Publications in August 2011

In August 58 authors and groups of authors reported about new scientific findings in the field of chitosan research.

With 20 articles in August China stands again on the top of publications. The second position is shared by the USA and India followed by South Korea.

Top Journals	Publications
Biomaterials	3
Int J Biol Macromol	3
Anal Bioanal Chem	2
Tissue Eng Part C Methods	2
Tissue Eng Part A	2
Biomacromolecules	2
Analyst	2
J Microencapsul	2
Chemistry	2
Dalton Trans	2

Table: Journals with most publications on chitosan and chitosan derivatives.

In August, a wide spectrum of articles was published varying from the therapeutic effect of chitosan on the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to effects of chitosan-oil coatings on blue mold disease of jujube fruits. Below, two articles about bone tissue engineering will be introduced.

Scaffolds based bone tissue engineering: the role of chitosan

A. R. Costa-Pinto, R. L. Reis, N. M. Neves, Tissue engineering. Part B. Reviews, 2011 Aug 2.

A consequence of rising life expectancy is a higher rise of tissue malfunction or loss of tissue by injuries. In the field of bone tissue engineering major progresses were achieved in the past. Nevertheless, therapies, such as bone grafts, still have limits. For this reason it is necessary to enlarge previous research key aspects.

Alternatively to autologous bone grafts, the research on combinations of biodegradable polymers and structures with osteogenic cells shall provide attractive possibilities in the future.

For the preparation of three-dimensional porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering natural polymers have been proposed because of their similarities with extracellular matrix, chemical versatility, good biological performance and inherent cellular interactions.

In their review Costa-Pinto, Reis and Neves turn their attention to the use of chitosan as a biomaterial for bone tissue engineering applications. The authors focus on in vitro biological performance of chitosan scaffolds and their potential to facilitate in vivo bone regeneration. Furthermore, the article gives a general overview of all needed components to create new bone tissue.

In this context, they introduce and discuss different tissue engineering strategies and models.

Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information

Preparation, characterization and antimicrobial activity of a bio-composite scaffold containing chitosan/nano-hydroxyapatite/nano-silver for bone tissue engineering

S. Saravanan, S. Nethala, S. Pattnaik, A. Tripathi, A. Moorthi, N. Selvamurugan, International journal of biological macromolecules, Vol. 49 (2): 188-93, 2011)

In this survey a bio-composite scaffold containing chitosan/nano-hydroxyapatite/nano-silver particles (CS/nHAp/nAg) has been developed. A freeze drying technique has been used, followed by introduction of silver ions. The amount of these ions has been controlled through the reduction phenomenon by the functional groups of chitosan.

The characterization of the scaffold has been accomplished using SEM, FT-IR, XRD, swelling and biodegradation studies.

The scaffolds were prepared with Gram-negative and Gram-postive bacterial strains. The testing showed antibacterial activity. The material of the scaffold turned out to be non-toxic to rat osteoprogenitor cells and to the human osteosarcoma cell line.

The results suggest that a CS/nHAp/nAg bio-composite scaffold has the potential to control implant associated bacterial infection during reconstructive bone surgery.

Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information

Source: GoPubMed