The biocompatibility and similarity of hydroxyapatite (HA) to the mineral composition of the bone has made HA a potential candidate in bone tissue engineering (BTE). Over the past few decades, its application as bone graft in combination with stem cells has gained much importance. The use of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) will enhance the rate and quality of defect repair. However, application of hydroxyapatite as a material to develop a 3-dimension scaffold or carrier to support MSCs in vitro is still in its infant stage. This review will discuss the source, manufacturing methods and advantages of using HA scaffolds in bone tissue engineering applications.
Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is considered the best alternative material for titanium for spinal fusion cage implants due to its low elasticity modulus and radiolucent property. The main problem of PEEK is its bioinert properties. Coating with hydroxyapatite (HA) showed very good improvement in bioactivity of the PEEK implants. However the existing methods for deposition of HA have some disadvantages and damage the PEEK substrate. In our previous study a new method for deposition of HA on PEEK was presented. In this study cell proliferation of mesenchymal stem cell and apatite formation in simulated body fluid (SBF) tests were conducted to probe the effect of this new method in improvement of the bioactivity of PEEK. The mesenchymal stem cell proliferation result showed better cells proliferation on the treated layer in comparison with untreated PEEK. The apatite formation results showed the growth of the HA on the treated PEEK but there was not any sight of the growth of HA on the untreated PEEK even after 2 weeks. The results showed the new method of the HA deposition improved the bioactivity of the treated PEEK in comparison with the bare PEEK.
The in vivo biocompatibility and toxicity of PVA/NOCC scaffold were tested by comparing them with those of a biocompatible inert material HAM in a rat model. On Day 5, changes in the blood parameters of the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats were significantly higher than those of the control. The levels of potassium, creatinine, total protein, A/G, hemoglobulin, erythrocytes, WBC, and platelets were not significantly altered in the HAM-implanted rats, when compared with those in the control. On Day 10, an increase in potassium, urea, and GGT levels and a decrease in ALP, platelet, and eosinophil levels were noted in the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats, when compared with control. These changes were almost similar to those noted in the HAM-implanted rats, except for the unaltered potassium and increased neutrophil levels. On Day 15, the total protein, A/G, lymphocyte, monocyte, and eosinophil levels remained unaltered in the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats, whereas urea, A/G, WBC, lymphocyte, and monocyte levels remained unchanged in the HAM-implanted rats. Histology and immunohistochemistry analyses revealed inflammatory infiltration in the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats, but not in the HAM-implanted rats. Although a low toxic tissue response was observed in the PVA/NOCC-implanted rats, further studies are necessary to justify the use of this material in tissue engineering applications.
Human amniotic membrane (HAM) is an established biomaterial used in many clinical applications. However, its use for tissue engineering purposes has not been fully realized. A study was therefore conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using HAM as a chondrocyte substrate/carrier. HAMs were obtained from fresh human placenta and were process to produced air dried HAM (AdHAM) and freeze dried HAM (FdHAM). Rabbit chondrocytes were isolated and expanded in vitro and seeded onto these preparations. Cell proliferation, GAG expression and GAG/cell expression were measured at days 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 21, and 28. These were compared to chondrocytes seeded onto plastic surfaces. Histological analysis and scanning electron microscopy was performed to observe cell attachment. There was significantly higher cell proliferation rates observed between AdHAM (13-51%, P=0.001) or FdHAM (18-48%, p = 0.001) to chondrocytes in monolayer. Similarly, GAG and GAG/cell expressed in AdHAM (33-82%, p = 0.001; 22-60%, p = 0.001) or FdHAM (41-81%, p = 0.001: 28-60%, p = 0.001) were significantly higher than monolayer cultures. However, no significant differences were observed in the proliferation rates (p = 0.576), GAG expression (p = 0.476) and GAG/cell expression (p = 0.135) between AdHAM and FdHAM. The histology and scanning electron microscopy assessments demonstrates good chondrocyte attachments on both HAMs. In conclusion, both AdHAM and FdHAM provide superior chondrocyte proliferation, GAG expression, and attachment than monolayer cultures making it a potential substrate/carrier for cell based cartilage therapy and transplantation.
To compare the effect of bovine bone derived porous hydroxyapatite (BDHA) scaffold on proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) compared with commercial hydroxyapatite (CHA) scaffold.
Diopside was synthesized from biowaste (Eggshell) by sol-gel combustion method at low calcination temperature and the influence of two different fuels (urea, l-alanine) on the phase formation temperature, physical and biological properties of the resultant diopside was studied. The synthesized materials were characterized by heating microscopy, FTIR, XRD, BET, SEM and EDAX techniques. BET analysis reveals particles were of submicron size with porosity in the nanometer range. Bone-like apatite deposition ability of diopside scaffolds was examined under static and circulation mode of SBF (Simulated Body Fluid). It was noticed that diopside has the capability to deposit HAP (hydroxyapatite) within the early stages of immersion. ICP-OES analysis indicates release of Ca, Mg, Si ions and removal of P ions from the SBF, but in different quantities from diopside scaffolds. Cytocompatability studies on human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) revealed good cellular attachment on the surface of diopside scaffolds and formation of extracellular matrix (ECM). This study suggests that the usage of eggshell biowaste as calcium source provides an effective substitute for synthetic starting materials to fabricate bioproducts for biomedical applications.
A comparative study on the in vitro osteogenic potential of electrospun poly-L-lactide/hydroxyapatite/collagen (PLLA/HA/Col, PLLA/HA, and PLLA/Col) scaffolds was conducted. The morphology, chemical composition, and surface roughness of the fibrous scaffolds were examined. Furthermore, cell attachment, distribution, morphology, mineralization, extracellular matrix protein localization, and gene expression of human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) differentiated on the fibrous scaffolds PLLA/Col/HA, PLLA/Col, and PLLA/HA were also analyzed. The electrospun scaffolds with a diameter of 200-950 nm demonstrated well-formed interconnected fibrous network structure, which supported the growth of hMSCs. When compared with PLLA/H%A and PLLA/Col scaffolds, PLLA/Col/HA scaffolds presented a higher density of viable cells and significant upregulation of genes associated with osteogenic lineage, which were achieved without the use of specific medium or growth factors. These results were supported by the elevated levels of calcium, osteocalcin, and mineralization (P<0.05) observed at different time points (0, 7, 14, and 21 days). Furthermore, electron microscopic observations and fibronectin localization revealed that PLLA/Col/HA scaffolds exhibited superior osteoinductivity, when compared with PLLA/Col or PLLA/HA scaffolds. These findings indicated that the fibrous structure and synergistic action of Col and nano-HA with high-molecular-weight PLLA played a vital role in inducing osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. The data obtained in this study demonstrated that the developed fibrous PLLA/Col/HA biocomposite scaffold may be supportive for stem cell based therapies for bone repair, when compared with the other two scaffolds.
This work is aimed to develop a biocompatible, bactericidal and mechanically stable biomaterial to overcome the challenges associated with calcium phosphate bioceramics. The influence of chemical composition on synthesis temperature, bioactivity, antibacterial activity and mechanical stability of least explored calcium silicate bioceramics was studied. The current study also investigates the biomedical applications of rankinite (Ca3Si2O7) for the first time. Sol-gel combustion method was employed for their preparation using citric acid as a fuel. Differential thermal analysis indicated that the crystallization of larnite and rankinite occurred at 795 °C and 1000 °C respectively. The transformation of secondary phases into the desired product was confirmed by XRD and FT-IR. TEM micrographs showed the particle size of larnite in the range of 100-200 nm. The surface of the samples was entirely covered by the dominant apatite phase within one week of immersion. Moreover, the compressive strength of larnite and rankinite was found to be 143 MPa and 233 MPa even after 28 days of soaking in SBF. Both samples prevented the growth of clinical pathogens at a concentration of 2 mg/mL. Larnite and rankinite supported the adhesion, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs. The variation in chemical composition was found to influence the properties of larnite and rankinite. The results observed in this work signify that these materials not only exhibit faster biomineralization ability, excellent cytocompatibility but also enhanced mechanical stability and antibacterial properties.
It has been demonstrated that nanocrystalline forsterite powder synthesised using urea as a fuel in sol-gel combustion method had produced a pure forsterite (FU) and possessed superior bioactive characteristics such as bone apatite formation and antibacterial properties. In the present study, 3D-scaffold was fabricated using nanocrystalline forsterite powder in polymer sponge method. The FU scaffold was used in investigating the physicochemical, biomechanics, cell attachment, in vitro biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation properties. For physicochemical characterisation, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectrometer (XPS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) were used. FTIR, EDX, XRD peaks and Raman spectroscopy demonstrated correlating to FU. The XPS confirmed the surface chemistry associating to FU. The BET revealed FU scaffold surface area of 12.67 m2/g and total pore size of 0.03 cm3/g. Compressive strength of the FU scaffold was found to be 27.18 ± 13.4 MPa. The human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hBMSCs) characterisation prior to perform seeding on FU scaffold verified the stromal cell phenotypic and lineage commitments. SEM, confocal images and presto blue viability assay suggested good cell attachment and proliferation of hBMSCs on FU scaffold and comparable to a commercial bone substitutes (cBS). Osteogenic proteins and gene expression from day 7 onward indicated FU scaffold had a significant osteogenic potential (p<0.05), when compared with day 1 as well as between FU and cBS. These findings suggest that FU scaffold has a greater potential for use in orthopaedic and/or orthodontic applications.