Year: 2023
Type: editorial
Abstract: A paper from the laboratory of Dr. Candice Majewski from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Sheffield in Sheffield, United Kingdom, focused on developing antibacterial surfaces to control the spread of infectious disease (1). Specifically, the authors used a Laser Sintering Additive Manufacturing process to produce antimicrobial microcomposites by incorporating silver phosphate glass additives in polyamide 12 parts. The antimicrobial efficacy was tuned by controlling dissolution rates and silver content, and the microcomposites showed efficacy, both antifouling and bactericidal, against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.Several other manuscripts covered the development of various biomaterial systems for drug delivery applications. In a paper from the laboratory of Dr. Silviya P. Zustiak from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, MO, the team developed nanocomposite hydrogel microspheres for sustained release of small molecules (2). Specifically, the authors used a simple and scalable aqueous phase separation method to fabricate injectable polyethylene glycol microspheres impregnated with nanosilicates. Nanosilicate concentration was varied to control the release of multiple small molecules over days and weeks, while minimizing burst release. In another example, Dr. Kim A Woodrow and her team from the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, used electrospinning to produce drug-eluting fibrous biomaterials (3). In particular, the authors optimized a scalable, high-productivity free-surface electrospinning process to produce materials of uniform area density (<10% coefficient of variance) and high drug loading, and showed the simultaneous release of multiple drugs. Finally, in a paper from the laboratory of Danielle S. W. Benoit from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, the authors describe peptide functionalization of polymeric nanoparticles, again focusing on system reproducibility and tunability for efficient drug delivery (4). Specifically, the authors showed undesired intra-and intermolecular crosslinking for commonly used multi-amine peptides or carbodiimide coupling reagents. In contrast, peptidepolymer conjugates with reproducible dispersity and molecular weight were achieved by using selectively protected peptides as well as using anhydride ring-opening nucleophilic addition elimination for cyclic anhydride-containing polymers.A bioink for the 3D bioprinting of lymphoid cells is described in collaborative work by Dr. Cristina Scielzo from the Division of Experimental Oncology at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele in Milano, Italy and Dr. Silvia Fare from the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano in Milano, Italy (5). The authors used different blend formulations of alginate, gelatin, and methylcellulose and demonstrated good shape fidelity and printing accuracy. The bioink was laden with lymphoid cells isolated from patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and cultured for up to 3 weeks upon 3D bioprinting, showing good scaffold stability and mechanical properties similar to those of lymphoid tissues.Lastly, a review paper from the laboratory of Dr. Jessica O. Winter from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, explores the idea of translating knowledge from the biomedical controlled release field to agriculture applications, such as soil ecology, microbiology, horticulture, and crop sciences (6). The goal of such controlled release systems would be to address the global challenge of sustainable food production. Examples include improving targeting of agrochemicals such as nutrients and pesticides to reduce waste and cost while enabling environmental sustainability.The papers in this special issue represent a small portion of the female investigators working in the biomaterials field. However, they are a good illustration of the diversity of ideas and approaches, the breadth and depth of the work, and the objective to address global challenges such as food insecurity, infectious disease and cancer.
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,125
OpenAlex ID: W4381479978