Yttrium oxide nanoparticle loaded scaffolds with enhanced cell adhesion and vascularization for tissue engineering applications.

In situ tissue engineering is emerging as a novel approach in tissue engineering to repair damaged tissues by boosting the natural ability of the body to heal itself. This can be achieved by providing suitable signals and scaffolds that can augment cell migration, cell adhesion on the scaffolds and proliferation of endogenous cells that facilitate the repair. Lack of appropriate cell proliferation and angiogenesis are among the major issues associated with the limited success of in situ tissue engineering during in vivo studies. Exploitation of metal oxide nanoparticles such as yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nanoparticles may open new horizons in in situ tissue engineering by providing cues that facilitate cell proliferation and angiogenesis in the scaffolds. In this context, Y2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized and incorporated in polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds to enhance the cell proliferation and angiogenic properties. An optimum amount of Y2O3-containing scaffolds (1% w/w) promoted the proliferation of fibroblasts (L-929) and osteoblast-like cells (UMR-106). Results of chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay and the subcutaneous implantation studies in rats demonstrated the angiogenic potential of the scaffolds loaded with Y2O3 nanoparticles. Gene expression study demonstrated that the presence of Y2O3 in the scaffolds can upregulate the expression of cell proliferation and angiogenesis related biomolecules such as VEGF and EGFR. Obtained results demonstrated that Y2O3 nanoparticles can perform a vital role in tissue engineering scaffolds to promote cell proliferation and angiogenesis.

Electrospun polyvinyl alcohol membranes incorporated with green synthesized silver nanoparticles for wound dressing applications.

Electrospun membranes have the potential to act as an effective barrier for wounds from the external environment to prevent pathogens. In addition, materials with good antibacterial properties can effectively fight off the invading pathogens. In this paper, we report the development of a novel electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane containing biosynthesized silver nanoparticle (bAg) for wound dressing applications. Plant extract from a medicinal plant Mimosa pudica was utilized for the synthesis of bAg. Synthesized bAg were characterized by Ultraviolet-Visible (UV) Spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphology of bAg was obtained from Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and found that they were spherical in morphology with average particle size 7.63 ± 1.2 nm. bAg nanoparticles incorporated PVA membranes were characterized using several physicochemical techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. Experimental results confirmed the successful incorporation of bAg in PVA fibers. PVA nanofiber membranes incorporated with bAg showed good mechanical strength, excellent exudate uptake capacity, antibacterial activity, blood compatibility and cytocompatibility.