Lipid-free fibroblast-like cells, known as dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells, can be generated from mature adipocytes with a large single lipid droplet. DFAT cells can re-establish their active proliferation ability and can transdifferentiate into various cell types under appropriate culture conditions. The first objective of this study was to compare the multilineage differentiation potential ...

Tissue engineering scaffolds with a micro- or nanoporous structure and able to deliver special drugs have already been confirmed to be effective in bone repair. In this paper, we first evaluated the biomineralization properties and drug release properties of a novel mesoporous silica-hydroxyapatite composite material (HMS-HA) which was used as drug vehicle and filler for polymer matrices. Biomi...

Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA NPs) have been considerably studied as a promising biodegradable delivery system to induce effective immune responses and to improve stability, safety, and cost effectiveness of vaccines. The study aimed at evaluating early inflammatory effects and cellular safety of PLGA NPs, co-encapsulating ovalbumin (PLGA/OVA NPs), as a model antigen and th...

Recent bioengineering strategies for peripheral nerve regeneration have been focusing on the development of alternative treatments for nerve repair. In this study, we incorporated nerve growth factor (NGF) into aligned core-shell nanofibres by coaxial electrospinning, and reeled the scaffold into aligned fibrous nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) for nerve regeneration study. This aligned PLGA/NGF...

Statins are used clinically for reduction of cholesterol synthesis to prevent cardiovascular disease. Previous in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that statins stimulate bone formation. However, orally administered statins may be degraded during first-pass metabolism in the liver. This study aimed to prevent this degradation by developing a locally administered formulation of simvastatin th...

Reprogramming of somatic cells to pluripotent cells requires the introduction of factors driving fate switches. Viral delivery has been the most efficient method for generation of induced pluripotent stem cells. Transfection, which precedes virus production, is a commonly-used process for delivery of nucleic acids into cells. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of PLGA/ bPEI nan...

Electroactive polymers have applications in tissue engineering as a physical template for cell adhesion and carry electrical signals to improve tissue regeneration. Present study demonstrated the biocompatibility and biodegradability of poly(lactide-co-glycolide)-poly(3-hexylthiophene) (PLGA-PHT) blend electrospun scaffolds in a subcutaneous rat model. The biocompatibility of PLGA-undoped PHT, ...

Dual-mode contrast agents (CAs) have great potential for improving diagnostics. However, the effectiveness of CAs is strictly related to both the solution adopted to merge the two agents into a single probe unit, and the ratio between the two agents. In this study, two dual-mode CAs for simultaneous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound imaging (UI) were assessed. For this purpose, di...

Nanoparticles in the field of dendritic cell (DC) research are emerging as a promising method of enhancing the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. We investigated the effect of branched polyethylenimine-superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (bPEI-SPIONs) on tumor cells loaded onto DCs. The tumor antigens were prepared as follows: (1) apoptotic U266 cells with ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation ...