Dual Loading of Trans-Cinnamaldehyde and Either Paclitaxel or Curcumin in Chitosan Nanoparticles: Physicochemical Characterization and Biological Evaluation Against MDCK and HeLa Cells.

Biopolymer chitosan sub-micron particles (CSMPs) were prepared by the ionic gelation technique crosslinked with sodium tripolyphosphate co-loaded with trans-cinnamaldehyde (TCIN), and either curcumin (CUR) or paclitaxel (PTX). The size of the spherical CSMPs increased from 118 nm to 136 nm and 170 nm after the loading of TCIN and CUR, whereas the loading of PTX led to a slight decrease (114 nm). Polydispersity indexes of all the samples were smaller than 0.

How octopus arm muscle contractile properties and anatomical organization contribute to arm functional specialization.

Octopus arms are highly flexible structures capable of complex motions and are used in a wide repertoire of behaviors. Movements are generated by the coordinated summation of innervation signals to packed arrays of muscles oriented in different directions and moving based on their anatomical relationships. In this study, we investigated the interplay between muscle biomechanics and anatomical organization in the Octopus vulgaris arm to elucidate their role in different arm movements.

Protocol for controlled behavioral testing of octopuses using a single-arm tactile discrimination two-choice task.

Due to their unique body, standard behavioral testing protocols are often hard to apply to octopuses. Our protocol enables controlled behavioral testing of the sensory systems in single arms while allowing observation of the arm motion. The protocol allows the researcher to exclude the sense of vision without surgical manipulation and selectively test peripheral sensory input-derived learning and motor behavior.

Beyond muscles: role of intramuscular connective tissue elasticity and passive stiffness in octopus arm muscle function.

The octopus arm is a 'one of a kind' muscular hydrostat, as demonstrated by its high maneuverability and complexity of motions. It is composed of a complex array of muscles and intramuscular connective tissue, allowing force and shape production. In this study, we investigated the organization of the intramuscular elastic fibers in two main muscles composing the arm bulk: the longitudinal (L) and the transverse (T) muscles.

Toward Mechanochromic Soft Material-Based Visual Feedback for Electronics-Free Surgical Effectors.

A chromogenically reversible, mechanochromic pressure sensor is integrated into a mininvasive surgical grasper compatible with the da Vinci robotic surgical system. The sensorized effector, also featuring two soft-material jaws, encompasses a mechanochromic polymeric inset doped with functionalized spiropyran (SP) molecule, designed to activate mechanochromism at a chosen pressure and providing a reversible color change. Considering such tools are systematically in the visual field of the operator during surgery, color change of the mechanochromic effector can help avoid tissue damage.

Conditions for the emergence of circumnutations in plant roots.

The plant root system shows remarkably complex behaviors driven by environmental cues and internal dynamics, whose interplay remains largely unknown. A notable example is circumnutation growth movements, which are growth oscillations from side to side of the root apex. Here we describe a model capable of replicating root growth behaviors, which we used to analyze the role of circumnuntations, revealing their emergence I) under gravitropic stress, as a combination of signal propagation and sensitivity to the signal carriers; II) as a result of the interplay between gravitropic and thigmotropic responses; and III) as a behavioral strategy to detect and react to resource gradients.

Toxicity and remediation of pharmaceuticals and pesticides using metal oxides and carbon nanomaterials.

The worldwide development of agriculture and industry has resulted in contamination of water bodies by pharmaceuticals, pesticides and other xenobiotics. Even at trace levels of few micrograms per liter in waters, these contaminants induce public health and environmental issues, thus calling for efficient removal methods such as adsorption. Recent adsorption techniques for wastewater treatment involve metal oxide compounds, e.

Direct transfer of zinc between plants is channelled by common mycorrhizal network of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and evidenced by changes in expression of zinc transporter genes in fungus and plant.

The role that common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) play in plant-to-plant transfer of zinc (Zn) has not yet been investigated, despite the proved functions of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in crop Zn acquisition. Here, two autotrophic Medicago truncatula plants were linked by a CMN formed by Rhizophagus irregularis. Plants were grown in vitro in physically separated compartments (Donor-C and Receiver-C) and their connection ensured only by CMN.

Transcriptional Regulation of Genes Involved in Zinc Uptake, Sequestration and Redistribution Following Foliar Zinc Application to .

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient for plants and animals, and Zn deficiency is a widespread problem for agricultural production. Although many studies have been performed on biofortification of staple crops with Zn, few studies have focused on forages. Here, the molecular mechanisms of Zn transport in alfalfa ( L.

All-Polymer Printed Low-Cost Regenerative Nerve Cuff Electrodes.

Neural regeneration after lesions is still limited by several factors and new technologies are developed to address this issue. Here, we present and test in animal models a new regenerative nerve cuff electrode (RnCE). It is based on a novel low-cost fabrication strategy, called "Print and Shrink", which combines the inkjet printing of a conducting polymer with a heat-shrinkable polymer substrate for the development of a bioelectronic interface.

Organic Electronics Picks Up the Pace: Mask-Less, Solution Processed Organic Transistors Operating at 160 MHz.

Organic printed electronics has proven its potential as an essential enabler for applications related to healthcare, entertainment, energy, and distributed intelligent objects. The possibility of exploiting solution-based and direct-writing production schemes further boosts the benefits offered by such technology, facilitating the implementation of cheap, conformable, bio-compatible electronic applications. The result shown in this work challenges the widespread assumption that such class of electronic devices is relegated to low-frequency operation, owing to the limited charge mobility of the materials and to the low spatial resolution achievable with conventional printing techniques.

Toward the Use of Temporary Tattoo Electrodes for Impedancemetric Respiration Monitoring and Other Electrophysiological Recordings on Skin.

The development of dry, ultra-conformable and unperceivable temporary tattoo electrodes (TTEs), based on the ink-jet printing of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) on top of commercially available temporary tattoo paper, has gained increasing attention as a new and promising technology for electrophysiological recordings on skin. In this work, we present a TTEs epidermal sensor for real time monitoring of respiration through transthoracic impedance measurements, exploiting a new design, based on the application of soft screen printed Ag ink and magnetic interlink, that guarantees a repositionable, long-term stable and robust interconnection of TTEs with external "docking" devices. The efficiency of the TTE and the proposed interconnection strategy under stretching (up to 10%) and over time (up to 96 h) has been verified on a dedicated experimental setup and on humans, fulfilling the proposed specific application of transthoracic impedance measurements.

The Bio-Engineering Approach for Plant Investigations and Growing Robots. A Mini-Review.

It has been 10 years since the publication of the first article looking at plants as a biomechatronic system and as model for robotics. Now, roboticists have started to look at plants differently and consider them as a model in the field of bioinspired robotics. Despite plants have been seen traditionally as passive entities, in reality they are able to grow, move, sense, and communicate.

Thermally Switchable Electrically Conductive Thermoset rGO/PK Self-Healing Composites.

Among smart materials, self-healing is one of the most studied properties. A self-healing polymer can repair the cracks that occurred in the structure of the material. Polyketones, which are high-performance thermoplastic polymers, are a suitable material for a self-healing mechanism: a furanic pendant moiety can be introduced into the backbone and used as a diene for a temperature reversible Diels-Alder reaction with bismaleimide.

Hydrogen-doped viscoplastic liquid metal microparticles for stretchable printed metal lines.

Conductive and stretchable electrodes that can be printed directly on a stretchable substrate have drawn extensive attention for wearable electronics and electronic skins. Printable inks that contain liquid metal are strong candidates for these applications, but the insulating oxide skin that forms around the liquid metal particles limits their conductivity. This study reveals that hydrogen doping introduced by ultrasonication in the presence of aliphatic polymers makes the oxide skin highly conductive and deformable.

Chitosan microparticles as entrapment system for trans- cinnamaldehyde: Synthesis, drug loading, and in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation.

The ionic gelation method was used to study the effect of the crosslinking agent, sodium tripolyphosphate on average particle size (Dp) and zeta potential (ζp) of chitosan microparticles (CSMP) unloaded and loaded with trans-cinnamaldehyde (TCIN). The obtained values of Dp and ζp trend as 117.6 ± 0.

Mechanochromic LLDPE Films Doped with NIR Reflective Paliogen Black.

The perylene bisimide derivative Paliogen Black (P-black) is proposed as a new chromogenic probe that shows visible (vis) and near-infrared (NIR) responses after mechanical solicitations of host linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) films. P-black is reported to display strong absorption in the vis spectrum and unusual reflective and cooling features in the NIR region. Uniaxial deformation of the 2.

Autonomic perspiration in 3D-printed hydrogel actuators.

In both biological and engineered systems, functioning at peak power output for prolonged periods of time requires thermoregulation. Here, we report a soft hydrogel-based actuator that can maintain stable body temperatures via autonomic perspiration. Using multimaterial stereolithography, we three-dimensionally print finger-like fluidic elastomer actuators having a poly--isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAm) body capped with a microporous (~200 micrometers) polyacrylamide (PAAm) dorsal layer.

A vision for future bioinspired and biohybrid robots.

Bioinspired and biohybrid robots can help respond to diverse, sustainable application needs.

Light-assisted electrospinning monitoring for soft polymeric nanofibers.

A real-time tool to monitor the electrospinning process is fundamental to improve the reproducibility and quality of the resulting nanofibers. Hereby, a novel optical system integrated through coaxial needle is proposed as monitoring tool for electrospinning process. An optical fiber (OF) is inserted in the inner needle, while the external needle is used to feed the polymeric solution (PEO/water) drawn by the process.

A protein-coated micro-sucker patch inspired by octopus for adhesion in wet conditions.

In medical robotics, micromanipulation becomes particularly challenging in the presence of blood and secretions. Nature offers many examples of adhesion strategies, which can be divided into two macro-categories: morphological adjustments and chemical adaptations. This paper analyzes how two successful specializations from different marine animals can converge into a single biomedical device usable in moist environments.

Use of Peripheral Sensory Information for Central Nervous Control of Arm Movement by Octopus vulgaris.

Octopuses are active predators with highly flexible bodies and rich behavioral repertoires [1-3]. They display advanced cognitive abilities, and the size of their large nervous system rivals that of many mammals. However, only one third of the neurons constitute the CNS, while the rest are located in an elaborate PNS, including eight arms, each containing myriad sensory receptors of various modalities [2-4].

pH-Responsive Polyketone/5,10,15,20-Tetrakis-(Sulfonatophenyl)Porphyrin Supramolecular Submicron Colloidal Structures.

In this work, we prepared color-changing colloids by using the electrostatic self-assembly approach. The supramolecular structures are composed of a pH-responsive polymeric surfactant and the water-soluble porphyrin 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS). The pH-responsive surfactant polymer was achieved by the chemical modification of an alternating aliphatic polyketone (PK) via the Paal-Knorr reaction with N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine (HEDA).

The Diversity of Muscles and Their Regenerative Potential across Animals.

Cells with contractile functions are present in almost all metazoans, and so are the related processes of muscle homeostasis and regeneration. Regeneration itself is a complex process unevenly spread across metazoans that ranges from full-body regeneration to partial reconstruction of damaged organs or body tissues, including muscles. The cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in regenerative processes can be homologous, co-opted, and/or evolved independently.