Promoting bioengineered tooth innervation using nanostructured and hybrid scaffolds.

The innervation of teeth mediated by axons originating from the trigeminal ganglia is essential for their function and protection. Immunosuppressive therapy using Cyclosporine A (CsA) was found to accelerate the innervation of transplanted tissues and particularly that of bioengineered teeth. To avoid the CsA side effects, we report in this study the preparation of CsA loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles, their embedding on polycaprolactone (PCL)-based scaffolds and their possible use as templates for the innervation of bioengineered teeth. This PCL scaffold, approved by the FDA and capable of mimicking the extracellular matrix, was obtained by electrospinning and decorated with CsA-loaded PLGA nanoparticles to allow a local sustained action of this immunosuppressive drug. Dental re-associations were co-implanted with a trigeminal ganglion on functionalized scaffolds containing PLGA and PLGA/cyclosporine in adult ICR mice during 2weeks. Histological analyses showed that the designed scaffolds did not alter the teeth development after in vivo implantation. The study of the innervation of the dental re-associations by indirect immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), showed that 88.4% of the regenerated teeth were innervated when using the CsA-loaded PLGA scaffold. The development of active implants thus allows their potential use in the context of dental engineering. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Tooth innervation is essential for their function and protection and this can be promoted in vivo using polymeric scaffolds functionalized with immunosuppressive drug-loaded nanoparticles. Immunosuppressive therapy using biodegradable nanoparticles loaded with Cyclosporine A was found to accelerate the innervation of bioengineered teeth after two weeks of implantation.

Secondary structure of proteins adsorbed onto or embedded in polyelectrolyte multilayers.

The structural changes of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and hen egg white lysozyme (HEL) upon their adsorption onto the surface or their embedding into the interior of poly(allylamine hydrochloride)-(poly(styrenesulfonate) (PAH-PSS) multilayer architectures were investigated by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The presence of the polyelectrolytes seems, as previously observed for fibrinogen (J. Phys. Chem. B 2001, 105, 11906-11916), to prevent intermolecular interactions and, thus, protein aggregation at ambient temperature. The secondary structure of the proteins was somewhat altered upon adsorption onto the polyelectrolyte multilayers. The structural changes were larger when the charges of the multilayer outer layer and the protein were opposing. The adsorption of further polyelectrolyte layers onto protein-terminated architectures (i.e., embedding the proteins into a polyelectrolyte multilayer) did not cause considerable further changes in their secondary structures. The capacity of the polyelectrolyte architectures to delay the formation of intermolecular beta-sheets upon increasing temperatures was not uniform for the studied proteins. PSS in contact with HEL could largely prevent the heat-induced aggregation of HEL. In contrast, PAH had hardly any effect on the aggregation of BSA. The differences are explained on the basis of protein-polyelectrolyte interactions, affected mostly by the nature and the strength of the ionic interactions between the polyelectrolyte-protein contact surfaces.

A persubstituted cationic beta-cyclodextrin for chiral separations.

The applications of a novel polycationic derivative of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD), heptakis(6-hydroxyethylamino-6-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin) (beta-CD-EA), as a chiral host--guest additive for the enantioseparation of various classes of chiral anionic analytes are presented. The cationic beta-CD described in this paper is persubstituted with seven ethanolamine side arms at the primary rim of each cyclodextrin (CD) molecule. It is found that the electrophoretic mobility of beta-CD-EA can be adjusted to influence the chiral selectivity by changing the pH of the background electrolyte. Most of the observed CD capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) separations of anionic drugs and herbicides were accomplished in the pH range of 4.0-7.0 with a reverse polarity configuration. At pH 5.0, enantioseparation of a mixture of three structurally related antiinflammatory agents (fenoprofen, flurbiprofen, and ibuprofen) was possible in about 30 min. However, other chiral acids, such as a series of phenoxypropionic acid herbicides and dansylated amino acids (glutamic acid and aspartic acids), were best separated at pH 6.0 or 7.0. An impressive separation of a mixture of six structurally related anionic herbicides [(+/-)-2-phenoxypropionic acid, (+/-)-2-(2-chlorophenoxy)propionic acid, (+/-)-2-(3-chlorophenoxy)propionic acid, (+/-)-2-(4-chlorophenoxy)propionic acid, (+/-)-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)propionic acid, and (+/-)-2-(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)propionic acid] was achieved for the first time in about 15 min during a single run with 20 mM beta-CD-EA. The analytical applicability of this cationic CD molecule for chiral separations is discussed in detail.