Bimodal morphological analyses of native and engineered tissues

High-pressure CO2 treatment of cellulose, chitin and chitosan: A mini review and perspective

High-pressure CO2 (HPCD) technology has emerged as an environmentally sustainable approach for processing natural polymers such as cellulose, chitin, and chitosan. These polymers, valued for their abundance, biodegradability, and renewability compared to petroleum-based materials, provide a promising foundation for green technologies when combined with HPCD. In this mini review, we begin with an overview of the sources and structures of cellulose, chitin, and chitosan, followed by a discussion of the principles of HPCD and its functionality and role in treating these natural polymers. We then review representative examples of HPCD-treated cellulose, chitin, and chitosan, highlighting various applications, including those in biomedical engineering, environmental remediation, and other fields. Finally, we address current challenges, unresolved issues, and offer perspectives on the future opportunities for HPCD-treated cellulose, chitin, chitosan, and their relevant natural resources.

Production and Application of Polymer Foams Employing Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Polymeric foams have characteristics that make them attractive for different applications. However, some foaming methods rely on chemicals that are not environmentally friendly. One of the possibilities to tackle the environmental issue is to utilize supercritical carbon dioxide ScCO2 since it is a “green” solvent, thus facilitating a sustainable method of producing foams. ScCO2 is nontoxic, chemically inert, and soluble in molten plastic. It can act as a plasticizer, decreasing the viscosity of polymers according to temperature and pressure. Most foam processes can benefit from ScCO2 since the methods rely on nucleation, growth, and expansion mechanisms. Process considerations such as pretreatment, temperature, pressure, pressure drop, and diffusion time are relevant parameters for foaming. Other variables such as additives, fillers, and chain extenders also play a role in the foaming process. This review highlights the morphology, performance, and features of the foam produced with ScCO2, considering relevant aspects of replacing or introducing a novel foam. Recent findings related to foaming assisted by ScCO2 and how processing parameters influence the foam product are addressed. In addition, we discuss possible applications where foams have significant benefits. This review shows the recent progress and possibilities of ScCO2 in processing polymer foams.

A human preadipocyte cell strain with multipotent differentiation capability as an in vitro model for adipogenesis

Murine 3T3 cell lines constitute a standard model system for in vitro study of mammalian adipogenesis although they do not faithfully reflect the biology of the human adipose cells. Several human adipose cell lines and strains have been used to recapitulate human adipogenesis in vitro, but to date there is no generally accepted in vitro model for human adipogenesis. We obtained a clonal strain of human subcutaneous adipose stromal cells, IPI-SA3-C4, and characterized its utility as an in vitro model for human subcutaneous adipogenesis. IPI-SA3-C4 cells showed a high proliferative potential for at least 30 serial passages, reached 70 cumulative population doublings and exhibited a population doubling time of 47 h and colony forming efficiency of 12% at the 57th cumulative population doublings. IPI-SA3-C4 cells remained diploid (46XY) even at the 56th cumulative population doublings and expressed the pluripotency markers POU5F1, NANOG, KLF4, and MYC even at 50th cumulative population doublings. Under specific culture conditions, IPI-SA3-C4 cells displayed cellular hallmarks and molecular markers of adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic lineages and showed adipogenic capacity even at the 66th cumulative population doublings. These characteristics show IPI-SA3-C4 cells as a promising potential model for human subcutaneous adipogenesis in vitro.

Fabrication of bimodal open-porous poly (butylene succinate)/cellulose nanocrystals composite scaffolds for tissue engineering application

The design of porous tissue engineering scaffold with multiscale open-pore architecture (i.e., bimodal structure) promotes cell attachment and growth, which facilitates nutrient and oxygen diffusion. In this study, a porous poly (butylene succinate) (PBS)/cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) composite scaffold with a well-defined controllable bimodal open-pore interconnected structure was successfully fabricated. The bimodal open-porous scaffold architecture was designed by synergistic control of temperature variation and a two-step depressurization in a supercritical carbon dioxide (Sc-CO₂) foaming process. The microstructure and properties of the bimodal open-porous PBS/CNCs scaffold, such as morphology, open porosity, hydrophilic and degradation performance, and mechanical compression properties, were analyzed. In the experiments, the scaffold with unimodal pore structure was used for comparison. The results showed that the bimodal open-porous PBS5 scaffold displayed a well-defined bimodal open-pore structure composed of large pore (~68.9 μm in diameter) and small pore (~11.0 μm in diameter), with a high open porosity (~95.2%). In addition, the scaffolds exhibited good mechanical compressive properties (compressive strength of 2.76 MPa at 50% strain), hydrophilicity (water contact angle of 71.7 °C) and in vitro degradation rate. Moreover, in vitro biocompatibility was determined with NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells using MTT assay and live/dead cell viability assay. Results indicated that the obtained bimodal open-porous scaffolds had a good biocompatibility and the viability of cells grown on the scaffolds reached up to 98% after 7th day of culture. Therefore, our work provides new insights into the use of biodegradable polymeric composite scaffolds with bimodal open-pore structure and balanced properties in tissue engineering.