purification of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is carried out using a two-step process consisting of sonication in 30 wt.% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution at room temperature to remove amorphous impurities adhering to the walls of the CNTs and carbon nanoparticles (CNPs), followed by sonication in an acetone bath to remove the polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) formed during the LPG gas burning. Comprehensive characterizations such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were conducted to verify the efficiency of the purification process. The results clearly demonstrated that this process is promising for the purification of the synthesized CNTs.

Sonochemical/hydration-dehydration synthesis of Pt-TiO2 NPs/decorated carbon nanotubes with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity.

Modified Pt-TiO2 NPs/decorated carbon nanotubes were synthesized utilizing sonochemical/hydration-dehydration techniques. Pt was loaded on TiO2 by a photodeposition method keeping in mind the end goal to achieve electron-hole pair separation and promote the surface reaction. The morphological and basic properties of Pt-TiO2/fCNTs were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns of Pt-TiO2/fCNTs were obtained utilizing TEM-based energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) analysis. It was found that the TiO2 nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the fCNTs, and the Pt particles were decorated on the surface of TiO2/fCNTs. The photocatalytic hydrogen production activity of the Pt(0.5%)-TiO2/fCNTs(0.5%) nanoparticle composites was investigated using a sacrificial agent methanol solution. Pt-loaded TiO2 demonstrated a hydrogen evolution rate around 20 times that of TiO2/fCNTs(0.5%) (fSWCNTs, fMWCNTs). When compared with platinized TiO2 in methanol, which was utilized as a control material, Pt-TiO2/fCNTs demonstrated an almost 2-fold increment in hydrogen generation.