Nanostructured materials are ubiquitous in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biosensing applications. Nonetheless, little is known about the inflammatory response of materials differing in surface nanoarchitecture. Here we report human monocyte viability and morphology, in addition to inflammatory cytokines (IL-1alpha and B, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-alpha and gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-12, MIP-1alpha and beta), and reactive oxygen species production on several nanostructured surfaces, compared to flat surfaces of the same material. The surfaces studied were titiania nanotubes, short and long silicon oxide, and polycaprolactone nanowires. The results indicate that inflammation on titanium, polycaprolactone, and silicon oxide materials can be reduced by restructuring the surface with nanoarchitecture. Nanostructured surfaces display a reduced inflammation response compared to a respective flat control, with significant differences between titanium and nanotubular titanium. Little difference is observed in the inflammatory response between short and long nanowires of PCL and silicon oxide. All surfaces are significantly less inflammatory than the positive control, lipopolysaccharide. Additionally, we show that flat titanium is more inflammatory than silicon oxide and polycaprolactone. This study shows that nanoarchitecture can be used to reduce the inflammatory response of human monocytes in vitro.

Color gamut performance greater than 100% NTSC (1953) has been achieved using narrow-line width red and green emission from Nanosys QDEF™ stimulated by high-efficiency blue LEDs. This drop-in-solution offers high brightness and good color uniformity at a cost far lower than RGB LED LCDs or OLED systems.

A major goal of orthopedic biomaterials research is to design better surface chemistries and configurations to control behavior of bone cells such as osteoblasts. Nanostructured architecture significantly affects the response of several cell lines. In this work, nanostructured surfaces were prepared by vapor liquid solid growth of silicon nanowires from size-controlled gold colloid catalysts deposited on fused silica substrates. The lengths and surface densities of the nanowires were varied to assess the effect of these parameters on bone cell response. Osteoblasts were seeded on nanowire surfaces to investigate both short-term adhesion and proliferation and long-term functionality and matrix production. Cell adhesion and proliferation were characterized using a standard 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay and cell counting for up to 4 days of culture. The total protein content, alkaline phosphatase activity, and matrix production were quantified using standard colorimetric assays for up to 4 weeks of culture. Matrix production was also characterized by measuring surface concentrations of calcium and phosphorus using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Further, scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate osteoblast morphology on nanostructured surfaces. Over the 4-week study, the nanostructured surfaces demonstrated improved osteoblast adhesion and proliferation and increased alkaline phosphatase activity and matrix production compared to non-nanostructured control surfaces.

Quantum‐dot technology is bringing wide color gamut to LCDs, giving them a leg up on another advantage that once belonged to OLEDs.

The osteoconductive property of titanium (Ti) surfaces is important in orthopedic and dental implant devices. Surface modifications of Ti have been proposed to further improve osseointegration. In this study, three different materials, silicon (Si), silicon oxide (SiO(2)), and titanium oxide (TiO(2)), were used to construct nanofibers for surface coating of Ti alloy Ti-6Al-4 V (Ti alloy). MC3T3-E1 osteoprogenitor cells were seeded on nanofiber-coated discs and cultured for 42 days. DNA, alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and mineralization nodules were measured using PicoGreen, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and calcein blue staining to detect the attachment, proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells, respectively. The results demonstrated that the initial cell attachments on nanofiber-coated discs were significantly lower, although cell proliferation on Si and SiO(2) nanofiber-coated discs was better than on Ti alloy surfaces. TiO(2) nanofibers facilitated a higher cellular differentiation capacity than Ti alloy and tissue culture-treated polystyrene surfaces. Thus, surface modification using nanofibers of various materials can alter the attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells in vitro.