Sharif Digital Repository

Silk fibroin (SF) has been broadly applied in wound dressing fabrication because of its proper features for wound healing. In this work, we developed a carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/gelatin blend film with different concentrations of glycerol, and modified the optimized film with an SF layer through electrospinning process. Tensile strength and cell viability evaluation of blend films demonstrated that the glycerol content of 3% could be suitable as the substrate layer for the two-layer wound dressing. The morphology of the blend film and electrospun nanofibers was obtained from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It concluded that... 

Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in women; hence, many researches have been focused on developing effective treatment protocols. In this study, a novel nanocarrier was fabricated for gene and photothermal combination cancer therapy by conjugating histone methyltransferase complex subunit SET1 (hSET1) on reduced polydopamine coated graphene oxide nanosheets (rGO-PDA). The rGO-PDA nanocarriers provide higher near-infrared absorption and further integrating with hSET1 antisense as an anticancer gene that down-regulates the amount of hSET1 overexpressed and suppresses the proliferation of cancer cells. The nanoplatform was prepared by polymerizing of dopamine, a mussel adhesive... 

Background: This research follows some investigations through neural tissue engineering, including fabrication, surface treatment, and evaluation of novel self-stimuli conductive biocompatible and degradable nanocomposite scaffolds. Methods: Gelatin as a biobased material and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as a mechanical, electrical, and piezoelectric improvement agent were co-electrospun. In addition, polyaniline/graphene (PAG) nanoparticles were synthesized and added to gelatin solutions in different percentages to induce electrical conductivity. After obtaining optimum PAG percentage, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) treatment was applied over the best samples by different plasma variable... 

The employment of tissue engineering scaffolds in the reconstruction of the damaged bone tissues has shown remarkable promise since they significantly facilitate the healing process. Fabrication of highly porous biocompatible scaffolds with sufficient mechanical strength is still challenging. In this regard, polymers have been widely utilized to construct three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffolds due to their excellent processability and biocompatibility. However, insufficient mechanical strength and inappropriate degradation rate of the monophasic polymer scaffolds in the bone regeneration process, as the main challenges, limit their extensive clinical application. The incorporation of... 

The presence of nodules on the surface of cathode copper plates was the most important reason for the failure of the punch of mechanical clinching of copper cathode sheets. This study demonstrated a comprehensive investigation into the nodulation growth of copper cathodes in the electrorefining plant based on metallographic analysis. More than 15 random samples were selected from the top, middle, and bottom of the cathodes produced in the Khatoon Abad copper refinery, Iran. Studies were carried out based on the determination of growth modes including field oriented isolated crystal (FT), basis-oriented reproduction (BR), field-oriented texture (FT), and unoriented dispersion (UD). A scanning... 

In this study, in-silico properties of Gingerol (Gin) and Letrozole (Let), as two potential anti-cancer drugs, were investigated and some significant ADME drawbacks were predicted. Accordingly, to address the drawbacks, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were prepared, functionalized with zinc, amine, and graphene oxide (GO) (MZNG), and employed for loading and delivery of the both to breast cancer cells in-vitro. Biophysical analysis showed that Let and Gin-loaded MZNGs have spherical structure with a mean diameter of ∼210 nm. The MZNGs provided high entrapment efficiency of Let and Gin with a pH-sensitive sustained release profile. The cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that loading of... 

The most common reasons for hard-tissue implant failure are structural loosening and prosthetic infections. Hence, in this study, to overcome the first problem, different bioinspired coatings, including dual acid-etched, anodic TiO2 nanotubes array, anodic hierarchical titanium oxide (HO), micro- and nanostructured hydroxyapatite (HA) layers, and HA/chitosan (HA/CS) nanocomposite, were applied to the titanium alloy surfaces. X-ray diffraction and FTIR analysis demonstrated that the in situ HA/CS nanocomposite formed successfully. The MTT assay showed that all samples had excellent cell viability, with cell proliferation rates ranging from 120% to 150% after 10 days. The HO coating... 

Methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) are serious hazards of bone implants. The present study was aimed to use the potential synergistic effects of Melittin and tetracycline to prevent MRSA associated bone implant infection. Chitosan/bioactive glass nanoparticles/tetracycline composite coatings were deposited on hydrothermally etched titanium substrate. Melittin was then coated on composite coatings by drop casting method. The surfaces were analyzed by FTIR, XRD, and SEM instruments. Tetracycline in coatings revealed multifunctional behaviors include bone regeneration and antibacterial activity. Releasing ALP enzyme from MC3T3 cells increased by tetracycline, so it is... 

The diseases and disorders of the cornea may lead to blindness, and cornea transplantation has been an effective treatment in this regard. However, lack of cornea throughout the world makes this treatment difficult. Therefore, the first goal of the present study is to make a chitosan/gelatin hyaline film with NHS and EDC crosslinkers for transplanting the epithelial cells of the cornea. Two solutions of gelatin and chitosan were mixed homogeneously before crosslinking in ratios of 20/80, 30/70, 40/60, and 50/50 (Gel/Chi). After 24 hours, they were put in an oven to dry, then EDC and NHS were added to the mixture as crosslinker. Corneal epithelial cell morphology was assessed qualitatively... 

Fabrication of scaffolds with enhanced mechanical properties and desirable cellular compatibility is critical for numerous tissue engineering applications. This study was aimed at fabrication and characterization of a nanofiber skin substitute composed of collagen (Col)/sodium alginate (SA)/ polyethylene oxide (PEO)/Rhodotorula mucilaginosa sp. GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides (EPS) were prepared using the biaxial electrospinning technique. This study used collagen extracted from the bovine tendon as a natural scaffold, sodium alginate as an absorber of excess wound fluids, and GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides as an antioxidant. Collagen was characterized using FTIR and EDS analyses. The... 

Background: Genetic heterogeneity of a cancer tumor that develops during clonal evolution is one of the reasons for cancer treatment failure, by increasing the chance of drug resistance. Clones are cell populations with different genotypes, resulting from differences in somatic mutations that occur and accumulate during cancer development. An appropriate approach for identifying clones is determining the variant allele frequency of mutations that occurred in the tumor. Although bulk sequencing data can be used to provide that information, the frequencies are not informative enough for identifying different clones with the same prevalence and their evolutionary relationships. On the other... 

Background: Melittin, a peptide component of honey bee venom, is an appealing candidate for cancer therapy. In the current study, melittin, melittin-loaded niosome, and empty niosome had been optimized and the anticancer effect assessed in vitro on 4T1 and SKBR3 breast cell lines and in vivo on BALB/C inbred mice. "Thin-layer hydration method" was used for preparing the niosomes; different niosomal formulations of melittin were prepared and characterized in terms of morphology, size, polydispersity index, encapsulation efficiency, release kinetics, and stability. A niosome was formulated and loaded with melittin as a promising drug carrier system for chemotherapy of the breast cancer cells.... 

Stem cell treatment is promising in the various disorders treatment, but its effect is confined by the adverse conditions in the damaged tissues. The utilization of hydrogels has been suggested as a procedure to defeat this issue by developing the engraftment and survival of injected stem cells. Specifically, injectable hydrogels have drawn much attention due to their shape adaptability, ease of use, and the capability to reach body parts that are hard to access. In this study, the thermosensitive injectable hydrogels based on oxidized alginate, gelatin, and carbon nitride quantum dots (CNQDs) have been fabricated for tissue engineering. The mechanical characteristics of the nanocomposite... 

AgNPs@Chitosan and Co3O4-NPs@Chitosan were fabricated with Salvia hispanica. Results showed MZI values of 5 and 30 mm for Co3O4-NPs- and AgNPs@Chitosan against S. aureus, and 15 and 21 mm for Co3O4-NPs- and AgNPs@Chitosan against E. coli (24 h, 20 μg/mL), respectively. MTT assays showed up to 80% and 90%, 71% and 75%, and 91% and 94% mammalian cell viability for the green synthesized, chemically synthesized AgNPs and green synthesized AgNPs@Chitosan for HEK-293 and PC12 cells, respectively, and 70% and 71%, 59% and 62%, and 88% and 73% for the related Co3O4-NPs (24 h, 20 μg/mL). The photocatalytic activities showed dye degradation after 135 and 105 min for AgNPs@Chitosan and... 

This paper proposes an Age-Dependent Clustering (ADC) structure to be used for prognostics. To achieve this aim, a step-by-step methodology is introduced, that includes clustering, reproduction, mapping, and finally estimation of Remaining Useful Life (RUL). In the mapping step, a neural fitting tool is used. To clarify the age-based clustering concept, the main elements of the ADC model is discussed. A Genetic algorithm (GA) is used to find the elements of the optimal model. Lastly, the fuzzy technique is applied to modify the clustering. By investigating a case study on the health monitoring of some turbofan engines, the efficacy of the proposed method is demonstrated. The results showed... 

Background: The exact pathogenic mechanism causes hair miniaturization during androgenic alopecia (AGA) has not been delineated. Recent evidence has shown a role for non-coding regulatory RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), in skin and hair disease. There is no reported information about the role of miRNAs in hair epithelial cells of AGA. Objectives: To investigate the roles of miRNAs affecting AGA in normal and patient's epithelial hair cells. Methods: Normal follicular stem and progenitor cells, as well as follicular patient's stem cells, were sorted from hair follicles, and a miRNA q-PCR profiling to compare the expression of 748 miRNA (miRs) in sorted cells were performed. Further, we... 

Generation of reactive oxygen species, delayed blood clotting, prolonged inflammation, bacterial infection, and slow cell proliferation are the main challenges of effective wound repair. Herein, a multifunctional extracellular matrix-mimicking hydrogel is fabricated through abundant hydrogen bonding among the functional groups of gelatin and tannic acid (TA) as a green chemistry approach. The hydrogel shows adjustable physicochemical properties by altering the concentration of TA and it represents high safety features both in vitro and in vivo on fibroblasts, red blood cells, and mice organs. In addition to the merit of facile encapsulation of cell proliferation-inducing hydrophilic drugs,... 

Generation of reactive oxygen species, delayed blood clotting, prolonged inflammation, bacterial infection, and slow cell proliferation are the main challenges of effective wound repair. Herein, a multifunctional extracellular matrix-mimicking hydrogel is fabricated through abundant hydrogen bonding among the functional groups of gelatin and tannic acid (TA) as a green chemistry approach. The hydrogel shows adjustable physicochemical properties by altering the concentration of TA and it represents high safety features both in vitro and in vivo on fibroblasts, red blood cells, and mice organs. In addition to the merit of facile encapsulation of cell proliferation-inducing hydrophilic drugs,... 

In this study, fabrication of a three-dimensional porous scaffold was performed using freeze gelation method. Recently, fabrication of scaffolds using polymer blends has become common for many tissue engineering applications due to their unique tunable properties. In this work, we fabricated alginate-gelatin porous hydrogels for wound healing application using a new method based on some modifications to the freeze-gelation method. Alginate and gelatin were mixed in three different ratios and the resulting solutions underwent freeze gelation to obtain 3D porous matrices. We analyzed the samples using different characterization tests. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicated... 

Generation of reactive oxygen species, delayed blood clotting, prolonged inflammation, bacterial infection, and slow cell proliferation are the main challenges of effective wound repair. Herein, a multifunctional extracellular matrix-mimicking hydrogel is fabricated through abundant hydrogen bonding among the functional groups of gelatin and tannic acid (TA) as a green chemistry approach. The hydrogel shows adjustable physicochemical properties by altering the concentration of TA and it represents high safety features both in vitro and in vivo on fibroblasts, red blood cells, and mice organs. In addition to the merit of facile encapsulation of cell proliferation-inducing hydrophilic drugs,...