Browsing by Subject "Viscosity"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Design of Biomembrane-Mimicking Substrates of Tunable Viscosity to Regulate Cellular Mechanoresponse
    (2012-03-20) Minner, Daniel Eugene; Naumann, Christoph A.; Long, Eric C. (Eric Charles); Suter, Daniel; Shah, Kavita
    Tissue cells display mechanosensitivity in their ability to discern and respond to changes in the viscoelastic properties of their surroundings. By anchoring and pulling, cells are capable of translating mechanical stimuli into a biological response through a process known as mechanotransduction, a pathway believed to critically impact cell adhesion, morphology and multiple cellular processes from migration to differentiation. While previous studies on polymeric gels have revealed the influence of substrate elasticity on cellular shape and function, a lack of suitable substrates (i.e. with mobile cell-substrate linkers) has hindered research on the role of substrate viscosity. This work presents the successful design and characterization of lipid-bilayer based cell substrates of tunable viscosity affecting cell-substrate linker mobility through changes in viscous drag. Here, two complementary membrane systems were employed to span a wide range of viscosity. Single polymer-tethered lipid bilayers were used to generate subtle changes in substrate viscosity while multiple, polymer-interconnected lipid bilayer stacks were capable of producing dramatic changes in substrate viscosity. The homogeneity and integrity of these novel multibilayer systems in the presence of adherent cells was confirmed using optical microscopy techniques. Profound changes in cellular growth, phenotype and cytoskeletal organization confirm the ability of cells to sense changes in viscosity. Moreover, increased migration speeds coupled with rapid area fluctuations suggest a transition to a different migration mode in response to the dramatic changes in substrate viscosity.
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    Effect of Chlorhexidine-Encapsulated Nanotube-Modified Adhesive System on the Bond Strength to Human Dentin
    (2019) Kalagi, Sara Arfan; Cook, N. Blaine; Diefenderfer, Kim; Bottino, Marco; Feitosa, Sabrina
    Introduction: The resin-dentin interface undergoes degradation by endogenous matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) after adhesive procedures. Application of several MMP inhibitors such as chlorhexidine (CHX) to the demineralized collagen dentin matrix after acid-etching has been suggested to be a successful approach to prevent degradation of the hybrid layer. Further, nanotubes (HNT) have been used as a reservoir for encapsulation and controlled delivery for several therapeutic drugs with sustained release. Therefore, HNT can be encapsulated with CHX and incorporated into dentin adhesives for the possibility of enhancing the longevity and durability of the hybrid layer. Objective: To evaluate the effect of a CHX-encapsulated nanotube-modified primer/PR and adhesive/ADH on the microtensile resin bond strength (µTBS) to dentin. Materials and Methods: A commercial adhesive and its respective primer were modified by adding CHX-encapsulated nanotubes at two distinct concentrations (10 and 20 wt.%). The experimental adhesives were evaluated by degree of conversion (DC) and viscosity. Meanwhile, only viscosity was determined for the experimental primers. The prepared HNT-encapsulated with CHX (10 and 20 wt.%) powders were incorporated into the primer and/or adhesive according to the groups: ADH (control); HNT (control); 0.2% CHX; PR+CHX10%; PR+CHX20%; ADH+CHX10%; ADH+CHX20%. Human molars were selected and autoclaved; mid-coronal dentin surfaces were exposed for bonding purposes. Dentin surfaces were etched, followed by primer and adhesive application, and restored with a resin composite. After 24 hours, the teeth were sliced into beams for µTBS testing; beams collected for each tooth were equally assigned into two testing condition groups: 24 hours and 6 months. Microtensile bond strength was tested using a universal testing machine, and the types of failure were classified as adhesive, mixed, and cohesive failure. Data from DC and viscosity tests were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. Bond strength data were analyzed by pair-wise comparisons using the Sidak method to control the overall significance level at 5% for each aging time separately. Weibull-distribution survival analysis was used to compare the differences in the microtensile bond strength results among the groups after 24 hours and 6 months. Results and Conclusion: DC analysis revealed no significant differences among adhesive groups. However, ADH group had a significantly lower viscosity than modified adhesive groups, and a significantly higher viscosity than modified primer groups. Test results of stress value (MPa) by each group for each aging time revealed no significant differences among groups after 24 hours. However, after 6-month storage, modified primer groups (PR+CHX10%, PR+CHX20%) and 0.2%CHX group showed a significant difference in µTBS compared to control groups (ADH, HNT) and modified adhesive groups (ADH+CHX10%, ADH+CHX20%) in the same aging time testing (p < 0.05). When comparing the µTBS after 24 hours and 6 months, there were no significant differences among the groups except for the ADH+CHX20% group, for which MPa values were higher after 24 hours than 6 months (p = 0.0487). In conclusion, this study has demonstrated the great potential of modified dental primers with CHX-encapsulated nanotubes in preservation of the resin-dentin bond strength over a 6-month time period. Additionally, modification of dental primers and adhesives was a successful approach that didn’t compromise the characteristics or the mechanical properties of the materials and has a promising long-term effect on resin-dentin bond strength.
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    A Modified Adhesive System for Use in Treatment of Dentin Hypersensitivity
    (2020-08) AlShehri, Aram Mushabbab; Sochacki, Sabrina Feitosa; Hara, Anderson; Platt, Jeffrey A.; Windsor, L. Jack
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    Probing osteocyte function in gelatin hydrogels with tunable viscoelasticity
    (American Chemical Society, 2021) Nguyen, Han D.; Sun, Xun; Yokota, Hiroki; Lin, Chien-Chi; Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    Bone is an attractive site for metastatic cancer cells and has been considered as "soil" for promoting tumor growth. However, accumulating evidence suggests that some bone cells (e.g., osteocytes) can actually suppress cancer cell migration and invasion via direct cell-cell contact and/or through cytokine secretion. Toward designing a biomimetic niche for supporting 3D osteocyte culture, we present here a gelatin-based hydrogel system with independently tunable matrix stiffness and viscoelasticity. In particular, we synthesized a bifunctional macromer, gelatin-norbornene-boronic acid (i.e., GelNB-BA), for covalent cross-linking with multifunctional thiol linkers [e.g., four-arm poly(ethylene glycol)-thiol or PEG4SH] to form thiol-NB hydrogels. The immobilized BA moieties in the hydrogel readily formed reversible boronate ester bonds with 1,3-diols on physically entrapped poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Adjusting the compositions of GelNB-BA, PEG4SH, and PVA afforded hydrogels with independently tunable elasticity and viscoelasticity. With this new dynamic hydrogel platform, we investigated matrix mechanics-induced growth and cytokine secretion of encapsulated MLO-A5 pre-osteocytes. We discovered that more compliant or viscoelastic gels promoted A5 cell growth. On the other hand, cells encapsulated in stiffer gels secreted higher amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Finally, conditioned media (CM) collected from the encapsulated MLO-A5 cells (i.e., A5-CM) strongly inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and expression of tumor-activating genes. This new biomimetic hydrogel platform not only serves as a versatile matrix for investigating mechano-sensing in osteocytes but also provides a means to produce powerful anti-tumor CM.