Biopolymers have been used as a replacement material for synthetic polymers in scaffold forming due to its biocompatibility and nontoxic properties. Production of scaffold for tissue repair is a major part of tissue engineering. Tissue engineering techniques for scaffold forming with cellulose-based material is at the forefront of present-day research. Micro- and nanocellulose-based materials are at the forefront of scientific development in the areas of biomedical engineering. Cellulose in scaffold forming has attracted a lot of attention because of its availability and toxicity properties. The discovery of nanocellulose has further improved the usability of cellulose as a reinforcement in biopolymers intended for scaffold fabrication. Its unique physical, chemical, mechanical, and biological properties offer some important advantages over synthetic polymer materials. This review presents a critical overview of micro- and nanoscale cellulose-based materials used for scaffold preparation. It also analyses the relationship between the method of fabrication and properties of the fabricated scaffold. The review concludes with future potential research on cellulose micro- and nano-based scaffolds. The review provides an up-to-date summary of the status and future prospective applications of micro- and nanocellulose-based scaffolds for tissue engineering.

A biopolymer-based aerogel has been developed to become one of the most potentially utilized materials in different biomedical applications. The biopolymer-based aerogel has unique physical, chemical, and mechanical properties and these properties are used in tissue engineering, biosensing, diagnostic, medical implant and drug delivery applications. Biocompatible and non-toxic biopolymers such as chitosan, cellulose and alginates have been used to deliver antibiotics, plants extract, essential oils and metallic nanoparticles. Antibacterial aerogels have been used in superficial and chronic wound healing as dressing sheets. This review critically analyses the utilization of biopolymer-based aerogels in antibacterial delivery. The analysis shows the relationship between their properties and their applications in the wound healing process. Furthermore, highlights of the potentials, challenges and proposition of the application of biopolymer-based aerogels is explored.

The incidence of dengue is rising steadily in Malaysia since the first major outbreak in 1973. Despite aggressive measures taken by the relevant authorities, Malaysia is still facing worsening dengue crisis over the past few years. There is an urgent need to evaluate dengue cases for better understanding of clinic-laboratory spectrum in order to combat this disease. A retrospective analysis of dengue patients admitted to a tertiary care teaching hospital during the period of six years (2008 – 2013) was performed. Patient’s demographics, clinical and laboratory findings were recorded via structured data collection form. Patients were categorized into dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). Appropriate statistical methods were used to compare these two groups in order to determine difference in clinico-laboratory characteristics and to identify independent risk factors of DHF. A total 667 dengue patients (30.69 ± 16.13 years; Male: 56.7 %) were reviewed. Typical manifestations of dengue like fever, myalgia, arthralgia, headache, vomiting, abdominal pain and skin rash were observed in more than 40 % patients. DHF was observed in 79 (11.8 %) cases. Skin rash, dehydration, shortness of breath, pleural effusion and thick gall bladder were more significantly (P < 0.05) associated with DHF than DF. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated presence of age > 40 years (OR: 4.1, P < 0.001), secondary infection (OR: 2.7, P = 0.042), diabetes mellitus (OR: 2.8, P = 0.041), lethargy (OR: 3.1, P = 0.005), thick gallbladder (OR: 1.7, P = 0.029) and delayed hospitalization (OR: 2.3, P = 0.037) as independent predictors of DHF. Overall mortality was 1.2 % in our study. Current study demonstrated that DF and DHF present significantly different clinico-laboratory profile. Older age, secondary infection, diabetes mellitus, lethargy, thick gallbladder and delayed hospitalization significantly predict DHF. Prior knowledge of expected clinical profile and predictors of DHF/DSS development would provide information to identify individuals at higher risk and on the other hand, give sufficient time to clinicians for reducing dengue related morbidity and mortality.

The global transplantation market size was valued at USD 8.4 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.5% over the forecast period. The increasing demand for tissue transplantation has inspired researchers to find alternative approaches for making artificial tissues and organs function. The unique physicochemical and biological properties of biopolymers and the attractive structural characteristics of aerogels such as extremely high porosity, ultra low-density, and high surface area make combining these materials of great interest in tissue scaffolding and regenerative medicine applications. Numerous biopolymer aerogel scaffolds have been used to regenerate skin, cartilage, bone, and even heart valves and blood vessels by growing desired cells together with the growth factor in tissue engineering scaffolds. This review focuses on the principle of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and the role of biopolymer aerogel scaffolds in this field, going through the properties and the desirable characteristics of biopolymers and biopolymer tissue scaffolds in tissue engineering applications. The recent advances of using biopolymer aerogel scaffolds in the regeneration of skin, cartilage, bone, and heart valves are also discussed in the present review. Finally, we highlight the main challenges of biopolymer-based scaffolds and the prospects of using these materials in regenerative medicine.

Biopolymers have gained tremendous attention in many daily life applications, including medical applications, in the past few years. Obstetrics and gynecology are two fields dealing with sensitive parts of the woman’s body and her newborn baby, which are normally associated with many issues such as toxicity, infections, and even gene alterations. Medical professions that use screening, examination, pre, and post-operation materials should benefit from a better understanding of each type of material’s characteristics, health, and even environmental effects. The underlying principles of biopolymer-based materials for different obstetric and gynecologic applications may discover various advantages and benefits of using such materials. This review presents the health impact of conventional polymer-based materials on pregnant women’s health and highlights the potential use of biopolymers as a safer option. The recent works on utilizing different biopolymer-based materials in obstetric and gynecologic are presented in this review, which includes suture materials in obstetric and gynecologic surgeries, cosmetic and personal care products, vaginal health, and drug delivery; as well as a wound dressing and healing materials. This review highlights the main issues and challenges of biopolymers in obstetric and gynecologic applications.

Background: Amniocentesis is a well-known invasive procedure which is commonly carried out in the second trimester. The indication for amniocentesis varies throughout countries and centers. Despite providing significant prenatal diagnosis; many maternal and fetal complications have been reported from previous studies. Materials and methods: This retrospective study aimed to determine the maternal and fetal complications following amniocentesis. This study involved all patients who underwent amniocentesis from January 2012 until June 2017 in a tertiary centre. Maternal age, parity, premorbid medical conditions, amniocentesis indications, gestational age during amniocentesis, karyotyping results, complications during and post procedure and the fetal outcomes were reviewed and analyzed. Results: One hundred and fourteen patients’ medical records were reviewed and the majority of patients (50.9%) ranged in age from age 30 to 39 years old with mean age of 34.29 years. Amniocentesis was performed during the second trimester in the majority of patients (71.1%). The indications for amniocentesis in this study were polyhydramnios (7.9%), advanced maternal age (9.6%), risk of Down’s syndrome (31.6%), increased risk of Patau syndrome (6.1%), increased risk of Edward’s syndrome (4.4%) and abnormal fetal ultrasonography (70.2%). Cytogenetics results of amniocentesis were normal in 82 patients (71.9%). The majority of patients (86.0%) had no complications. Two patients (12.5%) had intrauterine death presumed to be procedural related. Conclusion: This 5-year retrospective study on amniocentesis procedure showed that the majority of amniocentesis were safe as 86.0% of the patients were free from any complications. Anticipating its complication is important as there is always a risk even though it is a safe procedure in general.