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Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer-Based Materials for Biomedical Engineering

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomaterials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2022) | Viewed by 19002

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Giovanni Vozzi

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Guest Editor

Research Center "E. Piaggio", Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Interests: bioengineering; biomedical engineering; tissue engineering; microfabrication; bioreactors for tissue culture; microactuators fabrication
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomaterials are widely intended as materials that are engineered to make them suitable for interactions with a biological system. Critical requirements for a biomaterial are biocompatibility—the ability of a material to function with an appropriate host response in a specific application—and biodegradability—the ability of a material to degrade in a biological system over a predetermined period in order to achieve/help a particular function.

In the last 50 years, the development of a wide diversity of biocompatible and biodegradable polymers for biomedical applications, from both natural and synthetic sources, has advanced remarkably, enabling significant breakthroughs in biomedical engineering.

Because their impact in biomedical applications has been enormous and because the day-to-day demand of new biocompatible and biodegradable polymers for biomedical applications that meet more demanding requirements is constantly growing, this Special Issue invites scientists working at universities, research institutes, laboratories, and industries to discuss state-of-the-art research, current developments, and new challenges in the field of biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric materials for biomedical applications.

In this Special Issue “Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer-Based Materials for Biomedical Engineering”, we welcome full articles, short communications, or reviews to present ideas (or challenges and possible future research) regarding all aspects of biocompatible and biodegradable polymeric materials, including theirs synthesis, characterization, modification/functionalization, processing techniques, and in vitro and in vivo material characterization for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, temporary implants, wound healing, and drug delivery and medical devices.

The following topics are within the scope of this Special Issue:

Biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric materials for tissue engineering;
Biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric materials for bioprinting;
Biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric materials for drug delivery systems;
Biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric materials for gene therapy;
Biodegradable and biocompatible and polymeric materials for medical devices
Innovative processing techniques for biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric materials;
New biodegradable and biocompatible polymers from renewable resources for biomedical applications.

It is our pleasure to invite submissions for this Special Issue in Materials.

Prof. Giovanni Vozzi
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. Materials 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 2600 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

Biodegradable polymers
Biocompatible polymers
Biomedical applications
Biomaterials
Renewable biomaterials
Tissue engineering
Regenerative medicine
Biofabrication and Bioprinting

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 3958 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

3D Printing in Alginic Acid Bath of In-Situ Crosslinked Collagen Composite Scaffolds

by Priscila Melo, Giorgia Montalbano, Sonia Fiorilli and Chiara Vitale-Brovarone

Materials 2021, 14(21), 6720; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14216720 - 08 Nov 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2501

Abstract

Bone-tissue regeneration is a growing field, where nanostructured-bioactive materials are designed to replicate the natural properties of the target tissue, and then are processed with technologies such as 3D printing, into constructs that mimic its natural architecture. Type I bovine collagen formulations, containing functional nanoparticles (enriched with therapeutic ions or biomolecules) or nanohydroxyapatite, are considered highly promising, and can be printed using support baths. These baths ensure an accurate deposition of the material, nonetheless their full removal post-printing can be difficult, in addition to undesired reactions with the crosslinking agents often used to improve the final structural integrity of the scaffolds. Such issues lead to partial collapse of the printed constructs and loss of geometrical definition. To overcome these limitations, this work presents a new alternative approach, which consists of adding a suitable concentration of crosslinking agent to the printing formulations to promote the in-situ crosslinking of the constructs prior to the removal of the support bath. To this aim, genipin, chosen as crosslinking agent, was added (0.1 wt.%) to collagen-based biomaterial inks (containing either 38 wt.% mesoporous bioactive glasses or 65 wt.% nanohydroxyapatite), to trigger the crosslinking of collagen and improve the stability of the 3D printed scaffolds in the post-processing step. Moreover, to support the material deposition, a 15 wt.% alginic acid solution was used as a bath, which proved to sustain the printed structures and was also easily removable, allowing for the stable processing of high-resolution geometries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer-Based Materials for Biomedical Engineering)

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16 pages, 3018 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pectin as Rheology Modifier of a Gelatin-Based Biomaterial Ink

by Anna Lapomarda, Elena Pulidori, Giorgia Cerqueni, Irene Chiesa, Matteo De Blasi, Mike Alexander Geven, Francesca Montemurro, Celia Duce, Monica Mattioli-Belmonte, Maria Rosaria Tiné, Giovanni Vozzi and Carmelo De Maria

Materials 2021, 14(11), 3109; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14113109 - 05 Jun 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3612

Abstract

Gelatin is a natural biopolymer extensively used for tissue engineering applications due to its similarities to the native extracellular matrix. However, the rheological properties of gelatin formulations are not ideal for extrusion-based bioprinting. In this work, we present an approach to improve gelatin bioprinting performances by using pectin as a rheology modifier of gelatin and (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) as a gelatin–pectin crosslinking agent. The preparation of gelatin–pectin formulations is initially optimized to obtain homogenous gelatin–pectin gels. Since the use of GPTMS requires a drying step to induce the completion of the crosslinking reaction, microporous gelatin–pectin–GPTMS sponges are produced through freeze-drying, and the intrinsic properties of gelatin–pectin–GPTMS networks (e.g., porosity, pore size, degree of swelling, compressive modulus, and cell adhesion) are investigated. Subsequently, rheological investigations together with bioprinting assessments demonstrate the key role of pectin in increasing the viscosity and the yield stress of low viscous gelatin solutions. Water stable, three-dimensional, and self-supporting gelatin–pectin–GPTMS scaffolds with interconnected micro- and macroporosity are successfully obtained by combining extrusion-based bioprinting and freeze-drying. The proposed biofabrication approach does not require any additional temperature controller to further modulate the rheological properties of gelatin solutions and it could furthermore be extended to improve the bioprintability of other biopolymers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer-Based Materials for Biomedical Engineering)

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12 pages, 2355 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Poly-Epsilon-Lysine Hydrogels with Dynamic Crosslinking Facilitates Cell Proliferation

by Nestor Lopez Mora, Matthew Owens, Sara Schmidt, Andreia F. Silva and Mark Bradley

Materials 2020, 13(17), 3851; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13173851 - 01 Sep 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3251

Abstract

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a three-dimensional network within which fundamental cell processes such as cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation occur driven by its inherent biological and structural cues. Hydrogels have been used as biomaterials as they possess many of the ECM characteristics that control cellular processes. However, the permanent crosslinking often found in hydrogels fails to recapitulate the dynamic nature of the natural ECM. This not only hinders natural cellular migration but must also limit cellular expansion and growth. Moreover, there is an increased interest in the use of new biopolymers to create biomimetic materials that can be used for biomedical applications. Here we report on the natural polymer poly-ε-lysine in forming dynamic hydrogels via reversible imine bond formation, with cell attachment promoted by arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) incorporation. Together, the mechanical properties and cell behavior of the dynamic hydrogels with low poly-ε-lysine quantities indicated good cell viability and high metabolic activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer-Based Materials for Biomedical Engineering)

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13 pages, 4316 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Leachable Poly(Trimethylene Carbonate)/CaCO₃ Composites for Additive Manufacturing of Microporous Vascular Structures

by Zhengchao Guo, Dirk Grijpma and André Poot

Materials 2020, 13(15), 3435; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13153435 - 04 Aug 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2361

Abstract

The aim of this work was to fabricate microporous poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) vascular structures by stereolithography (SLA) for applications in tissue engineering and organ models. Leachable CaCO₃ particles with an average size of 0.56 μm were used as porogens. Composites of photocrosslinkable PTMC and CaCO₃ particles were cast on glass plates, crosslinked by ultraviolet light treatment and leached in watery HCl solutions. In order to obtain interconnected pore structures, the PTMC/CaCO₃ composites had to contain at least 30 vol % CaCO₃. Leached PTMC films had porosities ranging from 33% to 71% and a pore size of around 0.5 μm. The mechanical properties of the microporous PTMC films matched with those of natural blood vessels. Resins based on PTMC/CaCO₃ composites with 45 vol % CaCO₃ particles were formulated and successfully used to build vascular structures of various shapes and sizes by SLA. The intrinsic permeabilities of the microporous PTMC films and vascular structures were at least one order of magnitude higher than reported for the extracellular matrix, indicating no mass transfer limitations in the case of cell seeding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer-Based Materials for Biomedical Engineering)

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12 pages, 6598 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tunable Release of Curcumin with an In Silico-Supported Approach from Mixtures of Highly Porous PLGA Microparticles

by Concetta Di Natale, Valentina Onesto, Elena Lagreca, Raffaele Vecchione and Paolo Antonio Netti

Materials 2020, 13(8), 1807; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13081807 - 11 Apr 2020

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2942

Abstract

In recent years, drug delivery systems have become some of the main topics within the biomedical field. In this scenario, polymeric microparticles (MPs) are often used as carriers to improve drug stability and drug pharmacokinetics in agreement with this kind of treatment. To avoid a mere and time-consuming empirical approach for the optimization of the pharmacokinetics of an MP-based formulation, here, we propose a simple predictive in silico-supported approach. As an example, in this study, we report the ability to predict and tune the release of curcumin (CUR), used as a model drug, from a designed combination of different poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) MPs kinds. In detail, all CUR–PLGA MPs were synthesized by double emulsion technique and their chemical–physical properties were characterized by Mastersizer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, for all the MPs, CUR encapsulation efficiency and kinetic release were investigated through the UV–vis spectroscopy. This approach, based on the combination of in silico and experimental methods, could be a promising platform in several biomedical applications such as vaccinations, cancer-treatment, diabetes therapy and so on. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer-Based Materials for Biomedical Engineering)

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Review

Jump to: Research

20 pages, 1135 KiB

Open AccessReview

Chitosan and Hydroxyapatite Based Biomaterials to Circumvent Periprosthetic Joint Infections

by Ana Rita Costa-Pinto, Ana Luísa Lemos, Freni Kekhasharú Tavaria and Manuela Pintado

Materials 2021, 14(4), 804; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14040804 - 08 Feb 2021

Cited by 53 | Viewed by 3598

Abstract

Every year, worldwide, millions of people suffering from joint pain undergo joint replacement. For most patients, joint arthroplasty reduces pain and improve function, though a small fraction will experience implant failure. One of the main reasons includes prosthetic joint infection (PJI), involving the prosthesis and adjacent tissues. Few microorganisms (MO) are required to inoculate the implant, resulting in the formation of a biofilm on its surface. Standard treatment includes not only removal of the infected prosthesis but also the elimination of necrotic bone fragments, local and/or systemic administration of antibiotics, and revision arthroplasty with a new prosthesis, immediately after the infection is cleared. Therefore, an alternative to the conventional therapeutics would be the incorporation of natural antimicrobial compounds into the prosthesis. Chitosan (Ch) is a potential valuable biomaterial presenting properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, low immunogenicity, wound healing ability, antimicrobial activity, and anti-inflammatory potential. Regarding its antimicrobial activity, Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as fungi are highly susceptible to chitosan. Calcium phosphate (CaP)-based materials are commonly utilized in orthopedic and dentistry for their excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity, particularly in the establishment of cohesive bone bonding that yields effective and rapid osteointegration. At present, the majority of CaP-based materials are synthetic, which conducts to the depletion of the natural resources of phosphorous in the future due to the extensive use of phosphate. CaP in the form of hydroxyapatite (HAp) may be extracted from natural sources as fish bones or scales, which are by-products of the fish food industry. Thus, this review aims to enlighten the fundamental characteristics of Ch and HAp biomaterials which makes them attractive to PJI prevention and bone regeneration, summarizing relevant studies with these biomaterials to the field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradable and Biocompatible Polymer-Based Materials for Biomedical Engineering)

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