Synthesis, Characterization, and Osteoblastic Cell Culture of Poly(L-co-D,L-lactide-co-trimethylene carbonate) Scaffolds.

André Dutra Messias,Kelly Fernanda Martins,Eliana Aparecida De Rezende Duek,Adriana Cristina Motta

doi:10.1155/2014/501789

Abstract

Lactide-based polymers have been widely investigated as materials for tissue engineering. However, characteristics such as low flexibility and elongation tend to limit particular applications, although these can be enhanced by adding plasticizers such as trimethylene carbonate (TMC) to the polymer chain of the copolymer poly(L-lactide-co-D,L-lactide) (PLDLA). The aim of this work was to synthesize and characterize a terpolymer of L-lactide, D,L-lactide, and TMC. The polymers were synthesized from 30% TMC by bulk polymerization and resulted in an average molar mass >105 g/mol. Thermal investigation of PLDLA-TMC showed a decrease in the glass transition and onset temperatures compared to PLDLA. PLDLA-TMC scaffolds stimulated the proliferation and normal phenotypic manifestations of cultured osteoblasts. These results show that it was possible to produce a terpolymer from L-lactide, D,L-lactide, and TMC. Scaffolds of this terpolymer had important characteristics that could be useful for applications in bone tissue engineering.

Highlights

Bone has a limited capacity for regeneration, especially in cases involving large losses as a result of complicated fractures caused by trauma, disease, birth defects, bone tumor removal, joint replacement, spinal fusion, or periodontal diseases
The signals found in the terpolymer 1H-NRM were practically the same as those for the poly(L-lactide-co-D,L lactide) copolymer and differed at only two points that are characteristic of trimethylene carbonate (TMC), that is, δ 2.05 ppm (CH2-TMC) and δ 4.24 ppm (OCH2-TMC) [22]
In the case of PLDLA-TMC, the triplet at 2.05 ppm was assigned to the protons CH2 (c), while the triplet at 4.24 was assigned to OCH2 (d)

Summary

Introduction

Bone has a limited capacity for regeneration, especially in cases involving large losses as a result of complicated fractures caused by trauma, disease, birth defects, bone tumor removal, joint replacement, spinal fusion, or periodontal diseases. Bone loss is a major challenge for modern medicine, since current techniques, such as metallic implants and autologous bone grafts, have significant drawbacks. There is a need to develop novel therapeutic approaches such as bone tissue engineering [1, 2]. Tissue engineering seeks to create an alternative means of repairing bone injuries by combining a scaffold, cells, and growth factors to produce tissue substitutes capable of restoring or replacing lost tissues and organs. An underlying principle in this approach is that biomaterial or cell-biomaterial constructs degrade concomitantly with tissue regeneration

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