Synergistic Effects on Incorporation of β-Tricalcium Phosphate and Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles to Silk Fibroin/Soy Protein Isolate Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering.

Fan Liu,Yi Liu,Xiaohong Wang,Jia He,Bowen Zheng,Cen Chen,Jun Liu,Chen Liu,In-Seop Lee

doi:10.3390/polym12010069

Abstract

In bone tissue engineering, an ideal scaffold is required to have favorable physical, chemical (or physicochemical), and biological (or biochemical) properties to promote osteogenesis. Although silk fibroin (SF) and/or soy protein isolate (SPI) scaffolds have been widely used as an alternative to autologous and heterologous bone grafts, the poor mechanical property and insufficient osteoinductive capability has become an obstacle for their in vivo applications. Herein, β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles are incorporated into SF/SPI scaffolds simultaneously or individually. Physical and chemical properties of these composite scaffolds are evaluated using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Biocompatibility and osteogenesis of the composite scaffolds are evaluated using bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). All the composite scaffolds have a complex porous structure with proper pore sizes and porosities. Physicochemical properties of the scaffolds can be significantly increased through the incorporation of β-TCP and GO nanoparticles. Alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) and osteogenesis-related gene expression of the BMSCs are significantly enhanced in the presence of β-TCP and GO nanoparticles. Especially, β-TCP and GO nanoparticles have a synergistic effect on promoting osteogenesis. These results suggest that the β-TCP and GO enhanced SF/SPI scaffolds are promising candidates for bone tissue regeneration.

Highlights

Bone deformities from congenital deformity, traumatic injury, and oncologic resection severely affect patients’ physical function and mental health
The objective of our study is to investigate the synergistic effect on promoting the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in the presence of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles
Most of the Silk fibroin (SF) and SF/soy protein isolate (SPI) scaffolds exhibit ellipse-shaped pores with rounded pore edges (Figure 2A,B)

Summary

Introduction

Bone deformities from congenital deformity, traumatic injury, and oncologic resection severely affect patients’ physical function and mental health. SF scaffolds have been reported to support mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) attachment, proliferation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition [7], it is insufficient to induce stem cell differentiation, and even repair large bone defects. Blending of SF with other polymers is expected to develop double-network composite scaffolds that enhance biological properties [8]. Soy protein isolate (SPI), a dietary protein extracted from the soy bean, has emerged as an attractive alternative to animal-derived protein source for biomedical applications. It contains various bioactive peptides, and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States for its potential health benefits. Some researches indicated that SPI might counteract the detrimental effects of osteoporosis and obesity by regulating a series of signal pathways, correcting the imbalance of remodeling [11]

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