Hollow hydroxyapatite microsphere: a promising carrier for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite (HA) microsphere with abundant ordered mesoporous and large hollow structure was prepared at hydrothermal condition with the aid of citrate. The obtained microsphere was performed as a drug delivery carrier to evaluate its drug loading/releasing behaviour using alendronate (AL) as a model drug. Results revealed that HA particles performed high AL-loading capability (46.8 wt % with respect to the powdered starting materials) and excellent AL-releasing behaviour (sustained drug releasing profile without burst release). Besides, although a proliferation inhibition phenomenon was observed as HA and AL-loading HA (HA-AL) co-cultured with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) at the initial stage, after prolonging co-culture period, compared with HA and control group, HA-AL promoted the cells’ proliferation, meanwhile, it facilitated osteogenic differentiation of MSCs and enhanced the expression level of typical markers, all of that ensure HA microsphere is a promising carrier for bone repair.

Keywords:

• Hydroxyapatite
• mesoporous
• alendronate
• drug delivery
• osteogenesis

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Funding information

This research was supported by Jiangxi University of Science and Technology Scientific Research Foundation (NSFJ2015-G11), Scientific Research Starting Foundation (jxxjbs14011) and Youth Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (20151BAB216007).