Nanoengineering the surface of corneal implants: towards functional anti-microbial and biofilm materials

Abstract

A rapid and precise route to graft a nano-bactericidal barrier is reported.

Nanoengineered Sprayable Therapy for Treating Myocardial Infarction

“…Our group and others have explored the surface modification of colloidal nanostructures as a cost-effective route for developing functional materials used in diverse purposes ranging from catalysis to biomedical engineering. ,− Among the available low molecular weight molecules, using peptides as functional structures for nanosurface engineering presents several advantages, particularly when considering the flexibility that peptide synthesis has achieved during the last 10 years, and especially for large-scale production. Our team reported the use of multiarmed peptide-based structures for the stabilization of nanosilver .…”

“…Thus, electroconductive biomatrices prepared using supramolecular aligned structures have gained much attention for heart repair. ,, For example, the development of a number of hybrid composite materials with enhanced electroconductive properties have been reported, including synthetic polymers, − collagen-nanofibers containing nanosilver, collagen-based nanosilver and nanogold injectable matrices, nanotube-based composites, ,, carbon nanofibers, − graphene and graphene oxide surface modified materials, − and nanogold containing materials. ,, However, metal nanoparticles such as silver and copper have demonstrated poor stability under physiological conditions, leading to toxicity. , Some reports indicate that spherical nanogold with diameters smaller than 20 nm are not toxic in vitro and in vivo. In addition to the nanoparticle size and/or shape, the surface composition of nanomaterials, meaning the capping agent, also plays a key role in dictating nanoparticle stability and ultimately its toxicity. ,,− ,,,− Also, for the in vivo evaluation of gold toxicity, single-dose therapies for other applications have used standard dosages of several mg/kg. ,, In our work, we used 240 ng of gold delivered per treatment, which is the equivalent of 2.4 μg/kg, and in terms of body mass of the animal, far below the dosage evaluated for other AuNP therapies reported in the literature. Further, using our nanoengineered peptide-based approach allows for superior retention of such a small quantity of gold to remain on the target heart muscle tissue.…”