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Kittana N, Assali M, Zimmermann WH, et al. Int J Nanomedicine. 2021;16:989–1000. The authors have advised that the Funding statement on pages 997 and 998 is incorrect. The correct funding statement is: Funding NK and MA: The project was kindly funded and supported by the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education (fund ID number ANNU-MoHE-1819-Sc010), the Deanship of Scientific Research at An-Najah National University (ANNU-1920-Sc016) and by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). This work was further funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the project IRTG 1816 and by the German Cardiac Society (DGK) through a Research Fellowship to GLS. AR was funded by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. SL is supported by the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). W.H.Z is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG; CRC 1002 C04 and S01, IRTG 1816), the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), and the Leducq Foundation. The authors apologize for this error. Read the original article

Naim Kittana, 1 Mohyeddin Assali, 2 Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann, 3, 4 Norman Liaw, 3, 4 Gabriela Leao Santos, 3, 4 Abdul Rehman, 3, 4 Susanne Lutz 3, 4 1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine; 2Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine; 3Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; 4DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research) Partner Site Göttingen, Göttingen, GermanyCorrespondence: Naim KittanaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An Najah National University, Akademia Street, Nablus, PalestineTel +970 (9) 2345113Fax +970 (9) 2345982Email naim.kittana@najah.eduBackground: Under certain conditions, the physiological repair of connective tissues might fail to restore the original structure and function. Optimized engineered connective tissues (ECTs) with biophysical properties adapted to the target tissue could be used as a substitution therapy. This study aimed to investigate the effect of ECT enforcement by a complex of multiwall carbon nanotubes with chitosan (C-MWCNT) to meet in vivo demands.Materials and Methods: ECTs were constructed from human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF-1) in collagen type I and enriched with the three different percentages 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1% of C-MWCNT. Characterization of the physical properties was performed by biomechanical studies using unidirectional strain.Results: Supplementation with 0.025% C-MWCNT moderately increased the tissue stiffness, reflected by Young’s modulus, compared to tissues without C-MWCNT. Supplementation of ECTs with 0.1% C-MWCNT reduced tissue contraction and increased the elasticity and the extensibility, reflected by the yield point and ultimate strain, respectively. Consequently, the ECTs with 0.1% C-MWCNT

Naim Kittana,1 Mohyeddin Assali,2 Hanood Abu-Rass,1 Susanne Lutz,3,4 Rama Hindawi,2 Lina Ghannam,2 Marah Zakarneh,2 Ahmad Mousa1 1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine; 2Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine; 3Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany; 4German Center for Cardiovascular Research e.V., Partner Site, Göttingen, Germany Background: Impaired wound healing is commonly associated with many health problems, including diabetes, bedsores and extensive burns. In such cases, healing often takes a long time, which subjects patients to various complications. This study aims to investigate whether single-wall or multi-wall carbon nanotubes complexed with chitosan hydrogel can improve wound healing. Materials and methods: Initially, the effects of the complexes on the viability and functionality of fibroblasts were investigated in engineered connective tissues. Then, their activity on wound healing was investigated in a mouse model with induced full-thickness wounds, in which the wounds were treated daily with these complexes. Finally, the effect of the complexes on collagen deposition by fibroblasts was investigated in vitro. Results: The engineered connective tissue studies showed that fibroblasts were viable in the presence of the complexes and were still able to effectively organize and contract the extracellular matrix. In vivo data showed that both types of complexes improved the re-epithelialization of the healing wounds; however, they also increased the percentage of wounds with higher fibrosis. In particular, the chitosan-multi-wall carbon nanotube complex significantly enhanced the extensiveness of this fibrosis, which is in line with in vitro data showing a concentration-dependent enhancement of collage deposition by these c