Osteochondral tissue regeneration is a complicated field due to the distinct properties and healing potential of osseous and chondral phases. In a natural osteochondral region, the composition, mechanics, and structure vary smoothly from bony to cartilaginous phase. Therefore, a homogeneous scaffold cannot satisfy the complexity of the osteochondral matrix. In essence, a natural extracellular matrix is composed of fibrous proteins elongated into a gelatinous background. A hydrogel/fiber scaffold possessing gradient in both phases would be of the utmost interest to imitate tissue arrangement of a native osteochondral interface. However, there are limited research works that exploit hydrogel/fiber scaffolds for osteochondral restoration. In the present review, currently used fibrous or gelatinous scaffolds for osteochondral damages are discussed. Moreover, superiority of using gradient hydrogel/fiber composites for osteochondral regeneration and practical approaches to develop those scaffolds is debated.
Oxygen is an important signaling molecule which affects many behaviors of bone progenitor cells. Oxygen releasing biomaterials depend on their material and design are able to provide and modulate the desired oxygen for cells. To date, many oxygen releasing vehicles have been developed by incorporating microsized calcium peroxide (CPO) into polymeric matrixes. However, an oxygen releasing system based on nano CPO is still lacking. Not only can nanosized CPO provide more controllable oxygen release, but also can be loaded in vehicles of different shapes and sizes. Current research was conducted to take the advantages of nanomaterials as oxygen releasing components. To this end, CPO nanoparticles were synthesized using a hydrolysisprecipitation procedure and then loaded into the poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) matrix via an electrospray process. The surface of PLGA/CaO 2 particles was decorated with amine functionalities to render them more bioactive through a controlled aminolysis reaction. The studies on PLGA/CaO 2 microparticles revealed that biconcave disk-like morphology with a mean diameter of 5.3 μm was formed. The particles persistently provide oxygen content of 35-67.5 mmHg up to 14 days which lies within the acceptable range for bone tissue engineering applications. PLGA/CaO 2 microparticles induced 208 and 76% increase in number of viable mesenchymal cells on 6th and 14th days of cell seeding comparing PLGA counterparts. Furthermore, the expression of two bone biomarkers, that is, alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin, at protein level as well as the extent of calcium deposition was increased in the presence of PLGA/CaO 2 microparticles compared to PLGA ones.
K E Y W O R D Sbone tissue engineering, calcium peroxide, microparticle, oxygen
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