Abstract
Biocompatible scaffolding materials play an important role in bone tissue engineering. This study sought to develop and characterize a nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA)/collagen I (ColI)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite scaffold loaded with recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-9 (BMP-9) for bone tissue engineering by in vitro and in vivo experiments. The composite nHA/ColI/MWCNT scaffolds were fabricated at various concentrations of MWCNTs (0.5, 1, and 1.5% wt) by blending and freeze drying. The porosity, swelling rate, water absorption rate, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility of scaffolds were measured. After loading with BMP-9, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) were seeded to evaluate their characteristics in vitro and in a critical sized defect in Sprague-Dawley rats in vivo. It was shown that the 1% MWCNT group was the most suitable for bone tissue engineering. Our results demonstrated that scaffolds loaded with BMP-9 promoted differentiation of BMMSCs into osteoblasts in vitro and induced more bone formation in vivo. To conclude, nHA/ColI/MWCNT scaffolds loaded with BMP-9 possess high biocompatibility and osteogenesis and are a good candidate for use in bone tissue engineering.
Highlights
Craniofacial bone defects are a common disease and difficult to study experimentally and treat clinically
The results showed that the porosity of 0.5% wt multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) group was 91.34±3.02%, the porosity of 1.0% wt MWCNT was 89.04±3.26%, and the porosity of 1.5% wt MWCNT was 82.82±2.74%
The results showed that nHACM scaffolds had a porous structure with well-oriented pores enclosed by a thin wall from the surface to inside (Figure 1)
Summary
Craniofacial bone defects are a common disease and difficult to study experimentally and treat clinically. Conventional allografts and autografts have limitations such as immune rejection, disease transmission, malunion, and flap necrosis [1, 2]. Researchers are developing new alternatives to traditional methods for bone defect regeneration [3]. The development of artificial bone transplantation has been greatly facilitated by tissue engineering. The emergence and development of tissue engineering offer tremendous potential. The properties of bio-scaffolds play an important role in bone tissue engineering [4, 5]. An ideal biomaterial for bone tissue engineering should provide biocompatibility, good surface activity, appropriate pore sizes and porosity, high mechanical strength, and plasticity [6,7,8]
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