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EKREN, NAZMİ

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EKREN

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NAZMİ

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Levodopa-Loaded 3D-Printed Poly (Lactic) Acid/Chitosan Neural Tissue Scaffold as a Promising Drug Delivery System for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease
    (MDPI, 2021-11-13) ŞAHİN, ALİ; Saylam, Ezgi; Akkaya, Yigit; Ilhan, Elif; Cesur, Sumeyye; Guler, Ece; Sahin, Ali; Cam, Muhammmet Emin; Ekren, Nazmi; Oktar, Faik Nuzhet; Gunduz, Oguzhan; Ficai, Denisa; Ficai, Anton
    Parkinson's disease, the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world, develops due to decreased dopamine levels in the basal ganglia. Levodopa, a dopamine precursor used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, can be used as a drug delivery system. This study presents an approach to the use of 3D-printed levodopa-loaded neural tissue scaffolds produced with polylactic acid (PLA) and chitosan (CS) for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Surface morphology and pore sizes were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Average pore sizes of 100-200 mu m were found to be ideal for tissue engineering scaffolds, allowing cell penetration but not drastically altering the mechanical properties. It was observed that the swelling and weight loss behaviors of the scaffolds increased after the addition of CS to the PLA. Levodopa was released from the 3D-printed scaffolds in a controlled manner for 14 days, according to a Fickian diffusion mechanism. Mesenchymal stem cells (hAD-MSCs) derived from human adipose tissue were used in MTT analysis, fluorescence microscopy and SEM studies and confirmed adequate biocompatibility. Overall, the obtained results show that PLA/CS 3D-printed scaffolds have an alternative use for the levodopa delivery system for Parkinson's disease in neural tissue engineering applications.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Starch/PCL composite nanofibers by co-axial electrospinning technique for biomedical applications
    (BMC, 2017-12) OKTAR, FAİK NÜZHET; Komur, B.; Bayrak, F.; Ekren, N.; Eroglu, M. S.; Oktar, F. N.; Sinirlioglu, Z. A.; Yucel, S.; Guler, O.; Gunduz, O.
    Background: In this study, starch and polycaprolactone (PCL), composite nanofibers were fabricated by co- axial needle electrospinning technique. Processing parameters such as polymer concentration, flow rate and voltage had a marked influence on the composite fiber diameter. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical and physical properties (such as density, viscosity and electrical conductivity) of the composite fibres were evaluated. Moreover, a cell culture test was performed in order to determine their cytotoxicity for wound dressing application. Results: The effect of starch ratio in the solution on the properties and morphological structure of the fibers produced was presented. With lower starch concentration values, the fibers have greater ultimate tensile strength characteristic (mostly 4 and 5 wt%). According to SEM results, it can be figured out that the nanofibers fabricated have good spinnability and morphology. The mean diameter of the fibers is about 150 nm. According to results of cell culture study, the finding can be determined that the increase of starch in the fiber also increases the cell viability. Conclusions: Composite nanofibers of starch/ PCL have been prepared using a coaxial needle electrospinning technique. PCL was successfully encapsulated within starch. Fiber formation was observed for different ratio of starch. With several test, analysis and measurement performed, some important parameters such as quality and effectuality of each fiber obtained for wound dressing applications were discussed in detail.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    Production and characterization of elastomeric cardiac tissue-like patches for Myocardial Tissue Engineering
    (ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2020-10) EKREN, NAZMİ; Cesur, Sumeyye; Ulag, Songul; Ozak, Lara; Gumussoy, Aleyna; Arslan, Sema; Yilmaz, Betul Karademir; Ekren, Nazmi; Agirbasli, Mehmet; Kalaskar, Deepak M.; Gunduz, Oguzhan
    Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death. Damaged heart muscle is the etiology of heart failure. Heart failure is the most frequent cause of hospital and emergency room admissions. As a differentiated organ, current therapeutics and techniques can not repair or replace the damaged myocardial tissue. Myocardial tissue engineering is one of the promising treatment modalities for repairing damaged heart tissue in patients with heart failure. In this work, random Polylactic acid (PLA), Polylactic acid/Polyethylene glycol (PLA/PEG) and random and aligned Polylactic acid/Polyethylene glycol/Collagen (PLA/PEG/COL) nanofiber patches were successfully produced by the electrospinning technique. In vitro cytotoxic test (MTT), morphological (SEM), molecular interactions between the components (FT-IR), thermal analysis (DSC), tensile strength and physical analysis were carried out after production. The resulting nanofiber patches exhibited beadless and smooth structures. When the fiber diameters were examined, it was observed that the collagen doped random nanofiber patches had the lowest fiber diameter value (755 nm). Mechanical characterization results showed that aligned nanofiber patches had maximum tensile strength (5.90 MPa) values compared to PLA, PLA/PEG, and PLA/PEG/COL (random). In vitro degradation test reported that aligned patch had the highest degradation ratio. The produced patches displayed good alignment with tissue on cardiomyocyte cell morphology studies. In conclusion, newly produced patches have noticeable potential as a tissue-like cardiac patch for regeneration efforts after myocardial infarction.
  • PublicationOpen Access
    3D printed artificial cornea for corneal stromal transplantation
    (PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2020-06) ŞAHİN, ALİ; Ulag, Songul; Ilhan, Elif; Sahin, Ali; Yilmaz, Betul Karademir; Kalaskar, Deepak M.; Ekren, Nazmi; Kilic, Osman; Oktar, Faik Nuzhet; Gunduz, Oguzhan
    The aim of this study is to understand the optical, biocompatible, and mechanical properties of chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) based corneal stroma constructs using 3D printing process. Corneal stroma is tested for biocompatibility with human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs). Physico-chemical and chemical characterization of the construct was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Optical transmittance was analyzed using UV-Spectrophotometer. Results showed fabricated constructs have required shape and size. SEM images showed construct has thickness of 400 mu m. The FTIR spectra demonstrated the presence of various predicted peaks. The swelling and degradation studies of 13%(wt)PVA and 13%(wt)PVA/(1, 3, 5)%(wt)CS showed to have high swelling ratios of 7 days and degradation times of 30 days, respectively. The light transmittance values of the fabricated cornea constructs decreased with CS addition slightly. Tensile strength values decreased with increasing CS ratio, but we found to support intraocular pressure (IOP) which ranges from 12 to 22 mm-Hg. Preliminary biostability studies showed that composite constructs were compatible with hASCs even after 30 days' of degradation, showing potential for these cells to be differentiated to stroma layer in future. This study has implications for the rapid and custom fabrication of various cornea constructs for clinical applications.