Cervical cancer can be treated by surgical resection, chemotherapy, and/or radiation. Titanium biomaterials have been suggested as a tool to help in the local delivery of chemotherapeutic agents and/or radiation to cervical cancer sites. However, current titanium medical devices used for treating cervical cancer do not by themselves possess any anticancer properties; such devices act as carriers for pharmaceutical agents or radiation sources and may even allow for the growth of cancer cells. Based on studies, which have demonstrated decreased lung, breast, and bone cancer cell functions on nanostructured compared to nanosmooth polymers, the objective of the present in vitro study was to modify titanium to possess nanotubular surface features and determine cervical cancer cell adhesion after 4 hours. Here, titanium was anodized to possess nanotubular surface features. Results demonstrated the ability to decrease cervical cancer cell adhesion by about a half on nanotubular compared to currently used nanosmooth titanium (without the use of chemotherapeutics or radiation), opening up numerous possibilities for the use of nanotubular titanium in local drug delivery or radiation treatment of cervical cancer.

Biofilms formed by antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) continue to be a problem for medical devices. Antibiotic resistant bacteria (such as S. aureus) often complicate the treatment and healing of the patient, yet, medical devices are needed to heal such patients. Therefore, methods to treat these Biofilms once formed on medical devices are badly needed. Due to their small size and magnetic properties, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) may be one possible material to penetrate Biofilms and kill or slow the growth of bacteria. In this study, SPION were functionalized with amine, carboxylate, and isocyanate functional groups to further improve their efficacy to disrupt the growth of S. aureus Biofilms. Without the use of antibiotics, results showed that SPION functionalized with carboxylate groups (followed by isocyanate then amine functional groups then unfunctionalized SPION) significantly disrupted Biofilms and retarded the growth of S. aureus compared to untreated Biofilms (by over 35% after 24 hours).

In the present study, the permeability of 11 different iron oxide nanoparticle (IONP) samples (eight fluids and three powders) was determined using an in vitro blood–brain barrier model. Importantly, the results showed that the ferrofluid formulations were statistically more permeable than the IONP powder formulations at the blood–brain barrier, suggesting a role for the presently studied in situ synthesized ferrofluid formulations using poly(vinyl) alcohol, bovine serum albumin, collagen, glutamic acid, graphene, and their combinations as materials which can cross the blood–brain barrier to deliver drugs or have other neurological therapeutic efficacy. Conversely, the results showed the least permeability across the blood–brain barrier for the IONP with collagen formulation, suggesting a role as a magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent but limiting IONP passage across the blood–brain barrier. Further analysis of the data yielded several trends of note, with little correlation between permeability and fluid zeta potential, but a larger correlation between permeability and fluid particle size (with the smaller particle sizes having larger permeability). Such results lay the foundation for simple modification of iron oxide nanoparticle formulations to either promote or inhibit passage across the blood–brain barrier, and deserve further investigation for a wide range of applications.

Bacterial infections are commonly found on paper towels and other paper products, leading to the potential spread of bacteria and consequent health concerns. The objective of this in vitro study was to introduce antibacterial properties to standard paper towel surfaces by coating them with selenium nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy was used to measure the size and distribution of the selenium coatings on the paper towels. Atomic force microscopy was used to measure the surface roughness of paper towels before and after they were coated with selenium nanoparticles. The amount of selenium precipitated on the paper towels was measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. In vitro bacterial studies with Staphylococcus aureus were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the selenium coating at inhibiting bacterial growth. Results showed that the selenium nanoparticles coated on the paper towel surface were well distributed with semispherical geometries about 50 nm in diameter. Most importantly, the selenium nanoparticle-coated paper towels inhibited S. aureus growth by 90% after 24 and 72 hours compared with the uncoated paper towels. Thus, the study showed that nanoparticle selenium-coated paper towels may lead to an increased eradication of bacteria in a wider range of clinical environments and in the food industry, thus improving human health.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) ([PLGA] 50:50 wt% PLA:PGA) films with a flat surface and with 27 nm, 190 nm, 300 nm, 400 nm, and 520 nm nanopatterns were fabricated using a cast-mold process. The nanopatterns were transferred from self-assembled polystyrene (PS) beads to PLGA films through polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molds. The surface features, root-mean- square (RMS) roughness, and wettability of these PLGA surface features were studied by atomic force microscope (AFM) height scans, AFM z-sensor scans, and water contact angles, respectively. In order to evaluate the influence of the material topography alone (without changes in chemistry) for bone-cancer applications, both human healthy osteoblasts and human cancerous osteosarcoma cells were cultured on these PLGA surface features, and their densities were determined. Most importantly, compared to all other substrates, it was found that the 27 nm PLGA nanopatterns significantly increased the healthy osteoblast-to-osteosarcoma cell-density ratio. For these reasons, and since previous studies have highlighted that similar nanometer PLGA surface features decreased functions of other types of cancerous cells (specifically lung and breast), this study suggests that 27 nm PLGA nanopatterns should be further studied for a wide range of bone-cancer applications, particularly where healthy bone-cell functions need to be promoted over cancerous bone-cell functions.

Current titanium-based implants are often anodized in sulfuric acid (H2SO4) for color coding purposes. However, a crucial parameter in selecting the material for an orthopedic implant is the degree to which it will integrate into the surrounding bone. Loosening at the bone–implant interface can cause catastrophic failure when motion occurs between the implant and the surrounding bone. Recently, a different anodization process using hydrofluoric acid has been shown to increase bone growth on commercially pure titanium and titanium alloys through the creation of nanotubes. The objective of this study was to compare, for the first time, the influence of anodizing a titanium alloy medical device in sulfuric acid for color coding purposes, as is done in the orthopedic implant industry, followed by anodizing the device in hydrofluoric acid to implement nanotubes. Specifically, Ti6Al4V model implant samples were anodized first with sulfuric acid to create color-coding features, and then with hydrofluoric acid to implement surface features to enhance osteoblast functions. The material surfaces were characterized by visual inspection, scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measurements, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Human osteoblasts were seeded onto the samples for a series of time points and were measured for adhesion and proliferation. After 1 and 2 weeks, the levels of alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium deposition were measured to assess the long-term differentiation of osteoblasts into the calcium depositing cells. The results showed that anodizing in hydrofluoric acid after anodizing in sulfuric acid partially retains color coding and creates unique surface features to increase osteoblast adhesion, proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, and calcium deposition. In this manner, this study provides a viable method to anodize an already color coded, anodized titanium alloy to potentially increase bone growth for numerous implant applications.

Background

Recent advances in nanotechnology (materials with at least one dimension between 1 nm and 100 nm) have led to the use of nanomaterials in numerous medical device applications. Recently, nanomaterials have been used to create innovative biomaterials for cardiovascular applications. Specifically, carbon nanofibers (CNF) embedded in poly(lactic-co-glycolic-acid) (PLGA) have been shown to promote cardiomyocyte growth compared with conventional polymer substrates, but the mechanisms involved in such events remain unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the basic mechanism of cell growth on these novel nanocomposites.

Methods

CNF were added to biodegradable PLGA (50:50 PGA:PLA weight ratio) to increase the conductivity, mechanical and cytocompatibility properties of pure PLGA. For this reason, different PLGA to CNF ratios (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100 wt%) with different PLGA densities (0.1, 0.05, 0.025, and 0.0125 g/mL) were used, and their compatibility with cardiomyocytes was assessed.

Results

Throughout all the cytocompatibility experiments, cardiomyocytes were viable and expressed important biomarkers, including cardiac troponin T, connexin-43, and alpha-sarcomeric actin (α-SCA). Adhesion and proliferation experiments indicated that a PLGA density of 0.025 g/mL with a PLGA to CNF ratio of 75:25 and 50:50 (wt%) promoted the best overall cell growth, ie, a 55% increase in cardiomyocyte density after 120 hours compared with pure PLGA and a 75% increase compared with the control at the same time point for 50:50 (wt%). The PLGA:CNF materials were conductive, and their conductivity increased as greater amounts of CNF were added to pure PLGA, from 0 S · m−1 for pure PLGA (100:0 wt%) to 5.5 × 10−3 S · m−1 for pure CNF (0:100 wt%), as compared with natural heart tissue (ranging from 0.16 S · m−1 longitudinally to 0.005 S · m−1 transversely). Tensile tests showed that the addition of CNF increased the tensile strength to mimic that of natural heart tissue, ie, 0.15 MPa for 100% PLGA to 5.41 MPa for the 50:50 (PLGA to CNF [wt%:wt%]) ratio at 0.025 g/mL. Atomic force microscopy indicated that the addition of CNF to PLGA increased the material surface area from 10% (100:0 [PLGA to carbon nanofiber (wt%:wt%)]) to over 60% (50:50 [PLGA to carbon nanofibers (wt%:wt%)]). Lastly, the adsorption of specific proteins (fibronectin and vitronectin) showed significantly more adsorption for the 50:50 PLGA to CNF (wt%:wt%) ratio at 0.025 g/mL PLGA compared with pure PLGA, which may be why cardiomyocyte function increased on CNF-enriched composites.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that cardiomyocyte function was enhanced on 50:50 PLGA to CNF (wt%:wt%) composite ratios at 0.025 g/mL PLGA densities because they mimicked native heart tissue tensile strength/conductivity and increased the adsorption of proteins known to promote cardiomyocyte function.

Background:

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a deadly nosocomial infection caused by contaminated endotracheal tubes. It has been shown that polyvinyl chloride (PVC, the endotracheal tube substrate) coated with elemental selenium nanoparticles reduces bacterial adherence and proliferation on PVC by over 99%. However, it is not known if selenium nanoparticles elicit a cytotoxic effect in vitro. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic effects of PVC coated with selenium nanoparticles on fibroblasts, which are mammalian cells central to endotracheal tube intubation.

Methods:

Different concentrations of selenium nanoparticles were precipitated onto the PVC surface by reduction of selenium salts using glutathione. Characterization of PVC coated with selenium nanoparticles was done by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray, and contact angle measurements. For the cytotoxicity experiments, fibroblasts were seeded at a density of 5000 cm2 onto PVC coated with three different concentrations of selenium nanoparticles (high, medium, low) and incubated for 4 hours (adhesion) as well as for 24 hours and 72 hours (proliferation). The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value was determined after 72 hours using an ultrahigh concentration. MTT assays were used to assess cell viability at the indicated time points.

Results:

The three concentrations of selenium nanoparticles did not elicit a cytotoxic effect after 72 hours (P < 0.01, n = 3). It was found that the IC50value was at the ultrahigh concentration of selenium nanoparticles. The nanoparticulate elemental selenium concentration previously shown to decrease the function of bacteria was shown not to cause a cytotoxic effect on fibroblasts in vitro.

Conclusion:

These findings demonstrate great selectivity between bacteria and healthy cells, and are a viable option for coating endotracheal tubes in order to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Gellan xanthan gels have been shown to be excellent carriers for growth factors and as matrices for several tissue engineering applications. Gellan xanthan gels along with chitosan nanoparticles of 297 ± 61 nm diameter, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7) were employed in a dual growth factor delivery system to promote the differentiation of human fetal osteoblasts. An injectable system with ionic and temperature gelation was optimized and characterized. The nanoparticle loaded gels showed significantly improved cell proliferation and differentiation due to the sustained release of growth factors. A differentiation marker study was conducted, analyzed, and compared to understand the effect of single vs dual growth factors and free vs encapsulated growth factors. Dual growth factor loaded gels showed a higher alkaline phosphatase and calcium deposition compared to single growth factor loaded gels. The results suggest that encapsulation and stabilization of growth factors within nanoparticles and gels are promising for bone regeneration. Gellan xanthan gels also showed antibacterial effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis, the common pathogens in implant failure.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a serious and costly clinical problem. Specifically, receiving mechanical ventilation for over 24 hours increases the risk of VAP and is associated with high morbidity, mortality, and medical costs. Cost-effective endotracheal tubes (ETTs) that are resistant to bacterial infections could help prevent this problem. The objective of this study was to determine differences in the growth of Staphylococcus aureus on nanomodified and unmodified polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ETTs under dynamic airway conditions simulating a ventilated patient. PVC ETTs were modified to have nanometer surface features by soaking them in Rhizopus arrhisus, a fungal lipase. Twenty-four-hour experiments (supported by computational models) showed that airflow conditions within the ETT influenced both the location and the concentration of bacterial growth on the ETTs, especially within areas of tube curvature. More importantly, experiments revealed a 1.5 log reduction in the total number of S. aureus on the novel nanomodified ETTs compared with the conventional ETTs after 24 hours of airflow. This dynamic study showed that lipase etching can create nanorough surface features on PVC ETTs that suppress S. aureus growth, and thus may provide clinicians with an effective and inexpensive tool to combat VAP.

The need for novel antibiotics comes from the relatively high incidence of bacterial infection and the growing resistance of bacteria to conventional antibiotics. Consequently, new methods for reducing bacteria activity (and associated infections) are badly needed. Nanotechnology, the use of materials with dimensions on the atomic or molecular scale, has become increasingly utilized for medical applications and is of great interest as an approach to killing or reducing the activity of numerous microorganisms. While some natural antibacterial materials, such as zinc and silver, possess greater antibacterial properties as particle size is reduced into the nanometer regime (due to the increased surface to volume ratio of a given mass of particles), the physical structure of a nanoparticle itself and the way in which it interacts with and penetrates into bacteria appears to also provide unique bactericidal mechanisms. A variety of techniques to evaluate bacteria viability, each with unique advantages and disadvantages, has been established and must be understood in order to determine the effectiveness of nanoparticles (diameter ≤100 nm) as antimicrobial agents. In addition to addressing those techniques, a review of select literature and a summary of bacteriostatic and bactericidal mechanisms are covered in this manuscript.

A significant need exists for orthopedic implants that can intrinsically resist bacterial colonization. In this study, three biomaterials that are used in spinal implants – titanium (Ti), polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK), and silicon nitride (Si3N4) – were tested to understand their respective susceptibility to bacterial infection with Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphlococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus. Specifically, the surface chemistry, wettability, and nanostructured topography of respective biomaterials, and the effects on bacterial biofilm formation, colonization, and growth were investigated. Ti and PEEK were received with as-machined surfaces; both materials are hydrophobic, with net negative surface charges. Two surface finishes of Si3N4 were examined: as-fired and polished. In contrast to Ti and PEEK, the surface of Si3N4 is hydrophilic, with a net positive charge. A decreased biofilm formation was found, as well as fewer live bacteria on both the as-fired and polished Si3N4. These differences may reflect differential surface chemistry and surface nanostructure properties between the biomaterials tested. Because protein adsorption on material surfaces affects bacterial adhesion, the adsorption of fibronectin, vitronectin, and laminin on Ti, PEEK, and Si3N4 were also examined. Significantly greater amounts of these proteins adhered to Si3N4 than to Ti or PEEK. The findings of this study suggest that surface properties of biomaterials lead to differential adsorption of physiologic proteins, and that this phenomenon could explain the observed in-vitro differences in bacterial affinity for the respective biomaterials. Intrinsic biomaterial properties as they relate to resistance to bacterial colonization may reflect a novel strategy toward designing future orthopedic implants.

One of the important prerequisites for a successful orthopedic implant apart from being osteoconductive is the elicitation of a favorable immune response that does not lead to the rejection of the implant by the host tissue. Anodization is one of the simplest surface modification processes used to create nanotextured and nanotubular features on metal oxides which has been shown to improve bone formation. Anodization of titanium (Ti) leads to the formation of TiO2 nanotubes on the surface, and the presence of these nanotubes mimics the natural nanoscale features of bone, which in turn contributes to improved bone cell attachment, migration, and proliferation. However, inflammatory cell responses on anodized Ti remains to be tested. It is hypothesized that surface roughness and surface feature size on anodized Ti can be carefully manipulated to control immune cell (specifically, macrophages) responses. Here, when Ti samples were anodized at 10 V in the presence of 1% hydrofluoric acid (HF) for 1 minute, nanotextured (nonnanotube) surfaces were created. When anodization of Ti samples was carried out with 1% HF for 10 minutes at 15 V, nanotubes with 40–50 nm diameters were formed, whereas at 20 V with 1% HF for 10 minutes, nanotubes with 60–70 nm diameters were formed. In this study, a reduced density of macrophages was observed after 24 hours of culture on nanotextured and nanotubular Ti samples which were anodized at 10, 15, and 20 V, compared with conventional unmodified Ti samples. This in vitro study thus demonstrated a reduced density of macrophages on anodized Ti, thereby providing further evidence of the greater efficacy of anodized Ti for orthopedic applications.

Staphylococcus aureus is a key bacterium commonly found in numerous infections. S. aureus infections are difficult to treat due to their biofilm formation and documented antibiotic resistance. While selenium has been used for a wide range of applications including anticancer applications, the effects of selenium nanoparticles on microorganisms remain largely unknown to date. The objective of this in vitro study was thus to examine the growth of S. aureus in the presence of selenium nanoparticles. Results of this study provided the first evidence of strongly inhibited growth of S. aureus in the presence of selenium nanoparticles after 3, 4, and 5 hours at 7.8, 15.5, and 31 μg/mL. The percentage of live bacteria also decreased in the presence of selenium nanoparticles. Therefore, this study suggests that selenium nanoparticles may be used to effectively prevent and treat S. aureus infections and thus should be further studied for such applications.

The expansion of bacterial antibiotic resistance is a growing problem today. When medical devices are inserted into the body, it becomes especially difficult for the body to clear robustly adherent antibiotic-resistant biofilm infections. In addition, concerns about the spread of bacterial genetic tolerance to antibiotics, such as that found in multiple drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), have significantly increased of late. As a growing direction in biomaterial design, nanomaterials (materials with at least one dimension less than 100 nm) may potentially prevent bacterial functions that lead to infections. As a first step in this direction, various nanoparticles have been explored for improving bacteria and biofilm penetration, generating reactive oxygen species, and killing bacteria, potentially providing a novel method for fighting infections that is nondrug related. This review article will first examine in detail the mechanisms and applications of some of these nanoparticles, then follow with some recent material designs utilizing nanotechnology that are centered on fighting medical device infections.

The present in vivo study was conducted to evaluate whether hydrophilic (HL) or hydrophobic (HP) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) impregnated with subventricular zone neural progenitor cells (SVZ NPCs) could repair damaged neural tissue following stroke. For this purpose, stroke damaged rats were transplanted with HL CNT-SVZ NPCs, HP CNT-SVZ NPCs, or SVZ NPCs alone for 1, 3, 5, and 8 weeks. Results showed that the HP CNT-SVZ NPC transplants improved rat behavior and reduced infarct cyst volume and infarct cyst area compared with the experimental control and the HL CNT-SVZ NPC and SVZ NPCs alone groups. The transplantation groups showed an increase in the expression of nestin (cell stemness marker) and proliferation which was evident with the increased number of doublecortin and bromodeoxyuridine double-stained immunopositive cells around the lesion site. But, these effects were more prominent in the HP CNT-SVZ NPC group compared with the other transplantation groups. The HP CNT-SVZ NPC and HL CNT-SVZ NPC transplants increased the number of microtubule-associated protein 2 (marker for neurons) and decreased the number of glial fibrillary acidic protein (marker for astroglial cells) positive cells within the injury epicenter. The majority of the transplanted HP CNT-SVZ NPCs collectively broadened around the ischemic injured region and the SVZ NPCs differentiated into mature neurons, attained the synapse morphology (TUJ1, synaptophysin), and decreased microglial activation (CD11b/c [OX-42]). For these reasons, this study provided the first evidence that CNTs can improve stem cell differentiation to heal stroke damage and, thus, deserve further attention.

Compared with traditional in-vitro cell culture materials, three-dimensional nanofibrous scaffolds provide a superior environment for promoting cell functions. Since nanofibrous scaffolds have nanometer pore sizes, cells are unable to penetrate on their own, so must be incorporated into the scaffold during fabrication to ensure proper cell distribution. In this study, biodegradable and cytocompatible poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanofibers were produced using an electrospinning process. As a model cell line, fibroblasts were periodically sprayed from a pump-action spray bottle onto the developing scaffold. The viability of cells before and after spraying, and also after incorporation into the scaffold, was compared. Results indicated that cell spraying and the scaffold fabrication process did not significantly reduce cell viability. These findings, thus, contribute to the understanding of how to produce more physiological relevant cell-seeded nanofibrous scaffolds, an important element for the future of nanotechnology and tissue engineering.

Background:

Consumer nanotechnology is a growing industry. Silver nanoparticles are the most common nanomaterial added to commercially available products, so understanding the influence that size has on toxicity is integral to the safe use of these new products. This study examined the influence of silver particle size on Drosophila egg development by comparing the toxicity of both nanoscale and conventional-sized silver particles.

Methods:

The toxicity assays were conducted by exposing Drosophila eggs to particle concentrations ranging from 10 ppm to 100 ppm of silver. Size, chemistry, and agglomeration of the silver particles were evaluated using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering.

Results:

This analysis confirmed individual silver particle sizes in the ranges of 20–30 nm, 100 nm, and 500–1200 nm, with similar chemistry. Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscope data also indicated agglomeration in water, with the transmission electron microscopic images showing individual particles in the correct size range, but the dynamic light scattering z-average sizes of the silver nanoparticles were 782 ± 379 nm for the 20–30 nm silver nanoparticles, 693 ± 114 nm for the 100 nm silver nanoparticles, and 508 ± 32 nm for the 500–1200 nm silver particles. Most importantly, here we show significantly more Drosophila egg toxicity when exposed to larger, nonnanometer silver particles. Upon exposure to silver nanoparticles sized 20–30 nm, Drosophila eggs did not exhibit a statistically significant (P < 0.05) decrease in their likelihood to pupate, but eggs exposed to larger silver particles (500–1200 nm) were 91% ± 18% less likely to pupate. Exposure to silver nanoparticles reduced the percentage of pupae able to emerge as adults. At 10 ppm of silver particle exposure, only 57% ± 48% of the pupae exposed to 20–30 nm silver particles became adults, whereas 89% ± 25% of the control group became adults, and 94% ± 52% and 91% ± 19% of the 500–1200 nm and 100 nm group, respectively, reached adulthood.

Conclusion:

This research provides evidence that nanoscale silver particles (<100 nm) are less toxic to Drosophila eggs than silver particles of conventional (>100 nm) size.

Materials currently used for bladder applications often suffer from incomplete coverage by urothelial cells (cells that line the interior of the bladder and ureter) which leads to the continuous exposure of the underlying materials aggravating an immune response. In particular, a ureteral (or sometimes called an ureteric or bladder) stent is a thin tube inserted into the ureter to prevent or treat obstruction of urine flow from the kidney. The main complications with ureteral stents are infection and blockage by encrustation, which can be avoided by promoting the formation of a monolayer of urothelial cells on the surface of the stent. Nanotechnology (or the use of nanomaterials) may aid in urothelialization of bladder stents since nanomaterials have been shown to have unique surface energetics to promote the adsorption of proteins important for urothelial cell adhesion and proliferation. Since many bladder stents are composed of titanium, this study investigated the attachment and spreading of human urothelial cells on different nanotextured titanium surfaces. An inexpensive and effective scaled up anodization process was used to create equally distributed nanotubular surfaces of different diameter sizes from 20–80 nm on titanium with lengths approximately 500 nm. Results showed that compared to untreated titanium stents and 80 nm diameter nanotubular titanium, 20 nm diameter nanotubular titanium stents enhanced human urothelial cell adhesion and growth up to 3 days in culture. In this manner, this study suggests that titanium anodized to possess nanotubular surface features should be further explored for bladder stent applications.

Rosette nanotubes (RNTs) are novel, biomimetic, injectable, self-assembled nanomaterials. In previous studies, materials coated with RNTs have significantly increased cell growth (eg, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and endothelial cells) due to the favorable cellular environment created by RNTs. It has also been suggested that the tubular RNT structures formed by base stacking and hydrophobic interactions can be used for drug delivery, and this possibility has not been studied to date. Here we investigated methods to load and deliver tamoxifen (TAM, a hydrophobic anticancer drug) using two different types of RNTs: single- base RNTs and twin-base RNTs. Drug-loaded RNTs were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion-ordered nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (DOSY NMR), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy at different ratios of twin-base RNTs to TAM. The results demonstrated successful incorporation of hydrophobic TAM into RNTs. Importantly, because of the hydrophilicity of the outer surface of the RNTs, TAM-loaded RNTs were dissolved in water, and thus have great potential to deliver hydrophobic drugs in various physiological environments. The results also showed that twin-base RNTs further improved TAM loading. Therefore, this study demonstrated that hydrophobic pharmaceutical agents (such as TAM), once considered hard to deliver, can be easily incorporated into RNTs for anticancer treatment purposes.

Mostly due to desirable mechanical properties (such as high durability and low wear), certain synthetic polymers (such as polyethylene) and metals (such as titanium) have found numerous applications in the medical device arena from orthopedics to the vasculature, yet frequently, they do not proactively encourage desirable cell responses. In an effort to improve the efficacy of such traditional materials for various implant applications, this study used electron beam evaporation to create nanostructured surface features that mimic those of natural tissue on polyethylene and titanium. For other materials, it has been shown that the creation of nanorough surfaces increases surface energy leading to greater select protein (such as vitronectin and fibronectin) interactions to increase specific cell adhesion. Here, osteoblast (bone forming cells) and endothelial cell (cells that line the vasculature) adhesion was determined on nanostructured compared to conventional, nano-smooth polyethylene and titanium. Results demonstrated that nanorough surfaces created by electron beam evaporation increased the adhesion of both cells markedly better than conventional smooth surfaces. In summary, this study provided evidence that electron beam evaporation can modify implant surfaces (specifically, polyethylene and titanium) to have nanostructured surface features to improve osteoblast and endothelial cell adhesion. Since the adhesion of anchorage dependent cells (such as osteoblasts and endothelial cells) is a prerequisite for their long-term functions, this study suggests that electron beam evaporation should be further studied for improving materials for various biomedical applications.

Patients on mechanical ventilators for extended periods of time often face the risk of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia. During the ventilation process, patients incapable of breathing are intubated with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) endotracheal tubes (ETTs). PVC ETTs provide surfaces where bacteria can attach and proliferate from the contaminated oropharyngeal space to the sterile bronchoalveolar area. To overcome this problem, ETTs can be coated with antimicrobial agents. However, such coatings may easily delaminate during use. Recently, it has been shown that changes in material topography at the nanometer level can provide antibacterial properties. In addition, some metabolites, such as fructose, have been found to increase the efficiency of antibiotics used to treat Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections. In this study, we combined the antibacterial effect of nanorough ETT topographies with sugar metabolites to decrease bacterial growth and biofilm formation on ETTs. We present for the first time that the presence of fructose on the nanorough surfaces decreases the number of planktonic S. aureus bacteria in the solution and biofilm formation on the surface after 24 hours. We thus envision that this method has the potential to impact the future of surface engineering of biomaterials leading to more successful clinical outcomes in terms of longer ETT lifetimes, minimized infections, and decreased antibiotic usage; all of which can decrease the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the clinical setting.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) has been widely used as a biomaterial in regenerative medicine because of its biocompatibility and biodegradability properties. Previous studies have shown that cells (such as bladder smooth muscle cells, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts) respond differently to nanostructured PLGA surfaces compared with nanosmooth surfaces. The purpose of the present in vitro research was to prepare PLGA films with various nanometer surface features and determine whether lung cancer epithelial cells respond differently to such topographies. To create nanosurface features on PLGA, different sized (190 nm, 300 nm, 400 nm, and 530 nm diameter) polystyrene beads were used to cast polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molds which were used as templates to create nanofeatured PLGA films. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images and root mean square roughness (RMS) values indicated that the intended spherical surface nanotopographies on PLGA with RMS values of 2.23, 5.03, 5.42, and 36.90 nm were formed by employing 190, 300, 400, and 530 nm beads. A solution evaporation method was also utilized to modify PLGA surface features by using 8 wt% (to obtain an AFM RMS value of 0.62 nm) and 4 wt% (to obtain an AFM RMS value of 2.23 nm) PLGA in chloroform solutions. Most importantly, lung cancer epithelial cells adhered less on the PLGA surfaces with RMS values of 0.62, 2.23, and 5.42 nm after four hours of culture compared with any other PLGA surface created here. After three days, PLGA surfaces with an RMS value of 0.62 nm had much lower cell density than any other sample. In this manner, PLGA with specific nanometer surface features may inhibit lung cancer cell density which may provide an important biomaterial for the treatment of lung cancer (from drug delivery to regenerative medicine).

In the present study, selenium (Se) nanoclusters were grown through heterogeneous nucleation on titanium (Ti) surfaces, a common orthopedic implant material. Normal healthy osteoblasts (bone-forming cells) and cancerous osteoblasts (osteosarcoma) were cultured on the Se-doped surfaces having three different coating densities. For the first time, it is shown that substrates with Se nanoclusters promote normal osteoblast proliferation and inhibit cancerous osteoblast growth in both separate (mono-culture) and coculture experiment. This study suggests that Se surface nanoclusters can be properly engineered to inhibit bone cancer growth while simultaneously promoting the growth of normal bone tissue.

In order to study the effects of iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles on Staphylococcus aureus, IO nanoparticles were synthesized via a novel matrix-mediated method using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The IO nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Further, S. aureus were grown in the presence of three different IO nanoparticle concentrations for four, 12, and 24 hours. Live/dead assays were performed and the results provide evidence that IO/PVA nanoparticles inhibited S. aureus growth at the highest concentration (3 mg/mL) at all time points.