Injectable Conductive Hydrogels with Tunable Degradability as Novel Implantable Bioelectrodes.

Bioelectrodes have been developed to efficiently mediate electrical signals of biological systems as stimulators and recording devices. Recently, conductive hydrogels have garnered great attention as emerging materials for bioelectrode applications because they can permit intimate/conformal contact with living tissues and tissue-like softness. However, administration and control over the in vivo lifetime of bioelectrodes remain challenges. Here, injectable conductive hydrogels (ICHs) with tunable degradability as implantable bioelectrodes are developed. ICHs were constructed via thiol-ene reactions using poly(ethylene glycol)-tetrathiol and thiol-functionalized reduced graphene oxide with either hydrolyzable poly(ethylene glycol)-diacrylate or stable poly(ethylene glycol)-dimaleimide, the resultant hydrogels of which are degradable and nondegradable, respectively. The ICH electrodes had conductivities of 21-22 mS cm-1 and Young's moduli of 15-17 kPa, and showed excellent cell and tissue compatibility. The hydrolyzable conductive hydrogels disappeared 3 days after in vivo administration, while the stable conductive hydrogels maintained their shapes for up to 7 days. Our proof-of-concept studies reveal that electromyography signals with significantly improved sensitivity from rats could be obtained from the injected ICH electrodes compared to skin electrodes and injected nonconductive hydrogel electrodes. The ICHs, offering convenience in use, controllable degradation and excellent signal transmission, will have great potential to develop various bioelectronics devices.

Proteomic analysis of gingival tissue and alveolar bone during alveolar bone healing.

Bone tissue regeneration is orchestrated by the surrounding supporting tissues and involves the build-up of osteogenic cells, which orchestrate remodeling/healing through the expression of numerous mediators and signaling molecules. Periodontal regeneration models have proven useful for studying the interaction and communication between alveolar bone and supporting soft tissue. We applied a quantitative proteomic approach to analyze and compare proteins with altered expression in gingival soft tissue and alveolar bone following tooth extraction. For target identification and validation, hard and soft tissue were extracted from mini-pigs at the indicated times after tooth extraction. From triplicate experiments, 56 proteins in soft tissue and 27 proteins in alveolar bone were found to be differentially expressed before and after tooth extraction. The expression of 21 of those proteins was altered in both soft tissue and bone. Comparison of the activated networks in soft tissue and alveolar bone highlighted their distinct responsibilities in bone and tissue healing. Moreover, we found that there is crosstalk between identified proteins in soft tissue and alveolar bone with respect to cellular assembly, organization, and communication. Among these proteins, we examined in detail the expression patterns and associated networks of ATP5B and fibronectin 1. ATP5B is involved in nucleic acid metabolism, small molecule biochemistry, and neurological disease, and fibronectin 1 is involved in cellular assembly, organization, and maintenance. Collectively, our findings indicate that bone regeneration is accompanied by a profound interaction among networks regulating cellular resources, and they provide novel insight into the molecular mechanisms involved in the healing of periodontal tissue after tooth extraction.

Age estimation based on 3D post-mortem computed tomography images of mandible and femur using convolutional neural networks.

Age assessment has attracted increasing attention in the field of forensics. However, most existing works are laborious and requires domain-specific knowledge. Modern computing power makes it is possible to leverage massive amounts of data to produce more reliable results. Therefore, it is logical to use automated age estimation approaches to handle large datasets. In this study, a fully automated age prediction approach was proposed by assessing 3D mandible and femur scans using deep learning. A total of 814 post-mortem computed tomography scans from 619 men and 195 women, within the age range of 20-70, were collected from the National Forensic Service in South Korea. Multiple preprocessing steps were applied for each scan to normalize the image and perform intensity correction to create 3D voxels that represent these parts accurately. The accuracy of the proposed method was evaluated by 10-fold cross-validation. The initial cross-validation results illustrated the potential of the proposed method as it achieved a mean absolute error of 5.15 years with a concordance correlation coefficient of 0.80. The proposed approach is likely to be faster and potentially more reliable, which could be used for age assessment in the future.

Chemiluminescence lateral flow immunoassay based on Pt nanoparticle with peroxidase activity.

A lateral flow immunoassay (LF-immunoassay) with an enhanced sensitivity and thermostability was developed by using Pt nanoparticles with a peroxidase activity. The Pt nanoparticles were synthesized by citrate reduction method, and the peroxidase activity of Pt nanoparticles was optimized by adjusting reaction conditions. The peroxidase activity was estimated by using Michaelis-Menten kinetics model with TMB as a chromogenic substrate. The kinetics parameters of KM and Vmax were calculated and compared with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The thermal stability of the Pt nanoparticles was compared with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) according to the storage temperature and long-term storage period. The feasibility of lateral flow immunoassay with a chemiluminescent signal band was demonstrated by the detection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) as a model analyte, and the sensitivity was determined to be improved by as much as 1000-fold compared to the conventional rapid test based on colored gold-colloids.

A comparison study between periosteum and resorbable collagen membrane on iliac block bone graft resorption in the rabbit calvarium.

BACKGROUND: To compare the different resorption patterns between resorbable membrane barrier and periosteum after iliac block bone grafting radiographically and histologically. METHODS: Eighteen mature male rabbits weighing from 2.0 to 2.5 kg were used. The recipient site was the rabbit skull, and autogenous iliac bone was used as the grafting material. The harvested iliac block bones were divided in the following groups: autogenous iliac block bone with preservation of the periosteum (the periosteum group), autogenous iliac block bone covered with a resorbable collagen membrane (Biomesh®, Samyang Co, Korea) after removing the periosteum (the collagen membrane group), and autogenous iliac block bones with removal of the periosteum (the control group). In each experimental group, periosteum or resorbable collagen membrane of the donor site was fixed directed to the periosteum of the recipient site. The specimens were examined macroscopically, radiographically, histologically, and histomorphometrically at every 2, 4, and 8 weeks. RESULTS: All groups presented excellent bone graft healing state without inflammation, dehiscence, or displacement. The radiolucency increased from mild to moderate in all groups over the experiment. The mean thickness of the upper end of the cortical iliac bone graft was statistically significantly different between the control group and the periosteum group, between the four-week and eight-week control group, and between the four- week and eight-week periosteum group (p & 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that both the periosteum and the resorbable collagen membrane may help to prevent soft tissue infiltration into the bone graft and to reduce bone graft resorption compared to block graft alone.

Effect of polymer-free TiO2 stent coated with abciximab or alpha lipoic acid in porcine coronary restenosis model.

BACKGROUND: Polymer-free drug-eluting stents (DES) may overcome the shortcomings of polymer-based DES. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the polymer-free TiO2 film-coated stent with abciximab or alpha lipoic acid in a porcine coronary overstretch restenosis model. METHODS: Pigs were randomized into four groups in which the coronary arteries (24 pigs, 48 coronaries in each group) had TiO2 film-coated stent with abciximab (TCA, n = 12), TiO2 film-coated stent with alpha lipoic acid (TCALA, n = 12), biolimus A9-eluting stents with biodegradable polymer (BES, n = 12), and TiO2 film-coated stent (TCstent, n = 12). Histopathologic analysis was performed at 28 days after stenting. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the injury score and internal elastic lamina (IEL) among the four groups. There were significant differences in the lumen area, neointima area, percent area stenosis, fibrin score, and inflammation score among the four groups [2.7 ± 1.0mm(2), 2.6 ± 0.94 mm(2), 48.9 ± 16.25%, 1.0 (range 0.0-3.0), 1.0 (range 0.0-2.0) in TCA stent group vs. 2.7 ± 1.24 mm(2), 2.9 ± 0.83 mm(2), 53.5 ± 17.19%, 1.0 (range 0.0-2.0), 1.0 (range 0.0-2.0) in TCALA stent group vs. 2.7 ± 1.30 mm(2), 2.6 ± 1.06 mm(2), 50.1 ± 23.20%, 2.0 (range 1.0-3.0), 2.0 (range 1.0-3.0) in BES group vs. 1.7 ± 0.63 mm(2), 3.3 ± 0.58 mm(2), 60.2 ± 10.12%, 0.5 (range 0.0-2.0), 1.0 (range 0.0-2.0) in TC stent group, respectively]. CONCLUSION: TCA and TCALA are more effective to reduce neointimal hyperplasia compared to TC. Moreover, fibrin and inflammation scores are significantly lower in TCA and TCALA than BES in porcine coronary restenosis model.

KITENIN represents a more aggressive phenotype in a murine model of oral cavity squamous carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the tumor invasiveness and early lung metastasis associated with KITENIN in a murine model of oral cavity squamous carcinoma. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with planned data collection. SETTING: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Research Center for Gene Regulation, and Pathology, Chonnam National University Medical School and Hwasun Hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The cDNA of KITENIN and vector only were transfected into the SCC VII (murine squamous cell line) cells. The suspension of 5 x 10(5)/mL viable KITENIN- or vector-transfected SCC VII cells was injected into the floor of the mouth of C3H/HeJ syngeneic mice, deep into the mylohyoid muscle via the intraoral approach. From the first to the sixth week after injection, tumor, lung, liver, and brain tissues were obtained. RESULTS: For all groups, the tumor invaded the superficial musculature of the floor of the mouth, the deep musculature of the floor of the mouth, the salivary glands, perineural tissue, bone, and skin, sequentially. Lung metastases developed multiple focal nodular patterns at first and then became more extensive. Earlier and more aggressive tumor invasion into the deep floor of the mouth musculature, salivary glands, perineural tissue, bone, and skin was observed in the KITENIN-transfected group compared to the vector-only group. An earlier and more extensive lung metastasis was observed in the KITENIN group. CONCLUSION: An antisense KITENIN strategy might inhibit distant metastasis and the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.