3D printed scaffold for repairing bone defects in apical periodontitis

Abstract

Objectives To investigate the feasibility of the 3D printed scaffold for periapical bone defects. Methods In this study, antimicrobial peptide KSL-W-loaded PLGA sustainable-release microspheres (KSL-W@PLGA) were firstly prepared followed by assessing the drug release behavior and bacteriostatic ability against Enterococcus faecalis and Porphyromonas gingivalis. After that, we demonstrated that KSL-W@PLGA/collagen (COL)/silk fibroin (SF)/nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) (COL/SF/nHA) scaffold via 3D-printing technique exhibited significantly good biocompatibility and osteoconductive property. The scaffold was characterized as to pore size, porosity, water absorption expansion rate and mechanical properties. Moreover, MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded into sterile scaffold materials and investigated by CCK-8, SEM and HE staining. In the animal experiment section, we constructed bone defect models of the mandible and evaluated its effect on bone formation. The Japanese white rabbits were killed at 1 and 2 months after surgery, the cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT) and micro-CT scanning, as well as HE and Masson staining analysis were performed on the samples of the operation area, respectively. Data analysis was done using ANOVA and LSD tests. (α = 0.05). Results We observed that the KSL-W@PLGA sustainable-release microspheres prepared in the experiment were uniform in morphology and could gradually release the antimicrobial peptide (KSL-W), which had a long-term antibacterial effect for at least up to 10 days. HE staining and SEM showed that the scaffold had good biocompatibility, which was conducive to the adhesion and proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells. The porosity and water absorption of the scaffold were (81.96 ± 1.83)% and (458.29 ± 29.79)%, respectively. Histological and radiographic studies showed that the bone healing efficacy of the scaffold was satisfactory. Conclusions The KSL-W@PLGA/COL/SF/nHA scaffold possessed good biocompatibility and bone repairing ability, and had potential applications in repairing infected bone defects. Clinical significance The 3D printed scaffold not only has an antibacterial effect, but can also promote bone tissue formation, which provides an alternative therapy option in apical periodontitis.

The 3-dimensional printing for dental tissue regeneration: the state of the art and future challenges

“…Collagen is not only the main component of dental pulp and periodontium, but also the biomineralization matrix of dentin and bone. Thus, collagen-based bioink have been used for the reconstruction of dental pulp, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone ( Duarte Campos et al, 2020 ; Lee U.-L. et al, 2021 ; Li et al, 2022 ). Despite good biocompatibility, flexibility, and low immunogenicity, the poor mechanical property limit collagen’s use as bioinks.…”

“…Furthermore, the supplement of growth factors, peptides, and other bioactive substances undoubtedly endows 3D printed constructs with superior biological properties, such as antimicrobial peptide KSL-W ( Li et al, 2022 ), recombinant human erythropoietin (rh-EPO) ( Liu H. et al, 2022 ) and graphene oxide ( Park et al, 2021 ).…”

Impact exerted by scaffolds and biomaterials in periodontal bone and tissue regeneration engineering: new challenges and perspectives for disease treatment

“…In addition, its treatment performance is superior, and it may be manipulated into many forms. However, keratin biomaterials often have limited mechanical strength, as the membranes of pure wool keratin exhibit fragility [40,41]. Consequently, wool keratin is mixed with PLGA to produce composite GTR membranes.…”

“…Biomaterials should ideally be distinguished by their biocompatibility, ease of surgical site adaption and placement, maintenance of space, clot stability, tissue integration, cell invasion/guidance, and encouragement of cellular proliferation. On the basis of their origin, scaffolds are categorized as allogenic, xenogeneic, alloplastic, or living structures (when they include cells) [40][41][42][43][44].…”

“…As a developing technology, 3D printing enables greater control over the macro-and micro-structure of tissue engineering scaffolds. The periodontium is a complicated structure composed of many types of tissue since both soft and hard tissues are interconnected [40]. Recently, the 3D printing approach has been used to construct scaffolds with regionally distinct internal microstructures that are suited for CM, PDL, and/ or AB in order to mimic such multi-phase tissue compositions.…”