Functionalization of Polymer Materials for Medical Applications Using Aminopolysaccharide-Based Nanostructures

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 August 2022) | Viewed by 8227

Special Issue Editors

Laboratory for Characterisation and Processing of Polymers, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova Ulica 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Interests: molecular and polymer dispersions; biomolecules; biopolymers; nanomaterials; material characterization; surface functionalization; biological applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Bio-Based Systems, Graz University of Technology, Stremayrgasse 9, 8010 Graz, Austria
Interests: biomaterials; 3D bioprinting; bioengineering; bioinks developments; hydrogels; surface modification; polymer composites; nanoparticles and paper deacidification and structuring and cell growth on patterned surfaces

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of aminopolysaccharide-based nanostructures (nanolayers, nanocomposites, nanoparticles) in the functionalization of medical polymer materials has been growing for the past few decades, as the biocompatibility, biodegradability and multifunctionality of surface functionalizations are in high demand and can be provided by various native (chitosan) or derivatized (aminocellulose) aminopolysaccharides. These kinds of polysaccharides are typically monofunctional, having cationic amino groups attached to their backbone, but can also be derivatized, e.g. carboxymethylation, to have a zwitterionic-like nature, providing them multifunctionality. This allows for specific interactions with biomolecules and microorganisms. Recent findings have widened the scope of research and application of aminopolysaccharide-based nanostructures, especially in the fields of functional implant coatings and wound dressings, e.g. antibiofouling and antimicrobial nanolayers, targeted delivery, e.g. polymer-metal nanocomposites, and tissue engineering, e.g. responsive hydrogels.

This Special Issue aims to compile original and cutting-edge research works in the field of synthesis, and the characterization of aminopolysaccharide-based nanomaterials and their application as functional coatings for medical materials.

Dr. Matej Bracic
Dr. Tamilselvan Mohan
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • medical materials
  • surface functionalization
  • polymers
  • aminopolysaccharides
  • nanostructures
  • nanolayers
  • nanocomposites
  • chitosan
  • aminocellulose
  • polysaccharides

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 5218 KiB  
Article
Inhibitory Effect of pH-Responsive Nanogel Encapsulating Ginsenoside CK against Lung Cancer
by Ziyang Xue, Rongzhan Fu, Zhiguang Duan, Lei Chi, Chenhui Zhu and Daidi Fan
Polymers 2021, 13(11), 1784; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13111784 - 28 May 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2420
Abstract
Ginsenoside CK is one of the intestinal bacterial metabolites of ginsenoside prototype saponins, such as ginsenoside Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Rd. Poor water solubility and low bioavailability have limited its application. The nanogel carriers could specifically deliver hydrophobic drugs to cancer cells. Therefore, [...] Read more.
Ginsenoside CK is one of the intestinal bacterial metabolites of ginsenoside prototype saponins, such as ginsenoside Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Rd. Poor water solubility and low bioavailability have limited its application. The nanogel carriers could specifically deliver hydrophobic drugs to cancer cells. Therefore, in this study, a nanogel was constructed by the formation of Schiff base bonds between hydrazide-modified carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-NH2) and aldehyde-modified β-cyclodextrin (β-CD-CHO). A water-in-oil reverse microemulsion method was utilized to encapsulate ginsenoside CK via the hydrophobic cavity of β-CD. β-CD-CHO with a unique hydrophobic cavity carried out efficient encapsulation of CK, and the drug loading and encapsulation efficiency were 16.4% and 70.9%, respectively. The drug release of CK-loaded nanogels (CK-Ngs) in vitro was investigated in different pH environments, and the results showed that the cumulative release rate at pH 5.8 was 85.5% after 140 h. The methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) toxicity analysis indicated that the survival rates of A549 cells in CK-Ngs at 96 h was 2.98% compared to that of CK (11.34%). In vivo animal experiments exhibited that the inhibitory rates of CK-Ngs against tumor volume was 73.8%, which was higher than that of CK (66.1%). Collectively, the pH-responsive nanogel prepared herein could be considered as a potential nanocarrier for CK to improve its antitumor effects against lung cancer. Full article
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15 pages, 3394 KiB  
Article
Antibacterial Chitosan Nanofiber Thin Films with Bacitracin Zinc Salt
by Kazutaka Kumamoto, Toshinari Maeda, Satoshi Hayakawa, Nurul Asyifah Binti Mustapha, Meng-Jiy Wang and Yuki Shirosaki
Polymers 2021, 13(7), 1104; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13071104 - 30 Mar 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1917
Abstract
Chitosan nanofiber has a highly uniform structure of 20–50 nm in diameter and shows high dispersibility in water due to its submicron size and high surface-to-volume ratio. The stacked nanofibers film is useful for breathability because it has a gap with a size [...] Read more.
Chitosan nanofiber has a highly uniform structure of 20–50 nm in diameter and shows high dispersibility in water due to its submicron size and high surface-to-volume ratio. The stacked nanofibers film is useful for breathability because it has a gap with a size of several tens of nm or more. However, the chemical bonds between the nanofibers cannot be broken during use. In this study, the thin films were obtained by filtration of chitosan nanofibers and 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) mixture. The addition of GPTMS changed the wettability, mechanical property and stability in water of the thin films. Bacitracin zinc salt (BZ) has been used for the localized dermatological medicines and loaded in the films. BZ interacted electrostatically with the thin films matrix and the release of BZ was controlled by the amount of GPTMS. A higher released amount of BZ showed higher antibacterial effects toward S. aureus. The film was also tested their toxicity by L929 fibroblasts. The release of less than 11.9 μg of BZ showed antibacterial effects, but were not toxic for fibroblast cells. Full article
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15 pages, 2708 KiB  
Article
Berberine-Coated Biomimetic Composite Microspheres for Simultaneously Hemostatic and Antibacterial Performance
by Xiaojian Zhang, Kaili Dai, Chenyu Liu, Haofeng Hu, Fulin Luo, Qifan Qi, Lei Wang, Fei Ye, Jia Jin, Jie Tang and Fan Yang
Polymers 2021, 13(3), 360; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13030360 - 22 Jan 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2807
Abstract
Biomimetic microspheres containing alginate/carboxymethylcellulose/gelatin and coated with 0%, 1%, 3%, and 6% berberine (BACG, BACG-1B, BACG-3B, BACG-6B) were prepared by the oil-in-water emulsion method combined with spray drying. Through a series of physicochemical parameters and determination of hemostatic properties in vitro and in [...] Read more.
Biomimetic microspheres containing alginate/carboxymethylcellulose/gelatin and coated with 0%, 1%, 3%, and 6% berberine (BACG, BACG-1B, BACG-3B, BACG-6B) were prepared by the oil-in-water emulsion method combined with spray drying. Through a series of physicochemical parameters and determination of hemostatic properties in vitro and in vivo, the results indicated that BACG and BACG-Bs were effective in inducing platelet adhesion/aggregation and promoting the hemostatic potential due to their biomimetic structure and rough surface. In addition, BACG-6B with high berberine proportion presented better hemostatic performance compared with the commercial hemostatic agent compound microporous polysaccharide hemostatic powder (CMPHP). BACG-6B also showed strong antibacterial activity in the in vitro test. The hemolysis test and cytotoxicity evaluation further revealed that the novel composite biomaterials have good hemocompatibility and biocompatibility. Thus, BACG-6B provides a new strategy for developing a due-functional (hemostat/antibacterial) biomedical material, which may have broad and promising applications in the future. Full article
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