Biodegradable Mg-Cu alloys with enhanced osteogenesis, angiogenesis, and long-lasting antibacterial effects

Abstract

A series of biodegradable Mg-Cu alloys is designed to induce osteogenesis, stimulate angiogenesis, and provide long-lasting antibacterial performance at the same time. The Mg-Cu alloys with precipitated Mg2Cu intermetallic phases exhibit accelerated degradation in the physiological environment due to galvanic corrosion and the alkaline environment combined with Cu release endows the Mg-Cu alloys with prolonged antibacterial effects. In addition to no cytotoxicity towards HUVECs and MC3T3-E1 cells, the Mg-Cu alloys, particularly Mg-0.03Cu, enhance the cell viability, alkaline phosphatase activity, matrix mineralization, collagen secretion, osteogenesis-related gene and protein expressions of MC3T3-E1 cells, cell proliferation, migration, endothelial tubule forming, angiogenesis-related gene, and protein expressions of HUVECs compared to pure Mg. The favorable osteogenesis and angiogenesis are believed to arise from the release of bioactive Mg and Cu ions into the biological environment and the biodegradable Mg-Cu alloys with osteogenesis, angiogenesis, and long-term antibacterial ability are very promising in orthopedic applications.

Significantly enhanced osteoblast response to nano-grained pure tantalum

“…These osteogenic proteins are directly regulated by Runx2 and OSX through their DNA binding element46. Col-I is the main ECM protein in bone and one of the most widely recognized biochemical markers in osteoblast differentiation4748. OPN, whose expression increases both in early differentiation and during mineralization, is known to be a middle-stage maker and be associated with the onset of ECM mineralization at a later point104950.…”

Multifunctional Copper-Containing Mesoporous Glass Nanoparticles as Antibacterial and Proangiogenic Agents for Chronic Wounds

“…Metal ions, such as silver and copper, are one such set of antimicrobials that are currently of interest as they can be combined with functional materials for designing healthcare devices (Gorzelanny et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2016;Ramasamy and Lee, 2016;Sun et al, 2016;Bayramov and Neff, 2017). Whilst there is some evidence that bacteria can develop resistance mechanisms to certain forms of copper and silver (Percival et al, 2005;Santo et al, 2011;Finley et al, 2015;Hobman and Crossman, 2015;Williams et al, 2016), they are still promising as antimicrobials due to their broad ranges of biocidal activity against multiple microorganisms, including both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria.…”

Evaluation of the Modulatory Effects of Copper Salts on the Process of Angiogenesis (Neovascularization) with Therapeutic Perspectives

“…Both, in form of Cu salt (CuSO 4 ) and metallic Cu (CuO), it exhibited pro-angiogenic activity (Mroczek-Sosnowska et al, 2015). After applying on HUVECs (Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells), the alloy of Cu with Mg revealed more number of branch points and a more complex morphology of angiogenesis (Liu et al, 2016). …”