A biomimetic mesoporous silica–polymer composite scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

A biomimetic organic–inorganic composite system comprising of microspheres fabricated from combination of a biodegradable polymer poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and bioactive mesoporous silica (SBA-15) has been developed through sintering technique for bone regeneration applications. The morphological and structural properties of the SBA-15/PLGA composite scaffold were evaluated using electron microscopy and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the results showed spherical morphology and composite nature. The presence of mesopores in the silica was confirmed through nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms. The surface area and pore size of mesoporous silica were found to be 792 m2 g−1 and 3.7 nm, respectively. The thermal characteristics of the SBA-15/PLGA composites studied using thermogravimetry analysis shows a weight loss of around 80% with the degradation occurring at 324 °C. The prepared scaffold is also found to support the adhesion and proliferation of osteoblast cells. The expression of specific bone markers is significantly enhanced in the SBA-15/PLGA composite scaffold when compared with the pristine polymeric scaffold indicating the positive effect of mesoporous silica. Hence, these SBA-15/PLGA composite scaffolds can be explored further for bone regeneration applications.