Abstract
A computer-designed, solvent-free scaffold offer several potential advantages such as ease of customized manufacture and in vivo safety. In this work, we firstly used a computer-designed, solvent-free scaffold and human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) to regenerate neo-bone within cranial bone defects. The hDPSCs expressed mesenchymal stem cell markers and served as an abundant source of stem cells with a high proliferation rate. In addition, hDPSCs showed a phenotype of differentiated osteoblasts in the presence of osteogenic factors (OF). We used solid freeform fabrication (SFF) with biodegradable polyesters (MPEG-(PLLA-co-PGA-co-PCL) (PLGC)) to fabricate a computer-designed scaffold. The SFF technology gave quick and reproducible results. To assess bone tissue engineering in vivo, the computer-designed, circular PLGC scaffold was implanted into a full-thickness cranial bone defect and monitored by micro-computed tomography (CT) and histology of the in vivo tissue-engineered bone. Neo-bone formation of more than 50% in both micro-CT and histology tests was observed at only PLGC scaffold with hDPSCs/OF. Furthermore, the PLGC scaffold gradually degraded, as evidenced by the fluorescent-labeled PLGC scaffold, which provides information to tract biodegradation of implanted PLGC scaffold. In conclusion, we confirmed neo-bone formation within a cranial bone defect using hDPSCs and a computer-designed PLGC scaffold.
Highlights
By conventional scaffold fabrication techniques[10]
The expression of surface antigens by Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) was evaluated using flow cytometry. hDPSCs at passage 5 were positive for the mesenchymal stem cell markers CD90 (> 99.3%), CD105 (> 95.6%), and CD166 (99.4%), and negative for the hematopoietic stem cell markers CD34 (< 0.01%) and CD45 (< 0.01%). hDPSCs maintained stem cell characteristics through passages 2 to 5
To examine the proliferative potential of hDPSCs as a source of cells, cell counts were performed at passages [2, 3, 4], and 5. hDPSCs quickly expanded with subsequent passages
Summary
Recent research efforts have focused on the fabrication of a scaffold with complicated and interconnected pore structure, including several computer-designed scaffold fabrication techniques; for example, solid freeform fabrication (SFF)[11,12,13]. The degradation of scaffolds fabricated from PLLA, PGA, and PCL or their co-polyesters can be controlled by attributes such as the molecular weight and composition of polyesters[19]. The first aim of this work was the fabrication of a computer-designed and solvent-free PLGC scaffold using SFF to provide several potential advantages such as ease of customized manufacture and in vivo safety because there was no study regarding to utilization of PLGC scaffold for cranial bone defect using SFF.
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