Nowadays, the research of smart materials is focusing on the allotropics, which have specific characteristics that are useful in several areas, including biomedical applications. In recent years, graphene has revealed interesting antibacterial and physical peculiarities, but it has also shown limitations. Black phosphorus has structural and biochemical properties that make it ideal for biomedical applications: 2D sheets of black phosphorus are called Black Phosphorene (BP), and it could replace graphene in the coming years. BP, similar to other 2D materials, can be used for colorimetric and fluorescent detectors, as well as for biosensing devices. BP also shows high in vivo biodegradability, producing non-toxic agents in the body. This characteristic is promising for pharmacological applications, as well as for scaffold and prosthetic coatings. BP shows low cytotoxicity, thus avoiding the induction of local inflammation or toxicity. As such, BP is a good candidate for different applications in the biomedical sector. Properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and biosafety are essential for use in medicine. In this review, we have exploited all such aspects, also comparing BP with other similar materials, such as the well-known graphene.

Translational medicine aims to translate the most promising preclinical research into clinical practice. Oncology is a continuously growing medical field: the scientific research on cancer biology is currently based on in vitro experiments, carried out on tissue culture plates (TCPs) and other 2D samples. In this context, 3D printing has greatly improved the biofabrication of new biological matrices that mimic the extracellular environments, which may characterize healthy from cancerous tissues. Organoids have recently been described in several reports on scientific literature. The term that better describes such organoids-based tumoral tissues is “tumoroids”. Tumoroids are substantially “tumor-like organoids”, typically deriving from primary tumors harvested from patients. This topical review aims to give an update on organoids applied in translational medicine, paying specific attention to their use in the investigation of the main molecular mechanisms of cancer onset and growth, and on the most impacting strategies for effective targeted therapies.

Background: It is well-known that toothbrushing might be associated with the development of oral soft tissue lesions. There is currently a continuing increase in the demand for new safety and performing materials in daily homecare oral hygiene including soft and extra-soft toothbrush bristles that tend to be safer. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of plaque control and the potential effects on gingival health of two different toothbrush bristle models. Methods: In a three-month period, a total of forty subjects were evaluated for Oral Hygiene Index (OHI), Gingival Index (GI) and Plaque Index (PI) scores as well the Gingival Abrasion Assessment (GAA) between a toothbrush entirely made from a rubber-like material called thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) and a soft toothbrush (standard control with nylon bristles) in a clinical, single-blind, controlled, parallel-group trial. Results: The use of the TPE toothbrush allows a reduction in the PI, improves the OHI and modifies the GAA in the TPE group over a period of three months compared with a conventional soft bristle toothbrush applied for the same period, leading in this way evidence for a good influence of the TPE bristles on overall oral hygiene conditions. Conclusions: From the comparison between our data and the literature studies, we can state that the material and shape of the bristles of the toothbrush affect the home practice of oral hygiene. The TPE bristles reduce the presence of plaque formation and gingival bleeding, oral soft tissue injuries acquired during homecare oral hygiene.

The clinicopathological features of a rare case of primary non-Hodgkin's hepatic lymphoma (PHL) are described and compared to those of the other 76 cases reported in the world literature. PHL is mainly a disease of Caucasian, middle-aged males and, in approximately half of the reported cases, was associated with other diseases involving depression or chronic stimulation of the immune system. Right upper abdominal and epigastric pain with loss of weight are the most common presenting symptoms. The tumour is usually a single large mass involving both hepatic lobes and is almost invariably composed of lymphocytes reacting with B-cell markers. Most tumours are of intermediate or high grade according to the classification of the Working Formulation for Clinical Usage. No correlation is apparent between gross appearance of PHL (massive or nodular) and grade of severity. Chemotherapy or radiotherapy alone appears to be ineffective, while relatively good results can be obtained with combination modalities.

Dental stem cells (DSCs) holds the ability to differentiate into numerous cell types. This property makes these cells particularly appropriate for therapeutic use in regenerative medicine. We report evidence that when DSCs undergo osteogenic differentiation, the osteoblast-like cells can be reverted back to a stem-like state and then further differentiated toward the osteogenic phenotype again, without gene manipulation. We have investigated two different MSCs types, both from dental tissues: dental follicle progenitor stem cells (DFPCs) and dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). After osteogenic differentiation, both DFPCs and DPSCs can be reverted to a naïve stem cell-like status; importantly, dedifferentiated DSCs showed a greater potential to further differentiate toward the osteogenic phenotype. Our report aims to demonstrate for the first time that it is possible, under physiological conditions, to control the dedifferentiation of DSCs and that the rerouting of cell fate could potentially be used to enhance their osteogenic therapeutic potential. Significantly, this study first validates the use of dedifferentiated DSCs as an alternative source for bone tissue engineering.