Browsing by Subject "Porosity"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Open Access
Characterization of porous, dexamethasone-releasing polyurethane coatings for glucose sensors.
(Acta Biomaterialia, 2014-11) Vallejo-Heligon, Suzana G; Klitzman, Bruce; Reichert, William M
Commercially available implantable needle-type glucose sensors for diabetes management are robust analytically but can be unreliable clinically primarily due to tissue-sensor interactions. Here, we present the physical, drug release and bioactivity characterization of tubular, porous dexamethasone (Dex)-releasing polyurethane coatings designed to attenuate local inflammation at the tissue-sensor interface. Porous polyurethane coatings were produced by the salt-leaching/gas-foaming method. Scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) showed controlled porosity and coating thickness. In vitro drug release from coatings monitored over 2 weeks presented an initial fast release followed by a slower release. Total release from coatings was highly dependent on initial drug loading amount. Functional in vitro testing of glucose sensors deployed with porous coatings against glucose standards demonstrated that highly porous coatings minimally affected signal strength and response rate. Bioactivity of the released drug was determined by monitoring Dex-mediated, dose-dependent apoptosis of human peripheral blood derived monocytes in culture. Acute animal studies were used to determine the appropriate Dex payload for the implanted porous coatings. Pilot short-term animal studies showed that Dex released from porous coatings implanted in rat subcutis attenuated the initial inflammatory response to sensor implantation. These results suggest that deploying sensors with the porous, Dex-releasing coatings is a promising strategy to improve glucose sensor performance.
Open Access
Deposition of silver nanoparticles in geochemically heterogeneous porous media: predicting affinity from surface composition analysis.
(2011) Lin, Shihong
The transport of uncoated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in a porous medium composed of silica glass beads modified with a partial coverage of iron oxide (hematite) was studied and compared to that in a porous medium composed of unmodified glass beads (GB). At a pH lower than the point of zero charge (PZC) of hematite, the affinity of AgNPs for a hematite-coated glass bead (FeO-GB) surface was significantly higher than that for an uncoated surface. There was a linear correlation between the average nanoparticle affinity for media composed of mixtures of FeO-GB and GB collectors and the relative composition of those media as quantified by the attachment efficiency over a range of mixing mass ratios of the two types of collectors, so that the average AgNPs affinity for these media is readily predicted from the mass (or surface) weighted average of affinities for each of the surface types. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to quantify the composition of the collector surface as a basis for predicting the affinity between the nanoparticles for a heterogeneous collector surface. A correlation was also observed between the local abundances of AgNPs and FeO on the collector surface.
Open Access
Heterogeneities in fullerene nanoparticle aggregates affecting reactivity, bioactivity, and transport.
(ACS Nano, 2010-09-28) Chae, So-Ryong; Badireddy, Appala R; Farner Budarz, Jeffrey; Lin, Shihong; Xiao, Yao; Therezien, Mathieu; Wiesner, Mark R
Properties of nanomaterial suspensions are typically summarized by average values for the purposes of characterizing these materials and interpreting experimental results. We show in this work that the heterogeneity in aqueous suspensions of fullerene C(60) aggregates (nC(60)) must be taken into account for the purposes of predicting nanomaterial transport, exposure, and biological activity. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), microbial inactivation, and the mobility of the aggregates of the nC(60) in a silicate porous medium all increased as suspensions were fractionated to enrich with smaller aggregates by progressive membrane filtration. These size-dependent differences are attributed to an increasing degree of hydroxylation of nC(60) aggregates with decreasing size. As the quantity and influence of these more reactive fractions may increase with time, experiments evaluating fullerene transport and toxicity end points must take into account the evolution and heterogeneity of fullerene suspensions.
Open Access
Intravital microscopy evaluation of angiogenesis and its effects on glucose sensor performance.
(J Biomed Mater Res A, 2010-06-15) Koschwanez, HE; Reichert, WM; Klitzman, B
An optical window model for the rodent dorsum was used to perform chronic and quantitative intravital microscopy and laser Doppler flowmetry of microvascular networks adjacent to functional and non-functional glucose sensors. The one-sided configuration afforded direct, real-time observation of the tissue response to bare (unmodified, smooth surface) sensors and sensors coated with porous poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA). Microvessel length density and red blood cell flux (blood perfusion) within 1 mm of the sensors were measured bi-weekly over 2 weeks. When non-functional sensors were fully implanted beneath the windows, the porous coated sensors had two-fold more vasculature and significantly higher blood perfusion than bare sensors on Day 14. When functional sensors were implanted percutaneously, as in clinical use, no differences in baseline current, neovascularization, or tissue perfusion were observed between bare and porous coated sensors. However, percutaneously implanted bare sensors had two-fold more vascularity than fully implanted bare sensors by Day 14, indicating the other factors, such as micromotion, might be stimulating angiogenesis. Despite increased angiogenesis adjacent to percutaneous sensors, modest sensor current attenuation occurred over 14 days, suggesting that factors other than angiogenesis may play a dominant role in determining sensor function.
Open Access
LOcal Void Analysis of MAP scaffolds (LOVAMAP)
(2022) Riley, Lindsay
Our lab designs hydrogel microparticles (HMPs) that are interlinked to form microporous annealed particle (MAP) scaffolds for wound healing applications. The therapeutic effects of MAP are attributed, in part, to the void space between particles that creates inherent micro-porosity through which cells can infiltrate and migrate unhindered. Cell behavior is influenced by local geometry, and our goal is to design scaffolds that influence cells toward pro-healing behaviors. To accomplish this, we need a methodology for quantitatively characterizing the void space of MAP scaffolds in order to study the relationships between internal microarchitecture and therapeutic outcomes. The work presented here is a visually-rich dissertation that covers our approach for analyzing the void space of packed particles. We use techniques from computational geometry and graph theory to develop a robust methodology for segmenting the void space into natural pockets of open space and outputting a set of descriptors that characterize the space. Our methods are developed using simulated MAP scaffolds covering a range of particle compositions, including mixed particle sizes, stiffnesses, and shapes. Our software, called LOcal Void Analysis of MAP scaffolds (LOVAMAP), has allowed us to study many aspects of void space, including global descriptors like void volume fraction, local ‘pore’ measurements of size and shape, and additional features like ligand availability, paths, isotropy/anisotropy, and available regions for unhindered migration based on size. LOVAMAP is an enabling technology that can be used for analyzing real scaffolds or studying simulated scaffolds to inform material design. It serves as a platform for void space analysis that can easily be built upon to encompass ever-growing innovations in scaffold characterization.
Open Access
Pulsating tandem microbubble for localized and directional single-cell membrane poration.
(Phys Rev Lett, 2010-08-13) Sankin, GN; Yuan, F; Zhong, P
The interaction of laser-generated tandem microbubble (maximum diameter of about 50 μm) with single (rat mammary carcinoma) cells is investigated in a 25-μm liquid layer. Antiphase and coupled oscillation of the tandem microbubble leads to the formation of alternating, directional microjets (with max microstreaming velocity of 10 m/s) and vortices (max vorticity of 350 000 s{-1}) in opposite directions. Localized and directional membrane poration (200 nm to 2 μm in pore size) can be produced by the tandem microbubble in an orientation and proximity-dependent manner, which is absent from a single oscillating microbubble of comparable size and at the same stand-off distance.
Open Access
Thermal responsive microgels as recyclable carriers to immobilize active proteins with enhanced nonaqueous biocatalytic performance.
(Chemical communications (Cambridge, England), 2013-12) Wu, Qing; Su, Teng; Mao, Yanjie; Wang, Qigang
We describe the preparation of a thermoresponsive microgel, which can non-covalently immobilize active proteins with enhanced biocatalytic performance in organic solvents and easy reusability due to the porous microstructure and temperature responsive property.