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Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Tailoring Material Properties Of Cardiac Matrix Hydrogels To Induce Endothelial Differentiation Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Megan Jeffords, Jinglei Wu, Michey Shah, Yi Hong, Ge Zhang Sep 2015

Tailoring Material Properties Of Cardiac Matrix Hydrogels To Induce Endothelial Differentiation Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Megan Jeffords, Jinglei Wu, Michey Shah, Yi Hong, Ge Zhang

Ge Zhang

Cardiac matrix hydrogel has shown great promise as an injectable biomaterial due to the possession of cardiac-specific extracellular matrix composition. A cardiac matrix hydrogel facilitating neovascularization will further improve its therapeutic outcomes in cardiac repair. In this study, we explored the feasibility of tailoring material properties of cardiac matrix hydrogels using a natural compound, genipin, to promote endothelial differentiation of stem cells. Our results demonstrated that the genipin cross-linking could increase the mechanical properties of the cardiac matrix hydrogel to a stiffness range promoting endothelial differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). It also decreased the swelling ratio and prolonged …


Biocompatible Flavone-Based Fluorogenic Probes For Quick Wash-Free Mitochondria! Imaging In Living Cells, Bin Liu, Mickey Shah, Ge Zhang, Qin Liu, Yi Pang Sep 2015

Biocompatible Flavone-Based Fluorogenic Probes For Quick Wash-Free Mitochondria! Imaging In Living Cells, Bin Liu, Mickey Shah, Ge Zhang, Qin Liu, Yi Pang

Ge Zhang

Mitochondria, vital organelles existing in almost all eukaryotic cells, play a crucial role in energy metabolism and apoptosis of aerobic organisms. In this work, we report two new flavone-based fluorescent probes, MC-Mito1 and MC-Mito2, for monitoring mitochondria in living cells. These two probes exhibit remarkably low toxicity, good cell permeability, and high specificity; these probes complement the existing library of mitochondrial imaging agents. The new dyes give nearly no background fluorescence, and their application does not require tedious postwashing after cell staining. The appreciable tolerance of MC-Mito2 encourages a broader range of biological applications for understanding the cell degeneration and …


De Novo Design Of Self-Assembled Hexapeptides As Β-Amyloid (Aβ) Peptide Inhibitors, Jie Zheng, Ge Zhang, Mingzhen Zhang, Qiuming Wang, Guizhao Liang, Mingzhen Zhang, Jun Zhao, Kunal Patel, Xiang Yu, Chao Zhao, Binrong Ding, Feimeng Zhou Sep 2015

De Novo Design Of Self-Assembled Hexapeptides As Β-Amyloid (Aβ) Peptide Inhibitors, Jie Zheng, Ge Zhang, Mingzhen Zhang, Qiuming Wang, Guizhao Liang, Mingzhen Zhang, Jun Zhao, Kunal Patel, Xiang Yu, Chao Zhao, Binrong Ding, Feimeng Zhou

Ge Zhang

The ability of peptides to construct specific secondary structures provides a useful function for biomaterial design that cannot be achieved with traditional organic molecules and polymers. Inhibition of amyloid formation is a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Existing peptide-based inhibitors are mainly derived from original amyloid sequences, which have very limited sequence diversity and activity. It is highly desirable to explore other peptide-based inhibitors that are not directly derived from amyloid sequences. Here, we develop a hybrid high-throughput computational method to efficiently screen and design hexapeptide inhibitors against amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation and toxicity from the first …


Magnetic Labeling Of Bm-Msc-Derived Smcs Maintains Their Pro-Elastogenic Trophic Effects On Aneurysmal Smcs, G. Swaminathan, B. Sivaraman, I. Stoilov, Mickey Shah, Ge Zhang, R.P. Mecham, A. Ramamurthi Sep 2015

Magnetic Labeling Of Bm-Msc-Derived Smcs Maintains Their Pro-Elastogenic Trophic Effects On Aneurysmal Smcs, G. Swaminathan, B. Sivaraman, I. Stoilov, Mickey Shah, Ge Zhang, R.P. Mecham, A. Ramamurthi

Ge Zhang

No abstract provided.