Biomimetic nanofibrous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Bone tissue engineering is a highly interdisciplinary field that seeks to tackle the most challenging bone-related clinical issues. The major components of bone tissue engineering are the scaffold, cells, and growth factors. This review will focus on the scaffold and recent advancements in developing scaffolds that can mimic the natural extracellular matrix of bone. Specifically, these novel scaffolds mirror the nanofibrous collagen network that comprises the majority of the non-mineral portion of bone matrix. Using two main fabrication techniques, electrospinning and thermally-induced phase separation, and incorporating bone-like minerals, such as hydroxyapatite, composite nanofibrous scaffolds can improve cell adhesion, stem cell differentiation, and tissue formation. This review will cover the two main processing techniques and how they are being applied to fabricate scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. It will then cover how these scaffolds can enhance the osteogenic capabilities of a variety of cell types and survey the ability of the constructs to support the growth of clinically relevant bone tissue.

In vitro osteoclast-like and osteoblast cells’ response to electrospun calcium phosphate biphasic candidate scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

“…The general bioactivity of current substitutes should also be improved to promote faster and better bone reconstruction in the patient. An important fact to remember is that natural occurring HA crystals are nano-sized, while most widely used substitutes still have macro-sized grains [4,7,10,11]. Micro-and macro-porosities of the substitutes play a major role in their effect on biological properties.…”

The Potential Impact of Bone Tissue Engineering in the Clinic

“…For the purpose of this review, we define biomaterials-based products as products without any cells or growth factors. Commercially available BTE biomaterials are present mostly as alloplastic bone void fillers [76][77][78]. These materials do not claim to encourage bone formation, neither do they pro- pose any hematopoiesis at the defect area.…”

Nanofibers and their biomedical use

“…Most drugs used to treat osteoporosis today, such as bisphosphonates, estrogen, raloxifene and calcitonin, only slow the degradation of the bone, while the formation of a new one is not encouraged (28). Notably, the latter can be significantly influenced by the application of a substitute made of nanofibers (28,29). Human bones are made up of 35 % organic matter, mainly collagen type I, and 65 % inorganic substances, where calcium phosphate predominates.…”