Francesco Baino

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Polytechnic University of Turin

In response to environmental challenges and primary resource scarcity, sustainable approaches that rely on recycling and reusing waste materials are becoming valuable and highly appealing options in modern society. This paper deals with the usage of porous glass and glass-ceramic products derived from waste in the field of thermal insulation in bui...

Bioceramics: Status in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (Part 2) presents recent advancements in biocompatible ceramics and bioactive glasses, emphasizing their expanding applications in hard and soft tissue engineering. This book explores innovative manufacturing techniques like 3D printing and additive manufacturing and examines the t...

Bioceramics: Status in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (Part 2) presents recent advancements in biocompatible ceramics and bioactive glasses, emphasizing their expanding applications in hard and soft tissue engineering. This book explores innovative manufacturing techniques like 3D printing and additive manufacturing and examines the t...

Cardiovascular diseases, among which atherosclerosis is the most prevailing, are leading causes of death worldwide. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is one common surgical treatment. However, synthetic vascular grafts in small-diameter vessels are still limited due to their relatively high incidences of thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia. To...

Bioceramics: Status in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (Part 1) provides an in-depth look into the recent advancements in biocompatible ceramics, glasses, and composites for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. It explores topics ranging from the structure and processing of bioactive glasses to the applications of bioinert and...

Bioceramics: Status in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (Part 1) provides an in-depth look into the recent advancements in biocompatible ceramics, glasses, and composites for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. It explores topics ranging from the structure and processing of bioactive glasses to the applications of bioinert and...

The “architectural suitability” of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering is commonly evaluated by assessing the pore volume and the mean pore size (or pore size distribution, if possible) and comparing these values with the reference ranges of human cancellous bone. However, these two parameters cannot precisely describe the complex architecture of...

Bioactive glasses in the CaO-MgO-Na 2 O-P 2 O 5-SiO 2-CaF 2 system are highly promising materials for bone and dental restorative applications. Furthermore, if thermally treated, they can crystallize into diopside-fluorapatite-wollastonite glass-ceramics (GCs), which exhibit appealing properties in terms of mechanical behaviour and overall bone-reg...

This study focuses on implementing a novel approach in which clay 3D-printed matrices were designed as a passive comfort solution to enhance indoor moisture buffering and air quality. Liquid Deposition Modeling additive manufacturing and parametric design were implemented to develop the components, which were characterized for having an increased s...

Alkali and alkaline earth elements play a crucial role in the structure, processing, and properties of bioactive glasses, widely used in medical applications since their inception in 1969.

Glass-ceramics (GCs) are polycrystalline materials produced from parent glasses by the controlled crystallization that results in crystalline phase(s) embedded in a residual amorphous matrix. Typically, GCs are produced by a conventional glass route with subsequent crystallization for which two heat treatments are usually applied, the former to gen...

Additive manufacturing technologies collectively refer to a set of layer-wise deposition methods that typically rely on CAD-CAM approaches for obtaining products with a complex shape/geometry and high precision and reliability. If the additive manufacturing of polymers is relatively easy and scalable due to the low temperatures needed to obtain pro...

The solvent-evaporation approach was used to produce a chitosan (CS)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposite film containing the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The physicochemical and morphological characteristics, drug release profile, cytotoxic and microbiological properties of the nanocomposite films were evaluated to verify their potential...

Anatomical and functional tissue loss is one of the most debilitating problems and involves a great cost to the international health-care sector. In the field of bone tissue, the use of scaffolds to promote tissue regeneration is a topic of great interest. In this study, a combination of additive manufacturing and computational methods led to creat...

This study focuses on the finite element simulation and micromechanical characterization of bioactive glass-ceramic scaffolds using Computed micro Tomography ( $$\upmu$$ μ CT) imaging. The main purpose of this work is to quantify the effect of sintering temperature on the morphometry and mechanical performance of the scaffolds. In particular, the s...

Bone scaffolding is a promising approach for the treatment of critical-size bone defects. Hydroxyapatite can be used to produce highly porous scaffolds as it mimics the mineralized part of bone tissue, but its intrinsic brittleness limits its usage. Among 3D printing techniques, vat photopolymerization allows for the best printing resolution for ce...

Bioactive glasses (BGs) are known for their selective ability to (i) form a mechanically strong interfacial bond with hard (bone) or soft tissues (gingivae or cartilages) (i.e., silica-, silica-phosphate-, phosphate-, borate-phosphate-, or silica-phosphate-borate-based BGs); or (ii) serve as reservoirs for fast-release of therapeutic (osteogenic, a...

Developing novel compositions of bioactive glasses (BGs) is key for accelerating tissue repair and regeneration. In this work, we developed a series of cobalt (Co)- and copper (Cu)-doped mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) based on borate 13-93B3 composition using nitrate precursors. We took benefit from data science algorithms to predict and asses...

This Special Issue, titled “Porous Ceramics, Glasses and Composites, Volume II”, aims to present an up-to-date overview of the synthesis/fabrication, characterization, and applications of porous materials, with a special focus on ceramics, glasses, and composites [...]

This review outlines the state of the art, processing techniques, and mechanical testing methods of zirconia (ZrO2)-based composites reinforced by carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The use of CNTs as a secondary phase in a zirconia matrix is motivated by their outstanding crack self-healing ability, the possibility to tailor the desired nano-structural prop...

Bioactive glasses (BGs) represent a class of versatile biocompatible synthetic materials that can be utilized in a wide range of applications, including tissue engineering and drug delivery. Although BGs were first developed for managing bone tissue disorders, they have been found to be beneficial substances for soft tissue healing as well. Over th...

Improving angiogenesis is the key to the success of most regenerative medicine approaches. However, how and to which extent this may be performed is still a challenge. In this regard, cobalt (Co)-doped bioactive glasses show promise being able to combine the traditional bioactivity of these materials (especially bone-bonding and osteo-stimulatory p...

There is an increasing trend toward the application of bioactive glasses in different areas of biomedicine, including tissue engineering and oncology. The reason for this increase is mostly attributed to the inherent properties of BGs, such as excellent biocompatibility, and the ease of tailoring their properties by changing, for example, the chemi...

Cancer is one of the most life-threatening family of diseases that cause death worldwide. As a highly researched and successful therapeutic agent, methotrexate (MTX) treats many solid tumours, hematologic malignancies, and autoimmune illnesses. Despite many benefits, methotrexate induces drug resistance and limits plasma half-life due to its poor p...

Bioactive glasses (BGs) arewell known for their successful applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Recent experimental studies have shown their potential usability in oncology, either alone or in combination with other biocompatible materials, such as biopolymers. Direct contact with BG particles has been found to cause toxici...

There are diverse diseases such as some infections, trauma, and tumor resections during cancer surgery that can cause bone damage or skeletal defects in persons. Most of the time, these defects cannot heal spontaneously due to several medical conditions that patients encounter, like diabetes, hormone‐related problems, and autoimmune disorders. This...

Quercetin (Q) has attracted the attention of researchers for potential applications in advanced therapeutic treatments due to its antioxidant attributes and renal tissue improvement. F127-based oil-in-water microemulsions improved the bioavailability of Q and showed greater retention and more stable release. In this study, Q-loaded microemulsion wa...

A rapidly developing area of ceramic science and technology involves research on the interaction between implanted biomaterials and the human body. Over the past half century, the use of bioceramics has revolutionized the surgical treatment of various diseases that primarily affect bone, thus contributing to significantly improving the quality of l...

Hydroxyapatite is one of the materials of choice for tissue engineering bone scaffolds manufacturing. Vat photopolymerization (VPP) is a promising Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology capable of producing scaffolds with high resolution micro-architecture and complex shapes. However, mechanical reliability of ceramic scaffolds can be achieved if a...

As a major global cause of liver damage, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with excessive hepatocellular accumulation of lipids in the liver, elevated levels of hepatic enzymes,and the fibrotic evidence. The primary therapies for NAFLD are changing lifestyle or managing comorbid-associated diseases. Lately, nanotechnology has...

In this study, zinc (Zn)- and copper (Cu)-doped 13-93B3 borate mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) were successfully synthesized using nitrate precursors in the presence of Pluronic P123. We benefited from computational approaches for predicting and confirming the experimental findings. The changes in the dynamic surface tension (SFT) of simulated...

Promoting bone healing is a key challenge in our society that can be tackled by developing new implantable biomaterials provided with regenerative properties. In this work, the coating of three-dimensional porous glass-derived scaffolds with hyaluronic acid (HA)-fatty acids was investigated for the first time. The starting scaffolds, based on bioac...

Electrospun nanofibrous constructs based on nanoparticles and biopolymers have recently been used in tissue engineering because of their similarity to the extracellular matrix in nature. In this study, electrospun chitosan-carbon quantum dot-titanium dioxide-graphene oxide (CS-CQD-TiO2-GO) nanofibrous mats were synthesized for use as wound dressing...

Tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine have held great promises for the repair and regeneration of damaged tissues and organs. Additive manufacturing has recently appeared as a versatile technology in TE strategies that enables the production of objects through layered printing. By applying 3D printing and bioprinting, it is now possible...

Site-specific drug delivery and carrying repairing agents for wound healing purposes can be achieved using the intertwined three-dimensional structure of nanofibers. This study aimed to optimize and fabricate poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-graphene oxide (GO)-silver (Ag) nanofibers containing curcumin (CUR) using the electrospinning method for potentia...

Radiopacity is sometimes an essential characteristic of biomaterials that can help clinicians perform follow-ups during pre- and post-interventional radiological imaging. Due to their chemical composition and structure, most bioceramics are inherently radiopaque but can still be doped/mixed with radiopacifiers to increase their visualization during...

Dental glass-ceramics (DGCs) are developed by controlled crystallization of oxide glasses and form an important group of biomaterials used in modern dentistry. They are also of great importance to scientists studying the fundamentals of crystallization. DGCs must meet strict requirements for restorative prostheses and to streamline the workflow for...

Elevated levels of oxidative stress are usually observed following injuries, leading to impaired tissue repair due to oxidation-related chronic inflammation. Several attempts have been made to manage this unfavorable situation, and the use of biomaterials with antioxidant activity is showing great promise in tissue engineering and regenerative medi...

The accurate determination of mass transport and microstructural properties within highly-porous trabecular bone specimens and substitutes still represents a challenge due to the complex arrangement in the three-dimensional space, where adjacent pores can be hardly identified due to the open-cell disordered structure resulting from the reciprocal a...

Neoplastic cells have co-opted inflammatory receptors and signaling molecules that potentiate inflammation. Activated inflammatory pathways lead to neo-angiogenesis, lymph-angiogenesis, immunosuppression, tumor growth, proliferation and metastasis. This cancer-sustaining inflammation is a critical target to arrest cancer growth. Multiple drug resis...

Direct-Ink-Writing (or robocasting) is a subset of extrusion-based additive manufacturing techniques that has grown significantly in recent years to design simple to complex ceramic structures. Robocasting, relies on the use of high-concentration powder pastes, also known as inks. A successful optimization of ink rheology and formulation constitute...

Porosity is a key feature in dictating the overall performance of biomedical scaffolds, with special relevance to mechanical properties. Usually, compressive strength and elastic modulus are the main parameters used to determine the potential mechanical suitability of porous scaffolds for bone repair. However, their assessment may not be so easy fr...

In this study, the mechanical properties of two classes of robocast glass scaffolds are obtained through Computed micro-Tomography (micro-CT) based Finite Element Modeling (FEM) with the specific purpose to explicitly account for the geometrical defects introduced during manufacturing. Both classes demonstrate a fiber distribution along two perpend...

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have caused a revolution in biomedicine over the past decade; the fabrication of tissue substitutes in the laboratory is now possible by using various cells, biomaterial scaffolds, and bioactive molecules. With the advent of nanotechnology, it has become possible to manufacture tissue‐engineered construc...

Bacillus bacteria are a group of plant growth stimulants that increase plant growth and resistance to plant pathogens by producing various metabolites. With their large surface area and small size, nanoparticles can be used in controlled-release formulations and increase the efficiency of the desired product. Encapsulation of biological agents in c...

In bone tissue engineering research, bioreactors designed for replicating the main features of the complex native environment represent powerful investigation tools. Moreover, when equipped with automation, their use allows reducing user intervention and dependence, increasing reproducibility and the overall quality of the culture process. In this...

There is an ongoing profound shift in using glass as a primarily passive material to one that instills active properties. We believe and demonstrate that bioactive glasses (BGs) and glass–ceramics (BGCs) as functional biomaterials for cancer therapy can transform the world of healthcare in the 21st century. Melt/gel‐derived BGs and BGCs can carry m...

Robocasting is universally recognized as an affordable and reproducible manufacturing strategy to process glass and glass-ceramic materials in the form of highly ordered porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering (BTE) applications. Nevertheless, while being widely applied to melt-derived bioactive glasses, this technique was seldom implemented w...

Bioceramic bone cements are increasingly studied, developed, and improved to become a viable alternative to polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-based cements. In this regard, we aimed to develop a new cement composed of calcium aluminate (C12A7) and strontium aluminate (S3A) powders obtained via solution combustion synthesis (SCS) and chitosan/glycerin...

Beyond their well-known applications in bone tissue engineering, hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HAp NPs) have also been showing great promise for improved cancer therapy. The chemical structure of HAp NPs offers excellent possibilities for loading and delivering a broad range of anticancer drugs in a sustained, prolonged, and targeted manner and thu...

Bioactive glasses are often designed as porous implantable templates in which newly-formed bone can grow in three dimensions (3D). This research work aims to investigate the bone regenerative capability of silicate bioactive glass scaffolds produced by robocasting in comparison with powder and granule-like materials (oxide system: 47.5SiO2-10Na2O-1...

A Comprehensive and Critical Overview of Bioactive Glasses and Glass-Ceramics Bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics are a versatile class of biocompatible materials that have an astonishing impact in biomedicine. Bioactive Glasses and Glass-Ceramics: Fundamentals, Applications, and Advances presents topics on the functional properties, processing,...

Biomaterials properties and pore characteristics primarily dictate the functional performance of scaffolds. Bioactive glasses are ideal candidates for making bone tissue engineering scaffolds as they can bond to bone and stimulate bone cells toward osteogenesis. A three‐dimensional network of highly interconnected macropores is key to allow cell mi...

Hollow fiber membrane bioreactors (HFMBs) with cells cultured in the extracapillary space (ECS) have been proposed for bioartificial organs, to assist patients with failing organs, or to produce in vitro engineered biological substitutes of tissues and organs. They have not gained clinical acceptance yet. One factor limiting therapeutic application...

The timely management of skin wounds has been an unmet clinical need for centuries. While there have been several attempts to accelerate wound healing and reduce the cost of hospitalization and the healthcare burden, there remains a lack of efficient and effective wound healing approaches. In this regard, stem cell‐based therapies have garnered an...

Water-based inks containing carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and glass particles were investigated in terms of rheological properties and printability for solid oxide cell joining application using robocasting for the first time. The ink formulation containing 36 vol.% of glass showed the highest yield stress (9.6×10² Pa) and viscosity (4×10⁴ Pa.s). C...

The utilization of bioactive glasses (BGs) in cancer therapy has recently become quite promising; herein, a series of Fe-doped mesoporous 45S5-based BGs (MBGs) were synthesized via the sol-gel method in the presence of Pluronic P123 as a soft template. The physico-chemical and biological properties of the prepared glasses were well-characterized th...

Implantation of three-dimensional (3D) bioactive glass-derived porous scaffolds is an effective strategy for promoting bone repair and regeneration in large osseous defect sites. The present study intends to expand the potential of a SiO2–P2O5–CaO–MgO–Na2O–CaF2 glass composition, which has already proven to be successful in regenerating bone in bot...

Metallic implants sometimes fail in orthopedic surgeries due to insufficient bio-functionality, implant-associated infections, poor osteointegration due to high inertness (Ti, Co–Cr, stainless steel alloys), and a too fast degradation rate (Mg-based alloys). Bioceramic coatings are among the most appropriate solutions for overcoming these drawbacks...

Magnetic bioactive glass-ceramics are biomaterials applied for magnetic hyperthermia in bone cancer treatment, thereby treating the bone tumor besides regenerating the damaged bone. However, combining high bioactivity and high saturation magnetization remains a challenge since the thermal treatment step employed to grow magnetic phases is also rela...

The use of bioactive glasses (BGs) has been quite fruitful in hard tissue engineering due to the capability of these materials to bond to living bone. In this work, a melt-derived magnesium (Mg)-doped BG (composition: 45SiO2–3P2O5–26CaO–15Na2O–7MgO–4K2O (mol.%)) was synthesized for being used in bone reconstruction. The prepared BGs were then manuf...

Bioactive glasses (BGs) have an outstanding place in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine strategies. These synthetic materials were historically used for the treatment of bone and dental tissues; recent studies have proved their effectiveness in managing soft tissue injuries as well. BGs exhibit several biological properties in favor of ti...

In this study, paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded pH-responsive niosomes modified with ergosterol were developed. This new formulation was characterized in terms of size, morphology, encapsulation efficiency (EE), and in vitro release at pH 5.2 and 7.4. The in vitro efficacy of free PTX and niosome/PTX was assessed using MCF7, Hela, and HUVEC cell lines. In o...

Glass has been a versatile and fascinating material since the early stages of civilization. The aesthetic and functional properties of glasses are mainly dictated by the composition, which in most cases is a mixture of inorganic oxides and can be properly designed according to the end use. Glass–ceramics are polycrystalline materials produced by th...

The invention of bioactive glasses has undoubtedly represented an important watershed in the history of biomedicine, innovatively revolutionizing the key concept of biomaterials. Although 50 years have passed since the first bioactive glass (45S5 Bioglass®), these materials still continue to inspire numerous generations of researchers all over the...

A copper oxide/cerium oxide nanocomposite (CuO/CeO2, NC) was synthesized via a novel method using a metal–organic framework as a precursor. This nanomaterial was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM...

Nanomaterials are attracting increasing interest in many biomedical fields, including the fight against cancer. In this context, we successfully synthesized CoNi alloy nanoparticles (NPs) by a simple polyol process. The magnetic characteristics of the products were measured by vibration sample magnometry, which revealed that the samples have soft f...

Recent and rapid progression in three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques has revolutionized conventional therapies in medicine; 3D printed constructs are gradually being recognized as common substitutes for the replacement of skin wounds. As gel-inks, large numbers of natural and synthetic (e.g., collagen and polyurethane, respectively) substance...

Advanced bone tissue engineering approaches rely on implanting synthetic grafts for the management of mid to large bone defects in order to overcome the common limitations associated with the use of transplant materials. Bioceramics are especially effective due to their versatile functional properties and processing methods. This chapter provides a...

Successful tissue regeneration requires a scaffold with tailorable biodegradability, tissue-like mechanical properties, structural similarity to extracellular matrix (ECM), relevant bioactivity, and cytocompatibility. In recent years, injectable hydrogels have spurred increasing attention in translational medicine as a result of their tunable physi...

The combination of biocompatible polymers and ceramics shows great promise in the development of composites with suitable mechanical properties for dental applications. In an attempt to further expand this research line, Al2O3 commercial powders (Vitro-ceram, Alglass, In-ceram) were sintered at 1400 °C for 2 h and infiltrated with poly(methyl metha...

In vitro and in vivo studies are fundamental steps in the characterization of new implantable materials to preliminarily assess their biological response. The present study reports the in vitro and in vivo characterizations of a novel experimental silicate bioactive glass (BG) (47.5 B, 47.5 SiO2-10 Na2O-10 K2O-10 MgO-20 CaO-2.5 P2O5 mol.%). Cytocom...

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a category of cancers that typically arise from the nose-, mouth-, and throat-lining squamous cells. The later stage of HNC diagnosis significantly affects the patient’s survival rate. This makes it mandatory to diagnose this cancer with a suitable biomarker and imaging techniques at the earlier stages of growth. There...

The development of drug delivery systems minimizing the side effects of conventional chemotherapy is one of the major challenges in the field of biomaterials for cancer treatment. This work reports the formulation and characterization of oil-in-water Pluronic F127 microemulsions to enhance the bioavailability of doxorubicin (DOX). The density funct...

Exploring new therapies for managing skin wounds is under progress and, in this regard, meso-porous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) and mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) offer great opportu-nities in treating acute, chronic, and malignant wounds. In general, therapeutic effectiveness of both MSNs and MBGs in different formulations (fine powder, fiber...

The polyol method has been used to synthesize CoNiFe and CoNiZn alloy nanoparti-cles (NPs). The magnetic characteristics of the products have been measured by vibration sample magnetometry (VSM) analysis. At the same time, the microstructure and morphology were inspected by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectivel...

Since 2006, the foam replica method has been commonly recognized as a valuable technology for the production of highly porous bioactive glass scaffolds showing three-dimensional, open-cell structures closely mimicking that of natural trabecular bone. Despite this, there are important drawbacks making the usage of foam-replicated glass scaffolds a d...

In this study, the biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Aspergillus niger (A/ZnO-NPs) is described. These particles have been characterized by UV-Vis spectrum analysis, x-ray powder diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron mi-croscopy. To use this biosynthesized nanoparticle as an antiproliferati...