Work

Isothermal microcalorimetry for scaffold design and characterization: Assessing bacterial and host cell interactions and physicochemical stability

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Scaffolds used in regenerative medicine are increasingly expected to address personalization, bioactivity, and sustainability, underscoring the need for characterization methods that reliably predict safety and efficacy. Isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC) offers a highly sensitive, label-free, real-time measurement of heat flow from energy-generating or -consuming process at scaffold interfaces. By monitoring microbial activity, host cell metabolism, material stability, and responses to environmental or therapeutic factors, IMC provides physiologically relevant insight into scaffold performance over extended periods. Its non-destructive, low-preparation, and passive nature preserves samples for complementary analyses, making it a versatile yet underutilized tool in biomedical research. This review introduces IMC for scaffold design and characterization, emphasizing its capacity to evaluate vulnerability to biofilm formation and the effectiveness of anti-biofilm strategies. It further explores applications in tracking scaffold formation, assessing host cell-material interactions and tissue development, and probing the antitumor potential of engineered scaffolds. The review concludes with a perspective on IMC's role in advancing scaffold translation within the evolving regulatory landscape shaped by the FDA Modernization Acts 2.0 and 3.0. • IMC characterizes interfacial events predictive of biomaterials performance after implantation. • IMC remains a powerful yet overlooked technique in healthcare material development. • IMC supports non-destructive assessment of scaffold safety, stability, and bioactivity. • IMC tracks antimicrobial coatings and biofilm risks in real time with high sensitivity. • IMC aligns with non-animal testing strategies in biomedical research.

Source: Advances in Colloid and Interface Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2025.103681

Authors: Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo, Angel Concheiro

Institutions: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago

Language: English

Topic: thermodynamics and calorimetric analyses

Subfield: Physical and Theoretical Chemistry

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $5,150