Enhanced cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in electrospun PLGA/hydroxyapatite nanofibre scaffolds incorporated with graphene oxide.

Chuan Fu,Xiaoyu Yang,Jiaqi Zhu,Yu Wang,Zhihao Niu,Jianan Li,Haotian Bai,Yunshen Bai,Feng Zhao

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0188352

Abstract

One of the goals of bone tissue engineering is to mimic native ECM in architecture and function, creating scaffolds with excellent biocompatibility, osteoinductive ability and mechanical properties. The aim of this study was to fabricate nanofibrous matrices by electrospinning a blend of poly (L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), hydroxyapatite (HA), and grapheme oxide (GO) as a favourable platform for bone tissue engineering. The morphology, biocompatibility, mechanical properties, and biological activity of all nanofibrous matrices were compared. The data indicate that the hydrophilicity and protein adsorption rate of the fabricated matrices were significantly increased by blending with a small amount of HA and GO. Furthermore, GO significantly boosted the tensile strength of the nanofibrous matrices, and the PLGA/GO/HA nanofibrous matrices can serve as mechanically stable scaffolds for cell growth. For further test in vitro, MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on the PLGA/HA/GO nanofbrous matrices to observe various cellular activities and cell mineralization. The results indicated that the PLGA/GO/HA nanofibrous matrices significantly enhanced adhesion, and proliferation in MCET3-E1 cells and functionally promoted alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, the osteogenesis-related gene expression and mineral deposition. Therefore, the PLGA/HA/GO composite nanofibres are excellent and versatile scaffolds for applications in bone tissue regeneration.

Highlights

Biodegradable polymeric scaffolds for bone reconstruction have received significant attention because of the limitations of bone tissue regeneration potential and current treatments [1, 2]
After grapheme oxide (GO), HA or both were added into the PLGA solution, the diameter of nanofibres showed a slight downward trend (p>0.05), the mean diameter of PLGA nanofibres decreased from 1347 ± 368 to 1009 ± 212, 1082 ± 252 and 885 ± 235 nm
This phenomenon can be explained partly by the fact that GO nanosheets might be embedded in the nanofibres and aligned along the axial direction of shape anisotropy of regular shapes in nanofibres similar to the literature reported by Lee [14]

Summary

Introduction

Biodegradable polymeric scaffolds for bone reconstruction have received significant attention because of the limitations of bone tissue regeneration potential and current treatments [1, 2]. Ideal bone tissue scaffolds should have a suitable structure to mimic temporary extracellular matrix (ECM), which can control cellular behaviours and provide appropriate microenvironments [3]. Cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in PLGA/HA/GO nanofibrous matrices and geometries have been designed and fabricated to mimic ECM using a variety of methods and materials, such as electrospinning, melt extrusion, rapid prototyping and solvent evaporation [4,5,6,7]. Many studies reported that synthetic biodegradable polymers such as poly (lactic-co-glycolicacid) (PLGA) have been used to fabricate nanofibrous scaffolds by electrospinning for bone tissue engineering, alone or combined with other biomaterials [8,9,10]

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Results

Conclusion