A New Approach for the Fabrication of Cytocompatible PLLA-Magnetite Nanoparticle Composite Scaffolds

Abstract

Magnetic biomimetic scaffolds of poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and nanoparticles of magnetite (nFe3O4) are prepared in a wide ratio of compositions by lyophilization for bone regeneration. The magnetic properties, cytotoxicity, and the in vitro degradation of these porous materials are closely studied. The addition of magnetite at 50 °C was found to produce an interaction reaction between the ester groups of the PLLA and the metallic cations of the magnetite, causing the formation of complexes. This fact was confirmed by the analysis of the infrared spectroscopy and the gel permeation chromatography test results. They, respectively, showed a displacement of the absorption bands of the carbonyl group (C=O) of the PLLA and a scission of the polymer chains. The iron from the magnetite acted as a catalyser of the macromolecular scission reaction, which determines the final biomedical applications of the scaffolds—it does so because the reaction shortens the degradation process without appearing to influence its toxicity. None of the samples studied in the tests presented cytotoxicity, even at 70% magnetite concentrations.

Three-Dimensional-Printed Poly-L-Lactic Acid Scaffolds with Different Pore Sizes Influence Periosteal Distraction Osteogenesis of a Rabbit Skull

“…The results showed that different concentrations of extracts had no significant influence on the cell growth relative to the corresponding negative control group, and there was no significant difference between different concentrations of extract ( Figures 5(c)-5(e)). It can be concluded that PLLA is nontoxic and suitable for in vivo study, which is consistent with other literature reports [30][31][32].…”

“…These scaffolds not only meet the requirements of distraction but also have a porous structure to guarantee the interaction between the periosteum and bone cortex. Researchers also used other advanced technologies to prepare porous PLLA materials, such as supercritical air foaming and freeze drying [30][31][32]. These state-of-the-art systems can adjust the porosity or composition of the material itself, but they all need some special mold processing to achieve a spatial structure.…”

3D Cytocompatible Composites of PCL/Magnetite

“…Nanomaterials have attracted increasing scientific interest, due to their numerous biomedical applications. Among such materials, Iron-Oxide NanoParticles (IONPs) awaken special interest, because of their magnetic properties, biocompatibility, and nanometric sizes that can interact at the cellular, subcellular, and even molecular levels [1,2]. As iron is a metal that is found in haemoglobin and myoglobin in the form of ferritin, the particles are non-toxic, although particle aggregation can be dangerous [3,4,5].…”

“…At particle sizes of less than 30 nm, their diameters range between 5 and 100 nm. Each particle produces a nanoscale magnetic field and acts as a single magnetic domain, showing superparamagnetic behavior [2,6,7].…”

Recent Advances of Magnetic Nanomaterials in Bone Tissue Repair

“…Díaz prepared PLLA nanofiber membrane by electrospinning. When conducting in vitro cell culture experiments, it was found that the orientation of the nanofiber membrane itself had a contact guiding effect on osteoblasts (Díaz et al, 2019 ).…”