Dragan P. Uskoković

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts · Institute of Technical Sciences

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been the main protagonist in the quest for an ideal biomaterial for regenerative medicine over the last half a century. To control its properties, this material has commonly been doped with chemical elements other than its natural stoichiometric constituents: Ca, O, P, and H. Here, we report on the first analysis of the bio...

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is the major component of all boney tissues in mammals. Because of this omnipresence in the living world, HAp possesses an exceptional biocompatibility. The downside of this omnipresence, however, comes in the form of its mild to moderate biological activities. One means of augmenting these activities involves the doping of HAp...

MRS Serbia 1 History 2 The idea of founding the Society 2 Birth and the first days of YU-MRS (MRS-Serbia) 3 YUCOMAT on the list of world-renowned conferences 5 Perspectives and future activities 8 Committee members of YUCOMAT conferences (1995 - 2020) 9 Statistics 13 List of plenary speakers 15 MRS-Serbia Awards Award for a Lasting and Outstand...

Functional nanomaterials have held a steady position at the frontier of materials science and engineering in the 21st century. "Molecular Designing of Nanoparticles with Controlled Morphological and Physicochemical Characteristics and Functional Materials Based on Them” was the title of the research project funded by the Ministry of Education, Scie...

Taking advantage of the flexibility of the apatite structure, nano- and micro-particles of hydroxyapatite (HAp) were doped with different combinations of rare earth ions (RE3+ = Gd, Eu, Yb, Tm) to achieve a synergy among their magnetic and optical properties and to enable their application in preventive medicine, particularly diagnostics based on m...

ZnO nanopowders were produced using microwave processing of a precipitate and applied as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Two different surfactants, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the cationic and Pluronic F127 as the non-ionic one, were employed to in situ adjust the surface-to-bulk defect ratio in the ZnO crystal s...

Reconstruction of bone defects with the use of biomaterials based on hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been a popular approach in medicine and dentistry. Most often the process of new bone formation is analyzed with the focus only on the region of the reconstructed defect. The effects of the therapy on distant organs have been rarely reported in the literat...

A new method involving the homogeneous dispersion of precursor compounds inside a methylcellulose matrix is used for the synthesis of a composite powder of Li 2 FeP 2 O 7 and carbon. The properties of carbon-containing and carbon-free powders are studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) including Rietveld refinement, Mössbauer spectroscopy, Fourie...

Transformations between amorphous and crystalline apatite mechanistically govern some of the most essential processes in bone metabolism, including biomineralization and bone remodeling. Fundamental understanding of this phase transition can help us gain control over the formation and dissolution of boney tissues in vivo and utilize that knowledge...

Li2FeSiO4 material, which was prepared by a solid state method, crystallized as monoclinic P21/n polymorph. X-ray diffraction analysis with Rietveld structural refinement indicates specific occupation of Li2 crystallographic site by Fe²⁺ cation in the amount of 6 atom percents as a result of an antisite defect formation. The exclusive occupation of...

Low targeting efficiency and fast metabolism of antineoplastic drugs are hindrances to effective chemotherapies and there is an ongoing search for better drugs, but also better carriers. Steroid derivatives, 3β-hydroxy-16-hydroxymino-androst-5-en-17-one...

The fabrication of metal powders the thermophysical properties of which differ considerably, can be performed by the rotating electrode process. The properties of molybdenum, titanium and aluminium powders were discussed. Some results of theoretical calculations concerning both droplets motion and solidification in helium and argon were given.

Introduction: Composite biomaterials based on nano hydroxyapatite (HAp) are the subject of numerous studies in reconstructive medicine. Multifunctional and nanoparticulate systems based on HAp and biodegradable polymers are successfully designed as systems for controlled and systemic drug delivery suitable for use in reconstructive medicine [1, 2]....

An androstane (17β-hydroxy-17α-picolyl-androst-5-en-3β-yl-acetate (derivative A)) cancer inhibitor was successfully captured in a carrier made of nano-sized hydroxyapatite (HAp) coated with chitosan-PLGA polymer blends (Ch-PLGA). In our previous studies, we demonstrated that it was convenient to use spherical HAp/Ch-PLGA carriers as vehicles to tar...

We put ourselves, wonderers on the road of nanotechnologies toward idyllic medical horizons, in the shoes of St. Peter the Apostle as he stood confoundedly on Via Appia and asked the question of eternal relevance: Quo Vadis, Domine? We reminisce about the answer and try to apply it to the shadows of doubt increasingly usurping the once unprecedente...

Nanotechnologies in Preventative and Regenerative Medicine demonstrates how control at the nanoscale can help achieve earlier diagnoses and create more effective treatments. Chapters take a logical approach, arranging materials by their area of application. Biomaterials are, by convention, divided according to the area of their application, with ea...

Mechanical milling of commercial ZnO and SnO2 was used to produce a ZnO/SnO2 composite with a high density of surface defects; in particular, zinc interstitials (Zni) and oxygen vacancies (VO). To determine the impact of surface defects on photocatalytic activity, the relative concentration ratio of bulk defects to surface defects was modified by a...

The interdisciplinary research team implemented the program titled “Molecular designing of nanoparticles with controlled morphological and physicochemical characteristics and functional materials based on them” (MODENAFUNA), between 2011 and 2016, gaining new knowledge significant to the further improvement of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies. It...

Four-component barium titanate stannate (BaTi1−x Snx O3, BTS) functionally graded materials (FGMs) were designed, processed and examined. BTS powders with different tin content (x = 0.025, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.10, abbreviated as BTS2.5, BTS5, BTS7 and BTS10, respectively) were used as ingredient materials. Four-layered samples, produced by powder-stack...

Nanomaterials are nowadays widely used in various fields of biomedicine. Before the application of biomaterials they have to be tested and fulfill some criteria. The first tests that should be performed after synthesis of some new nanomaterial with potential application in biomedical fields are biocompatibility tests. The aim of this study was to e...

Thanks to its special caracteristics, such as relativly easy chemical modification of structure and surface, calciumphosphates (CaP) especially hydroxyapatite (HAp) is found widely used in various fields of biomedicine. Beside of the ease chemical modification, which includes metal doping, enhancement of properties of the HAp can be accomplished by...

Low intrinsic electronic conductivity is the main disadvantage of LiFePO4 when used as a cathode material in lithium ion batteries. The paper offers experimental proofs of the theoretical prediction that fluorine doping of LiFePO4 can enhance its electrical conductivity. The LiFePO4 and fluorine-doped LiFePO4 olivine type, carbon-free powders are s...

Changes in calcium phosphate/poly-(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (CP/PLGA) nanoparticles and ions content after incubation in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) at 37ºC were examined in this study. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy provided molecular structure information related to CP/PLGA nanoparticles and the semi-quantitative analy...

Neutron powder diffraction (NPD) was employed to further investigate the BaTi1-xSnxO3 (BTS) system previously studied by X-ray diffraction. The roomtemperature phase compositions and crystal structures of BTS samples with x = 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.07, 0.10, 0.12, 0.15 and 0.20 were refined by the Rietveld method using NPD data. It is well known that ba...

Recent developments in bone tissue engineering have led to an increased interest in one-dimensional (1D) hy-droxyapatite (HA) nano-and micro-structures such as wires, ribbons and tubes. They have been proposed for use as cell substrates, reinforcing phases in composites and carriers for biologically active substances. Here we demonstrate the synthe...

X-ray absorption spectrum at the Yb L3 edge and X-ray emission spectra of Ni and P at the K and L2,3 edges have been studied experimentally and theoretically in the mixed valent compound YbNi2P2 with ThCr2Si2 type crystal structure. The electronic structure of YbNi2P2 is investigated using the fully relativistic Dirac linear muffin-tin orbital (LMT...

Implantation of a biomaterial is one of the important trends in solving the problem of bone tissue loss. Calcium hydroxiapatite (HAp), as the most representative bone component is a serious candidate for such implantations. The synthetic polymer poly-L-lactide (PLLA) in HAp/PLLA is often used as a polymeric material, with a role in the substitution...

In the field of oral implantology the loss of bone tissue prevents adequate patient care, and calls for the use of synthetic biomaterials with properties that resemble natural bone. Special attention is paid to the risk of infection after the implantation of these materials. Studies have suggested that some nanocontructs containing metal ions have...

The key parameters related to cathode materials for commercial use are a high specific capacity, good cycling stability, capacity retention at high current rates, as well as the simplicity of the synthesis process. This study presents a facile synthesis of a composite cathode material, Li2FeSiO4 with carbon, under extreme conditions: rapid heating,...

In the field of oral implantology the loss of bone tissue prevents adequate patient care, and calls for the use of synthetic biomaterials with properties that resemble natural bone. Special attention is paid to the risk of infection after the implantation of these materials. Studies have suggested that some nanocontructs containing metal ions have...

In this paper, microwave processing of nanostructured ZnO powder as well as preparation of nanostructured ZnO/PEO composite were described. As a fast processing method which introduces a large amount of energy in the reaction system, the role of microwave processing was to modify ZnO crystal structure, while the role of PEO was to additionally sens...

This paper describes a procedure for the synthesis of the composite Li2FeSiO4/C by sol-gel method using citric acid as a chelating agent; the resulting gel precursor was thermally treated in a slightly reductive atmosphere of nitrogen with five percent of hydrogen, whereupon the in situ decomposition of citric acid to carbon occurs during formation...

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is an extensively studied material with known biocompatible and osteoconductive properties in bone tissue reconstruction. The improvement of the osteogenetic potential of HAp has been tested through modification of its structure, by replacing Ca2+ ions with Co2+ ions. In our study, we comparatively analyze the osteogenetic pote...

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is an extensively studied material with known biocompatible and osteoconductive properties in bone tissue reconstruction. The improvement of the osteogenetic potential of HAp has been tested through modification of its structure, by replacing Ca2+ ions with Co2+ ions. In our study, we comparatively analyze the osteogenetic pote...

Nanostructured calcium phosphate functionally graded materials (FGMs)with simultaneous gradients of density, phase composition, and mechanical properties were fabricated by consecutive uniaxial pressing of stoichiometric (SHAp) and calcium deficient (CDHAp) hydroxyapatite powders in multilayered samples and reaction sintering. During sintering proc...

Fullerenols are polyhydroxylated, water soluble derivatives of fullerene C60, with potential application in medicine as diagnostic agents, antioxidants or nano drug carriers. This paper describes synthesis and physical characterization of a new nanocomposite hydroxyapatite/fullerenol. Surface of the nanocomposite hydroxyapatite/fullerenol is inhomo...

Olivine-type LiFePO4 composite powders with carbon were synthesized by freeze drying and subsequent thermal annealing. The main purpose of the research is to explore how various dicarboxylic acids as carbon sources influence the electrochemical properties of the resulting composites. Three dicarboxylic acids (oxalic, malonic, and adipic) were used...

A composite powder Li2FeSiO4/C is synthesized through a solid state reaction at 750 °C. The Rietveld crystal structure refinement is done in the monoclinic P21/n space group. It is found that the crystal structure is prone to “antisite” defect where small part of iron ion occupies exclusively Li(2) crystallographic position, of two different lithiu...

Recent studies have shown that the behavior of nanoparticles in in vivo conditions is not solely dependant on their physical properties, such are size and shape. The surface of nanoparticles in biological fluids interacts with biomoleculs such are proteins, adsorbs these moleculs, and leads to formation of nanopartical-biomoelcular comlex known as...

Inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution was applied to determine the thermodynamic interactions of poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and the composite of biphasic calcium phosphate and PLLA (BCP/PLLA). The specific retention volumes, of 11 organic compounds of different chemical nature and polarity (non-polar, donor or acceptor) were determined in the...

Most drug delivery systems as treatment modalities for osteomyelitis have not been evaluated for resistant infections. Tigecycline (TG) is an antimicrobial agent that could be used in the treatment of multi-drug-resistant orthopedic infections. The objective of this in vitro study has been to determine what dosage of TG causes changes in the morpho...

The effect of Sn for Ti substitution on the crystal structure of a perovskite, barium titanate stannate (BTS), BaTi1−xSnxO3 for x = 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.07, 0.10, 0.12, 0.15 and 0.20, was investigated. The powders were prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction technique. The structural investigations of the BTS powders were done at room temper...

Nanospheres of poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) with sizes smaller than 200nm were produced by combining the freeze drying method and the physicochemical solvent/non-solvent approach. The influence of various types of cryoprotectants (poly(glutamic acid) (PGA) or sacharose) and their concentrations on the outcome of freeze-dried poly(ɛ-caprolactone) part...

Herein, we report a quick and simple synthesis of water-soluble gold nanoparticles using HAuCl4 and oleylamine mixture. Oleylamine serves as a reduction agent as well as a stabilizer for nanoparticle surfaces. The particle sizes can be adjusted by modulating reaction temperature and time. Solvothermal reduction of HAuCl4 with oleylamine can be conf...

Bone tissue reconstruction and reparation is big challenge in medicine. Biocomposite materials based on hidroxyapatite are widely used in reparation of bone defects. Bone marrow is a complex tissue composed of hematopoietic and stromal mesenchyme stem cell (BMSCs) with a differentiation potential to adipogenic, fibroblastic, reticular, osteogenic a...

This work presents the synthesis of F-doped LiFePO4/C composite by the specific modification of the recently suggested synthesis procedure based on an aqueous precipitation of precursor material in molten stearic acid, followed by a high temperature treatment. Besides the lattice parameters and the primitive cell volume reductions, compared to the...

The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of designing ketoprofen-loaded nanosized spheres and combining them with solid silicon microneedles for enhanced and sustained percutaneous drug delivery. Ketoprofen-loaded nanoparticles (KET-NP) were designed by modified solvent displacement method, using poly (D, L-lactic acid) (PDLLA). All prepared...

The global rise in the resistance of pathogens to conventional antibiotics has created an intensive search for alternative materials with antimicrobial properties. This study is performed with an intention to investigate the combined effects of poly(l-glutamic acid)-capped silver nanoparticles (AgNpPGA) and ascorbic acid (AscH) encapsulated within...

The lack of bone in the jaw tegmenta inflicts major problem and leads to an inability to adequately treat stomatoprosthetic patients. If the bone tissue damage is minor, the balanced activities of osteoblasts and bone osteoclasts can repair it independently. If the damage is bigger it is necessary to support the biological potential to repair the b...

The aim of this study was to investigate the osteogenic potential of freshly isolated adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (ASCs) in bone regeneration of rabbit calvaria defects. ASCs were applied together with calcium phosphate-poly-DL-lactide-co-glycolide (CPPLGA) nanoparticles that are mixed in an appropriately prepared blood cl...

In this study, nanocrystalline LiFePO4/C composite powder has been synthesized via a cellulose matrix-assisted method. In an experiment conducted under extreme conditions involving rapid heating, short high-temperature delay, and subsequent quenching, well-ordered 35-nm crystallites have been obtained within 5 min. A quantitative filter paper has s...

Water-soluble antioxidant (ascorbic acid, vitamin C) were encapsulated together with poly(L-glutamic acid)-capped silver nanoparticles (AgNpPGA) within a poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymeric matrix and their synergistic effects were studied. The PLGA/AgNpPGA/ascorbic-acid particles synthesized by a physicochemical method with solvent/non-sol...

CCTO powders were prepared by solid state reaction and mechanochemically, respectively. Synthesized powders were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM and PSA techniques. The sinterability of CCTO powders was investigated by heating microscopy. Powders were uniaxially pressed into pellets and sintered up to 1100°C, with heating rates of 2, 5, 10 and 20°/min...

We report a simple and green procedure for the preparation of magnetic iron oxide nanocrystals via solvothermal synthesis. The nanocrystal synthesis was carried out under mild conditions in the water-ethanol-oleic acid solvent system with the use of the oleate anion as a surface modifier of nanocrystals and glucose as a reducing agent. Specific con...

Cholecalciferol, vitamin D3, plays an important role in bone metabolism by regulating extracellular levels of calcium. Presented here is a study on the effects of the local delivery of cholecalciferol (D3) using nanoparticulate carriers composed of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA). Multifunctional nanoparticulate HAp-b...

Indications exist that paramagnetic calcium phosphates may be able to promote regeneration of bone faster than their regular, diamagnetic counterparts. In this study, analyzed was the influence of paramagnetic cobalt-substituted hydroxyapatite nanoparticles on osteoporotic alveolar bone regeneration in rats. Simultaneously, biocompatibility of the...

Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) particles were prepared by physicochemical method with solvent/non-solvent systems. The synthetic polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and natural polymer poly(α,γ,l-glutamic acid) (PGA), were used as stabilizers and their influence on size and morphology of the particles was examined. The results were compared with those o...

Huge range of tested biomaterials in recent decades has emerged as an ideal scaffold for cell growth, but few have demonstrated clinical efficacy. Among them, synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) is the most promising because of its biocompatibility, bioactivity, and osteoconductivity. Biocompatibility represents the primary concern for...

We have examined the effect of extracts of the calcium phosphate/poly(DLlactidecoglycolide) (CP/PLGA) and cobaltexchanged hydroxyapatite (CoHAp), on the viability of Saos2 osteoblastlike cells. Extracts were prepared by incubation for 3 days at 370C in the cultivation medium. Conductivity and pH value of extracts were measured before viability assa...

Bone loss during the systemic osteoporosis has an important role in dentistry and medicine. The aim of the study was the application of bioactive microand nanocomposite materials, alone, and in combination with autologous plasma in osteoporotic jaw bones of rats with artificially induced osteoporosis. The effect of these composites was measured by...

The study is devoted to the processing of hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanopowder to develop fully dense nanostructured bioceramics by pressureless sintering. The sintering behavior of stoichiometric HAp prepared by hydrothermal processing was investigated by nonisothermal, two-step, and conventional sintering. By low-temperature two-step sintering (TSS),...

In this study low-temperature hydrothermal processing was used for synthesis of ZnO powders with controlled morphology, from micro-rods via hexagonal prismlike to nano-spheres, by the varying of [Zn2+]/[OH-] molar ratio. The synthesized powders were characterized using XRPD, FE-SEM, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance and Raman spectroscopy. It is noticed t...

In recent years, calcium hydroxyapatite (HAp) and its substituents are increasingly used in dentistry and medicine. The influence of nanoparticles Ca / Co-HAp in strengthening weak osteoporotic bone jaw tegmenta was tested in an experimental model. The study was conducted on Wistar soy rats, aged 6-8 weeks. The biomaterial was implanted in the oste...

Metal oxide nanoparticles represent a new class of important materials that are increasingly being developed for use in research and health-related applications. Although the antibacterial activity and efficiency of bulk zinc oxide were investigated in vitro, the knowledge about the antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles remains deficient. In...

In this paper, we investigate the effect of the particle size and morphology on the optical properties of ZnO. A series of ZnO micro and nanocrystals were synthesized by the hydrothermal processing of zinc acetate dihydrate and sodium hydroxide as the starting materials, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the polymer surfactant. The particle size an...

Based on the model polyimide systems the principal nonlinear optical features, such as laser induced refractive indices changes, nonlinear refraction and third order susceptibility have been established during their doping with fullerenes, shungites, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, quantum dots, etc. The evidence of the correlation between las...

Silver nanoparticles (AgNps) were prepared by modified chemical reduction with poly (α, γ, l-glutamic acid) (PGA) as capping agent. These Ag/PGA nanoparticles (AgNpPGAs) were highly stable over long periods of time without signs of precipitation. In addition to obtaining stable AgNpPGAs, a further aim was to examine their encapsulation in the poly(...

IntroductionApplicationPrecursorsPrecipitation Mechanisms and Various Examples of SynthesisExperimental and Theoretical Values of the Diameters of the ParticlesMorphology of the ParticlesConclusion

Lithium iron phosphate powders were obtained by solvothermal treatments of quaternary emulsions Triton X-100/cyclohexane/n-hexanol/water at low temperature (180 °C), with or without stirring. Such synthesis conditions allowed for fast crystallization of pure olivine-type LiFePO4 powder, evidenced by the X-ray powder diffraction measurements and ene...

We report unusual sintering behavior of Ca-deficient hydroxyapatite processed with different heating rates; particularly, faster heating resulted in higher densification. We hypothesize that faster heating delays formation of β-tricalcium phosphate which yields to unobstructed densification in intermediate sintering stage, allowing further tailorin...

A simple and green chemical method has been developed to synthesize stable bare and capped silver nanoparticles based on the reduction of silver ions by glucose and capping by poly(α,γ,L-glutamic acid) (PGA). The use of ammonia during synthesis was avoided. PGA has had a dual role in the synthesis and was used as a capping agent to make the silver...

Unlabelled: Simulated body fluid (SBF) is an artificial fluid which has ionic composition and ionic concentration similar to human blood plasma. Purpose: This paper compares the interaction between the nanomaterial containing calcium phosphate/poly-dl-lactide-co-glycolide (N-CP/PLGA) and SBF, in order to investigate whether and to what extent in...

The recent history of scientific excellence of a society could be used as an indicator of its economic, cultural and communal prosperity. In this work, two examples of countries that successfully arose from the remnants of comparative poverty and established themselves as scientifically thriving societies, South Korea and Slovenia, are compared wit...

The purpose of biomaterials is to replace a part or a function of the body in a safe, physiologically and economically acceptable way. The process of the reconstruction of bone defects has always been a big problem in orthopedics and maxillofacial surgery. Since hydroxyapatite (HAp) was detected as a component, the predominant constituent and the i...