Photocrosslinkable and elastomeric hydrogels for bone regeneration

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Photocrosslinkable and elastomeric hydrogels for bone regeneration Teena Thakur1, Janet Xavier1, Lauren Cross1, Manish Jaiswal1, Eli Mondragon1, Roland Kaunas1 and Akhilesh K. Gaharwar1, 2 1 Texas A&M University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, United States 2 Texas A&M University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, United States Over the past decade, regenerative medicine has witnessed tremendous advances owing to an increase in clinical demand for bioactive materials to repair and regenerate damaged bone tissue. Though bone injuries and defects may seem relatively simple to treat with conventional methods, treatment of complex fractures or pathological conditions in the elderly is a challenge. Current treatment involves replacement of damaged tissue with bone grafts, usually involving metallic pins, rods or plates that act as support systems. These surgical methods are far from ideal as they may require extended healing time and potentially multiple surgeries.3 Recent tissue engineering approaches focus on mimicking the structure and chemical composition of tissues by providing an appropriate extracellular matrix (ECM) environment to activate cellular functions. In that regard, bioresorbable nanocomposites have shown strong promise as an artificial ECM. Among these nanomaterials, nanohydroxyapatite (nHAp) has been combined with various hydrophobic polymers to fabricate nanocomposite scaffolds. Mineralized tissues such as bone are composed of inorganic mineral (nHAp ~ 69 wt%) and an organic component containing predominantly collagen. Thus, nHAp has been extensively investigated for a range of biomedical applications including bone tissue engineering, dental fillers, and drug delivery. By combining nHAp with a polymeric network, bioactive nanocomposites with well-defined cell matrix interactions can be designed. Here, we investigated the mechanical, rheological, and degradation properties of photocrosslinkable and elastomeric nanocomposite hydrogels from nanohydroxyapatite (nHAp) and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) (Figure 1). The addition of nHAp resulted in a significant increase in mechanical stiffness and physiological stability. Cells readily adhere and proliferate on the nanocomposite surfaces. Cyclic stretching of cells on the elastomeric nanocomposites revealed that nHAp elicited a stronger alignment response in the direction of strain. In vitro studies highlight enhanced bioactivity of nanocomposites as determined by alkaline phosphate (ALP) activity. Overall, the elastomeric and photocrosslinkable nanocomposite hydrogels can be used for minimally invasive therapy for bone regeneration. Keywords: nanocomposite, biomaterial, Bioactivity, Bone repair Conference: 10th World Biomaterials Congress, Montréal, Canada, 17 May - 22 May, 2016. Presentation Type: New Frontier Oral Topic: Synthetic scaffolds as extracellular matrices Citation: Thakur T, Xavier J, Cross L, Jaiswal M, Mondragon E, Kaunas R and Gaharwar AK (2016). Photocrosslinkable and elastomeric hydrogels for bone regeneration. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. Conference Abstract: 10th World Biomaterials Congress. doi: 10.3389/conf.FBIOE.2016.01.02304 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Mar 2016; Published Online: 30 Mar 2016. Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Teena Thakur Janet Xavier Lauren Cross Manish Jaiswal Eli Mondragon Roland Kaunas Akhilesh K Gaharwar Google Teena Thakur Janet Xavier Lauren Cross Manish Jaiswal Eli Mondragon Roland Kaunas Akhilesh K Gaharwar Google Scholar Teena Thakur Janet Xavier Lauren Cross Manish Jaiswal Eli Mondragon Roland Kaunas Akhilesh K Gaharwar PubMed Teena Thakur Janet Xavier Lauren Cross Manish Jaiswal Eli Mondragon Roland Kaunas Akhilesh K Gaharwar Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.