Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper, the synchronization of a pair of pacemaker cells as Sino-Atrial (SA) and Atrio-Ventricullar (AV) nodes have been studied and a new approach for synchronization, based on the concept of Phase Response Curve (PRC), has been proposed. The paper starts with presenting the necessary and sufficient conditions for synchronization in terms of the PRC parameters. Such conditions are time dependent and thus, the paper proceeds with deriving some sufficient conditions, which are not time dependent. The time-delay between the firing time of SA node and when it reaches the AV node is also considered. When the conditions for spontaneous synchronization are not valid, the synchronization is... 

Novel types of highly swelling hydrogels (superabsorbent) were prepared by grafting crosslinked poly acrylic acid-co-2-hydroxyethylmetacrylate (PAA-co-HEMA) chains onto starch through a free radical polymerization method. The effect of grafting variables (i.e., concentration of methylenebisacrylamide (MBA), acrylic acid/2-hydroxy methymetacrylate (AA/HEMA) weight ratio, ammonium persulfate (APS), starch, neutralization percent, were systematically optimized to achieve a hydrogel with a maximum swelling capacity. The superabsorbent (SAP) formation was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The controlled-release behavior of... 

Nanomedicine has seen a significant rise in the development of new research tools and clinically functional devices. In this regard, significant advances and new commercial applications are expected in the pharmaceutical and orthopedic industries. For advanced orthopedic implant technologies, appropriate nanoscale surface modifications are highly effective strategies and are widely studied in the literature for improving implant performance. It is well-established that implants with nanotubular surfaces show a drastic improvement in new bone creation and gene expression compared to implants without nanotopography. Nevertheless, the scientific and clinical understanding of mixed oxide... 

Nanomedicine has seen a significant rise in the development of new research tools and clinically functional devices. In this regard, significant advances and new commercial applications are expected in the pharmaceutical and orthopedic industries. For advanced orthopedic implant technologies, appropriate nanoscale surface modifications are highly effective strategies and are widely studied in the literature for improving implant performance. It is well-established that implants with nanotubular surfaces show a drastic improvement in new bone creation and gene expression compared to implants without nanotopography. Nevertheless, the scientific and clinical understanding of mixed oxide... 

Background: Unique properties of graphene and its derivatives make them attractive in the field of nanomedicine. However, the mass application of graphene might lead to side effects, which has not been properly addressed in previous studies, especially with regard to its effect on the cell cycle. Methods: The effect of two concentrations (100 and 200 μg/mL) of nano-and microsized graphene oxide (nGO and mGO) on apoptosis, cell cycle, and ROS generation was studied. The effect of both sizes on viability and genotoxicity of the embryonic fibroblast cell cycle was evaluated. MTT and flow cytometry were applied to evaluate the effects of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets on viability of cells.... 

Graphene/cobalt nanocomposites are promising materials for theranostic nanomedicine applications, which are defined as the ability to diagnose, provide targeted therapy and monitor the response to the therapy. In this study, the composites were synthesized via chemical method, using graphene oxide as the source material and assembling cobalt nanoparticles of 15 nm over the surface of graphene sheets. Various characterization techniques were then employed to reveal the morphology, size and structure of the nanocomposites, such as X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and... 

In this study, polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel chains were crosslinked by polyurethane in order to synthesize a suitable substrate for cartilage lesions. The substrate was fully characterized, and in vitro and in vivo investigations were conducted based on a sheep model. In vitro tests were performed based on the chondrocyte cells with the Alcian Blue and safranin O staining in order to prove the presence of proteoglycan on the surface of the synthesized substrate, which has been secreted by cultures of chondrocytes. Furthermore, the expression of collagen type I, collagen type II, aggrecan, and Sox9 was presented in the chondrocyte cultures on the synthesized substrate through RT-PCR. In... 

Animal models and traditional cell cultures are essential tools for drug development. However, these platforms can show striking discrepancies in efficacy and side effects when compared to human trials. These differences can lengthen the drug development process and even lead to drug withdrawal from the market. The establishment of preclinical drug screening platforms that have higher relevancy to physiological conditions is desirable to facilitate drug development. Here, a heart-on-a-chip platform, incorporating microgrooves and electrical pulse stimulations to recapitulate the well-aligned structure and synchronous beating of cardiomyocytes (CMs) for drug screening, is reported. Each chip... 

Background: Researchers are trying to study the mechanism of neural stem cells (NSCs) differentiation to oligodendrocyte-like cells (OLCs) as well as to enhance the selective differentiation of NSCs to oligodendrocytes. However, the limitation in nerve tissue acces-sibility to isolate the NSCs as well as their differentiation toward oligodendrocytes is still challenging. Purpose: In the present study, a hybrid polycaprolactone (PCL)-gelatin nanofiber scaffold mimicking the native extracellular matrix and axon morphology to direct the differentiation of bone marrow-derived NSCs to OLCs was introduced. Materials and Methods: In order to achieve a sustained release of T3, this factor was...