Abstract
Osteoporosis is a worldwide disease resulting in the increase of bone fragility and enhanced fracture risk in adults. In the context of osteoporotic fractures, bone tissue engineering (BTE), i.e., the use of bone substitutes combining biomaterials, cells, and other factors, is considered a potential alternative to conventional treatments. Innovative scaffolds need to be tested in in vitro systems where the simultaneous presence of osteoblasts (OBs) and osteoclasts (OCs), the two main players of bone remodeling, is required to mimic their crosstalk and molecular cooperation. To this aim, two composite materials were developed, based on type I collagen, and containing either strontium-enriched mesoporous bioactive glasses or rod-like hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. The developed nanostructured systems underwent genipin chemical crosslinking and were then tested with an indirect co-culture of human trabecular bone-derived OBs and buffy coat-derived OC precursors, for 2–3 weeks. The favorable structural and biological properties of the materials proved to successfully support the viability, adhesion, and differentiation of cells, encouraging a further investigation of the developed bioactive systems as biomaterial inks for the 3D printing of more complex scaffolds for BTE.
Highlights
Osteoporosis (OP) is classified as one of the world’s most common chronic metabolic bone diseases [1], characterized by a reduction of bone mass, low bone mineral density (BMD), and impaired bone microarchitecture/mineralization
The results suggest that the developed composite systems support bone cells and possess suitable biomechanical properties, deserving further refinement to act as bone scaffolds prepared by 3D printing techniques
System, nano-HA particles were suspended in 1 M NaOH containing an anionic dispersing agent (Darvan 821-A), the suspension was added to the 1.5% wt collagen solution
Summary
Osteoporosis (OP) is classified as one of the world’s most common chronic metabolic bone diseases [1], characterized by a reduction of bone mass, low bone mineral density (BMD), and impaired bone microarchitecture/mineralization These factors lead to increased bone fragility, which results in low-trauma fractures [2,3,4], especially in the elderly population. Long-term treatment with BPs can cause osteonecrosis of the jaw and atypical femur fractures [8,9,10] This negative impact is related to the diminished capacity of fracture healing in osteoporotic patients, and the use of fracture fixation devices such as screws or fixation plates. A potential alternative to the conventional treatments is bone tissue engineering (BTE), which aims to induce the regeneration of new functional bone tissue through a combination of biomaterials, cells, and bioactive factors [11,12]
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