Akermanite Research Articles

Incorporation of azithromycin into akermanite-monticellite nanocomposite scaffolds: Preparation, biological properties, and drug release characteristics

Bioceramics composed of calcium and magnesium silicates have garnered increasing attention for the development of porous scaffolds in bone tissue engineering (BTE). This heightened interest is primarily attributed to their remarkable bioactivity and their capacity to form strong bonds with hard tissue. Fabricating nanocomposite scaffolds is a recognized approach for improving the characteristics of scaffolds used in BTE. This research investigates the mechanical and biological properties, antibacterial activity, and drug-release characteristics of scaffolds composed of akermanite (AKT), monticellite (MON), and monticellite-akermanite (MON-AKT). These scaffolds were fabricated utilizing the space holder process. Additionally, the in vitro drug release profile and antimicrobial activity of Azithromycin (AZT)-loaded MON-AKT composite scaffolds were investigated. The findings showed that the Mon-15 wt% AKT nanocomposite scaffold had the highest density, the smallest grain and micropore sizes, and the lowest porosity. In contrast, integrating AKT into MON-based composite scaffolds resulted in materials characterized by high mechanical strength and stability within physiological environments. The MON-AKT nanocomposite scaffolds exhibited cytocompatibility and demonstrated a high level of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in osteogenic studies. Furthermore, antimicrobial activity assessments revealed that the AZT-encapsulated MON-AKT composite scaffolds effectively inhibited the growth of both S. aureus and E. coli bacteria. The outcomes showed that the antibacterial efficacy of the scaffold depends on both the amount of AZT and the type of bacteria. Overall, MON-AKT/3AZT scaffolds exhibited significantly superior bacterial inhibition compared to other scaffolds, making it a promising option for treating bone tissue defects.

3D-printed calcium magnesium silicates: A mini-review

Calcium magnesium silicates (CMS) represent a class of minerals with diverse applications in fields ranging from geology to materials science. With the advent of additive manufacturing technologies, particularly 3D printing, novel opportunities have emerged for the synthesis and utilization of CMS-based materials. In this mini-review, we provide a thorough overview of recent advancements in the 3D printing of CMS compounds, including diopside (DPS), bredigite (BR), and akermanite (AKT). We discuss the synthesis methods, properties, and potential applications of 3D-printed CMS materials, with a focus on their role in biomedical applications. Furthermore, we highlight challenges and prospects in the field, emphasizing the importance of continued research and innovation in harnessing the full potential of 3D-printed CMS materials.

Fabrication of β-TCP/ Akermanite composite scaffold via DLP and in-situ modification of micro-nano surface morphology for bone repair

Although β-TCP bioceramics possess favorable biocompatibility and bioactivity, their inherent brittleness restricts further applications. In this study, we aimed to enhance the mechanical performance and biocompatibility of β-TCP by incorporating 15% Akermanite (AK) into the structure. The fabrication process involved the use of digital light processing (DLP) technology to fabricate ceramic green bodies, followed by high-temperature debinding and sintering to obtain the ceramic scaffold. Subsequently, we employed an in-situ growth technique to create micro/nano surface topography on the scaffolds, facilitating synergistic regulation of cell behavior in conjunction with the controlled release of bioactive agents. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the addition of AK enlarged the grain size and reduced the number of micropores in the composite scaffold. Furthermore, after the in-situ growth treatment, a significant increase in micro/nano surface features was observed. Mechanical testing demonstrated that the incorporation of AK effectively improved the mechanical properties of the composite scaffold, resulting in an increase in strength of approximately 20%. Cell experiments indicated that AK supplementation further enhanced the material's cell compatibility, and the presence of micro/nano structures effectively promoted cell adhesion, proliferation, and expression of osteogenic genes. Consequently, we propose a strategy for fabricating porous bioceramics that stimulate bone growth, exhibit high strength, and ameliorate the degradation microenvironment. This approach opens up promising avenues for future applications in bone tissue engineering.

Thermomechanical properties of coated PLA-3D-printed orthopedic plate with PCL/Akermanite nano-fibers: Experimental procedure and AI optimization

Nowadays, 3D printing has become a popular method among surgeons due to its merits in orthopedic treatments. In this method, polymeric biomaterials are deposited in a layer-by-layer manner to fabricate 3D objects that can be used as orthopedic implants and plates; however, 3D-printed implants or plates may lack properties required to bond with host tissue. Coating surface of plates with nano-fibers is an appropriate way to modify plates to overcome this challenge. In this study, first, an orthopedic plate was 3D printed with Polylactic acid (PLA) and coated with polycaprolactone (PCL)/Akermanite (AKT) nano-fibers. The composition included 8 wt% of PCL and 3 wt% of nAKT, while diameter of the PCL/AKT nano-fibers was approximately 253 nm ± 33 nm. Thermomechanical properties such as pressure, three-point bending flexural, and thermal conductivity of coated and non-coated specimens were examined and compared. In the next step, the bioactivity of the coated samples was evaluated following a 28-day immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). Further, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were taken to assess morphology of nanofibers and apatite formation on samples. By adding PCL to PLA, the maximum pressure force is enhanced by 16.83%. Further by adding nAKT to PLA + PCL sample, the maximum pressure force is enhanced by 4.72%. Further, by adding PCL to PLA, the maximum bending flexural force is enhanced by 21.06%. Further by adding nAKT to PLA + PCL sample, the maximum bending flexural force is enhanced by 21.39%. The results of this study are used to improve modeling of the orthopedic plates.

A Universal Chelation-Induced Selective Demetallization Strategy for Bioceramic Nanosheets (BCene).

The emergence of nanosheet materials like graphene and phosphorene, which are created by breaking the interlayer van der Waals force, has revolutionized multiple fields. Layered inorganic materials are ubiquitous in materials like bioceramics, semiconductors, superconductors, etc. However, the strong interlayer covalent or ionic bonding in these crystals makes it difficult to fabricate nanosheets from them. In this study, we present a simple technique to produce nanosheets from layered crystals by selectively exfoliating their interlayer metal atoms using the metal-chelation reaction. As a proof of concept, we successfully produced bioceramic nanosheets (BCene) by extracting Ca layers from Akermanite (AKT). The 3D-printed BCene scaffolds exhibited superior mechanical strength and in vitro bioactivity compared to the scaffolds made from AKT nanopowders. Our findings demonstrate the outstanding potential of BCene nanosheets in tissue engineering. Additionally, the selective demetallization technique for nanosheet production could be applied to other inorganic layered crystals to optimize their performance.

Enhanced bioactivity and hydrothermal aging resistance of Y-TZP ceramics for dental implant.

Although yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP) ceramics have been widely used as restorative materials due to their high mechanical strength, unique esthetic effect, and good biocompatibility, their general application to implant materials is still limited by their biological inertness and hydrothermal aging phenomenon. Existing studies have attempted to investigate how to enhance the bioactivity or hydrothermal aging resistance of Y-TZP. Still, more studies need to be done on the modification that combines these two aspects. In this study, Y-TZP was prepared by 77S bioactive glass (BG) sol and akermanite (AKT) sol infiltration and microwave sintering, which provided Y-TZP with high bioactivity while maintaining resistance to hydrothermal aging. Results of phase composition evaluation, microstructural characteristics, and mechanical property tests showed that modified Y-TZP specimens exhibited little or no tetragonal-to-monoclinic (t → m) transformation and maintained relatively high mechanical properties after accelerated hydrothermal aging treatment. The in vitro biological behaviors showed that the introduction of 77S BG and AKT significantly promoted cell adhesion, spreading, viability, and proliferation on the surface of modified Y-TZP ceramics. Therefore, this modification could effectively enhance the bioactivity and hydrothermal aging resistance of Y-TZP ceramics for its application in dental implant materials.

Evaluation of mechanical and biological properties of akermanite/poly-ether-ether- ketone composite fabricated by high- temperature laser powder bed fusion.

High-temperature laser bed powder fusion (HT-LPBF) technology is an ideal method for processing poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) implants with personalized bionic structures, but the biological inertia of PEEK limits its medical applications. In this study, we evaluated the mechanical and biological properties of a novel akermanite (AKM)/PEEK composite for HT-LPBF. The results showed that tiny AKM particles are evenly attached to the surface of the PEEK particle. The delayed peak crystallization temperature and stable sintering window ensure the processing feasibility of the AKM/PEEK composites. The tensile strength and Young's modulus are in the range of 30.83-98.73 MPa and 2.27-3.71 GPa, respectively, which can match the properties of cancellous bones and meet their implanting requirement. The CCK-8 experiments demonstrated the biocompatibility of the composites and the good proliferation of bone marrow stromal cells. The dense hydroxyapatite network layer and petal-like hydroxyapatite demonstrates biological activity, indicating that the composite has a good potential in the orthopedics fields.

Improvement of bioactivity with dual bioceramic incorporation to nanofibrous PCL scaffolds

Bone tissue injuries, diseases or related clinical interventions require bone tissue engineering (BTE) approaches for regeneration of large bone defects, especially for compromised situations. Most BTE applications in literature focused on composites of polymers with a single type of bioceramic. However, native bone matrix has various inorganic components. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the use of dual bioceramics in BTE scaffolds prepared by wet-electrospinning of Poly-caprolactone (PCL) and bioceramics; hydroxyapatite (HA), carbonated hydroxyapatite (CHA) and akermanite (AKR). After physicochemical characterizations of single and dual bioceramic-discs, it was found that AKR component should be at most 10% and thus, fibrous 3D composite scaffolds (PCL/HA; PCL/CHA; PCL/90HA/10AKR; PCL/90CHA/10AKR) were prepared. Scaffolds were then compared for degradation, swelling and microstructure properties. PCL/CHA, PCL/HA/AKR and PCL/CHA/AKR scaffolds improved apatite formation and presence of CHA, AKR or both in scaffolds increased Ca/P precipitation compared to HA involving scaffolds. Specifically, when two bioceramics were introduced, there was a noticeable increase in mineralization. No significant weight change was detected for scaffolds after two weeks of incubation. Presence of bioceramics in scaffolds significantly reduced swelling of PCL scaffolds with PCL/90HA10AKR and PCL/90CHA10AKR having higher swelling results than PCL/HA and PCL/CHA, respectively. Additionally, scaffolds with dual bioceramics (90HA10AKR, 90CHA10AKR) had higher cell proliferation for bone cells (Saos-2). In terms of osteogenic activity all groups showed increased ALP activity at 14 days compared to 7 days with PCL/CHA scaffolds having the highest value. Results suggests that newly developed PCL/90HA10AKR and PCL/90CHA10AKR composites hold potential for bone tissue engineering applications.

Improving the osseointegration and soft tissue sealing of zirconia ceramics by the incorporation of akermanite via sol infiltration for dental implants.

Zirconia ceramics are promising dental implant materials due to their high-grade biocompatibility, high mechanical strength, and distinctive aesthetic appearance. Nevertheless, zirconia ceramics are bio-inert with a lack of osseointegration and soft tissue sealing, which limits dental implant applications. As such, the fabrication of zirconia ceramics with high mechanical strength, excellent osseointegration and soft tissue sealing performance remains a great challenge in the dental restoration field. In this article, a novel zirconia ceramic with akermanite (AKT) modification by the negative pressure infiltration method is presented. The effects of AKT sol infiltration at different times on the morphology, phase composition, mechanical properties, bioactivity, osseointegration and soft tissue sealing of the modified zirconia ceramics have been systematically investigated. The modified zirconia ceramics feature excellent mechanical properties and significantly improved surface roughness, hydrophilia, and apatite mineralization ability as compared with unmodified zirconia ceramics. Furthermore, cell-culture experiment results indicated that the surface modification of zirconia ceramics could promote adhesion, spreading, migration, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of mouse bone marrow stromal stem cells (mBMSCs), as well as the early adhesion, spreading, proliferation and fibroblast differentiation of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) in vitro. The prepared bioactive zirconia distinctively enhanced the alkaline phosphate (ALP) activity, osteogenesis-related gene expression of mBMSCs and fibroblast-related-gene expression of HGFs. The in vivo evaluation confirmed that 15-TZP ceramics could promote bone-implant osseointegration to the greatest extent as compared with pure zirconia ceramics. To conclude, our research has shown that AKT-modified zirconia ceramics can achieve bone integration and soft tissue sealing, indicating that they have a lot of potential for application as a novel dental implant material in the clinical setting.

In vitro evaluation of porous poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate)/akermanite composite scaffolds manufactured using selective laser sintering.

Incorporation of a bioactive mineral filler in a biodegradable polyester scaffold is a promising strategy for scaffold assisted bone tissue engineering (TE). The current study evaluates the in vitro behavior of poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV)/Akermanite (AKM) composite scaffolds manufactured using selective laser sintering (SLS). Exposure of the mineral filler on the surface of the scaffold skeleton was evident from in vitro mineralization in PBS. PHBV scaffolds and solvent cast films served as control samples and all materials showed preferential adsorption of fibronectin compared to serum albumin as well as non-cytotoxic response in human osteoblasts (hOB) at 24h. hOB culture for up to 21days revealed that the metabolic activity in PHBV films and scaffolds was significantly higher than that of PHBV/AKM scaffolds within the first two weeks of incubation. Afterwards, the metabolic activity in PHBV/AKM scaffolds exceeded that of the control samples. Confocal imaging showed cell penetration into the porous scaffolds. Significantly higher ALP activity was observed in PHBV/AKM scaffolds at all time points in both basal and osteogenic media. Mineralization during cell culture was observed on all samples with PHBV/AKM scaffolds exhibiting distinctly different mineral morphology. This study has demonstrated that the bioactivity of PHBV SLS scaffolds can be enhanced by incorporating AKM, making this an attractive candidate for bone TE application.

Bioceramic Scaffolds with Antioxidative Functions for ROS Scavenging and Osteochondral Regeneration.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease that involves excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) and osteochondral defects. Although multiple approaches have been developed for osteochondral regeneration, how to balance the biochemical and physical microenvironment in OA remains a big challenge. In this study, a bioceramic scaffold by 3D printed akermanite (AKT) integrated with hair‐derived antioxidative nanoparticles (HNPs)/microparticles (HMPs) for ROS scavenging and osteochondral regeneration has been developed. The prepared bioscaffold with multi‐mimetic enzyme effects, which can scavenge a broad spectrum of free radicals in OA, can protect chondrocytes under the ROS microenvironment. Importantly, the bioscaffold can distinctly stimulate the proliferation and maturation of chondrocytes due to the stimulation of the glucose transporter pathway (GLUT) via HNPs/HMPs. Furthermore, it significantly accelerated osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). In vivo results showed that the bioscaffold can effectively enhance the osteochondral regeneration compared to the unmodified scaffold. The work shows that integration of antioxidant and mechanical properties via the bioscaffold is a promising strategy for osteochondral regeneration in OA treatment.

A hybrid approach for in-situ synthesis of bioceramic nanocomposites to adjust the physicochemical and biological characteristics

In this article, a hybrid method comprising a sol–gel process and mechanical activation (MA) for the synthesis of bioceramic-based nanocomposites is proposed. The method was used to synthesize model akermanite (AKM)–monticellite (MNT) nanocomposites with high purity. The STA and XRD results confirm the successful formation of AKM–MNT bio-nanocomposite at a very low calcination temperature. Moreover, the STA results illustrate that the calcination initiation temperature of the synthesized nanoceramics decreased from 830 to 700 °C owing to MA, and the weight fraction of MNT increased with increasing MA duration. The crystallite sizes of AKM and MNT increased to values below 60 and 50 nm with increasing calcination temperature, respectively. Although the lattice constants of the produced AKM and MNT decreased with increasing MA duration, the values were very close to those of the reference codes. Furthermore, the samples were investigated with FESEM and TEM; according to the results, the longer MA process resulted in samples with finer particles. The biocompatibility of the synthesized nanocomposites was corroborated with an MTT assay; the nanocomposite extract with different dilution ratios had a crucial effect on the proliferation rate of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Overall, the results show that the proposed hybrid method is suitable for the synthesis and fabrication of nanocomposites.

In Vitro Corrosion Behavior and Cytotoxicity of Polycaprolactone–Akermanite-Coated Friction-Welded Commercially Pure Ti/AZ31 for Orthopedic Applications

This study deals with the corrosion and bioactivity behavior of biodegradable friction-welded CP-Ti/AZ31 joints. The investigations were carried out on the bare, PCL-coated and PCL–akermanite (AKT)-coated joints immersed in simulated body fluid. The samples were subjected to polarization and impedance corrosion tests, weight loss and pH monitoring and cytotoxicity investigations as well as cell adhesion test. The results of corrosion tests and weight loss measurements indicated that whereas the bare alloy shows the highest corrosion rate through 7 days (15.945 mm/y), the PCL–AKT-coated sample presented significantly improved results, even when the soaking period was prolonged to 30 days. The PCL–AKT-coated sample also showed the best biocompatibility, as the cell viability was measured to be 97.52%. The Ca/P ratio was also measured to be about 1.64 for PCL–AKT-coated sample, indicating favorable osteogenic behavior. The results of alizarin red cell staining and absorption spectrum as well as alkaline phosphatase activity confirmed superior osteogenic behavior of the PCL–AKT-coated sample. It was found that the CP-Ti/AZ31 samples coated with PCL–AKT obtained suitable corrosion resistance and cellular response, thus presenting a good potential to be used in orthopedic applications.

Upconversion luminescence Ca–Mg–Si bioactive glasses synthesized using the containerless processing technique

In this study, a series of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Ca–Mg–Si glasses were prepared via the containerless processing. Phase composition and luminescent properties of the prepared materials were investigated through XRD and spectrometry, and bioactivity, biocompatibility and cytotoxicity were evaluated. The XRD patterns indicated that akermanite (AKT) ceramic powders were completely transformed into the glassy phase (AKT-G, EYA) through the containerless processing, which exhibit upconversion luminescence, and the luminescence intensity increased with the increase of the doping amount of Er3+ and Yb3+. High amount of Yb3+ doping and existence of Ca2+ in glasses resulted in more intensive red-light emission. The SEM observation, combined with EDS analysis, and cell culture experiments showed that the as-prepared glasses were nontoxic, biocompatible and bioactive. All these results demonstrated that the containerless processing is a facile method for preparing homogeneous luminescent bioactive glasses. Furthermore, this luminescent Ca–Mg–Si glasses may be used as bone implant materials to study the in vivo distribution of degradation products of bone implants, which may be of great significance for the development and clinical application of new bone grafting materials.

Three-Dimensional-Printed Bioceramic Scaffolds with Osteogenic Activity for Simultaneous Photo/Magnetothermal Therapy of Bone Tumors.

For the postoperative treatment of bone cancer, biomaterials should possess an antitumor effect and simultaneous repair ability of bone defects. Compared with single photothermal treatment or magnetothermal treatment, photo/magnetothermal joint treatment represents a more high-efficient strategy to kill tumor cells. In this work, a 3D-printed bioceramic scaffold with a photo/magnetothermal effect was successfully designed and fabricated, which exhibited the function of killing tumor cells and excellent osteogenic bioactivity, via incorporating an Fe element into akermanite (AKT) bioceramics. After doping with ferric elements, the AKT scaffolds possessed significantly enhanced compressive strength and desirable ferromagnetic property. The ferric elements endowed the AKT scaffolds with excellent photo/magnetothermal effects, and hence the scaffolds could efficiently kill tumor cells in vitro under mild laser power density and magnetic field. In addition, the Fe-doped AKT bioceramic scaffolds significantly promoted cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of rabbit bone mesenchymal stem cells as compared with the original AKT scaffolds without Fe elements. The results suggest that Fe-doped bioceramic scaffolds with both photo/magnetothermal effect and in vitro osteogenic bioactivity could be a promising biomaterial for the synergistic therapy of bone cancers.

Akermanite reinforced PHBV scaffolds manufactured using selective laser sintering.

Scaffold assisted tissue engineering presents a promising approach to repair diseased and fractured bone. For successful bone repair, scaffolds need to be made of biomaterials that degrade with time and promote osteogenesis. Compared to the commonly used ß-tricalcium phosphate scaffolds, Akermanite (AKM) scaffolds were found to degrade faster and promote more osteogenesis. The objective of this study is to synthesize AKM micro and nanoparticle reinforced poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate; PHBV) composite scaffolds using selective laser sintering (SLS). The synthesized composite scaffolds had an interconnected porous microstructure (61-64% relative porosity), large specific surface areas (31.1-64.2 mm-1 ) and pore sizes ranging from 303 to 366 and 279 to 357 μm in the normal and lateral direction, respectively, which are suitable for bone tissue repair. The observed hydrophilic nature of the scaffolds and the swift water uptake was due to the introduction of numerous carboxylic acid groups on the scaffold surface after SLS, circumventing the need for postprocessing. For the composite scaffolds, large amounts of AKM particles were exposed on the skeleton surface, which is a requirement for cell attachment. In addition, the particles embedded inside the skeleton helped to significantly reinforce the scaffold structure. The compressive strength and modulus of the composite scaffolds were up to 7.4 and 103 MPa, respectively, which are 149 and 197% of that of the pure PHBV scaffolds. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B:2596-2610, 2019.

Low-melt bioactive glass-reinforced 3D printing akermanite porous cages with highly improved mechanical properties for lumbar spinal fusion.

Although great strides have been made in medical technology, low back/neck pain and intervertebral disc degeneration initiated from disc degenerative disease remains a clinical challenge. Within the field of regenerative medicine therapy, we have sought to improve the biomechanical transformation of spinal fusion procedures conducted using biodegradable porous implants. Specifically, we have focused on developing mechanically strong bioceramic cages for spinal fusion and functional recovery. Herein, we fabricated the akermanite (AKE) ceramic-based porous cages using low-melting bioactive glass (BG) and 3D printing technology. The osteogenic cell adhesion on the cages was evaluated in vitro, and the spinal fusion was tested in the intervertebral disc trauma model. The results indicated that incorporation of 15% or 30% BG into AKE (i.e., AKE/BG15 and AKE/BG30) could enhance the compressive strength of bioceramic cages by 2- or 5-fold higher than the pure AKE cages (AKE/BG0). In comparison with porous β-tricalcium phosphate cages, the surface of AKE/BG15 and AKE/BG30 cages greatly promoted the growth and alkaline phosphatase expression of osteogenic cells. Histological and biomechanical analysis showed that the AKE/BG15 and AKE/BG30 readily stimulated the new bone tissue growth and improved the spinal biomechanics recovery. In the AKE/BG15 and AKE/BG30 cage groups, 4-6 of the rabbits demonstrated a successful fusion. In contrast, only 0-1 of the initial seeded AKE/BG0 and tricalcium phosphate cages resulted in fusion at 12weeks post-operatively. In summary, the akermanite-based cages showed an increased bone regenerative effect within an intervertebral disc trauma model, and thus, provided a promising candidate for improving spinal fusion surgery.

A novel akermanite/poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) porous composite scaffold fabricated via a solvent casting-particulate leaching method improved by solvent self-proliferating process.

Desirable scaffolds for tissue engineering should be biodegradable carriers to supply suitable microenvironments mimicked the extracellular matrices for desired cellular interactions and to provide supports for the formation of new tissues. In this work, a kind of slightly soluble bioactive ceramic akermanite (AKT) powders were aboratively selected and introduced in the PLGA matrix, a novel l-lactide modified AKT/poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (m-AKT/PLGA) composite scaffold was fabricated via a solvent casting-particulate leaching method improved by solvent self-proliferating process. The effects of m-AKT contents on properties of composite scaffolds and on MC3T3-E1 cellular behaviors in vitro have been primarily investigated. The fabricated scaffolds exhibited three-dimensional porous networks, in which homogenously distributed cavities in size of 300–400 μm were interconnected by some smaller holes in a size of 100–200 μm. Meanwhile, the mechanical structure of scaffolds was reinforced by the introduction of m-AKT. Moreover, alkaline ionic products released by m-AKT could neutralize the acidic degradation products of PLGA, and the apatite-mineralization ability of scaffolds could be largely improved. More valuably, significant promotions on adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 have been observed, which implied the calcium, magnesium and especially silidous ions released sustainably from composite scaffolds could regulate the behaviors of osteogenesis-related cells.

Akermanite scaffolds reinforced with boron nitride nanosheets in bone tissue engineering.

Akermanite (AKM) is considered to be a promising bioactive material for bone tissue engineering due to the moderate biodegradability and excellent biocompatibility. However, the major disadvantage of AKM is the relatively inadequate fracture toughness, which hinders the further applications. In the study, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) reinforced AKM scaffolds are fabricated by selective laser sintering. The effects of BNNSs on the mechanical properties and microstructure are investigated. The results show that the compressive strength and fracture toughness increase significantly with BNNSs increasing from 0.5 to 1.0 wt%. The remarkable improvement is ascribed to pull out and grain wrapping of BNNSs with AKM matrix. While, overlapping sheets is observed when more BNNSs are added, which results in the decline of mechanical properties. In addition, it is found that the composite scaffolds possess good apatite-formation ability when soaking in simulated body fluids, which have been confirmed by energy dispersed spectroscopy and flourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, MG63 osteoblast-like cells and human bone marrow stromal cells are seeded on the scaffolds. Scanning electron microscopy analysis confirms that both cells adhere and proliferate well, indicating favorable cytocompatibility. All the facts demonstrate the AKM scaffolds reinforced by BNNSs have potential applications for tissue engineering.

Silicon carbide whiskers reinforced akermanite scaffolds for tissue engineering

The poor mechanical properties of akermanite (AKM), especially fracture toughness, limits its applications in bone tissue engineering, although it possesses favorable biological performance. In this research, silicon carbide whiskers (SiCw) are added in order to reinforce AKM scaffolds with controllable porous structures fabricated by selective laser sintering (SLS). The mechanical properties, microstructure and toughening mechanisms are analyzed. The results indicate that the compressive strength and fracture toughness increases with increasing SiCw from 5 to 20 wt.%, and then decreases when more SiCw are incorporated. The strengthening and toughening mechanisms are attributed to interface debonding, whisker fracture and whisker pull-out, and the main fracture mode becomes transgranular fracture. Moreover, the phase composition of SiCw remains constant, confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The bioactivity and degradation behaviour of the scaffolds were evaluated by soaking them in simulated body fluid (SBF). The results show that the composite scaffolds with 20 wt.% SiCw exhibits good apatite-mineralization ability and a moderate degradation rate in SBF medium. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, MTT assay and alizarin red staining of human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) seeded scaffolds confirm the stem cell attachment, viability, proliferation and differentiation on the scaffolds. Thus, the overall study proves that SiCw reinforced AKM scaffolds have the potential to be used in bone tissue engineering.