Degradability, cytocompatibility, and osteogenesis of porous scaffolds of nanobredigite and PCL–PEG–PCL composite

Abstract

Biocomposite scaffolds were fabricated by incorporation of nanobredigite (n-BD) into the polymer of poly(ε-caprolactone)–poly(ethyleneglycol)–poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL–PEG–PCL). The results revealed that the addition of n-BD into PCL–PEG–PCL significantly improved water absorption, compressive strength, and degradability of the scaffolds of n-BD/PCL–PEG–PCL composite (n-BPC) compared with PCL–PEG–PCL scaffolds alone. In addition, the proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity of MG63 cells cultured on n-BPC scaffolds were obviously higher than that cultured on PCL–PEG–PCL scaffolds. Moreover, the results of the histological evaluation from the animal model revealed that the n-BPC scaffolds significantly improved new bone formation compared with the PCL–PEG–PCL scaffolds, indicating good osteogenesis. The n-BPC scaffolds with good biocompatibility could stimulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and bone tissue regeneration and would be an excellent candidate for bone defect repair.

Keywords:

• nanobredigite
• PCL–PEG–PCL
• biocomposite scaffolds
• degradability
• osteogenesis

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the Major International Joint Research Project between the People’s Republic of China and Republic of Korea (81461148033), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program) (2014AA021202), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Numbers 81271705, 31271031), and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (grant number: NRF-2014K2A2A7066637).

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.