Biodegradable zinc oxide composite scaffolds promote osteochondral differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) involves the degeneration of articular cartilage and subchondral bone. The capacity of articular cartilage to repair and regenerate is limited. A biodegradable, fibrous scaffold containing zinc oxide (ZnO) was fabricated and evaluated for osteochondral tissue engineering applications. ZnO has shown promise for a variety of biomedical applications but has had limited use in tissue engineering. Composite scaffolds consisted of ZnO nanoparticles embedded in slow degrading, polycaprolactone to allow for dissolution of zinc ions over time. Zinc has well‐known insulin‐mimetic properties and can be beneficial for cartilage and bone regeneration. Fibrous ZnO composite scaffolds, having varying concentrations of 1–10 wt.% ZnO, were fabricated using the electrospinning technique and evaluated for human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation along chondrocyte and osteoblast lineages. Slow release of the zinc was observed for all ZnO composite scaffolds. MSC chondrogenic differentiation was promoted on low percentage ZnO composite scaffolds as indicated by the highest collagen type II production and expression of cartilage‐specific genes, while osteogenic differentiation was promoted on high percentage ZnO composite scaffolds as indicated by the highest alkaline phosphatase activity, collagen production, and expression of bone‐specific genes. This study demonstrates the feasibility of ZnO‐containing composites as a potential scaffold for osteochondral tissue engineering.

Processing‐structure‐property relationships of biopolyester/zinc oxide fibrous scaffolds engineered by centrifugal spinning

“…As mentioned above, the concentration of n‐ZnO did not show a significant effect on the osteoblast cell viability. Similar results have been presented by Khader and Arinzeh when studying human mesequimal cell proliferation in policaprolactone/ZnO fibrous mats 54 . However, several reports based on ZnO hybrid fibrous materials have presented a decrease on cell viability as ZnO concentration increases 13,55 .…”

Recovery of ovarian function by human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells in cisplatin-induced premature ovarian failure in mice

“…Safety is a second issue hindering treatment with hESC-MSCs, due to concerns about unwanted, unexpected, or uncontrolled differentiation of hESC-MSCs after transplantation [29]. Options to address this issue that have been introduced in numerous disease models include the use of bio-degradable [30] or biomimetic [31] scaffold-encapsulated MSCs, or of membrane-bound biological nanoparticles (exosomes) secreted by MSCs [32][33][34].…”

<p>Enhancing ZnO-NP Antibacterial and Osteogenesis Properties in Orthopedic Applications: A Review</p>

“…Interestingly, ZnO-NPs can promote cartilage formation at lower concentrations. Khader et al 25 prepared ZnO/ PCL scaffolds with a concentration gradient of 1-10 wt% ZnO-NPs with an electrospinning technique. They found that under concentrations of 1-2.5wt%, the expression of cartilage markers such as SOX-9 and collagen type II were significantly increased in MSCs.…”

“…In fact, studies have confirmed that implants of various materials, like metals and polymers decorated with ZnO-NPs via doping or coating, show better antibacterial and osteogenic abilities. 25,26 To our knowledge, this is the first article focused on summarizing the recent progresses of ZnO-NPs in orthopedic applications. The first part is a brief review on the green preparation methods.…”