Abstract
Large-sized cranial bone defect repair presents a great challenge in the clinic. The ideal cranioplasty materials to realize the functional and cosmetic recovery of the defect must have sufficient mechanical support, excellent biocompatibility, good osseointegration and biodegradability as well. In this study, a high-strength mineralized collagen (MC) bone scaffold was developed with biomimetic composition, microstructure and mechanical properties for the repair of sheep large-sized cranial bone defects in comparison with two traditional cranioplasty materials, polymethyl methacrylate and titanium mesh. The compact MC scaffold showed no distinct pore structure and therefore possessed good mechanical properties. The strength and elastic modulus of the scaffold were much higher than those of natural cancellous bone and slightly lower than those of natural compact bone. In vitro cytocompatibility evaluation revealed that the human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSC) had good viability, attachment and proliferation on the compact MC scaffold indicating its excellent biocompatibility. An adult sheep cranial bone defect model was constructed to evaluate the performances of these cranioplasty materials in repairing the cranial bone defects. The results were investigated by gross observation, computed tomography scanning as well as histological assessments. The in vivo evaluations indicated that compact MC scaffold showed notable osteoconductivity and osseointegration with surrounding cranial bone tissues by promoting bone regeneration. Our results suggested that the compact MC scaffold has a promising potential for large-sized cranial bone defect repair.
Highlights
Cranial bone defects present a common clinical problem and could be caused by congenital defects of dysraphism and skeletal anomalies, or acquired injuries from trauma, encephalic and maxillofacial surgeries and infection
The compact MC scaffold (cMC) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) scaffolds appeared homogenous and compact, which was confirmed by the SEM examinations
The mechanical properties of the cMC as well as PMMA scaffolds were obtained according to the stress–strain curve from the
Summary
Cranial bone defects present a common clinical problem and could be caused by congenital defects of dysraphism and skeletal anomalies, or acquired injuries from trauma, encephalic and maxillofacial surgeries and infection. As a consequence, it can trigger multiple physiological complications as well as a negative influence on psychology [1,2,3]. A variety of biomaterials including bioglass, titanium (Ti), poly(etheretherketone), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and hydroxyapatite have been developed for cranioplasty. Many researchers studying cranioplasty concentrate on the development of novel bone materials to induce cranial bone regeneration [10,11,12]. Achieving adequate bone regeneration for repairing large-sized cranial bone defects remains a great challenge
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