A comparative study on the in vitro osteogenic potential of electrospun poly-L-lactide/hydroxyapatite/collagen (PLLA/HA/Col, PLLA/HA, and PLLA/Col) scaffolds was conducted. The morphology, chemical composition, and surface roughness of the fibrous scaffolds were examined. Furthermore, cell attachment, distribution, morphology, mineralization, extracellular matrix protein localization, and gene expression of human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) differentiated on the fibrous scaffolds PLLA/Col/HA, PLLA/Col, and PLLA/HA were also analyzed. The electrospun scaffolds with a diameter of 200–950 nm demonstrated well-formed interconnected fibrous network structure, which supported the growth of hMSCs. When compared with PLLA/H%A and PLLA/Col scaffolds, PLLA/Col/HA scaffolds presented a higher density of viable cells and significant upregulation of genes associated with osteogenic lineage, which were achieved without the use of specific medium or growth factors. These results were supported by the elevated levels of calcium, osteocalcin, and mineralization (P<0.05) observed at different time points (0, 7, 14, and 21 days). Furthermore, electron microscopic observations and fibronectin localization revealed that PLLA/Col/HA scaffolds exhibited superior osteoinductivity, when compared with PLLA/Col or PLLA/HA scaffolds. These findings indicated that the fibrous structure and synergistic action of Col and nano-HA with high-molecular-weight PLLA played a vital role in inducing osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. The data obtained in this study demonstrated that the developed fibrous PLLA/Col/HA biocomposite scaffold may be supportive for stem cell based therapies for bone repair, when compared with the other two scaffolds.

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In our previous study, we reported the fabrication and characterization of a novel tricalcium phosphatefucoidan-chitosan (TCP-Fu-Ch) biocomposite scaffold. However, the previous report did not show whether the biocomposite scaffold can exhibit osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells in osteogenic media and normal media supplemented with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB). On day 15, the release of osteocalcin, was significant in the TCP-Fu-Ch scaffold, when compared with that in the TCP-Ch scaffold, and the level of release was approximately 8 and 6 ng/ml in osteogenic and normal media supplemented with PDGF-BB, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy of the TCP-Fu-Ch scaffold demonstrated mineralization and apatite layer formation on day 14, while the addition of PDGF-BB also improved the osteogenic differentiation of the scaffold. An array of gene expression analysis demonstrated that TCP-Fu-Ch scaffold cultured in osteogenic and normal media supplemented with PDGF-BB showed significant improvement in the expression of collagen 1, Runt-related transcription factor 2, osteonectin, bone gamma-carboxyglutamate protein, alkaline phosphatase, and PPA2, but a decline in the expression of integrin. Altogether, the present study demonstrated that fucoidan-incorporated TCP-Ch scaffold could be used in the differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells and can be a potential candidate for the treatment of bone-related ailments through tissue engineering technology.

The supramolecular structure of the inclusion complex of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with 1,1′,2,2′-tetramethyl-3,3′-(p-phenylenedimethylene) diimidazolium dibromide (TetraPhimBr), a dicationic ionic liquid, has been investigated. The inclusion complex with 1:1 molar ratio was prepared by a kneading method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, 1H NMR and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed the formation of the inclusion complex. The results showed that the host-guest system is a fine crystalline powder. The decomposition temperature of the inclusion complex is lower than that of its parent molecules, TetraPhimBr and β-CD individually.

This study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of the inclusion complex of β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) with dicationic ionic liquid, 3,3′-(1,4-Phenylenebis [methylene]) bis(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium) di(bromide) (PhenmimBr). The inclusion complex was prepared at room temperature utilizing conventional kneading technique. Proton (1H) NMR and 2D (1H–1H) COSY NMR were the primary characterization tools employed to verify the formation of the inclusion complex. COSY spectra showed strong correlations between protons of imidazolium and protons of β-CD which indicates that the imidazolium ring of PhenmimBr has entered the cavity of β-CD. UV absorption indicated that β-CD reacts with PhenmimBr to form a 2:1 β-CD-PhenmimBr complex with an apparent formation constant of 2.61 × 105 mol&−2 L2. Other characterization studies such as UV, FT-IR, XRD, TGA, DSC and SEM studies were also used to further support the formation of the β-CD-PhenmimBr inclusion complex.