This study focuses on developing hybrid scaffolds incorporating phytotherapeutic agents via a combination of three-dimensional (3D) printing and electrospinning to enhance mechanical properties and provide antibacterial activity, in order to address the limitations of traditional antibiotics. In this regard, 3D-printed polycaprolactone (PCL) struts are first fabricated using fused deposition modeling (FDM). Then, alkaline surface treatment is applied to improve the adhesion of electrospun nanofibers. Finally, peppermint oil (PEP) or clove oil (CLV)-incorporated PCL-gelatin (GEL) electrospun nanofibers are collected on top of the 3D-printed PCL scaffolds by electrospinning. Incorporating PEP or CLV into PCL-GEL electrospun nanofibers enhances the scaffold\'s layer detachment and adhesion force. In addition, the DPPH free radical scavenging activity assay indicates that incorporating PEP or CLV improves the antioxidant properties of the scaffolds. Further, antibacterial activity results reveal that PEP or CLV incorporated scaffolds exhibit inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. Moreover, anti-inflammatory assays show that scaffolds reduce the concentration of nitric oxide (NO) released from Raw 264.7 macrophage-like cells. On the other hand, the phytotherapeutic hierarchical scaffolds have no toxic effect on normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cells, and PEP or CLV enhance cell attachment and proliferation. Overall, incorporating natural phytotherapeutic agents into hierarchical scaffolds shows promise for advancing wound healing applications.

OBJECTIVE: Imperfect fitting of the navigation template leads to prolonged surgery time and increased blood loss. These problems have not been effectively addressed in previous research. This study explores the efficacy of a novel 5-point positioning point-contact pedicle navigation template in complex pedicle situations in scoliosis.
METHODS: This study employed a retrospective controlled design. From November 2019 to November 2023, 28 patients with scoliosis and complex pedicle were selected and underwent scoliosis correction surgery. A 5-point positioning point-contact pedicle navigation template was used intraoperatively to guide pedicle screw placement. Matched with 56 historical cases as a control group. The analysis included screw placement time, screw placement bleeding volume, fluoroscopy frequency, manual repositioning frequency, screw placement accuracy and grade, screw placement complications, and main curve correction rate. Continuous variables were compared using the independent samples t-test. Categorical data were analyzed with the chi-square test.
RESULTS: All 28 patients successfully underwent surgery, with a total of 268 pedicle screws placed. The surgery duration ranged from 220 to 410 min, with an average of (283.16 ± 51.26) min. Intraoperative blood loss ranged from 630 to 1900 mL, with an average of (902.17 ± 361.25) mL. Pedicle screw placement time ranged from 60 to 130 min, with an average of (85.24 ± 24.65) min. Pedicle screw placement bleeding volume ranged from 40 to 180 mL, with an average of (76.47 ± 42.65) mL. Fluoroscopy frequency ranged from 3 to 7 times, with an average of (4.31 ± 1.14) times. Manual repositioning frequency ranged from 0 to 2 times, with an average of (0.46 ± 0.58) times. Pedicle screw placement grades: Grade I: 237 screws; Grade II: 25 screws; Grade III: 6 screws; Grade IV: 0 screws. There were no screw-related complications. The correction rate ranged from 46% to 68%, with an average of (55.83 ± 9.22)%. Compared to the experienced screw group, the differences in screw placement time, screw placement bleeding volume, fluoroscopy procedures, and manual redirections were statistically significant (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The 5-point positioning point-contact pedicle navigation template features a claw-like structure that securely adapts to various deformed vertebral facet joints, avoiding drift phenomena and ensuring accurate screw placement. Its pointed contact structure with the lamina of the spine avoids extensive and complete detachment of posterior structures, reducing blood loss, surgery time, and trauma. Predesigned pedicle screw entry points and directions reduce fluoroscopy frequency and surgery time.

BACKGROUND: High internal phase emulsions (HIPE) are distinguished from ordinary emulsions by higher oil-phase percentage and better storage stability. Recently, HIPE stabilized with protein-based particles has received more attention. However, organic precipitation, chemical cross-linking and thermal denaturation are often needed to stabilize emulsions with natural proteins, and there is an urgent need to reduce the pollution of organic reagents.
RESULTS: HIPE loaded with β-carotene stabilized by phycocyanin was prepared under mild conditions. It demonstrated strong stability in terms of temperature and storage, as evidenced by its 94.17% retention rate and 81.06% bioavailability. This stability was ascribed to the efficient defense against heat and UV rays, which was probably associated with the oil-droplet environment and interfacial protection of phycocyanin. It is speculated that the possible main interaction site between phycocyanin and sorbitol exists near amino acids 110 to 120 of the B chain. The hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interaction between them make the phycocyanin fully adsorbed on the oil-water interface when sorbitol is stable, forming a strong oil-water structure, which increases the stability of the emulsion.
CONCLUSIONS: The outstanding fluorescence characteristics provide a feasible alternative for fluorescent emulsions to distribute and trace active compounds in vitro. HIPE loaded with β-carotene might have potential as a 3D printing material for edible functional foods. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Constructing hydrogels with spatially heterogeneous structures are crucial for unlocking novel applications. To this end, selectively removing a specific portion of hydrogels by facile and intricate destructive strategies is worth exploring. Herein, a \"contact-destructive\" hydrogel actuator is presented, composed of a dynamic hydrogel network doped with hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG). The destructive behavior of the hydrogel actuator is attributed to the surface tension-induced spreading effect and the enhanced water absorption due to the additive PEG. Parameters that act on these mechanisms are used to control the destruction of the hydrogel. During the destructive process, the hydrogel actuator exhibits locomotion routes predetermined by the graphic pattern with the aid of 3D printing. Additionally, such self-destructive behavior can be terminated by UV light irradiation when PEG is replaced with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). Significantly, diverse applications including controllable 3D structures collapse, self-erasing, and on-demand cell release, are realized with such self-destructive hydrogel. These results demonstrate that the present hydrogel has great values in soft robotics, anti-counterfeiting, controlled drug delivery, and other related fields.

High-performance sensors capable of detecting multidirectional strains are indispensable to understand the complex motions involved in flexible electronics. Conventional isotropic strain sensors can only measure uniaxial deformations or single stimuli, hindering their practical application fields. The answer to such challenge resides in the construction of engineered anisotropic sensing structures. Herein, a hierarchically aligned carbon nanofiber (CNF)/polydimethylsiloxane nanocomposite strain sensor is developed by one-step 3D printing. The precisely controlled printing path and shear flow bring about highly aligned nanocomposite filaments at macroscale and orientated CNF network within each filament at microscale. The periodically orientated nanocomposite filaments along with the inner aligned CNF network successfully control the strain distribution and the appearance of microcracks, giving rise to anisotropic structural response to external deformations. The synergetic effect of the multiscale structural design leads to distinguishable gauge factors of 164 and 0.5 for applied loadings along and transverse to the alignment direction, leading to an exceptional selectivity of 3.77. The real-world applications of the hierarchically aligned sensors in multiaxial movement detector and posture-correction device are further demonstrated. The above findings propose new ideas for manufacturing nanocomposites with engineered anisotropic structure and properties, verifying promising applications in emerging wearable electronics and soft robotics.

Drug treatment of glioblastoma, the most aggressive and widespread form of brain cancer, is complicated due to the difficulty of penetration of chemotherapeutic drugs through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Moreover, with surgical removal of tumors, in 90 % of cases they reappear near the original focus. To solve this problem, we propose to use hydrogel based on cellulose nanocrystals grafted with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (CNC-g-PNIPAM) as a promising material for filling postoperative cavities in the brain with the release of antitumor drugs. The CNC-g-PNIPAM is formed by \"grafting to\" method for precise control of molecular weight and grafting density. This colloidal system is liquid under injection conditions (at r. t.) and turns into a gel at human body temperature (when filling the postoperative area). It was shown for the first time that due to the rod-shaped of CNC, the gel has a fibrillar structure and, thus, mechanical properties similar to those of brain tissue, including nonlinear mechanics (strain-stiffening and compression softening). The biocompatibility of the hydrogel with primary brain cells is demonstrated. In addition, the release of the antitumor drug paclitaxel from the hydrogel and its antitumor activity is shown. The resulting nanocolloid system provides an innovative alternative approach to filling postoperative cavities and can be used for postoperative treatment due to the programmable release of drugs, as well as for in vitro modeling of tumor interaction with the BBB affecting drug transport in the brain.

The utilization of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is prevalent in the fabrication of oral sustained release preparations; however, there is a lack of research on 3D-printed osmotic pump tablets. A 3D-printed core-shell structure bezafibrate osmotic pump tablet was developed based on the characteristics of rapid absorption and short half-life of bezafibrate, utilizing semisolid extrusion (SSE) 3D printing technology. First, the properties of different shell materials were investigated to define the composition of the shell, and ultimately, the optimal formulation was found to be ethyl cellulose:cellulose acetate:polyethylene glycol = 2:1:2. The formulation of the tablet core was defined based on the printing performance and release behavior. The formulation consisted of bezafibrate, lactis anhydrous, sodium bicarbonate, sodium alginate, polyethylene oxide, and sodium dodecyl sulfate at a ratio of 400:400:300:80:50:50. The tablet was capable of achieving zero-order release. The physicochemical properties were also characterized. The pharmacokinetic data analysis indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters between the 3D-printed tablets and the reference listed drugs. There was a strong correlation between the in vitro and in vivo results for the 3D-printed tablets. The results showed that SSE printing is a practical approach for manufacturing osmotic pump tablets.

Zirconia and resin are the most commonly utilized materials in dental restorations. However, zirconia presents significant wear on opposing teeth, whereas resin materials have low wear resistance and mechanical performances. A zirconia-resin interpenetrating phase composite (IPC) dental restoration was designed and fabricated using 3D printing and vacuum infiltration processes, incorporating zirconia scaffolds with triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) structures. The mechanical and tribological performances of the IPCs were investigated through compressive and tribological experiments and finite element analysis, elucidating the influence of zirconia volumetric fraction. Results showed that IPCs exhibit excellent mechanical and tribological compatibilities, which can reduce the damage and wear of the antagonistic teeth. This designing and manufacturing strategy enables the IPC restorations with promising applications in dentistry.

The development of synthetic bone substitutes that equal or exceed the efficacy of autologous graft remains challenging. In this study, a rat calvarial defect model was used as a reference to investigate the influence of composition and architecture of 3D-printed cement, with or without bioactives, on tissue regeneration. Printable cement pastes were formulated by combining hyaluronic acid and cement precursors. Cementitious scaffolds were printed with 3 different patterns. After 7 weeks of implantation with or without bone marrow, multiparametric qualitative and quantitative assessments were performed using µCT, SEM, and histology. None of the set-up strategies was as efficient as autologous cancellous bone graft to repair calvarial defects. Nonetheless, the presence of scaffold improved the skull vault closure, particularly when the scaffold was soaked in total bone marrow before implantation. No significant effect of scaffold macro-architecture was observed on tissue mineralization. Magnesium phosphate-based scaffolds (MgP) seemed to induce higher bone formation than their calcium-phosphate-based counterparts. They also displayed a quicker biodegradation and sparse remaining material was found after 7 weeks of implantation. Although further improvements are required to reach clinical settings, this study demonstrated the potential of organo-mineral cements for bone regeneration and highlighted the peculiar properties of MgP-based cements.

This work presents the successful manufacture and characterization of bespoke carbon adsorbent microstructures such as tessellated (TES) or serpentine spiral grooved (SSG) by using 3D direct light printing. This is the first time stereolithographic printing has been used to exert precise control over specific micromixer designs to quantify the impact of channel structure on the removal of n-butane. Activated microstructures achieved nitrogen Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) surface areas up to 1600 m2 g-1 while maintaining uniform channel geometries. When tested with 1000 ppm n-butane at 1 L min-1, the microstructures exceeded the equilibrium loading of commercial carbon-packed beds by over 40%. Dynamic adsorption breakthrough testing using a constant Reynolds number (Re 80) shows that complex micromixer designs surpassed simpler geometries, with the SSG geometry achieving a 41% longer breakthrough time. Shorter mass transfer zones were observed in all the complex geometries, suggesting superior kinetics and carbon structure utilization as a result of the micromixer-based etched grooves and interlinked channels. Furthermore, pressure drop testing demonstrates that all microstructures had half the pressure drop of commercial carbon-packed beds. This study shows the power of leveraging 3D printing to produce optimized microstructures, providing a glimpse into the future of high-performance gas separation.