Applications In Different Biomedical Fields Research Articles

Graphene as a promising material in orthodontics: A review.

Graphene is an extraordinary material with unique mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties. Additionally, it boasts high surface area and antimicrobial properties, making it an attractive option for researchers exploring innovative materials for biomedical applications. Although there have been various studies on graphene applications in different biomedical fields, limited reviews have been conducted on its use in dentistry, and no reviews have focused on its application in the orthodontic field. This review aims to present a comprehensive overview of graphene-based materials, with an emphasis on their antibacterial mechanisms and the factors that influence these properties. Additionally, the review summarizes the dental applications of graphene, spotlighting the studies of its orthodontic application as they can be used to enhance the antibacterial and mechanical properties of orthodontic materials such as adhesives, archwires, and splints. Also, they can be utilized to enhance bone remodeling during orthodontic tooth movement. An electronic search was carried out in Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library digital database platforms using graphene and orthodontics as keywords. The search was restricted to English language publications without a time limit. This review highlights the need for further laboratory and clinical research using graphene-based materials to improve the properties of orthodontic materials to make them available for clinical use.

Green Synthesis of Sulphur Nanoparticles Using Azadirachta indica (Neem Leaf) and Its Characterization

Nanoscience has found various applications in different biomedical fields. The synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) has become a vast area of research due to its potential applications. These particles can be prepared by different chemical, physical and biological approaches. In recent years, green synthesis of NPs using plant extracts has gained much interest due to non-toxicity and very low cost of synthesis. The plant extracts act both as reducing or stabilizing agent as well as capping agent. Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) is a well-known medicinal plant and has been studied for the biosynthesis of NPs. A. indica has various phytochemicals identified that can reduce the metal ions. The bio reduction of NPs from neem extract is an eco-friendly, low cost and green synthesis method. These NPs are reported to exhibit good antimicrobial, mainly antibacterial activity. NPs was characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) for particle size, particle size distribution, poly- dispersity index, zeta potential, UV visible spectrophotometer and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) for functional characteristics. Dynamic light scattering measurements for particle size (nm) and Polydispersity Index showed that the particle size was in the range of 35-40 nm with Polydispersity Index of 0.280-0.290, it is the mid-range value and indicating that the particles were in disperse form in aqueous suspension. From the analysis, the zeta potential value was found to be (-5.77 mV), revealing the better stability of synthesized sulphur nanoparticles in aqueous suspension. The FT-IR spectrum showed characteristic absorption of wavenumber from 3384.73 cm-1 and 533.56 cm-1. The absorption spectra of UV-visible spectrophotometer in between the range of 200-800 nm.

The Potential Translational Applications of Nanoparticles in Endodontics.

Nanotechnology has substantially progressed in the past decades, giving rise to numerous possible applications in different biomedical fields. In particular, the use of nanoparticles in endodontics has generated significant interest due to their unique characteristics. As a result of their nanoscale dimensions, nanoparticles possess several properties that may enhance the treatment of endodontic infections, such as heightened antibacterial activity, increased reactivity and the capacity to be functionalized with other reactive compounds. Effective disinfection and sealing of the root canal system are the hallmarks for successful endodontic treatment. However, the presence of bacterial biofilms and resistance to endodontic disinfectants pose a significant challenge to this goal. This has encouraged the investigation of antibacterial nanoparticle-based irrigants and intracanal medicaments, which may improve the elimination of endodontic infections. In addition, photosynthesizer-functionalized nanoparticles could also serve as a worthy adjunct to root canal disinfection strategies. Furthermore, despite the myriad of commercially available options for endodontic obturation, the “ideal” material has yet to be conceived. This has led to the development of various experimental nanoparticle-incorporated obturation materials and sealers that exhibit a range of favourable physicochemical properties including enhanced antibacterial efficacy and bioactivity. Nanoparticle applications also show promise in the field of regenerative endodontics, such as supporting the release of bioactive molecules and enhancing the biophysical properties of scaffolds. Given the constantly growing body of research in this field, this article aims to present an overview of the current evidence pertaining to the potential translational applications of nanoparticles in endodontics.

Influence of fabrication methods on the microstructures and hardness of Ti-Ni, Ti-Nb and Ti-Ta for biomedical applications

Ti-based alloys namely, Ti-Ni, has been used as biomedical material due to its superior properties. However, it has been reported recently that nickel is toxic to the human body and thus alternative nickel-free alloys has been rigorously studied. The best candidate materials are Ti-Nb and Ti-Ta which are known to be biocompatible. These alloys maybe produced either via casting or through powder metallurgy route. Both production and fabrication methods produced dense and porous materials respectively which have different applications in biomedical field. This paper describes the influence of production and fabrication methods on the microstructures and hardness of nickel-free Ti-alloys, namely, Ti-Nb and Ti-Ta alloys with Ti-Ni as a reference alloy. The alloys were produced by three different methods: casting in vacuum induction furnace, compaction of powders followed by microwave sintering and compaction of powders followed by spark plasma sintering. The presence of porosity was analysed on the as cast and sintered samples by Archimedes drainage method while microstructures analysis was done using standard materials characterisation techniques such as optical and electron microscopy as well as X-ray diffractometry. Hardness test was also conducted by Vickers hardness test. It was found that the alloys with different production and fabrication methods give slight variation in the microstructures in terms of grain size and structures, porosity intensities and pore size. As-cast Ti alloys have the lowest amount of porosity and highest hardness values while Ti alloys fabricated by microwave sintering have the highest porosity content with lowest hardness values.

Biosynthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles from Tinospora cordifolia Root Extract

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles is one of the promising branches of nanotechnology for applications in different biomedical fields. In the present investigation, methanol extract of Tinospora cordifolia root were used as reducing agent. Then the silver nanoparticles are characterized using UV-Vis, SEM, XRD, TEM and FTIR spectroscopic techniques. The functional biomolecules responsible for the reduction of the silver ions and the capping of the silver nanoparticles by the plant extract Tinospora cordifolia were identified by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. The TEM analysis shows that the silver nanoparticles with an average size of 100 nm. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the particles were crystalline in nature.

NEEM (AZADIRACHTA INDICA A. JUSS) AS A SOURCE FOR GREEN SYNTHESIS OF NANOPARTICLES

Nanoscience has found various applications in different biomedical fields. The synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) has become a vast area of research due to its potential applications. These particles can be prepared by different chemical, physical, and biological approaches. In recent years, green synthesis of NPs using plant extracts has gained much interest due to non-toxicity and very low cost of synthesis. The plant extracts act both as reducing agent as well as capping agent. Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) is a well-known medicinal plant and has been studied for the biosynthesis of NPs. A. indica has various phytochemicals identified that can reduce the metal ions. The bioreduction of NPs from neem extract is an eco-friendly, low cost, and green synthesis method and these NPs are reported to exhibit good antimicrobial, mainly antibacterial, activity

Flexible Polysaccharide Hydrogel with pH‐Regulated Recovery of Self‐Healing and Mechanical Properties

AbstractA self‐healable hydrogel with recoverable self‐healing and mechanical properties is reported. The hydrogel (coded as ACSH) crosslinked by Schiff base linkage contains two polysaccharides of acrylamide‐modified chitosan (AMCS) and oxidized alginate (ADA). Self‐healing and mechanical properties are heavily influenced by the crosslinking time. The hydrogel crosslinked for 2 h possesses better mechanical and self‐healing properties than hydrogel crosslinked for 24 h. Macroscopic test shows that hydrogel without self‐healing ability can recover the self‐repair and mechanical properties by adjusting the pHs. The recovery of self‐healing and mechanical properties relies on the pH sensitivity of the Schiff base linkage. Adjusting the pH to acid, the Schiff base linkage becomes unstable and breaks. Regulating the pH to neutral, reconstruction of Schiff base linkage leads to recovery of the self‐repair and mechanical properties. The recoverable self‐healing property can be cycled once breakage and reconstruction of the Schiff base linkage can be conducted. In addition, this study demonstrates that the hydrogel can be remodeled into different shapes based on self‐healing property of the hydrogel. It is anticipated that this self‐healable hydrogel with recoverable self‐healing and mechanical properties may open a new way to investigate self‐healing hydrogel and find potential applications in different biomedical fields.

Self-healing supramolecular bioelastomers with shape memory property as a multifunctional platform for biomedical applications via modular assembly.

Mimicking native functional dynamics for traditional biomaterials such as thermoset elastomers is limited due to their lack of responsiveness to biological stimuli and difficulties to incorporate biofunctionalities. Furthermore, the mechanical fracture of traditional thermoset elastomers caused by irreversible covalent bond rupture would lead to their permanent loss of properties. To overcome these challenges, degradable self-healed supramolecular bioelastomers are designed by an elastic poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) backbone and multiple hydrogen-bonding ureido-pyrimidinone (UPy) grafts. These supramolecular elastic polymers exhibit efficient self-healing, rapid shape-memory abilities and highly tunable mechanical properties due to the dynamic supramolecular interactions, and perform a good biocompatibility invitro and a mild host response invivo. By combining modular approaches, these supramolecular bioelastomers have been further assembled into a multifunctional platform to expand their applications in different biomedical fields. These include a complex 3D scaffold with shape-memory capacity and anisotropic mechanical properties, a controllable drug delivery model via a layer-by-layer technique, a surface antibacterial composite by physical modification, and a spatial oriented cell co-culture system via incorporating different cell-laden self-healing films, demonstrating their potential as building blocks in a wide range of biomedical applications where dynamic properties and biological functions are desired.